Rethink Shipping Gifts

I have the misfortune that two of my best friends live 5+ hours away from me. For that reason, any gifts I want to give either of them, I have to ship. Generally I wrap the gift, put it in a box to send, and drop it in the mail, but this year I thought, why not wrap the box I'm shipping so they receive a pretty present, rather than some boring 'ol brown box. I knew if I used a thick paper such as recycled shopping bags, the wrapping would withstand the heavy handling by the post office—genius!

After securely packaging the gift in a sturdy box, I selected a silver shopping bag from my stash of used bags. (I knew they'd come in handy one day!)

Then I cut open the bag and laid it flat as if it was a sheet of wrapping paper.

I removed the handles with some gentle peeling and scissor snips.

And in no time, had a wrapped box in pretty silver paper!

But a wrapped box isn't a gift without a bow or ribbon, so I pulled out another pretty-paper shopping bag with a high-contrast yet complimentary color. I sure do love CB2!

To ensure the decor wouldn't be ruined during shipping, I had to create something that would lay flat against the surface of the box and completely cover it with tape, securing any corners or loose sides. When wrapping the gift, I also went over each edge with tape, sealing it from tears or water damage. Anything that is raised has the potential to be ripped off as the package is sent through the post office's mailing machine, so make sure you use a whole roll of tape on that sucker!

Although this particular package was going to my friend Heidi for her birthday, which was yesterday, and Christmas, I decided to stay in the holiday spirit, cutting a few snowflakes from the bright orange bag. I also trimmed out the white circles and added some dimension by layering the two elements. Pretty cute, yes?

I'm also pleased with how the gift for Dawn (the friend I went to London with) turned out as well.

Of course I wouldn't be posting this rethink if I wasn't positive it would run through the mail nicely. In fact, when I was standing in line I got tons of compliments and was even asked if it was my "original design." So, cheers Heidi and Dawn, keep your eyes peeled for these little babies in your mail boxes soon!

Rethink Tulips

The Friday before Valentine's Day, I got home and found two bouquets of tulips from my loving husband. He beamed at me from the kitchen island and wished me an early Happy Valentine's Day and bragged about how he got a deal because the roses were way overpriced because of the holiday. He even bragged about being able to fill two vases with one bunch, which made me beam right back at him.

Arrangement 1

Arrangement 2

A few days later, when I saw two vibrant red flowers blooming, I flexed my creative muscle and created this stunner (my third arrangement).

I love the bloom's tropical and exotic look and think they look simply modern paired in this asymmetrical vase filled with black river rocks. It only took me a couple minutes and, best of all, was completely gratis thanks to my dashing hubby.

If you want to copy this trick, it's super simple. To invert a tulip bloom, all you do is hold both sides of one petal and gently push the middle out until it "pops".

The petals on a tulip naturally have two layers that barely overlap on the edges, so flip the petals that are on the outside layer first and then flip the inside layer.

Special note: Make sure you pop the petals gently otherwise the petal could rip or you could pull the petal off the bloom altogether.

Once you've flipped each petal, you'll have a completely reinvented tulip.

For those of you who have stealth eyes and noticed the freshly painted chocolate brown wall by our stairs, yes, that means the paint fairies struck again! So make sure you stay tuned! And anyone else who has a cool trick they do to their flowers to give them a inventive look please share, I'm always looking for new ways to spruce up my blooms.