creative gift wrapping

if you're stuck for ideas on making your gift wrapping stand out from the 'crowd' here's an idea i tried a few months back for my friends' (Amy and Toby) engagement gift...old school pipe cleaners shaped into the recipients' initials (can you make out the pink A and blue T amongst all the yellow raffia in the pic?). i was so happy with how it turned out!

I also used lettered beads on their other gift which my friend Mel help put together.

if you have any original gift wrapping ideas to share drop me a note, i need to start planning my christmas gift wrapping theme for 2012 (see my 2011 christmas wrapping theme here).

diy upholstered bed head

so, not that long ago i promised a diy post on how to make an upholstered bed head. finally, here it is.

what you'll need:
1. bed head frame (mine was a metal frame) - i.e. this won't work for an ensemble
2. staple gun & staples
3. a piece of thin MDF (as wide and high as the existing frame - your local hardware store should cut to size if you ask)
4. foam, approx. 5-10mm thick, enough to cover 3 sides of the MDF (i bought mine in a pack from spotlight)
5. fabric (enough to cover the MDF)
6. sewing pins

steps
1. staple the foam, piece-by-piece, around 3 edges (or just the top edge and approx.  30cm on each side as i did - see below) of the MDF
2. place MDF board between mattress and bed head
3. wrap your fabric around the MDF & bed posts of existing frame, folding corners neatly and pinning so you have one side of the MDF presenting with a flat neat finish and all pins & folds on the reverse side - voila!


here's some step-by-step pics...