Graduation from GW

this was my favorite gift to wrap up. this was the first idea that came to me. the tag reads 'hail a taxi, a spade marks the spot'. the graduate loves kate spade. so all wrapped up in  yellow wrap with black and white checkered ribbon was a kate spade pouch, the print of which is a map of new york city with a spade marking the location of the flag ship store. 

for this particular gift, the graduate was graduating from george washington and will be attending n.y.u in the fall, so i tried keep with the theme of new york city. i bought separate gifts, wrapping each gift differently, each reflecting the graduates personality and future plans. 

as an art historian i have to promote a trip to one of the greatest museums in the world. i had a map and information pack on the museum, which i added to a picture from the kate spade collection.

this gift wrap slightly hinted at the gift inside, the only clues being the vintage , sparkle pin and address.  the gift was 'breakfast at tiffany's', a must-see before a trip to new york. 

i found this amazing vintage new york city wrap which had a vintage image of n.y.u. which worked out fabulously for this gift. you'll notice i have made tags for each gift. this one in particular is a white embossed 'congratulations', which i stamped on a navy card. 

finally, i wrapped the gift in kraft paper, topping it off with a navy ribbon with white polka dots. the school  colors were navy and buff, however knowing all the gifts in side were quite vibrant and detailed, i kept the outside quite simple. i made the tag using the school mascot, mounting it on silver and white card stock. with a congratulation message on the back. 

A Peachy Mother's Day

for the ladies i work with, they are like my second mother's. they always take care of me, offer advice and make me laugh. so every year for mother's day, i give them something special. this year i decided to give them each a flower, an apricot new guinea impatient to be exact...for being such 'patient' mothers to me.  i bought rosie, pink paper bags, with a wide bottom so the flower could sit in the bag without getting squished. to keep the dirt from getting everywhere, i sat the flower in a small zip lock baggy, then wrapped two layers of pink and peach tissue around it.  to secure the tissue, i used some thin, white satin ribbon. i made a tags for the bags using my design program, my favorite fonts and some glitter paper. i used paper mod podge to secure the tag to the front of the bag.  i topped off the gift with some fuchsia satin ribbon.