Wrapping Spirits

A little parcel recently came from Maker's Mark and tucked inside was the cutest, albeit initially baffling, thing ever. A tiny sweater. It took a while to understand what it was but looking at the card made it all clear, it's a bottle sweater! It slips on top to keep spirits cozy and wrapped up. Hopefully these will make it into Maker's gift shop (best kept secret) soon because they'd be perfect as favors... chalet party style.



Bottle sweater: c/o Maker's Mark

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Shamballa!

Someone near and dear was sweet enough to give this Shamballa bracelet for Christmas and it's been glued to my wrist ever since. The day-to-night version which is perfect for NYE and the new yummy unisex friendship bracelet to give. Have to return the favor!

Stacking them together. Find all sorts, including one similar to my gift and the wooden one above, here.

Bracelets: gift & c/o RCJ -Thank you so very much, love them!

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20's Gift Wrap

Through the turn of the century and into the 20's delicate tissue papers and simple ribbons were in vogue for wrapping presents. It would be another 10 years before Scotch tape was invented so things were rolled and loosely wrapped up.

To see all the eras recreated click to see the full series here.

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Merry Christmas!

"I will hold Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."

- Charles Dickens

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Regency - Victorian Gift Wrap

The Regency era well into the Victorian saw very plainly wrapped gifts, if at all, done in brown papers, sealing wax and twine. Then in the mid 19th century Christmas Crackers (Bon Bons) started to vie for some of the most ornately wrapped gifts at the time. From looking at antique pictures most gifts were not wrapped with silver etched platters, toys, little potted plants such as African Violets and gift books laid as is under the tree.

To see all the eras recreated click to see the full series here.

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Beauty - Gift Guide

Beauty has always been a quick gift to pick out when it's down to the wire! These are a few favorites that have yet to let me down.

- The List -

The Hold Me Bag - Best and most luxurious travel makeup bag ever!

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine and Lancome Lipsticks - These melt into lips like no other and both Chanel and Lancome always create the best pinks

L'Occitane hand cream

Opi Christmas Collection and Zoya nail polishes

The Macadamia Nut Oil gift set - The Healing Oil treatment makes this kit so worth it, it's even better than Moroccan Oil

Physicians Formula Happy Booster powder

Stila "Wonderful in Waikiki" palette - Golden bronze shades, everything in one place

Anything Molton Brown

Kevyn Aucoin travel makeup brushes - Never sheds

Maybelline Eyesudio liner in Blackest Black - Comes with a really good brush which is always nice... give the tool with the makeup! It's extremely black too and perfect for the Parisian flick.

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Bags of Love

A really delicious surprise came today! London based Bags of Love turned this picture into a bag! Can you imagine all the possibilities? At first the thought of galaxy prints came to mind but then that wouldn't have been as personal, still utterly cool, but this I love more now that it's here. This made me think how special it could be to let a budding designer or illustrator create their own bag or to create bags with cute little grand babies all over them. Of course bags are just the start, a complete set of Paris or NYC pillows... done. A throw covered in a very special birthday party... can be done too. See more personalised gifts here.

Bag: c/o Bags of Love, big thank you!

Image: mam & Magda for Gave That

Scented Ornaments

So happy to have found a metal pomander ball to hang on the tree this year and even better it's huge! The perfect size to sneak an orange pomander inside although it comes with a very sugar plumy sachet of its own.

Ornaments & metal pomander: Zodax
DIY Orange Pomander (see the how-to here)

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Bäks Gift Boxes

These reusable gift card holders and boxes by Bäks (pronounced Box) are some of the cutest things ever! Really sturdy and quick to put together, they're perfect as keepsake boxes later on or to hold bits of jewelry. Another major plus, Bäks will be donating 1% of all proceeds from these gift boxes to Operation Smile.

Gift Card holders: c/o Bäks

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Muppet Christmas Nails

These are my personal favorites from the Muppet Christmas collection for OPI... if Dorthy's red shoes were turned into a nail varnish, it would be "Gettin' Miss Piggy With It" and if Deborah Lippmann's "Happy Birthday" had a fraternal twin it would be "Rainbow Connection". "Designer De Bette" is so unique it's in a league of it's own. Totally Studio 56.

Nail Polish: OPI "Rainbow Connection", "Designer De Better" & "Gettin' Miss Piggy With It"

On my nails: OPI "Gettin' Miss Piggy With It" over Revlon "Red Hot Tamale" and OPI "Rainbow Connection" on ring fingers

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Furoshiki - Wrapping Gifts Through Time II

- Part II -

Believed to have started in the 1600's during the Edo Period in Japan, Furoskiki and little anemone inspired "Hide" boxes from Modern Twist, find themselves next in my Wrapping Gifts Through Time series. This time Ross Menuez's Kuma collection based on Japanese textiles for Areaware is used as Otsukai Tsutsumi style gift wrapping. For how to fold this particular Furoshiki look see these previous tutorials here.

To see all the eras recreated click to see the full series here.

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Perfumes - Gift Guide

Perfume is such a personal thing yet, much to my surprise, when asked people said it was one of their go to last minute gift choices. Any chance to talk about perfume is going to be seized upon, you know that, plus its been a little while so here it comes. Personal aromatic favorites from this year to give.

A more recent one would have to be the above Chanel N°5 Eau Premiere. Finally a Chanel for me and probably for you and a loved one as well. A classic bit of luxury to fall back on. Take it from Grandmum, every women (she drilled in) needs to have a Chanel fragrance in her collection! Sort of a right of passage and as the years have gone by the idea is becoming more and more understood. Classically N°5 but so much lighter and fresher with lemon, Manderin orange and pink pepper sticking close to the skin. The dry down is to die for, rich and deep with ylang ylang. Now I can easily answer if I were to only have 1 perfume, what would it be? This one. Eau Premiere.

- The List -

Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere

MOR Marshmallow

Pure DKNY

Twilight Woods

Sensual Black Current Vanilla

Lavanila Vanilla Coconut

Crazylibellule and the Poppies Shanghaijava Encens Mystic

Lanvin Eclat D'Arpege



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Gourmand - Gift Guide

Pondering the thought of using vintage (or new!) picnic baskets in the place of gift boxes. Then stuffing it with all of my favorites from this year.

- The List -

PlateTopper

Polar Bottle Half Twist water bottles

The Hampton Popcorn Company

Oyster knives Pradel + Jean Dubost

DIY Tea Bags & Blends

Green Mountain Coffee in Pumpkin Spice

Counting down the days... see all of my other year end holiday gift picks here.

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Thank You Cards Shop

Amy of the Thank You Cards Shop blog was sweet enough to let me know about a new collection of Christmas thank you cards, bookmarks and gift labels & tags she's just created. Even better Any's created them so you can print them at home for free! See and print the collection here and also be sure to look at her full line of card designs at her shop (love this one so much!).

Thank you Amy!

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Hampton Popcorn

So good! Especially the S'mores, Twix and Butterfinger flavors and of course anything in a cute reusable tin is a major perk. Already eyeing one for holding makeup brushes.

- The List -

The Hampton Popcorn Company


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Expressionables

A while back I had posted about a really novel way to create your very own wrapping paper from the company Gift Skins by Expressionables. It's finally the holidays and time to show this version with the cutest dog ever! Of course your dog would be just as sweet or maybe your friends, either way customized wrapping paper takes novelty prints to the next level.

Wrapping paper: Gift Skins by Expressionables

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Seasons Greetings

Yes, twinkling lights and peppermint flavored hot chocolate, a real highlight right about now but my personal #1 favorite part of the season has always been picking out (or hand making) cards. That and writing little (or rambling) notes to catch and check up on everyone near and dear even though they are quite often so very far away. For a few years it was all Allie Munroe who creates these fun letterpress cards. This year it's going to be something different from letterpress but just looking at these again still cause a smile and really good memories!

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Another Way To Wear Perfume

It's something that seems to happen to everyone at one point or another. A perfume smells incredible on the little paper strip or in the bottle but when it touches the skin it turns twisted and strange. Then the bottle sits collecting dust in some dark corner. There are a few bottles I'm eyeing right now (Flower Bomb!). It happens... especially around the holidays when people pick things out for us. Things we know probably will not work.

For the longest time this has made me think about the eons (back in history) where, ladies at least, would not put perfume on their skin. The whole mingling body chemistry thing wasn't a factor in a perfumers mind because the scent was sprayed on wigs, sprinkled on gloves, puffed on handkerchiefs and locked away in a little vinaigrette.

Even though vinegar based fragrances went out with button top shoes the vinaigrette lockets that housed them still can be found and many are on etsy. Really any locket with perforations will work, including this guitar pick holder by Strum N Comfort (it has the added benefit of aiding peace initiatives). I like using the middle of adhesive bandages because they're the perfect size to pop inside. As the locket lays against the skin it warms the metal and releases its scent all day.



Locket: Strum N Comfort

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Old Keys

"But I was sure of something, too: it’s a lot easier to be lost than found. It’s the reason we’re always searching, and rarely discovered — so many locks, not enough keys." -Sarah Dessen

Earrings: Chan Luu from ShopBop
Necklace: Alisa Michelle
Key: antique

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Making Orange Pomanders

Orange and spice has to be one of my favorite scents during the holidays and really adds some bright warmth to typically frigged days here in the north east. What better way to add a touch here and there naturally than with orange pomanders. In this pomander form plump oranges with a nice thick rind are studded with whole cloves and dusted with cinnamon which preserves them and adds that classic spiciness. After curing for a week they're ready to display in bowls or hung in the branches of your tree!

What You Will Need:
- Oranges for thick skins
- Whole cloves
- Ground cinnamon spice
- Pretty ribbons
- Straight pins
- Paper bag

For the how-to steps see the video below:


These pomanders can last for many years and be reused year after year, with a little freshening up with new cinnamon sprinkled on top from time to time and best of all when they've been thoroughly exhausted of scent, they can be tossed in my compost pile.

Image & Video: mam & Magda for Gave That

Ready for Christmas!

If you've been wondering how many of the DIY projects ended up being used in some of the decorations this year, see the video above. This years theme was rustic Victorian blended with hints of the Gilded Age.

From this Christmas... DIY Glittery pine cones and snowflakes, living wreaths, Origami present ornaments, handmade paper birds for giving back, and orange pomanders.

Image & Video: mam for Gave That

Ceek Sideways Cross

- The List -

Necklace: Ceek

Top: Vintage

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Wrapping Gifts Through Time

- Part I -

Last year a little after Christmas the thought came to mind, how did gifts look back in time? That's when the research started and I knew what I wanted to do this Christmas. Try to recreate the essence and feel of gifts past. Helping immensely has been the amazing Cherchez owner Milo Ohrbach through her books and Eric Hart, the assistant props master at the Public Theater in New York City.

A decadent time seemed a fun place to start and it almost feels as if we've come full circle in that respect. During a good period of time things become a little dull (lot's and lot's of brown paper or none at all) but during the hay day of Marie Antoinette so many decorative crafts came to life. Paper Tole and découpage on hat boxes. Lots of silk and velvet ribbons, tassels, enameled boxes, flowers that would open in your tea cup and ones that were beaded, wax seals and feathers. So this is the beginning... lot's of fun ahead!

To see all the eras recreated click to see the full series here.

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DIY Plant Terrarium

- DIY Gift Idea -

This is another simply DIY project that can make a pretty nifty gift or, centerpiece, especially with three together at the table. Here's how to create your very own terrariums:

Materials Needed:

- Plants (Try to look for ones that do not have leaves or flowers that drop as this can cause mold and rot. Also look for ones that stay relatively miniature and do not have vines or rapid growth. Some good examples are mosses, miniature ferns, Peperomias, and air plants. Here I'm using some of my faves, little hen's & chicks)
- Charcoal (found in the aquarium section of pet stores)
- Potting soil
- Stones &/or pebbles
- Fresh growing mosses
- A glass jar with or without a lid

How To Do It:

Start by cleaning the container very well and making sure there are no chemical residue left on the glass. Using a paper tube, the charcoal can form the first layer at the bottom. This helps keep the water clean. Then the stones can come next and then a thin layer of dirt. On top the moss should form a thick mat and that could be a complete garden but others plants can be added too towards the center. Add a little bit of water and that's it. If there is a lid every once in a while take it off to let fresh air inside. It's also best to keep terrariums out of full direct sun because plants can become fried. With these terrariums I've been able to grow little ferns and even miniature African violets which are usually a real challenge to grow because of how quickly they dry out from indoor heat.



Image: mam for Gave That