One of my favorite bloggers, Liz Franco, tagged me the other day to post seven things about me. I knew I would have to think carefully to provide something interesting for you to read. So here goes (in no particular order).

1. I played Trumpet for 10 years. I was a horrible musician but I loved marching season. I was terrified of playing in front of my Band Director, I would cry in his office! To this day, I am still unable to describe how it felt to be standing on the side lines at halftime before we went on, it was an amazing feeling. Like, we were going into a battle. (Am I sounding like a band nerd yet?) My trumpet was stolen on my last day of high school, & I haven’t played since, other than picking up a trumpet when I see one around, and finding out how horrible my embrasure is. Sometimes I day dream about buying a trumpet and picking it up again.

2. I didn’t drive till I was 20! I had my permit since I was 15, took drivers education, + all the other steps… but I didn’t have a car, nor could afford one, so I just never went and got my official license. I had a job since I was 15, so I rode my sweet beach cruiser (pictured above) that I drove to the pharmacy every day for work. :D I miss riding a bicycle everywhere -my commute to work now is 30-60 minutes!

3. I’ve never had a cavity or broken a bone. (Knocking on wood right now) I’m not sure if I’m lucky?, or just really not adventurous. I never jumped off swings or trees or other crazy kid stuff. The cavity part, oral hygiene was something drilled into my brain since I was little due to my mom who worked in a Dentist’s office and was pre-med for Dentistry for awhile till she switched majors. (She does nothing to do with Dentistry now, lol!) If I break my arm tomorrow, I am blaming this post.

4. I love wrapping gifts! Maybe it’s my Type A personality shining through, but I enjoy the precision of it. The folds, the corners, the geometry…. I know it’s selfish & silly, but I want MY gifts to stand out, to be commented on, to be the first to get opened. The best way to achieve this is to customize the gift wrap.

I’ve decided to break the random seven list for a bit, and list few ideas to send your gift straight to the head of the gift-wrapping class.

One thing to keep in mind: it’s always easier to wrap something in a box, and it usually looks better too.

Base:

- Plain brown craft paper; This can be found @ craft stores/post office -if your gift is small enough, you can recycle brown paper shopping bags!

- Newspaper; If you are lucky you can find newspapers in different languages,  with is always very cool.

- Tinfoil;  One word; Shiny!

- Maps; I can’t fold them back into their original shape anyways…

- Speciality Papers; Consider using origami or Japanese paper to wrap a gift.

- Vellum; Looks great over a plain color paper.

Embellishments:
(Pick a few and run with it)

- Twine, it comes in all colors!

-  Real Ribbon of different textures and widths.

- Buttons of various sizes and colors.

- Little toys

- Ornaments

- Chipboard shapes to make into tags

- Bells

- Stamps/Stickers/Letters

- Fake flowers/nature elements

- Glitter, the herpes of craft supplies.

- Japanese “washi” masking tape, found on Etsy.

- Pretty scrap booking paper, my favorite paper store ever is, Paper Source!

Put it together:

- Tape

- Scissors, perhaps Decorative Edge Scissors for even more flair?

- Glue dots

Making it happen:

- Wrap the gift with the paper of your choice. Here is a basic tutorial to get you started.

- Tie the gift with raffia/twine/ribbon/yarn/ect etc… the same way you would normally tie a package.

- Cut several more pieces of various lengths; use these to add more interest to the top of the gift. Tie the pieces around the original knot you tied.(Where you’d usually put a bow)

- Add some stuff from the embellishment area. If you are lucky enough to have items with loops, or holes, just thread the item your tie choice. However, if this isn’t an option, you will want to use glue dots. (Or hot glue for heavy duty holding) In one of the pictures above, there are some pom-poms, here is an easy tutorial.

- and you are done! I hope that inspires you, or at least the links send you in the right direction. :) Now back to out regularly scheduled programing… Random 7!

5. I’m a recovering nail-biter. I stopped biting late last summer when I was working, and had time to focus on it. I used to bite my nails so badly my nail beds would bleed! I bought this AMAZING STUFF, by Nutra Nail, then just stopped biting. I’d paint them every single day with the miracle amazing growth formula nail polish, and it worked, somehow I trained myself to quit biting. Lately though :\ I have been biting a little, I think it’s because I’m driving so much. (Anxiety!!)

6. This is surprising to most people, but I really like country music and bluegrass. I don’t know any of the singers/song writers, but I typically listen to country radio stations when I’m in my car. I’ve liked Bluegrass since I was little kid and my father is from Kentucky, and I started liking Country music in general when I was going through some tough times, and I found country music to be positive and uplifting.

7. I believe the Universe is full of magical little moments. Rainbows & Moonbows, Breath-taking sunrises & sunsets, the sweet older gentleman who helps you with your groceries to your car, the way a toddler will plop down in your lap & hug on you, a friend who calls and invites you out telepathically when you are having a day filled with grumps, the person who does let you merge, the way you’ll find a leaf in the shape of a heart, this list could go on forever… I try to remember to appreciate every single magical moment that comes into my life.

I’m tagging; Renee, Jamie, Lindsay, Mike, Kelli, Brian, Frado, & Gregg.
Thanks Liz! This was fun :D