~Recycled Creations Inspire me...so I spent the weekend creating!

There's something about gifts & packaging made out of recycled items that I love ~ they are pieces of Art that I adore~they become heirlooms to moi~ It amazes me of the talent my friends Julie & Claudie have. (go visit them, they are both extremely Francois & chic cool ladies)

The card below sits on my mantel to this day and I read it over and over again every time I walk by it. Each meticulous cut and trinket they attached morphed into this delicate and chic with French influence piece of art for me that they gave me their last morning here back in March.

Not only is it beautiful ~ but it wasn't till after they left that I realized (1) of them even bequeathed me a piece of her monogrammed jeweled pin to make it even more of a heartstring gift~The Rhinestone Letter "C" that hangs on the bow.
So, this weekend I was packaging up some trinkets, baubles, and gifts I had been collecting to mail to each of them in Canada, and I couldn't help but wanna return the creativity favor! ( I can't show everything, but this will give you some great ideas ~ and it will give them a sneak preview of some of the features of their cards and wrapping!

This card is made out of a lovely striped cardboard that was on the top of a box of candy or cookies. It was too pretty to throw away, so I kept it for a rainy day. The little friend pups I cut from a card that was given to me from a "PUP" I dog sit. (I can't bear to throw cards away) The coin is new that I bought from Cracker Barrel...and with just the right cut here and there...and doubleside tape for the coin...this is a card for my PINK friend~

Next, I'm gonna show you the whim that came over me when I was ready to wrap some of their packages! All you need for this is what you see above. Something to cut your paper, Takkon strips to make attaching the paper & pics to your boxes/paper. A punch corner cutter, see how pretty & adorned the edges of the paper look above.

And last but not least, a plain small box. (Approximately 8x10 inches)

And don't forget some trim for the side of the box ~ since the box is not going to be wrapped in traditional all over wrap, this will be how you dress up the sides in some cases!

You guessed it right, this is for my Pink friend, we all know who she is and where she lives! She's mad about Audrey, and so I decided to do some photoshopping and quote finding of Audrey's and use that to adorn the package back... (yes, backside) ;)

Side view...

And front view ~Notice the adorable Tiffany diamond ring that I found antiquing in Franklin, NC just last weekend~ It totally gave it the Audrey Hepburn/Breakfast at Tiffany's bauble accent that it needed. All my friend needs to do when she gets this gift is gently remove the ribbon (it's not taped on) then cut two small pieces of tape that is holding the box lid on...remove her gift, and reattach the box lid for her memory box to keep our letters in that we from blog land send her! :)

Since I was wrapping for "two" friends that I adore~ Claudie brought Julie to meet me back in March...and now she's sharing her friendship of Julie with me too. What a gal~ :) Above you'll see that I took two vintage hankies to wrap a small gift for each of them. The floral hankie is tied together with a lace shoelace that I kept throughout the years and never used. I only had one...and it was perfect to tie up the giftwrap~

And, now...for my Vintage friend Julie~ You see, Julie loves everything vintage...and especially clothes, hats, and such~ So, this box was designed and created with her love of design and art...with a bit of vintage recipes that I photocopied from a book that is over 100 years old that belonged to my great great MeMe.

Here are the items that I used to create with...laid out randomly...

Instead of using ribbon that didn't feel vintage to trim the sides of the box...I went with buttons instead...and to keep with the vintage feel...I went with basic blacks, greys, and tortoise shell brown tone buttons and one cream designer flat stone for the front & back side.

The photos I took a couple years back while antiquing and they just had Julie's name written all over them. (back side of box)

And front side of box...Julie loves to wear the color black~and this dress would look Francois & chic on you my darling~ ;) And, no, not done yet... Using some old French newspapers from my visit to Paris & Dijon back in 2001, I photocopied some small sections for more small wraps. Check it out below~

Who would have know that in 2001...when I brought this French Newspaper home that I'd meet two French Canadian friends in 2009/2010, and one of them would be all about Audrey Hepburn...notice the article about Audrey on the paper~ :) Amazing...

The personalized card attached to the copied newspaper wrap was made from a photo that I took in a sweet vintage shop in Franklin, NC called Primrose Lane. The shop owners name is June Hernandez and I'm sure she'd love to sell some of these finger "tipless" fishnet black gloves~ They're on my shopping list for the next time I visit her shop~ I simply added some text to the pic...made a teency hole in the top left to slide a paper flower in it and "voila"...it's my personalized touch that says how much I adore & treasure these two GEMS of friends~

Am I ever gonna be done? Probably not...I spent the entire weekend alone having a blast wrapping their gifts...one more quick idea~ Here is a small pink doily that I found antiquing in Franklin..folded it in half...interwove some pink sheer ribbon along the sides & bottom, slipped in my little gift..and...

attached another little handmade card from a "too pretty to touch" tea set from June's shop that is available for purchase at Primrose Lane (Shope# 828-524-9258). No, I'm not getting commission, I just love small business owners and believe if we don't support them, they'll go away in this economy...so, go to Facebook and search for Primrose Lane and get connected with June~ I'm going to feature here in my next post so you can see "many" of the great items she carries in her precious Vintage & Chic boutique~

And, for my vintage friend...I think I got "p*r*e*t*t*y" creative making this card for you my dear~ Can't wait for you to get it~ And, yes, I was at Caffe REL when the pic was taken for my 28th Wedding Anniversary one week ago~ For anyone in the Franklin, NC area ~ or within driving distance...it's a MUST~

Well friends,

Au Revoir for now...

be back in a few to talk more about Primrose Lane...and how we need to support June so she keeps her doors open! We need to show her how the lovers of vintage & chic rally the troops in Blogland, and believe me, when you see what she has in her shop....she'll need a receptionist to take the phone orders she's going to get~

Since this is Monday, and my friend Susan loves seeing things morph from one thing to the next, thought I'd join her and the group today. Be sure to stop by her place to see more things that morph on Mondays~