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the various and sundry creations of sylvus tarn
Giftwrapping Gallery
Or, Another Example of Needless Complication

Once upon a time I used to make people gifts. –You know, the spirit of Christmas and let's avoid all that commercialism, and show our love by giving something of ourselves. This is a sweet idea, but since the gifts a) usually took a lot of time b) cost at least twice as much as I would have spent, and, the kicker, c) people often didn't like them, I gave up.

Gift wrapping, on the other hand, strikes me as a way to have my cake and eat it too. I can still purchase, for a reasonable sum, in a reasonable amount of time, with a reasonable expectation that the recipient will like it (or can take it back) a gift, and put the personal touch in the wrapping. A scavenger by nature, I collect the bows, ribbons and even paper during the holidays, supplementing those with 75–90% off bargains (never pay more than 10 cents for a spool of that offray ribbon), and garage sales. Of all my hobbies, this one allows my bargain hunting sensibilities the greatest scope, and I positively delight in putting seemingly useless objects to good purpose–because the wrapping is only for a short while, items that are broken or worn or not of the highest quality do very well.

The largest financial cost is actually space: it's just not practical to wrap on this scale without an area set aside—in my case, an old table, (which doubles as a laundry table) stacked with a dozen or so milk crates my neighbors thoughtfully left on their trash piles after absconding with them from the local party shops, set up in the driest corner of the basement. They lay sideways, with bags of ribbons and bows sorted by color, a box of fabric ribbons, and one of those little storage boxes whose drawers hold the tools—glue gun, scissors, tape, wire cutters (for silk flowers) and so forth within. One also needs to keep an assortment of boxes on hand. Wrapping is enough of a bore without a good firm foundation over which to lay the paper.

Even an extremely elaborately wrapped and decorated gift doesn't usually take more than 45 minutes to do: and let it be said, I don't actually like to wrap presents, which I suppose is one reason it took me so long to come up with this idea. In fact, my wrapping is usually awful—not for me those crisp corners! I like to decorate gifts. Because the covering by its nature is emphermeral, it combines (for me) the idea of something handmade, attractive, and, since it is fleeting, without a cost associated with it—in effect, a gift of time, and a bit of myself. (But 45 minutes is still a good bit of effort. So I take photos, which perhaps undermines the sentiment a little.)

20241126

autumn wedding giftwrap 26nov2024

 
20240529

black & silver grad's gift on map paper 29may2024

 
20240111

2022 summery floral giftwrap 11jan2024

 
20240110

Romance of the Rose giftwrap 10jan2024

 
20240108

Fish skeleton paper makes a reappearance 08jan2024

 
20240109

metallic star giftwrap 09jan2024

 
20240106

metallic floral giftwrap with turquoise snowflake 06jan2024

 
20240105

black and silver flocked giftwrap 05jan2024

 
20240104

printmaking designed paper with black and silver decorations 04jan2024

 
20240103

Black, gold and silver giftwrapping elegance 03jan2024

 
20240102

B&W stripes accent pine and white wrapping paper 02jan2024

 
20231231

2nd in a series of blue-with-bronze-stars giftwrap 31dec2023

 
20231229

Take 2 on this gorgeous burgundy paper... 29dec2023

 
20231230

Autumn leaves gift 30dec2023

 
20240101

Autumn themed giftwrap for the solstice. Or Xmas. Or mebbe the new year, actually.... 01jan2024

 
20231227

brown, bronze, and gold giftwrap on ivory paper 27dec2023

 
20231228

solstice gift featuring fish skeleton paper 28dec2023

 
20231226

bronze, brown and rich blue giftwrap 26dec2023

 
20231225

sloppy giftwarp lowers expectations. 25dec2023

 
20231225

2023 burgundy gold gift 25dec2023

 
20231215

giftwrap with a badly edited background 15dec2023

 
20231205

Baby vintage giftwrap in coral. 05dec2023

 
20231108

magnolia and brown paper giftwrap, versions 1 & 2. 08nov2023

 
20230223

Black and red plaid, silver and black ornaments 23feb2023

 
20230222

candycane giftwrap w silver snowflake 22feb2023

 
20230221

Black and white music note themed gift 21feb2023

 
20230220

Giftwrap again. Cuz it's fast 'n' easy 20feb2023

 
20230220

Black snowflakes accent red and silver wrapping 20feb2023

 
20230109

Page inspired giftwrap 09jan2023

 
20221128

green and white giftwrap for a college grad 28nov2022

 
20210606

Red, black and white giftwrap with silver touches 06jun2021

 
20210510

Henna'ed giftwrap in earth tones. 10may2021

 
20210128

Three henna inspired gifts with an Autumn colour scheme from 2017. 28jan2021

 
20210129

henna inspo in dull, upcycled earth greens, browns & tans 29jan2021

 
20210126

A giftwrap with a three year span... 26jan2021

 
20210125

Another robot gift wrap; playing with Gimp's modes 25jan2021

 
20210122

white on silver & black on silver for a double-decorated gift by Page from 2018 22jan2021

 
20210121

robot giftwrap with antennas 21jan2021

 
20210119

I get a little silly with silver pipe cleaners. 2018 gift finally delivered in Jan 2021. 19jan2021

 
20210118

unusual paper with a victorian flair 18jan2021

 
20210120

double (or triple) green and red gift 20jan2021

 
20210106

Epiphany giftwrap 06jan2021

 
20210101

mountain inspired gift with pine greens, browns and golds for an avid hiker 01jan2021

 
20201230

Red and white xmas giftwrap with snowflake 30dec2020

 
20201228

Another gift using that hydrangea silk flower... 28dec2020

 
20201228

Fran's love of geometric pattern shines in her giftwrap. 28dec2020

 
20201227

brightly nontraditional colour scheme for xmas 27dec2020

 
20201226

Blue, blue, blue giftwrap xmas prezzie for Page 26dec2020

 
20200730

giftwrap in the sunflower series, using Raoul Dufy paper 30jul2020

 
20200731

Giftwrap with salvaged supplies featuring sunflower & pine cones 31jul2020

 
20210127

glorious gold and burgundy giftwrap from 2019 27jan2021

 
20220314

2019 brown and burgundy gift 14mar2022

 
20200109

2019 cobalt blue snowflake giftwrap with silver & blue 09jan2020

 
20200108

midnight blue and white gift 08jan2020

 
20200107

pretty patterned paper with red, gold & blue 07jan2020

 
20200106

2019 xmas tree, with all the ornaments 06jan2020

 
20200102

Raoul Dufy giftwrap featuring a red rose & white snowflake 02jan2020

 
20191231

red and white striped gift 31dec2019

 
20200101

sky blue trimmed with metallic silver giftwarp 01jan2020

 
20191230

brown wallpaper with hydrangea giftwrap 30dec2019

 
20191223

diagonal gift wrap technique 23dec2019

 
20191220

2017 reindeer gift with green velvet and brown dot ribbons 20dec2019

 
20191219

White angel topper hovers above a blue wrapped gift 19dec2019

 
20191218

blue and silver gift 18dec2019

 
20191217

reindeer wrapping reappears in '17 with silver thread wrapped red balls. 17dec2019

 
20191216

vivid green paper provides a backdrop for fancy ribbon in this 2015 xmas gift. 16dec2019

 
20191213

2015 xmas giftwrap features partridge & ivy 13dec2019

 
20191212

reindeer snowflake giftwrap from 2015 12dec2019

 
20191209

2018 red gift with snowflake. 09dec2019

 
20191210

tall red gift with yellow feather 10dec2019

 
20191210

tall white gift with white star garlanding, silver snowflake. 10dec2019

 
20181214

black, olive green & white giftwrap on a zigzag striped box 14dec2018

 
20181213

a bit of image editing rescuses this garden/bouquet style silk flower gift wrap, made in Jul2014 13dec2018

 
20181207

Silk flowers in peaches, pinks & garnet decorate a burgundy & orange box. 07dec2018

 
20181206

Twofer: 2 Springy giftwraps for the end of Autumn 06dec2018

 
20181205

Orange and green gift riffing off the base box. 05dec2018

 
20181204

Mini-wrap features reversible blue & silver ribbon 04dec2018

 
20181203

little gift in winter holiday colours 03dec2018

 
20180402

springy lace & pink floral giftwrap. 02apr2018

 
20180523

a wftda coloured giftwrap with henna inspirations for a fresh meat derby trainer 23may2018

 
20171215

2017 guild exchange 15dec2017

 
20181212

2011 green, lime & red wrap with pinkish metallicized beads 12dec2018

 
20181211

2 2011 gifts featuring silver foil paper with blue, green & fuchsia ribbon 11dec2018

 
20181210

floral and geometric ribbons, some beads & a brass horn on a plain white gift 10dec2018

 
20180406

Optical illusion makes a red ribbon look brown. 06apr2018

 
20171023

sunflower & henna decorated gift... 23oct2017

 
20161017

Pink and green gift. 17oct2016

 
20160603

red rose giftwrap. 03jun2016

 
20160602

Denim-y blue floral giftwrap for someone whose favourite colour that is. 02jun2016

 
20160601

giftwrap in turquoise and coral 01jun2016

 
20160426

More floral giftwrap for 2016 spring. 26apr2016

 
20160425

Spring giftwrap celebrates flowers & butterflies 25apr2016

 
20150826

summer giftwrap using winter paper 26aug2015

 
20150325

light orangey pink floral giftwrap 25mar2015

 
20140324

Blue map giftwrap with spring flowers including tulip. 24mar2014

 
20150322

warm golden tones underpin this sunflower themed giftwrap 22mar2015

 
20150131

Blue giftwrap with red flower: a winter gift. 31jan2015

 
20150126

Tan, brown and vintage lace-edged red ribbon make up a winter themed giftwrap 26jan2015

 
20140808

Summer giftwrap with autumny sunflowers—orange, yellow, blue and chromoxide green. 08aug2014

 
20140326

Black and red dominate this elegant giftwrapping job with a 50s moderne touch. 26mar2014

 
20131208

Yet another variation/recycling of the blue & gold giftwrap 08dec2013

 
20130604

Scraps come together beautifully in this country-craft colored giftwrap. 04jun2013

 
20130419

Wire edged patriotic ribbon once again comes to the rescue... 19apr2013

 
20130418

Red, white and blue tulle patriotic wrappings (from 2011). 18apr2013

 
20130402

soft, romantic pink florals combine with the richness and elegance of gold paper. 02apr2013

 
20130328

The old windows, worn chair and matte antique wrapping, combined with the effect of lensbaby, combine for kind of a fun effect. 28mar2013

 
20130327

Giftwrap in classic red and green on matte brown paper 27mar2013

 
20130326

Elegant giftwrap with single chrysanthemum. 26mar2013

 
20130325

Winter giftwrap on the edge of Spring. 25mar2013

 
20130321

Giftwrap with three strands of beads—given the color scheme, probably a late xmas gift 21mar2013

 
20130224

I giftwrapped a forgotten xmas prezzie in February. 24feb2013

 
20130220

Purple, green and gold giftwrap for a New Orleans themed `Fat Tuesday' party. 20feb2013

 
20130214

I didn't have enough mauvey pink paper to cover this box, so I added some red and white striped stuff. Then I had to make everything fit together. Somehow. 14feb2013

 
20121009

saturated primary colors made more vivid with metallic accents make for a very bright set o stripes. 09oct2012

 
20121007

Japan is `Land of the Rising Sun' and the red and white stripes of this giftwrap reflect its contents' country of origin 07oct2012

 
20121212

Red, green, white and silver polkadot gift with metallicized red snowflake, ribbons and even pink silk flowers. Yum. 12dec2012

 
20120509

It's spring, and it's pink: the season and recipient are all the excuse I need to go with flowers, lace, and fluff. Yes, even I do girly-girl once in awhile. 09may2012

 
20180213

Fuchsia, peach, and pinks—and of course—white florals combine for a valentine's giftwrap 13feb2018

 
20111223

I ``help'' a hapless student wrap a present. 23dec2011

 
20171205

featuring a gift from 25dec2007. 05dec2017

 
20240522

I mixed silk flowers, beads and ribbons to decorate this gift in blue and white. note: page created 18apr10 22may2024

 
20171204

Holiday giftwrap from waaaaay back in 2008 pulled from the archives 04dec2017

 
20240111

an old post from feb 2010 is recycled with a giftwrap from 29apr2010 11jan2024

 
20171214

2011 gift showcased on an old 2010 post... 14dec2017

 
20171211

an old page from 2010 gets updated with a guild? gift from 2010... 11dec2017

 
20090725

F2tY does a wonderful job wrapping and decorating this gift with silk flowers. Originally posted 25jul09 25jul2009

 
20081004

Autumn themed giftwrap using rustic materials. Collects the autumn-themed giftwrap pages. Originally posted 04oct08. 04oct2008

 
20080619

This drawstring bag and figurine ensemble features a foam-card woven 16 strand diamond patterned kongo braid . Originally posted 19jun08. 19jun2008

 
20080514

Another of my infamous quick'n'dirty just-before-the-recipient-showed-up wrap jobs collects all the floral-themed giftwrap pages. Wrapped & photo'ed 13may, post 14may08. 14may2008

 
20171203

A little giftwrap for glassact's 2007 santa swap . 03dec2017

 
20070625

Wedding gift , with a bonus baby gift. Originally posted 25jun07 25jun2007

 
20070220

Blue giftwrap decorated with penguins makes a good choice for a winter birthday. Originally posted 20feb07 20feb2007

 
20070220

Collects the various giftwrap sub-indices (i.e. this page:) 20feb2007

 
20070222

Xmas gift finally delivered on Valentine's Day. 22feb2007

 
20070106

Gold and white, made easy by Page's efforts in this direction. File-name created 2005, file created 5jan07, posted 06jan07. (Happy epiphany:) 06jan2007

 
20070101

This paper, inspired by vintage Christmas illustrations, has a great deal more orange and turquoise than you might expect. Posted 01jan07. 01jan2007

 
20070105

The classic colors of Christmas. File created 26dec05; posted 04jan07. 05jan2007

 
20051227

A subtle paper pleases my mother-in-law. Originally posted 27dec05. 27dec2005

 
20060104

More efforts in the burgundy and gold direction, courtesy of Page. Originally posted 04jan06. 04jan2006

 
20051228

Charming pretty paper in many colors that is nevertheless difficult to decorate. Originally posted 28dec05. 28dec2005

 
20051229

Exuberant happy paper bursting with many colors that is nevertheless difficult to decorate. Originally posted 29dec05. 29dec2005

 
20070107

I revel in the glorious blue and gold decorations my friend has given me. 07jan2007

 
20070104

The classic colors of Christmas. File created 26dec05; posted 04jan07. 04jan2007

 
20070103

This paper, inspired by vintage Christmas illustrations, has a great deal more orange and turquoise than you might expect. Posted 01jan07. 03jan2007

 
20070102

The junior member of the f2 generation is entranced by vintage ribbon with candy canes and other christmas symbols printed upon it. Created 14nov05, intro 1jan07, posted 02jan07. 02jan2007

 
20051224

First attempt for the season. Originally posted 24dec05. 24dec2005

 
20051208

Stocking giftwrap posted 08dec05. 08dec2005

 
20051127

Purple redux: a decoration is recycled with the addition of some lime green accents. 27nov05 27nov2005

 
20050505

Even just two or three minutes can improve upon simply handing a present over in the plastic the store clerk dropped it into. 02may05 05may2005

 
20050325

Three gifts from 2005 . Includes brief comments on the creative process, but still nothing like a definitive howto. (24mar05) 25mar2005

 
20040522

Thin gold stripes accent major focal point and wrapping paper 22may2004

 
20040522

More ivory on an unusual wrapping paper 22may2004

 
20040522

Floral studies continue in 2002. 22may2004

 
20040522

Inspiration from Japan 22may2004

 
20040522

Incorporating another artist's work into my own. 22may2004

 
20040522

Peacock feathers accent a blue-violet metallic paper 22may2004

 
20040522

Three gifts from 2003 . Sort of. (06dec03) 22may2004

 
20040522

A friend is inspired–with beautiful results 22may2004

 
20040522

White silk flowers bloom on ivory and white paper 22may2004

 
20040522

Gift decorating as Flower Pot 22may2004

 

 

Originally created: Sat Sep 12 21:53:29 EDT 1998; last update: 24mar05

20081004

Autumn themed giftwrap using rustic materials. Collects the autumn-themed giftwrap pages. Originally posted 04oct08. 04oct2008

 
20080514

Another of my infamous quick'n'dirty just-before-the-recipient-showed-up wrap jobs collects all the floral-themed giftwrap pages. Wrapped & photo'ed 13may, post 14may08. 14may2008

 
20070220

Collects the various giftwrap sub-indices (i.e. this page:) 20feb2007

 
20070222

Xmas gift finally delivered on Valentine's Day. 22feb2007

 
20070108

Wrapup of the 14 posts comprising 2005 xmas holiday giftwrap series, featuring perhaps 20–25 giftwrap/decors, plus one textile bonus. Originally posted (whew, finally) 8jan07. 08jan2007

 
20051127

Purple redux: a decoration is recycled with the addition of some lime green accents. 27nov05 27nov2005

 
20040522

A friend is inspired–with beautiful results 22may2004