Flowers and foliage wrapped onto a pick or vine are two examples of what’s added around and in-between gift basket products.

It’s an adornment that pulls the theme together and elevates its attraction.

But are enhancements required, or have we become so used to adding them that it’s now a necessity?

I didn’t buy enhancements when I began making gift baskets. I only wanted gifts, shred, and some stabilizing materials within my designs.

Then I started experimenting with adding picks, which I believed were pleasing to my clients, the people who have the final say with their dollars about what they’ll buy.

I found that my clients didn’t care whether or not enhancements were included. They wanted beautifully-constructed gifts that were worth the price. That’s their bottom line, so sometimes I’ll add foliage and other times I won’t depending on the theme and recipient.

How about you? Are their times when making gift baskets you ask yourself, “Do I really need these enhancements?“

Shirley George Frazier

Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the world’s authority on the gift basket industry. She is head basketologist at Sweet Survival LLC (known on the web as GiftBasketBusiness.com), which assists creative people to turn their passion into rewarding businesses. Shirley is also author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. If you're looking for a speaker who's easy to work with, one that attendees will thank you for bringing to the event, contact Shirley at 973-279-2799 or Shirley@ShirleySpeaks.com.

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When you attend this season’s trade shows, you’ll see lots of ribbon and be very tempted to buy.

What about the spools of ribbon currently in your workspace? Do you really need more?

Now’s the time to take inventory of the sizes, colors, and styles you have so you don’t duplicate what’s already in stock.

Here’s what to consider.

• Which styles sell faster? Replenish it.
• What colors are missing? Even though you have none, think before you buy.
• Which ribbon in your inventory needs a partner? A second color to make a two-tone bow will make good use of what you already have.

Ribbon is very intoxicating, and it’s also a huge expense if you’re not careful.

Know what you own. Buy what sells.

Shirley George Frazier

Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the world’s authority on the gift basket industry. She is head basketologist at Sweet Survival LLC (known on the web as GiftBasketBusiness.com), which assists creative people to turn their passion into rewarding businesses. Shirley is also author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. If you're looking for a speaker who's easy to work with, one that attendees will thank you for bringing to the event, contact Shirley at 973-279-2799 or Shirley@ShirleySpeaks.com.

Related articles:

1. How to Stop Buying What No One Except You Wants
2. She’s Going Out of Business. Can I Buy Her Inventory?

When gift basket expert, Flora Brown, and I roamed throughout downtown Los Angeles to find product resources for a special report created years ago, we were astounded by a bow style that one woman displayed to us.

We made sure to spend extra time in her store, watching the woman as she fashioned the bow in a way we’d never seen before.

It made a gorgeous topping atop the baby gift basket she made. That bow tutorial is available in the membership club, so if you’re a Silver or Elite member, sign in and watch the video.

This tutorial is just in time for you to create this same bow for your Administrative Professionals Week and Mother’s Day baskets.

Other bow styles are available through this link and this link at GiftBasketVideo.com.

What’s your favorite bow style, and why?

Shirley George Frazier

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Which enhancements are your favorite?

There are many to choose from. Here are the five that I tend to use often.

1. Palmetto fans

2. Greenery on long vines

3. Berry cluster picks

4. Star spray (shown in the picture above from The Gift Basket Design Book)

5. Golden dragonflies

Some of these enhancements will accompany me to Washington, D.C., when I conduct a seminar there on March 31. If you’re in the area, click this link to register and join me.

Which enhancements show up most often in your gift baskets?

Shirley George Frazier

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When I found this article about a North Carolina-based gift basket designer, my first thought was that the article would allow me to point out some ideas the designer shares with readers.

My hopes were realized when I read that the designer’s chamber of commerce affiliation increases the number of prospects who become her clients.

What I’m pleased to see in the accompanying article is the ribbon dispenser attached to the wall. It’s huge, holding what appears to be dozens of ribbon rolls ready for bowmaking in every size, shape, color, and style. Talk about efficient!

The ribbon page at GiftBasketBusiness.com shares information about the different types of ribbon available to create many bow styles, but it doesn’t share news (not yet, anyway) about dispensers since there are so many options that designers install within their studios, from opaque containers to rain gutters to tabletop systems.

What do you think about the ribbon dispenser shown in the article? Do you have a similar one in your office, or does this one give you ideas for an upgrade you’ll ask Santa to deliver on Christmas day?

Shirley George Frazier

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This wedding gift wrapping became the center of attention at an engagement party I attended two weeks ago.

All the guests, including men, asked me about the wrapping technique. You’ll find some ideas at the CellophaneWrapTips.com site.

What I believe to be most intriguing is:

• The cellophane, which is printed in a manner that shields the gift
• The fan topper, which resembles a festive collar
• The bow, made with a beautiful ribbon print

The fan topper video is available below, and the bow tutorial is found at GiftBasketVideo.com through this link.

What’s your special technique for creating a stylish wedding gift basket?

Shirley George Frazier

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Large pull bows were my choice to sit atop gift baskets before I attended a bowmaking class in the early 1990s at the California Gift Show.

That’s where bowmaker extraordinare, Juanita Lewis, conducted a tutorial guiding about 30 attendees to make bows during the 45-minute event.

At the end, our bows were grand and beautiful even though everyone thought “the other person’s bow” looked better. I was thrilled and remember bringing the bow home in hand on the 3,000 mile flight.

My first How to Make a Bow video, which you can watch through this link, has been an online favorite for several years. I’ve updated that video, which you can watch above, to include two types of ribbon.

You’ll find more information about where to find ribbon on this page at GiftBasketBusiness.com and more video tutorials at GiftBasketVideo.com.

Where did you learn to make your first bow? Was it at a craft store, watching a tutorial that played on a screen? Did a Web video show you the basics?

Shirley George Frazier

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The first time I saw faux peacock feathers extending from the top of a gift basket, the idea of adding something new, different, or dramatic atop my own baskets made me more aware of the possibilities.

Bows and ribbon also make a huge impact as an all-occasion enhancement, and the same is true about fan toppers, which is demonstrated in a new video on the GiftBasketVideo.com site.

Which enhancement is not only your favorite but also the one that lights up customers’ eyes? Is it cattails, ting-ting, star spray, or another addition?

Shirley George Frazier

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