Not the Same 'Ole Thing! (but from some 'ole thing...)

I recently bought a set of nesting measuring spoons, each in the shape of a gardening shovel with birds on the handles, as a thank you gift for my mom. I wanted to wrap it in a unique way and was inspired to try my hand at making paper bows after coming across an article in the spring 2011 issue of GreenCraft Magazine, published by Stampington & Company. (Tracie Lampie of www.radicalrecycks.com was the contributing designer.)

What I especially love about this idea is how each and every bow is unique and you can easily create any “theme” you want just by choosing a page from a related publication that has whatever images you like or need. In the image above I found a feature on homemade chutney in a 2009 Country Living.

So, for my mom’s present I selected a page that featured garden images. Some other ideas I’ve come up with include using typeface for a book or stationary present, pages from a tool or golf catalog for a guy's gift, fashion images for a clothing item… can you see the possibilities? I like how clean the look can be, too.

One year at Christmas I used fresh flowers from the garden (it was southern California and there were roses, bougainvillea, pansies and a few other things I can’t remember now) with various satin ribbons. Each person’s “bow” was one of a kind and they loved them!

What unique ideas have you come across or devised for embellishing presents? Feel free to share in the comments below!