Giftwraps by Artists: French Provincial [Paperback]

Joost Elffers (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810929643
• ISBN-13: 978-0810929647
• Product Dimensions: 13.6 x 10.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,448,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this for a few reasons..., February 26, 2007

By 

Mama (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Giftwraps by Artists: French Provincial (Paperback)

First, I love to have this wrapping paper in BOOK form because I can just keep it at my desk here and when opportunities to give presents come up, I don't have to go digging to find wrapping paper. It's right here, where my scissors and tape are anyway. And it's in a book, so there are no wrinkled or crunched ends.

Second, there is a LOT of paper here. There are 12, brightly colored sheets that each fold out to be 4X the size of the book (which is approximately 10"X13".

Third, there is a LOT of wrapping paper in these books. I wish there were more books out there like it, but Amazon mostly seems to sell 2 page per- and 4 page per-book wrapping paper books. TOO EXPENSIVE. I've found only three books on Amazon that have as many pages as this:
* Giftwraps by Artists English Floral Patterns (by Joost Elffers)
* Giftwraps by Artists: Paisley (by Arlene Raven)
* and this one

Well worth the price. The book has lasted me over a year. I purchased my at Borders in their discount book section, but I recall paying about $8-12 for it as well. So I'm definitely considering paying $12.95 again tonight and getting two so I get free shipping.

I only wish that they had more choices than these, especially in SIMPLER patterns. These are a bit bright and gawdy for my taste. But just for the convenience I'd deal with it all over again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "It's More Than a Book.......It's a Wrap, It's a Gift Wrap!", March 3, 2010

By 

first words...God's breath (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Giftwraps by Artists: French Provincial (Paperback)

One of my hobbies involves searching for unique greeting cards, as well as specialized wrapping paper. Sometimes I am fortunate to find "hand made" items, some of which are mass produced, others of which are one of only several. Take for example, this book; well, it's not just a book, it's a book of actual gift wrap. There are 16 full-color tear-out sheets, each of which is four times the size of the book. That means, you have sheets measuring about 20" x 28", quarter folded. Opening the book, you will see that there are 8 different designs, two each of the delightful 18th century French textile designs.

The original artworks based on textiles are produced in the gouache manner, that is the mixture of glue with water colors; this gives the design some texture. The original textiles on which these "wraps" are based are from a collection of textiles found in the Musee de l"Impression sur Etoffes de Mulhouse, France. The historical background for these designs is contained in this book, with an accompanying bibliography, for the avid "textile designer".

However, for this "amateur", the further act of creativity is in the making. For example, I may want to cover an existing wooden frame with any of these papers, adding other borders and hand painted designs. Another example, would be to use one of these papers to create an inner mat for a picture of someone I know, highlighting the person's image with the complimentary wrap.

Still other projects would be to use these papers to cover some scrapbooks to give them life and texture; even a wooden box or container of sorts could be covered and laminated, turning the finished product into "my work of art". If, on the other hand, you choose to wrap a gift with any of these gift wraps, be my guest; maybe the recipient will take the gift wrap and create a project of his or her own. Go for it.....wrap it up!