Last month I needed a graduation gift for a friend. Deciding what was going inside the box was easy. Deciding how to jazz up my packaging took a little more time. I was traveling on a flight with this, so sturdy packaging was a must. I found a gift box I had saved (thanks, Anthropologie) that fit everything inside and was the perfect blank canvas. To personalize it I designed a piece to mount to the lid of the box, which featured a series of words related to my friend’s graduation in a variety of fonts.

I love how this turned out. It is simple, clean packaging that is truly custom (I chose each word featured in the design), and it’s something I can do for another occasion.

P.S. Don’t think that you need any fancy design programs to do this – I created this in good old Microsoft Word with a series of text boxes.

–Kristen
PS colors: peacock & chocolate
Latest fave: Satin Ribbon

Among the small treats that make me happy (in no particular order): chocolate, coffee, sheets of Lokta paper, new felt tip pens and, now, flip flop bracelets! I love mixing different color palettes on my wrist with stacks of these recycled bangles, and I absolutely love the story behind them.

These bracelets are made by a group of women in Mali (West Africa), who collect worn out flip flops, melt them down and draw the plastic into colorful loops. Everyday flip flops are reborn as unique, handmade bangles. One can only guess the journey each one of these lovely trinkets has taken. Read the rest of this entry »