The Party Dress » gifts

Fabric-Wrapped Wine

Kelly — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 10:00:52 +0000

To continue with the fabric gift wrapping from yesterday, I thought I would share one of my favorite hostess gift ideas from the holiday issue of The Party Dress Magazine. A bottle of wine is always my stand-by hostess gift, whether heading to a friend’s home for dinner, or attending a large holiday party. Dress it up this holiday season, by wrapping it in a a piece of festive fabric. It’s cute, colorful and will definitely stand out from the crowd!

TPD Magazine: Gift Wrapping with Fabric

Kelly — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:13:00 +0000

The holiday shopping season officially begins today! Have you started your shopping yet?! To help you creatively package your holiday finds, Vana Chupp from Le Papier Studio came up with some great ideas for gift wrapping with fabric for the latest issue of TPD Magazine. Here are some ideas from Vana….

Gift wrapping is something I enjoy doing especially when using my favorite papers and fabrics. You can get as creative as you like when it comes to gift wrapping. I am sure you already have a few creative ideas to call your own that were learned along the way or even passed down to you from previous generations. I love using a favorite handmade stamp to personalize my wrapping paper. Repurposed paper works great as it adds character to presents. My all time favorite is fabric gift wrapping, also known as furoshiki.

This eco-friendly way of wrapping gifts is great because you can give recycled, re-purposed fabrics a whole new and brilliant use.

Make sure you pick the items to be wrapped before cutting the fabric. The fabric has to be just the right size to create a perfect looking present. I like to mix various fabrics, decorative papers and twine or ribbon to create a layered look. Go for coordinating colors and designs – it will set the tone for a sophisticated packaging for your gifts. Once wrapped add trimmings and gift tags to your presents for a more personal touch.

Materials used:
Letterpress Gift Tags
Holiday Fabric

TPD Magazine: Fall Hostess Gifts

Kelly — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:00:37 +0000

I must get 5 e-mails a week of readers asking for unique hostess gift ideas. It’s the standard dilema that we all run into at the start of a new season….what type of gift is unique, useful and thoughtful?! Charynn and I each came up with our go-to hostess gift for the Fall season and presented them in the Fall issue of The Party Dress Magazine, and we are sharing them here today….

My go-to gift is a small basket of goodies – a fabulous bottle of wine (this St. Supery Chardonnay happened to come from my recent trip to Napa), a bouquet of fresh sunflowers, and a box of goat milk caramels from Williams Sonoma (along with a hand-written note, of course!)

Charynn, being the cupcake lover that she is, loves to bring a box of homemade cupcakes as a hostess gift. I love that she took the time to dress up a paper box – it makes it look extra special. She braided yarn to get this chunky look, and then made a few flowers out of felt that she had sitting around her house. The project took less than 10 minutes and turned out SO darling! (you could duplicate this idea on any time of gift!)

Speaking of cupcakes….have you been following the cupcake spy posts on Two Sugar Babies blog lately? It’s full of fabulous insider information to the best cupcake shops in different cities around the country. Check it out!

TPD Magazine: Color My Party by TomKat Studio

Kelly — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:00:32 +0000

We always love seeing what Kim of The TomKat Studio comes up with for her “Color My Party” series in The Party Dress Magazine. This issue does not disappoint with an always-popular black and white color combo. Perfect for Halloween and for the upcoming holidays!

GIVEAWAY: Madeira Housewares

Kelly — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 04:28:35 +0000

We are so excited to bring you one FABULOUS giveaway this week! Starting today, you can enter to win a product kit from one of my favorite housewares companies, Madeira.

Madeira specializes in finding the most exotic wood on earth and crafting it into individual works of art for the kitchen. Madeira is translated to mean “wood” in Portuguese, the native language of Brazil, where these beautiful products originate. Madeira takes pride in using only the highest quality raw materials. Each product design offers a unique use to help serve or prepare meals with ease. Madeira products combine classic design with functionality to produce timeless kitchen tools for every home.

Dying to get your hands on one of these fabulous cutting boards? Enter to win this set of three valued at more than $100. The set includes: an edge grain plantation teak utility board, an end grain plantation teak round chop block, and a edge grain plantation teak XL carving board. Pretty fabulous, huh?

Here’s how to enter: go check out Madeira’s facebook page, become a fan and then leave a comment here letting us know how much you LOVE their stuff. Simple as that! Want an extra chance? Become a fan of The Party Dress on facebook and follow WH Hostess on twitter.

Giveaway starts NOW! and ends Thursday, September 1st at midnight CST. A winner will be chosen via random.org. Thanks for playing and good luck!

WH Hostess: Chunky Notepads

Kelly — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:00:55 +0000

Back-to-School isn’t just for kids! Or at least the school supply shopping shouldn’t be! ;) I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that I used to count down the days until I could walk through the aisles of freshly stocked notebooks and folders and fill up a cart (probably with way more than I would EVER need!) of brand new items that were sure to start my school year off right.

Well, fast forward 20-25 years and I am STILL obsessed with paper! And with a busy life, I am constantly making lists. I have a notepad in every room, in every purse….and am always on the search for the perfect one. Well, since I couldn’t find it….we decided to make it!

I’m so pleased to introduce you to WH Hostess’s newest product….our 200 page chunky notepads with personalized covers. A steal at $18 each, these make the perfect gift! (anyone need to bribe a teacher this week?!) Listed in the shop with 16+ different covers, these notepads are on fire and will soon be gracing desks across the country.

What’s your favorite pattern?

Sweet Teacher Gift Idea

Kelly — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 02:25:44 +0000

With this school year rapidly coming to a close, it’s time to put your thinking cap on to come up with a unique gift for your little ones to bring their teacher. I love this idea from Family Fun – package homemade truffles in a simple white box. You can dress it up by drawing lines on the lid of the box to look like handwriting paper, and then have your child write their teacher’s name on it.

Cute and Yummy! Click here for the recipe.

Mother’s Day Gift Idea: Garden Basket

Kelly — Thu, 05 May 2011 09:00:32 +0000

Anyone out there looking for a last minute Mother’s Day gift? The creative genius behind Floral Art LA came up with this idea – a garden box full of supplies for Spring planting. I love the idea of a useful gift, but in this case – I think I am MORE in love with the presentation of the gift. Presenting simple gardening items such as a shiny new watering can, garden gloves, some seeds, plants and maybe a new pair of garden sheers in a moss covered box – genius! You can order directly from Floral Art LA – but I think some of you are crafty enough to make this on your own!

Holiday Shopping Guide

Kelly — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 10:00:49 +0000

‘Tis the season to shop ’til you drop! To help you move through your shopping list a little bit faster this season, I compiled a holiday shopping guide to share my favorite items this year. Eye candy, gift ideas, inspiration for home decor…..I hope you enjoy!

Click on the image above to enter the holiday shopping guide.

WH Hostess Holiday Catalog

Kelly — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 09:00:56 +0000

It’s a VERY exciting week here at The Party Dress and WH Hostess! The holiday season is upon us, and we could not be any more excited about helping you celebrate. We’ve put together a well-edited collection of photo holiday cards, party invitations, coordinating address stickers, gift stickers, party accessories, and fabulous items to dress-up your hostess gifts (can you say adorable wine bottle labels?!)! Our items are fresh and modern. An updated look for traditional style, with a focus on beautiful quality….we hope you’ll take a look! (click above to see our flip-book catalog)