The Beauty of a Gift!

Hi all and welcome to another Bring Back Beautiful challenge! THE CHALLENGE FOR OCTOBER: As we get closer to the season of giving, let’s take the wraps off your creativity to come up with beautiful ways to gift give. Do you have a fun template for a beautiful box? Or, do you have a beautiful presentation for gift cards? Show us what you’ve got! Link up your Bringing Back Beautiful Challenge card here on this post to enter using the inlinkz widget. If you upload to SCS, please use the keyword BBB03. You have until October 30th to enter!

Now... to my "gift"! Since we are entering cold and flu season, there really isn't anything better than a warm cup of cider full of vitamin C when you come down with a case of the sniffles. So, my creation is meant to be slipped into an envelope to share some cheer with those friends who are a bit under the weather!

When I first laid eyes on Flourishes' new Apple of my Eye set, I just knew that one time, I would want to paper piece the entire branch... leaves, flowers, apples and all! So, using the Prima Annalee 6 by 6 paper, I literally ripped page by page. The green is actually from 7Gypsies Victorian paper pack. I just stamped the branch multiple times on different decorative papers. Then... the cutting-fest began! I did decide to add some depth by adding color to portions of my flowers and leaves with the help of some Copic pens. I used RV02 and RV00 on the petals and G24 on the leaves. Add some white to the centers of the flowers with the help of an Inkssentials pen and you're pretty much done! After I added all my "pieces" to the base, I did some shading with E53, blending with a Copic Blending Pen. Mat it up on some decorative paper, add some stitching and... voila!

Now to the gift part!! Here's a peek at the tag that sits on the top sending well wishes!

And, when you tug on this ribbon, you can reveal the treat inside! I've made a ton of these in the past -- mostly with hot chocolate. But, I think, no matter what you put inside, it's a fun little surprise. To make the sleeve, you just litterally fold the paper around whatever you stuff inside. Keep the bottom open and punch some holes at the top to allow the ribbon to slide through. Easy Peasy!

Want to see how our Beauty Girls tapped into the beauty of a gift... hop on over and see....

Beate Johns
Becca Feeken
Cindy Coutts
Kathy Jones
Yvonne Hagane
Michelle Woerner

Thanks for stopping by and sharing a bit of your day with me! I'll see you back here soon!