This year has been full of birthdays and celebrations, which only means one thing…gifts!
When I give a hand delivered gift, I put a ton of thought into the packaging. Will I use paper, if so what pattern? Will it have ribbon? If so, what texture? Will I use fabric, if so what blend and color? Those are the questions I typically start with. It all boils down to, who’s on the receiving end, what I have on hand and time.
I’ve been studying and playing with various natural dye techniques which has lead me to create my own wrapping fabric. 
I love how the gift above turned out. I used 100% organic cotton and dyed the fabric in black tea.
My favorite part of the gifts I create are the toppings. Or as I call it, the “gift garnish”. The garnish here is all from my urban garden (minus the dried poppy stem). You can see the event the poppy pods came from here. I mixed the poppy stem with apple leaves, white jasmine vine and nasturtiums. And yes, apples grow in Los Angeles.
Aaand this yellow one!! Gah, I love how vibrant this dye turned out. I used turmeric on this cloth. And of course, more garden garnish.
The best part about using fabric for wrapping, it’s environmentally friendly and can be re-used for head wraps or another gift.
I’ve got a large washi tape stash and wanted to see how it would look on a package…I’m a big fan.