MERRY CHRISTMAS!

CHRISTMAS GIFTS 2010
CHRISTMAS GIFTS 2010
CHRISTMAS GIFTS 2010
CHRISTMAS GIFTS 2010


After finishing my exams this year, I hit the Christmas spirit hard (sorry to all of you who do not celebrate Christmas and have had to endure the bevy of holiday posts recently; we will get back to normal next week). I had an especially great time wrapping all the presents I had bought for family and friends. I literally spent hours on this, but am pretty proud of the results!

These are but a taste of the photos I took of my creations; you can see the whole slew of them here. I thought I would share some tips for unusual wrapping supplies that I found particularly fun and, I am pleased to say, economical! Wrap away!


CHRISTMAS GIFTS 2010

Despite my growing collection of pretty holiday wrapping papers, I decided to wrap everything in either brown or white butcher paper (bought from my local Staples for about $6 each for a big roll) so that I could really play with the tags, bows, etc. Overall I went pretty crazy using my decorative tape collection (especially those pretty washi masking tapes; many of which I bought here and here), but I also enjoyed testing out some other fun options.

In this case I used some free printable labels (see here, here and here), baker's twine and little office supply stickers in red, green, blue and yellow. I think the end result is rather Kate Spade, no?


CHRISTMAS GIFTS 2010

I also made a bunch of snowflakes out of origami paper and added them to the tops of packages or, in this case, under a layer or two of bright turquoise crepe paper.


CHRISTMAS GIFTS 2010

I had the crepe paper on hand because I finally broke down and decided to make a surprise ball for my boyfriend instead of a stocking. It came out more like a surprise egg because I had to fit so much stuff in it, but I still thought it would be fun. I topped it with some washi masking tape and a tiny paper tree I had leftover from making my snowflakes. Not bad, right?


CHRISTMAS GIFTS 2010

And, when all else fails, you can't go wrong with a pretty gift bag. I picked this baby up at my local T.J.Maxx for about a $1.50. They always have an amazing selection of gift wrap available at reasonable prices.

Hope these help to get you in the wrapping mood and hope you have a wonderful holiday! Feel free to write me a little note about your decorating or wrapping tips in the comments to keep me busy until I return next Wednesday or so (headed on vacation today, hooray!). Until then, happy holidays!


CHRISTMAS VIDEOS, TAKE TWO


A couple more cool christmas-y videos that I couldn't resist sharing with you all. How funny is this video of Justin Timberlake dancing on the Ellen show? It seems (based on this video too) he has no trouble looking adorable and cool in a giant holiday costume!



This is pretty sweet too. I love the google search videos, but this is particularly creative! I mean, seriously, how funny is the checkbox on the directions page that says "Avoid Romans"? Great!

(Thanks to swissmiss for the heads up, as usual)


DEDICATION, DETERMINATION, SPORTSMANSHIP




A beautiful summary of a beautiful streak (that, hopefully, will continue!). These women over countless years and in the face of countless challenges have continued to inspire and play their gosh darn heart out.

Talk about an inspirational story for the holiday season.

I know I am an unabashed UCONN fan (see here). But anyone who likes sports or has played sports, men or women, can appreciate the amount of dedication, determination and sportsmanship it takes to not only win, but to settle for nothing less than their absolute best (day in and day out, every minute of every game) all while respecting each opposing team they play.

I am usually too superstitious to post about the season while it is going on, but this was simply too important to pass up. I mean, really, it is one of the best Christmas presents I—or any UCONN fan—could have asked for.

Read more great coverage over at ESPN here.

And, on the off chance that one of the Huskies is reading this: congratulations!

p.s. How great is it to be a UCONN fan right now? The boys basketball team is doing well, the football team is the Fiesta bowl . . . awesome!




TECHNO CHRISTMAS



Along the lines of this techo-happy post, I thought I would share this great holiday video created by the England-based web-design company Torchbox. The video features animation on a group of iPads, all arranged and rearranged to create a festive wintry scene. Love it!

Check out the Torchbox website here and follow them on Twitter here.


(Thanks for the heads up Black*Eiffel!)


LET IT DOUGH!

CHRISTOPH NIEMANN
CHRISTOPH NIEMANN
CHRISTOPH NIEMANN
CHRISTOPH NIEMANN
CHRISTOPH NIEMANN
CHRISTOPH NIEMANN
CHRISTOPH NIEMANN
CHRISTOPH NIEMANN
CHRISTOPH NIEMANN
CHRISTOPH NIEMANN
CHRISTOPH NIEMANN

Okay, I realize that this is a really long post. But I simply couldn't cut it down! As you might be able to guess (given my past obsession here and here) these amazing dough-sprinkle creations are Christoph Niemann's latest post on his kick-butt awesome blog Abstract City (written for the New York Times). His creativity, playfulness and execution get me every time. I mean, after this, I am seriously putting all my assets in sprinkles!

See more goodness here and check out Niemann's portfolio here.

p.s. Still looking for a fun holiday gift? I would highly recommend Niemann's fabulous book (based on this); it's reasonably priced and perfect for the Manhattanite in your life. Check it out here.

p.p.s. Did you have a great weekend? I was sad to see we missed the snowstorm we were promised, but I had a great day exploring all the holiday offerings of the city . . . festive store windows, holiday pop up shops, the Rockefeller Center decorations, carolers in Central Park, this delicious hot chocolate, so much fun! Let me know what you got up to in the comments!


FEELING MAGICAL

SPARKLE PRINT BY ABBY TRYS AGAIN
GLOBULAR CLUSTER
.1722


There are so many things to be happy about today:

+ the bright, crisp winter weather
+ crafty holiday projects
+ christmas traditions with friends and family
+ fun "errands" (shopping!) for the weekend
+ cooking christmas cookies and a special meal for the bf
+ and finishing my final exams!

I am looking forward to getting back to regular postings next week. Until then check out these gorgeous photographs and more "light upon reflection" inspiration on my pinterest board here.




PRESENT & CORRECT

PRESENT & CORRECT
PRESENT & CORRECT
PRESENT & CORRECT
PRESENT & CORRECT
PRESENT & CORRECT

Have you guys checked out the selection of amazing office supplies at Present & Correct lately? It's pretty awesome. I could so use some of those sweet geometric sticky notes right now!


PRESENT & CORRECT ADVENT

And how about this super cool stencil advent calendar? Love it!

Check it this stuff and lots more goodness at the Present & Correct website here.


(I will try to do one more post before exams are over and then back to regularly schedule programming next week!)




GUILTY PLEASURES


I can almost taste the freedom. Only four days and twenty more pages to go. Thank you for bearing with me!

In the meantime I thought I would share with you a couple guilty (video) pleasures that have been keeping me sane during the killer finals period. First up, this adorable belly-flopping corgi . . .



. . . and an amazingly entertaining and fun singing show . . .



. . . and this incredible video of the Vikings' Metrodome collapsing. I know it's completely terrifying, but somehow its kind of magical to see all that cascading snow, no?

Okay, back to work!


CHRISTMAS NISSE

NISSE 3
NISSE 1
NISSE 2
NISSE GLOBES
NISSE HARBOR BATH
NISSE ROCK
NISSE XMAS BAR
NISSE XMAS TRAFFIC
NISSE SHOPPING RAMP
NISSE BIKE PARK


I am totally smitten with this amazing project—exploring the secret life of Christmas Nisse (Scandinavian elves) through architectural snow globes—by JAJA Architects. If they put these babies up for sale, I would buy one in a second! See more images (and other great projects) here.


(Found via Black*Eiffel)


FROM THE ARCHIVES: AND SO IT BEGINS

ITALY SUNRISE


I am now in the throes of exam time and, alas, cannot promise a post everyday . . . at least until December 17 when everything is due. I will still try to post as much as I can, but I hope you will bear with me as I attempt to research and write 35 pages worth of take home exams! Yikes!

Think smart, productive thoughts for me . . .

(Photo taken by me, above Italy, June 2008)


FREE HOLIDAY TAG WRAP UP, PART 3

MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAYMARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY
MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAYMARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY
MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAYMARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY
MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAYMARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY
MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAYMARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY
MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAYMARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY
MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAYMARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY
MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAYMARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY
MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY
MARTHA STEWART HOLIDAY


Welcome to part three of my holiday printable tag round up! Today is focused entirely on the amazing selection on offer at Martha Stewart's website 'Santa's Workshop'. Not only does she have a great tutorial on holiday gift bags, but she also has a huge range of clip art tags for every possible taste and gift.

Find all of the above tags and many more at her website here.

(Tomorrow will be the last free printables post, focusing on packaging! See you then . . . )