Yeah, not only is the paper vintage, so is the joke.^[1]

If I'd been a bit more on the ball, I would've wrapped these 1:1 (square) pads for an artist who really likes working in those dimensions in a square box, but having just returned from Japan, I was pretty out of it, and so settled for this rectangular box instead.

vintage map, black plastic beads & flocked snowflake, black paper crinkles, black and silver shreds, silver ribbon & decorations, white satin & curling ribbons, red apple accent; hot glue; sony ILCE 7C, 90mm sony macro lens; f/2.8 ev-0.3, 1/100s, ISO 3200; lightened & cropped in gimp.

A bit of red curling ribbon was too much, but a shiny red apple was just right to bring out the red accents in the map (of an appropriately square county in the western lower peninsula of Michigan, IIRC:) and it seemed appropriate for a grad, as well.

Another shot, this time outdoors—f/4.0, +0.3ev, 1/500s, ISO 100—though framed too tightly, I think it's otherwise a better photo.

Attempting a proper studio shot—which on the black plexi would've been splendid, had I gotten it to work—was just too daunting in my jet-lagged state, so I tried a second photo outside, and a bit of hazy sun on the front of the gift and shadow in back of it, which set off the vertical silver components, conspired to make this a fairly successful outdoor shot.^[2]

Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.