Just when I was starting to think that my washi tape collection was a little excessive, it swooped in to save the day and had me wondering if I actually own enough.
My grandmother's birthday is today, however, her health has been rapidly declining and I did not know where, when, or if we would have a party for her. On Saturday, my plan was to go visit her on Monday, her actual birthday, which gave me the weekend to figure out what to get her. As you may or may not know, I am a huge procrastinator, which means that by Sunday morning, I still had not figured out a present. In my defense, we had a block party on Saturday which took up most of the day, so Sunday was going to be when I actually put some thought into a gift.
At 10:30 AM on Sunday, I looked at my phone and there was a text message from my sister that simply read, "Come over at 12:30." What? I have to be there in two hours???? It isn't rare for me to forget about my phone and therefore not read messages until hours after I receive them, so I checked out the time stamp on my sister's text, 10:17 AM. Ha!! For once I was semi on top of things. It was my sister and my parents who had planned this impromptu party and expected me to be there with very little notice. My grandmother lived with my family while I was growing up and I consider her to not only be a major influence in my life, but the most amazing role model anyone could ever have. What else could I do but get my behind into gear and be there as requested?
So, this is the point where I start to freak out about not having a gift. My grandmother is a difficult person to shop for because she doesn't need anything, and at this stage in her life, nine times out of ten she does not remember that she even received a gift. I was advised by my uncle to give her something she can hold or look at; something like a picture. I'm not a huge fan of giving photos because, in my opinion, they have become more generic than a gift card (I actually like it when I receive a gift card), but I figured that this is one time when it's ok.
After talking it out with my husband, we put a plan into play where he would go out and buy new ink for the printer and I would locate an appropriate photo and the frame I've been stashing away that says "Nana." While he was at the store, I stood in my craft room and thought about how I can make our idea better, more personal, more like something I'd actually give. I'd like to say that a stroke of brilliance came to me like a shooting star blazing through a clear night's sky, but it wasn't that romantic, and I'm still not thrilled with what I actually came up with, but it was better than a frame. I thought about some necklaces that I'd made for my cousins' First Holy Communion last spring. They were super cute necklaces that had cross charms and then their first initial inserted into a 1" round metal charm and covered by an epoxy bubble. I figured that I could do something similar for Nana. I did a little poking around and found another round metal charm blank from Epiphany Crafts and a chain to hang it on. To make a long story short, I cut out a headshot of my son using my 1" circle punch and inserted the photo into the charm and sealed it in with an epoxy bubble. I was still giving a photo, but at least it was more original than a frame, and it is something Nana can have with her.
But that's not what this post is supposed to be about about....
Kiersten, didn't you mention something about washi tape????
Why, yes I did!
Quick recap. At 10:30 AM, I found out that I had to be at my parents' house at 12:30 PM for my grandmother's birthday party. I had no present, no card, and I was still in my PJs. Putting the present together took about an hour of my time (from inception, re-inception, and creation, to actualization). Now, beside getting myself ready, I needed to wrap the necklace and make a card materialize.
In a perfect world, I would have popped out an amazingly intricate work of art from my Silhouette Cameo, but the machine is not currently hooked up and I didn't have time to dedicate to that whole process. Plan B. In the spring, I went through a phase where I created a ton of embellishments and mini cards, and low and behold I found a small gift card with a red paper flower that would work. I wrote my sentiment on the inside and then raced to figure out wrapping.
Side note: I'm a huge fan of wax paper bags. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I love them so much that I bought a box of 1,000 at a restaurant supply store and they have definitely come in handy. Perhaps I don't need so many, but that's the quantity they were sold in, plus, I LOVE them.
Here is where the washi love comes in:
I wrapped the necklace in some white tissue paper that I was able to quickly locate, put it in the wax paper bag, and then found a roll of washi tape that coordinated with the card. I folded the top of the bag down and sealed the it closed with the tape, but instead of flipping it over, I used it as a decoration and attached the small card. BOOM! Instant wrapping.
Is it fantastically beautiful? Not so much. But I think it has its own lovliness and certainly served my purpose. The washi tape helped to make the wrapping look more thoughtful and deliberate and not so, "Oh, crap! I'm late!"
So, the moral of the story is, washi tape makes the world go 'round.
Ok, maybe that isn't the moral of the story, or any story for that matter. But I certainly think that it at least helped me to get out the door on time and not yelled at for being late! And, as an extra bonus, I didn't have to haul out the wrapping paper box or locate Scotch tape.
Recent Comments