Free Printable Friday: Last-Minute Foldable Gift Boxes

Ingredients:

• 10 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 3 packets rapid rise yeast
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 3/4 cup milk
• purple, yellow and green food coloring (we used a mix of McCormick neon and assorted food coloring)
• plastic wrap
• dish towel
• printable bread label

Instructions:

1. Mix one cup of flour, one tablespoon of sugar, one teaspoon of salt and one packet of rapid rise yeast in a mixing bowl.
2. In a microwaveable bowl, mix 3/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup of milk, one Tablespoon of butter and about 10 drops of food coloring. Microwave on high for 45 seconds.
3. Pour liquid mixture into the dry mixture and mix throughly. Once mixed, slowly add another 2 1/2 cups of flour.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for each color of dye.
5. Rip apart the colorful dough into small pellets and twist together to form a rainbow marbled effect.
6. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a dish towel and let it rise for one hour.
7. Cut the risen dough into three equal loaves, place into greased pans and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.

This bread will yield three loaves of Mardi Gras goodness, so make sure you have enough of all the ingredients. Grab a mixing bowl and mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients together — one cup flour, one Tablespoon of sugar, one teaspoon of salt and one packet of yeast.

Grab a microwaveable bowl and mix 1/3 of the wet ingredients together — 3/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup of milk, one Tablespoon of butter and about 10 drops of food coloring. Microwave for 45 seconds on high.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Let’s also just call attention to that awesome purple color :)

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together, and then start slowly adding in another two and a half cups of flour. Mix it all the way until it forms one huge ball of dough.

Repeat the first set of steps for each color. Each will yield one loaf but we will be mixing the colors together to form rainbow magicalness.

Last but not least — the green! Don’t be afraid to try other colors. This is a great recipe to create any holiday loaf. (Don’t be surprised if we do it for Fourth of July too!)

Once you have all three loaves, pull apart each color into little pellets. Layer the colors when you put them in the bowl to get maximum color variation.

Use your hands to give this mega loaf a good couple of twists.

Cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel and let the dough rise for at least one hour.

Divide your loaf into three sections and place into a greased pan. If you don’t have a loaf pan, you can totally make a rounded loaf in a cake pan or on top of a cookie sheet. Bake for 30 mins at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wait for the bread to cool and then slice into magical rainbow bread.

If you’re nice enough to gift one of these loaves, we suggest printing out a bread wrap printable and hand-lettering a fun saying. Tie up with some baker’s twine or embroidery floss.

Sadly, there is no baby inside of this sweet dessert. But hey, we’re totally all for you continuing the King Cake tradition and adding the little trinket into your sweet loaves. Just remember to warn your guests ;)

Add sprinkles and enjoy!

Pixel Weave Gift Wrap

The pixel weave is an old classic here at Brit HQ — our co-founder, Anj, introduced it waaaay back in 2011! We thought we’d give this weave method a little V-Day spin for these gifts.

Tools + Materials:

— wrapped gift

— paper (2 colors)

— tape

— paper cutter or scissors

Instructions:

1. Cut your paper into one-centimeter-wide strips.

2. Line up your first set of paper strips in a row on top of your wrapped gift. Fold the strips where they meet the edge of the gift box, then tape each strip to the side.

3. Weave the second color through the taped strips to create a heart pattern.

4. Tape down the second side of your first set of strips once you’ve finished weaving. Then carefully tape down the other set of strips.

To begin, cut one-centimeter-wide strips of paper in two different colors. We cut nine strips in dark pink and eight strips in light pink.

Next, line up and center the first set of strips on your wrapped gift. Fold each strip where it meets the edge of the box, then carefully tape each strip to the side. You can use double-sided tape for this step if you don’t want your tape to show.

Now, for the fun part! Carefully weave each strip of your second set through the taped strips. Study these images to get the heart shape down, or go rogue and make your own pattern. It’s kinda hard to make a pixel weave look ugly, so have fun with it! When you’ve created the pattern you like, tape down the second side of the first set, then tape each side of the second set of strips.

This technique would also work using yarn, ribbon or fabric strips. There you have it! You just gave your V-Day gift a facelift in less than five minutes.

Confetti Tape Gift Wrap

We challenge you to find an easier way to dress up your gift wrap. Seriously.

Tools + Materials:

— wrapped gift

— confetti

— double-sided tape

Instructions:

1. Place a strip of double-sided tape on your wrapped gift.

2. Cover your tape in confetti. That’s. It.

First, place a long strip of double sided tape on your present. You can keep it simple with one strip, or add more to amp up the drama.

Next, place your confetti on the sticky tape. Because we used large confetti, we placed each piece on one by one, but you’re welcome to us a “dip” effect, too. The smaller the confetti pieces, the harder it is to mess this one up :)

Another pro tip — go with a very simple wrapping paper pattern if you’re using multicolored confetti. This way, the viewer’s eye will not feel overwhelmed by all of the differing shapes and colors.

Look at that gorgeous gift wrap! A little confetti goes a long way, huh?

Peek-a-Boo Heart Gift Wrap

Like with the confetti tape hack, using simple wrapping paper patterns is best with this technique.

Tools + Materials:

— wrapped gift

— wrapping paper

— pen or pencil

— X-Acto knife

— scrap paper

— tape

— cutting mat

Instructions:

1. Make heart stencils: Draw different-sized hearts on your scrap paper, then cut each out with your X-Acto knife.

2. Trace half of each heart stencil onto your wrapping paper.

3. Cut along the traced lines with your X-Acto knife, then fold over the cut piece so that it creates a heart shape.

4. Tape the wrapping paper to your wrapped gift. Voila!

First, draw different-sized hearts on your piece of scrap paper, then cut them out with your X-Acto knife. These are your stencils for the peek-a-boo hearts.

Trace HALF of each heart stencil onto your wrapping paper, and repeat as many times as you’d like. Be sure to space out each trace so that they won’t overlap when you eventually unfold each heart. When you’ve drawn all of your half-hearts, cut along the lines with the X-Acto knife. Then fold over your cut piece to create a full heart.

Once you’ve unfolded all of your hearts, tape the wrapping paper to your wrapped gift. Be careful as you fold and tape the paper, ensuring that you don’t squish the folded hearts.

Not that we’re picking favorites… but this technique is kind of our favorite ;)

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Here's How Often You Should Cut Your Hair, According To Professionals

I’ll admit it — it had been eight months since my last haircut. My hair had lost its shape, my layers were nowhere to be found, and my ends were begging for mercy. Life got busy over the last few months and I was neglecting my haircare like never before.

My hairdresser could immediately see that I was beyond due for a cut and said I needed to get more taken off than I was hoping. I was definitely disappointed — I'd been working on growing out my hair for a while now, and it just felt like my hard work had completely gone to waste. He explained that getting consistent haircuts is the key to growing out healthy and strong hair, rather than letting it grow and grow until it eventually breaks. So let's dig into the top three things you can do to avoid this scenario!

1. Just Get The Dang Haircut

Also avoiding a haircut like I was? You might want to schedule one at your nearest salon. Like my stylist said, when you wait too long between trims like I did, you risk your hair becoming heavy, dull, and lifeless. When the hair is dry or even dead, it’s nearly impossible for it to hold a curl or style, essentially collapsing on you and taking on more and more heat damage all the while. I know the pain of spending time on a blowout only for it to fall minutes later — it’s the worst.

According to Jack, getting a haircut every 10-12 weeks is the best time frame or your ends will pay the price. Between blow-drying, curling, straightening, sun, and weather, our ends get dry and start to break without the proper care. Getting consistent haircuts allows hair to bounce back, shine, and perform the way we want in a healthy way.

2. Leave-In Conditioners Are Your Friend

His top piece of advice to keep your hair looking and feeling hydrated between trims? Invest in conditioning treatments. Jack swears by the Olaplex conditioning system, specifically the No 3 Hair Perfector. Made with patented OLAPLEX Bond Building Technology™, this conditioning treatment repairs and prevents damage in as little as three minutes. No 3 promises to reduce breakage and visibly strengthen hair, so it’s the perfect assistance to keep ends fresh between cuts. Another conditioning treatments I’ve used and loved for years is the Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask, which is designed to restore moisture, elasticity, and shine to dry hair.

3. Switch Up Your Shampoos

Switching shampoos frequently is a pretty hot tip that I honestly hadn't thought of. Our hair gets used to the same products and grows tired of them, resulting in lackluster locks. Jack’s advice is to switch brands after finishing every bottle of shampoo to bring life back to your hair. Have two brands that you’re loyal to? Even switching back and forth between them after every bottle should make a big difference in your hair. I’m a huge fan of the R+Co Dallas Biotin Thickening Shampoo, which makes my hair look thick and full, as well as the Moroccanoil Hydrating Shampoo, which is so hydrating and gives so much shine.

In the end, navigating your back-and-forth relationship with haircuts often feels like a rollercoaster ride between wanting that fresh look and cringing at the receipt. Luckily, by using conditioning treatments and switching up your products,, you can keep your locks healthy, shiny, and full of life between trims. But take a newly learned lesson out of my book: don't let your ends pay the price for procrastination and just book the haircut.