It's a Wrap! - August

Hello Crate Paper fans! Welcome to another installment of "It's a Wrap" as we say good bye to the month of August. (Where did this month go!) I have a very good craft friend coming to visit us tomorrow and I've been trying to decide on a small welcome gift to present to her upon her arrival. Just a little something that says "welcome friend! It's so good to see you again!"

When it comes to my craft & scrapbooking friends, I like to give away gifts that I would like to receive! I originally thought that the idea or concept of a little welcome craft themed basket would have been super cute, unfortunately my search efforts for a small-ish type basket turned up nothing useful. Now, I'm not one to let go of an idea once it settles into my head, so I decided to rethink the whole basket idea.. keep the welcome gift concept and just change the container!

What about a glass jar? I have, at any point in time, upwards of at least 3 dozen glass jars in various shapes and sizes, surely I could find one that would live up to my creative vision. The idea of being able to see through a jar and it's contents being visible made the idea even more playful! Yes, I believe I'm sold on a glass jar!

After I decided on a medium sized jar with a lid, it was time to think about what to include inside. Knowing that my friend Jessica had already requested something along the lines of a travel kit with the colors: grey & coral, I set about my craft room to create a collection of found, vintage and handmade embellishments! Again, I thought about what type of scrapbooky things I would like to receive and it made the process of putting together this 'Welcome Jar' incredibly easy!

Here's a few ideas for items to include in a (Craft) Jar:

buttons
handmade flowers
trims, lace, ribbon
tags, flashcards
beads
stickers
chipboard pieces

After collecting everything I could find, I carefully filled my jar to the top!

Don't forget to make a gift-tag! I took my inspiration from the jar itself and created this mason-jar tag layered with chipboard pieces, (from the Pretty Party Collection) a couple of handmade flags and a little row of sparkly rhinestones!

Here's where I got into an epic debate with myself no less: to wrap or not to wrap? Ordinarily, I'd say always gift-wrap a present - it's the icing on a cake. (and afterall, this series of posts was named after my love of giftwrap!) But, I think in this case the answer is: unwrapped. I love all of the little bits-n-bobs that went into the glass jar and to cover it all up would take away from the whimsy of this gift. So, I'm leaving it unwrapped!

This welcome jar idea could easily translate into other themes too; a child's birthday, new home, welcome baby, best teacher in the world.... all you need is a jar and a little imagination! Thanks for joining me today and I hope you enjoyed this month's It's a Wrap post! Have a wonderful and creative weekend!

Comments

That is so cool!

Posted by: Tamika | August 31, 2012 at 06:35 AM

wow. Everything about this is just over-the-top gorgeous! Seriously! You made my heart skip a beat! The photos, the way you styled them and everything you created are just stunning! Thank you so much for sharing so much beauty with us, your forever fans!

Posted by: Traveling Mama | August 31, 2012 at 06:49 AM