By Megan Fulweiler

Rhode Island Monthly Magazine

(photography: Madeline Polss)

2002 Vol. 15

Dried thistle and preserved galax leaves make this offering worthy of dis play The designer works with leaves that have been preserved in glycerin rather than dried "as they are more malleable" A gold metallic leaf and a thin strip of decorative trimming, available at fabric stores, are glued atop the wired ribbon for additional panache.

Silk taffeta, cut with pinking shears and glued at corners and on the bottom, as you would paper, is an ideal covering. Siqueland-Gresch also glues on a handful of starfish - wearing pearls - for fun. "Decorating the ribbon adds interest," she explains. The sand dollar, threaded with ribbon and tied to the bow, can be removed and hung on the tree, making this gift two presents in one.

Cover a box with hand-made paper and you up the ante. Our pro adds pheasant feathers. To catch the eye, three feathers - - dabbed with hot glue - are laid upright while one points down. Crinkle wire helps bind the feathers to the box and interjects sparkle. The coppery-colored bow is glued to the top. Final touch? A teeny starfish with a glued-on pearl.

The box wearing citron-colored vellum paper sports thin burgundy-hued velvet ribbons. Three ribbons are dabbed with glue and set in place. Three more going the opposite way are carefully woven in and also glued. "Opalescent beads afford a geometric look," Siqueland-Gresch says. "The purple paper on the second box is handmade. We glued on Austrian straw stars as attention grabbers, but cut-out paper snowflakes would work as well."

Heady red taffeta renders a lowly box a treasure chest- The designer "folded and glued, folded and glued the unwired four-inch satin ribbon to resemble ribbon candy. Burgundy velvet ribbon and glittery velvet leaves are icing on the cake. A treasure, indeed, for the lucky recipient

Clip backyard greens and wire them around a bottle. Lay a third of the greens - our pro chose thick-needled juniper - on a flat surface. Use pieces tall enough to cover the bottle from top to bottom. Hold greens and bottle with one hand, use your other hand to wrap the wire around the bottle. Spin and repeat. Twist another piece of wire around the bottle*s neck. Add a velvet bow or two, tuck in a feather to act as a finial and include a miniature wreath.

Siqueland-Gresch stowed one no-personality gift certificate in a store—bought raffia envelope, tied it with twine and added a velvet leaf. For the other, she made her own vellum envelope. Open a legal-size envelope, lay it flat on The paper like a pattern, trace and cut. Before gluing The new envelope together, while it's open, cut additional slits along the front with a mat knife. Weave a bright ribbon in and out of the slits.

Siqueland-Gresch prefers using a hot glue gun rather than tape. Here, citron-colored vellum paper is neatly glued at the corners and along the bottom. Unwired satin ribbon is highlighted with peacock feathers and swords. Mini pinecones. glued to the ribbon, complement The feathers and add a woodsy tone.