Would you agree that we probably do 95% of the gift wrapping for the entire year during the next couple of weeks? Are you looking for a few ideas to increase the “glam-factor” under your tree? I’ve always been a fan of cool wrappings and over the years have tried a few that worked, and some that didn’t. If your idea of gift wrapping is sticking one of those atrocious pre-made bows (the ones that come in a bag of 50 for $2.99) onto a package then stay with me; I’ve got a few ideas that may improve your wrapping score. They’re all simple to do, you just need to have the right trimmings (be sure to pick them up when they’re on sale and keep some stock on hand). For the first one, select a pretty paper, wide curling ribbon, and a few small coordinating ornaments to tie into the ribbon:
The teal and green stars were selected to coordinate with the teal stars in the paper.
Here’s a similar wrap styled for a child, with bright paper, wide curling ribbon, and a cute little penguin ornament tied on:
Polka dots are my favorite and this little penguin was too cute to pass up.
This next one is what I call “folk art,” with simple brown postal paper, raffia, and a wooden ornament. This style is ideal for packages that have to be mailed (it’s already flat) and has an old-fashioned feel. Doesn’t it make you want to have cocoa with marshmallows?
This is one of my favorites.
If you’ve been following See How We Sew from our launch in April 2011, you might remember my May 9, 2011 post on fabric flowers. They’re made with the Clover Sweetheart Rose Maker (the large size). All you need to make them is the tool, a strip of fabric, a few folds, stitches and twists. When added to packages they’re quite lovely. Here are three of them, along with raffia and curled paper (more on curled paper later):
Fabric flowers can be lots of fun and very impressive on packages for any occasion!
The next one is elegant and classic with traditional holiday colors. It’s a foil paper, wire ribbon tied in a simple bow and a holiday pick tucked in:
Classic holiday colors!
The last package is an example of curling paper. Years ago I attended a gift-wrapping party. The woman who gave the presentation came in with huge tubs of elaborate papers, ribbons, foils, trims, and everything you could possibly imagine to wrap the most gorgeous packages. The technique that impressed me most was that paper could be curled just like ribbon. Just cut strips of wrapping paper–anywhere from a 1/2″ wide to about 2″ wide–and approximately 15″ long, and then curl them with your scissors from the center (just like you curl ribbon)! Once you’ve got enough strips, use narrow curling ribbon to tie the strips together in the centers and attach them to the package. The more strips you add, the better! Who would have guessed paper would curl? I’ve used this technique for years and it never fails to impress. Hint – it works best if the paper is fairly heavy (very thin paper tends to rip).
Curled strips of paper – who knew!!
You might have noticed a theme in my posts this week (rounding up and wrapping up). That’s because these are my last posts. I have been so fortunate to collaborate with three very talented women. We were challenged both creatively and technically to launch See How We Sew and I’m very proud to have been part of this journey. The past two years working with my blogging-sisters Laura, Darra and Jennifer have been very rewarding. I appreciate and value their support and friendship and wish them continued success as they move forward with See How We Sew.
This transition will enable me to focus on pattern design, so please drop in to visit me at Artichoke Collection. I might pop in for a guest post once in a while, so stay tuned. As a “blogger emeritus,” I’ve been given visiting privileges whenever I’ve got something to share!
Happy holidays and all the best for a creative, healthy, happy new year.
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