Wrapping in a pinch

Usually I take time to properly wrap presents because I love the look of a huge pile of presents, beautifully wrapped in paper and ribbon.    Sadly, though, I don’t usually think about wrapping presents until it is too late, and I need to rush to find things around the house that will work in a pinch.  My stand-by favorite is the inside of a brown paper bag.  It looks rustic and a little vintage, and you can always write or draw directly on the paper (if, of course, you don’t have a card either!).

For the wedding I decided to try something a little different – no wrapping at all.  Instead, I cut a number of lengths of ribbon and tied them to the handles of the wine tote.  I curled the ribbon with a scissors, and created a beautiful multi-colored bow at the top:

Great technique for something that is a kind of wrapping itself – a basket, a tote, a decorative box, or the like – but probably not the best technique if you’re giving fine china, silverware, or anything personal (definitely not recommended for underpants!). 

Just so you don’t think I’m totally off my rocker – that’s a half bottle of wine sitting in front of the tote, which is why it is so small.  The bride and groom gave half bottles of their wine for wedding favors, imprinted with the same logo I used for the wine tote! 

Happy giving!
Caitlin

The Wedding Gift: Complete

So here it is – just a few days later – the wedding present!
I struggled a bit with how to format the top, but it came together more organically in the end.  I wanted to make sure it closed somehow. This seemed important to me as if it would be upended at some point and the bottles need not fall out.  Maybe not, but security is important when transporting precious bottles of wine.

So I measured the wine bottles – the dimensions of a wine bottle are about 3.25” in diameter at the bottom by  12.25” tall if you are curious – and planned out my pieces and got to work cutting.

Once the pieces were cut out, I transferred the image from their “Save the Date” card onto the leather using my own version of carbon paper (covering the back of the paper with pencil and then tracing – it worked in grade school, it works now!).

Then I branded and painted the pattern into the leather:

Since my Antique Black leather dye often has a little bit of a grey-brown look to it, I decided that would be the final color of the piece.   The “Save the Date” card was gray and gold, so it was the closest approximation that I had.  Next stop – dying:

After all the pieces were dry, I stitched them together and added the snap closure at the top.  Here are a few pictures of the finished piece:

There is a divider inside, too, to keep the bottles from clanking together.  I decided to make it removable because for some reason it really bothers me when the dividers are fixed.

My husband still says they won’t like it as much as I do, and that I wasted my time.  But really – who wouldn’t like this?  Especially a couple who owns their own winery?  I know I’m taking a bit of a risk here, since I’m giving a handmade present to someone who is in his family and not mine (and theoretically he should know better than I what they like), but it’s really, truly, from the heart.  Choosing their "Save the Date” graphic for the design gives me some assurance that it will be more their style, too, than if I’d just made something up from my imagination.

Now for round two:  As I was making this, I was thinking hard about how to wrap it, and also if I should put anything in it.  It seems really strange to give an empty wine tote, doesn’t it?  And if you’re giving wine to someone with a winery, then – well, that’s just not somewhere I wish to venture.  So I thought about putting a few bottles in there full of notes, a “message in the bottle” sort of thing, but all having to do with marriage and love and relationship, etc.   Or I could fill a bottle with $1 bills.  Everyone likes a bottle of money!  I might just have to leave it empty, though, and focus on wrapping.  I’m afraid my husband would think I’m totally off the deep end if I go with the “message in the bottle” idea.

So then the next step is wrapping, which I will tackle 20 minutes before I have to go to the wedding, like always.

Happy giving,

Caitlin

The Wedding Gift

My sister-in-law is getting married in two weeks.  Or less.  And I don’t have a gift.

I looked at the registry and didn’t see one single thing I was even remotely attracted to.  My sister-in-law has great (and oftentimes expensive) taste, so I’m inclined to think that it’s just the nature of the wedding registry.  You pick household things that you need, or register by tradition, and that is that.

But think on it for a second – if you’ve been married and registered for gifts, do you know who gave you what?  I have a mind like a steel trap when it comes to presents and where things came from, but I don’t have the foggiest clue who bought us which dishes, and to be totally honest, who didn’t buy us a present at all.

I do, however, remember who gave us the gifts that weren’t on the registry.  We have a small tapestry that was given to us by a family friend, and a beautiful cloth that came from my brother-in-law and his wife.  My mom gave us a dragon fountain for the yard (which we still haven’t made spit water… sorry mom!).    Those are the ones that I remember offhand.  Who gave us our glasses? Who gave us our plates?  I couldn’t tell you, and I’m sure most couples who are a few years out from their weddings would have the same experience.

So all that to say, a wedding, in my mind, is a special occasion, and it deserves to be commemorated (and gifted) accordingly.  One gift that I didn’t mention above was a decanter from Kevin’s childhood best friend (though I think it may have been his wife’s idea) with a little drawing from our wedding invitation on it. It was personal, memorable, and we will always treasure it.

My sister-in-law and her fiancé have a winery and they seem to carry wine with wherever they go.   I can’t think of a better gift than a handmade wine tote (two bottle, of course) with the graphic from their save the date cards on it.  Or maybe the winery logo.  I haven’t gotten that far yet.  Right now I’m still working out the specifics of the design.

Initially I was thinking of something like this:

 

But after a little Google searching, I found that a fair number don’t actually close at the top. I think it’s probably not necessary for the top to close if the wine is securely in the case, and it may make for a more modern look over-all.

I like the look of the handles on this one:

But it would need to be a two-bottle holder.  It also has a less, oh, I don’t know, old snobby wine feel to it? It is a bit more modern, and would go better with my sister-in-law’s Pink Glitter Toms.   It’s not quite as modern as the Urban 2-Bottle Wine Carrier (below) but I think that’s a good thing.  I have a hard time seeing the flap style being carried by a man. 

 

So I am off to create a design that works for men and women, is personalized, more on the modern end of style, functional, and beautiful.  And oh yeah, memorable. 

Kevin thinks the work that I put into it will be lost and that it won’t be appreciated.  I am not convinced.   You see, here’s my fundamental philosophy on gift-giving:  you have to present the recipient with something you’re really, truly, proud to give.  If you’re just buying off the registry, and it is something you’re unenthusiastic about, you might as well just write them a check.  Ultimately, I believe in giving something you love to someone you love.  You have a much better shot at the gift being a treasured one, and they will always remember it is from you.

Off to wrap packages, and design a wine tote…

Cheers,

Caitlin

Turning over a new leaf–or making one!

After some serious thought we’ve come to the conclusion that the Alere Modern blog has a place in the blogosphere, and one that you might just find incredibly helpful.

So from today forward, we’re focusing on gifts.  Find them, make them, wrap them, give them and receive them.  After all, what is more special than a thoughtful gift?

I have actually been thinking a lot about gifts and gift giving recently (I started my Christmas shopping last month – Christmas in July!  But gifts in December) and what makes a good gift.  I’ve always been told that I’m good at giving gifts, but have never thought much about why or how that has worked.  I’ll explore the art of gift giving with you all, as well as how to package the gift, and write a card so moving you should enclose a tissue with it.  I’ll also bring you gift ideas, and fun things to make that are easy to give, and good to receive!

I hope you enjoy reading these musings.  I know to a lot of people giving gifts can seem like a chore that they’d rather delegate, but there is some fun to be had.  And, at least in my opinion, the better the gift, the more fun it is to give!