DIY Day: Dressing Up a Shopping Bag

I meant to post this before Christmas, but time got the best of me.  This really is a year round project and I could certainly imagine a Valentine's version!

A friend of mine was hosting a Christmas Party at her new home and had mentioned that she didn't have a lot of Christmas decorations, so in a desire to remedy the situation, I found these glistening bottle brush trees at The Vintage Emporium.  The shopping bags the give out are these simple kraft bags, which I just love for their possibilities.  So, I recycled the bag into a gift bag by decorating with some lace and vintage millinery flowers.  I thought sewing the lace on would be quicker and neater than glue and it turned out to look quite nice.  This is such an easy way to recycle and make your own thoughtful gift wrapping.

It's What is on the Outside That Counts: Fun Wrapping Ideas

My Mommy group had it's last meeting before Christmas this week and I wanted to get my table a little something to say "thank you for being a part." Who doesn't like chocolate, especially these Swiss Dark Chocolate Bars from Trader Joe's?  I bought them because I thought the packaging was a good Christmas color and I know from personal experience that they are delicious.  When I got home, I started to think that a candy bar wasn't really enough of a gift.  Luckily, I have loads of vintage at my disposal, so I raided a bag of brooches I had, grabbed some scraps of wallpaper ( I have been wrapping gifts in this for years, it seems to never run out!) and spools of ribbon.  I think they turned out quite cute.  You can make anything special with the right packaging.