(gen says...) backtracking: a christmas post

From Gen:

"I have finally caught my breath from a crazy holiday season and wanted to share a few photos from our "Cabin Christmas" in Nashville!

Christmas Dinner: This year for our family Christmas dinner, I set the table with little christmas treats for everyone! I am just in love with these Jonathan Adler Christmas ornaments- the turquoise box is adorable and adds the perfect hit of color to our red dot paper table cloth...from Ikea.

Family Photo: Ready for the holiday festivities to begin! I am a huge fan of anything vintage! I found this amazing Jade Green Silk Dress last year at a thrift store and finally had it altered-just in time for the holiday party season! Benjamin's bow tie and pocket square are thrift store treasures as well.

Christmas Tree: Our Christmas Tree is filled with vintage treasures and hand made ornaments created by our kids..I just love the eclectic feel of old meets new!

Gift details: I love wrapping christmas gifts...unfortunately I am always in a last minute rush to finish. To save time and find the best bargains...I usually stock up on my favorite wrapping paper, ribbon, and gift tags at the end of the christmas season. This year I stock piled "loads" of this Red and White dot paper from Ikea! I am just in love with this pattern!

Vintage Santa: My favorite new Christmas decoration- picked up at a thrift store for $20.

Christmas morning breakfast tradition: Every year my husband makes the yummiest Eggs Benedict for Christmas breakfast! Yes..those fabulous red napkins are also from Ikea!

Oden playing legos: My mother's christmas tradition was to give my brother and I new Christmas jammies each year on Christmas eve. This year I carried on the tradition for Oden with these darling green and red stripe PJ's from Hanna Andersson.

Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season!!!! -Gen"

more pretty holiday

This girl is sooo talented, I eat up everything she does. And she's only 21! (Makes me feel old to write that). If you haven't checked out A Field Journal...get yourself over there- now!

Some of her pretty Christmas wrappings, above.

new blog love (and great gift wrapping ideas)

I love when I stumble upon a new (to me) blog. So much inspiration from allerliebst right here! Maybe my christmas presents will look half as good as hers next year...

owl love this idea forever

Another amazing handmade gift bag via d. sharp! 

the exchange

Every year Gen and I have an unspoken competition as to who can out-package each other's birthday gift. Our birthdays are a week apart, so we usually exchange gifts sometime in late April. It's not so much about what is in the package, but how the package is wrapped. While I'm desperate to see what treasures are inside, I try to linger on the wrapping for as long as I can stand. She always, always out does me! Though to my credit this year- I was preparing for a dinner party while also trying to wrap- it didn't get the attention it deserved. Next year, I will try again...

gift toppers

I'm in love with Denise's collection of silver gift toppers.

vintage wrapping

Pretty vintage wrapping paper here.

xoxo

thank you, gen & odie.

one word

brilliant! from d.sharp

organizing pressie

Gen's pressies never disappoint. Of course, half the gift is the wrapping itself! This year she bestowed me with some organizing lovelies for a desktop. 

gift wrapping shout-outs

As I'm still adjusting to our tree situation, I figured this week would be a great time to direct you to some favorite holiday posts out in blogland. Today, I give you: great gift-wrapping ideas. 

From top: Linda & Harriet ornament-topped package and kraft paper wrap via Frolic; Style Court has a whole series on gift-wrapping, see bird and blue and orange combinations here; M.A. Belle's cute, eco-friendly gift-wrap is super chic with the torn fabric ribbon; dsharp continues to inspire and amaze me with all of her unique gift-wrap creations (6,7,8,9,10)...my favorite is the paint-chip dot ribbons!; Creature Comforts has been featuring some very creative d.i.y. creations such as the Target-bag pom-pom topped gift and Arial-lettered presents; lastly- Absolutely Beautiful Things featured these super easy gingham bags with a great idea- hang the bags from a tree as decor then distribute to friends!

pressies out the door

Some gifts on their way out the door...from top: my son's teacher's gifts (inspired by our holiday card), girl baby shower present, baptism gift (I love that I can still use my 6-year old wedding table cards as gift cards!), and a first birthday present. 

oh, ikea!

I didn't mean to abandon you for the weekend without fair warning. I headed off to Atlanta for a quick trip, and was crazed trying to get out of the house. I visited the usual places while I was in town, including (of course), IKEA! I picked up some great gift wrap. So in love with these two sets...the pictures don't do it justice. The heart gift wrap and blue dots are so lovely. And the scroll-y bags are great for odd-sized objects.

Maybe one day we'll have an IKEA in Nashville, but for now, I will continue to make a bi-annual pilgrimage. 

gift wrap 'buckles'

I love these gift wrap 'buckles' by etsy seller dsharp. $5.50 each, ribbon included.

the latest

I'm loving the latest gift installment in Denise Sharp's 'Bestow' collection. 

and another lovely...

From designer Brooke Hellewell. Love it!

gift wrap

I love this striking present wrapped by Denise Sharp. She incorporated a vintage house number and a chipboard letter U, coated with glass glitter and tied together with a bit of silver cord. So beautiful!

on the way out the door...

Some pressies on their way out the door: 

1) a baby book shower gift: The Giving Tree wrapped in Target gift wrap. The paper reminded me of the apples on the tree, with ruler ribbon vaguely referencing the story of the boy growing up and the passage of time (yes, I'm reading way too much into the ribbon).

2) A cd I made for some friends who are considering a move to the 'ville with city- inspired tunes.

wrapping 101

I purchased a 'pull along puppy' from Phillips Toy Mart for Jack's 1st birthday party. The theme was dog days of summer, and from the pictures his mom sent, it looks like he had a blast! 

The pull puppy was challenging to wrap, with open sides on both the top and bottom. My solution was to secure the sides with thick stock cardboard paper, which I had leftover from some Epson paper packs. This gave the present the hard edges I needed to get crisp corners on the gift wrapping, while also preventing the paper from caving in on the sides.