designsgirl

ladies: olaf hajek wrap

Sometimes I wish to make a wrapped package particularly personal and cover a gift with images that I know the recipient loves- a favorite artist or flower- for example.

Here, I copied one of my favorite images from illustration artist Olaf Hajek's book black antoinette: the work of olaf hajek and used it to adorn a friend's birthday present.

declaration of love no. 6

designsgirl loves wrapping pretty packages so for this "Declaration of Love", she stapled together SugarBoo ledger love notes to create a special wrapping paper for her beloved.

pretty packages: succulents and table wrap

I have found that Cake Vintage Table & Home paper products make the most wonderful wrapping paper and here I embellished a scrap of black archival table wrap with twine and succulents from our backyard.

pretty packages: kitsch and postcards

My mother gave me a fabulous Frieda Khalo postcard set and I decided the images would be perfect for a kitschy gift wrap.

For a super kitschy look, apply stickers, tape, flowers, and ephemera with abandon.

pretty packages: oddments

I like to challenge myself to use bits and pieces and things I already have in my studio to decorate packages. Here, I found a piece of trim and a bottle stopper to make a Victorian-style gift box.

pretty packages: geodes and watercolor

I love how the crackled, fissured texture of the geode magnets matches the texture of the bright-hued watercolor paper I found at Anthropologie.

A metal box makes the magnets secure. To see more gift wrap ideas, vist designsgirl.com.

partridge in a pear tree gift wrap

designsgirl hand illustrated this "Partridge in a Pear Tree" for her "Twelve Days of Christmas" themed gift paper which is a sumptuous vellum for wrapping beautiful packages.

Now available at "hello love".

"hello love" christmas wrap

designsgirl is very excited about her 2012 holiday product launch featuring "The Twelve Days of Christmas" theme.

The line features this luxurious vellum wrapping paper and matching gift tags, postage stamp designs, and rubber stamps with individual hand drawn illustrations of each of images from "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and also calligraphy-embellished plates. 

Gift wrap now available at "hello love". Other products coming in October.

 

 

 

setting new sites

By the end of this year, designsgirl will have a new website- a place of glorious images of all of the things she loves and projects in which she is immersed. 

Some of the new features will be lovely place settings with calligraphy touches and unique paper goods and gift wrapping ideas.

My magazine partner Laura Dombrowski, who is a talented webmaster, will create the new look and contribute her fetching photography.

Images by designsgirl

interlude: tissue rosettes

My funky mixed media artist of a mom creates the coolest things.

Here she took a few sheets of toilet tissue (or you may experiment with tissue paper), wet them so that that they were damp and pushed them into a silicone candy mold. She let the tissue dry overnight (make sure it is completely dry) and then out comes beautiful rosettes to sew onto a package or to use as garland.

interlude: equine sentimental

I am not particularly sentimental about my belongings, but like most people, I have a favorite article of clothing with which I refuse to part.

It is this conversation-starter of a skirt made by Claude Brown that I have owned for 15 years. What I love about it is its humor, art and sassiness and, when I wear it, people can call me a horse's ass and I do not take offense.

interlude: "the art of gift wrapping"

Yes, we fanatics of beautiful gift wrapping have an insatiable appetite for pretty packages and "The Art of Gift Wrapping" by Soolip owner Wenda Wen helps satisfy our craving for more creative wrapping ideas.