Crate & Pain-in-the-Barrel

Having survived 14 wedding seasons since my first college friend got hitched back in 1996, I can safely say that Crate & Barrel boxes are my least favorite thing in the world to wrap. I am adamant about leaving on the handles for easy transport, which almost always leads to a botched wrap job. And the sheer size and/or weight of them makes them bulky. Well, I've finally created my C&B pièce de résistance:

Our friends, Janet and Larry, who bought us one of our favorite wedding gifts, are celebrating a garden party wedding in June. Janet's maids of honor threw her the most incredible garden party-themed shower. I am helping Janet out with some wedding projects, so I have access to all of her fabrics, including her stash of "vetoed" fabrics. I photocopied one of the fabrics and cut out the flower pattern. I then lined the Crate & Barrel box in green paper to cover the store name and pasted the photocopied flowers from the fabric all over the box

I photocopied another fabric, which will be used throughout her wedding, to make a pretty envelope for a plain 'ole Paper Source card.

Isn't it cute? I also used the floral fabric to make a table cloth for a Crate & Barrel table in the bag, which I wrapped up with some totally unecessary, but very fun-to-have wine-themed picnic supplies. I think that this is my favorite shower gift yet. I hope my friend thinks so too!