A Gift of Blue

“The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s one thing to give a gift; it’s quite another to present it in a special way. That’s what I’m trying to do with a series of gifts I’m giving my siblings this year for Christmas. And this year I want to do something over the top. The purpose is to remind them to take time out for a bit of self-pampering—my sisters and brother work so very hard and think of themselves last.

Today I’m sharing a Tiffany-themed gift basket set slated to be under my sister Connie’s tree in December. And most every item stems from a tutorial I found online (see Resources at the end of this post).

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

First, I created the base of the gift basket. In this case, it’s simply a wood tray (you can find them at Jo-Ann’s or Michaels). Begin by sanding the tray, painting, and then sealing with a clear gloss. The paint is Eddie Bauer Sea Breeze EB8-2 for the Tiffany color and simple white for the trim, both purchased at Lowe’s. My inspiration was found at Chez La Vie blog.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

The large bath powder puff is made using Minky fabric on one side. The idea and instructions come from The Natural Beauty Workshop. A tutorial written by Joanna Armour for Michael Miller’s blog Making it Fun was used to make a bath mitt. The fabric is exactly the right shade of blue for my project (found at Jo-Ann’s).

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

I made a therapeutic neck wrap using the fabulous fabric I found, flax seeds, and an inner bag made of white muslin. The outer bag can be removed for washing. This project also came from Making It Fun.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

"T" is for Tiffany. I knit a small lace bag using Naturally Caron Spa silky soft bamboo blend yarn found at Jo-Ann’s. The color is Ocean Spray (#0005) and matches perfectly. The pattern is a free offering from Tina Hilton at Craft Stylish. I laced the top to make it a drawstring bag to hold the reusable eye make-up remover pads I made using a Sproutz tutorial.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

A fun way to tag the gift basket is making a small 2 ½ by 3 ½-inch framed monogram. No tutorial was used for this, I simply created the monogram on my computer and printed it on glossy presentation paper before cutting out and framing it.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

Here is everything together. I mentioned my planned trip to Tiffany’s on Saturday. Connie and I did indeed drool over all the wonders to be found and I got an idea of something she’d love to have. While she ventured into another store, I quick bought it to include in her gift basket. I may be utilizing Tiffany’s as my theme, but I really feel I should at least buy something from the store to thank them for their inspiration.

At Christmas, I’ll bag the whole gift using cellophane and tie it with a wide piece of ribbon found at Jo-Ann’s in the Tiffany color that matches the set. I’m not ready to seal it yet as I may add a bit here and there over the year. Sometimes I don’t know when to stop.

Amazing what a series of tutorials can look like if we find a way to give it a special cohesiveness. Tomorrow I’ll share my gift for my sister Carolyn. No worries, neither of them read my blog.

Resources

• Bath Mitt
• Bath Powder Puff
• Gift Ideas may be found at One Pretty Thing blog
• Gift Ideas may also be found at Whip Up
• Lace Sachet Bag
• Reusable Make-up Remover Pads
• Therapeautic Neck Wrap
• Wood tray inspiration from Chez La Vie blog