I originally posted this as a Valentine’s Day gift wrap idea, but it also works for a beautiful holiday gift wrapping design. Enjoy this repost!
Tag Archives: best holiday gift wrapping
It’s All About the Paper!
This paper makes a statement all on its own. It’s like “chalkboard glam” or something! For this design, I use a layered iridescent white ribbon topped with a very narrow black and white polka dot ribbon that blends beautifully with the paper. I add in a few strands of iridescent curly ribbon, iridescent present stuffing, wire snowflake garland and an inexpensive snowflake ornament. If you’ve been following my Youtube channel you already know that decorative wire garland and shredded present stuffing are two elements I use all the time. Both are MUST buys. They are super inexpensive to use because you only use about 5″ or 6″ of the garland and a few strands of the stuffing. Both elements a great for adding finishing touches that create more interest and dimension in the design. Check out this one minute tutorial to see how it’s done!
Leave your email to the right and see my most current posts as they are published. Check out All Things Christmas! and BOWhemian WRAPsody in the side bar for previous Christmas ideas, recipes, tips and tutorials! Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my youtube channel as well….BOWhemian WRAPsody. Follow the link to see all of my holiday gift wrapping videos!
Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas: Pom Poms, a Star & Candy Jars!
Love this candy jar Christmas wrapping paper. It has just the right amount of sparkle and colour without being over the top! I decided to use a traditional satin ribbon in this design. There is no wire in the ribbon, so I opted to knot it and forgo the bow. Instead, I pull in some silver netted ribbon. This is a great element because it really holds its shape nicely. I rarely wrap or tie bows with it, but rather gather a small strip in the center and tie it where I’ve scrunched it together. In essence, this process creates a bow. It is tied in place with ordinary silver curly ribbon. The other elements I use are green wire pom pom garland and Christmas cracker decorations. My sister in-law always buys crackers (from Costco I think). The ends of the crackers have ribbon and these cute little wires with balls at the ends. Every year they are slightly different, but always the same concept. I collect them from all of the guests and use them for all kinds of projects. Anything with wire has amazing potential…I love to create designs with a 3D aspect to them and these little gems are perfect.
Leave your email to the right and see my most current posts as they are published. Check out All Things Christmas! and BOWhemian WRAPsody in the side bar for previous Christmas ideas, recipes, tips and tutorials! Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my youtube channel as well….BOWhemian WRAPsody. Follow the link to see all of my holiday gift wrapping videos!
READY, SET, WRAP! Candy Style
When it comes to wrapping cylinder gifts…candy style is my #1 technique to tackle them, especially when they are long and skinny. This is one of my favourite ways to wrap stocking stuffers. I’ll often end up adding items like dry shampoo, body spray, etc. The key to wrapping gifts candy style is all in the paper you use. My “go to” paper is the double-sided foil paper from Dollarama. It is super pliable and the double-sided feature makes the ends look great! I also use this technique to wrap stocking stuffers that will fit into a toilet paper roll or cut down wrapping paper tube. In fact, I bought some specialty gel pens for a stocking stuffer this year and a wrapping paper tube was the perfect disguise. Try out this super simple form of wrapping!
Leave your email to the right and see my most current posts as they are published. Check out All Things Christmas! and BOWhemian WRAPsody in the side bar for previous Christmas ideas, recipes, tips and tutorials! Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my youtube channel as well….BOWhemian WRAPsody. Follow the link to see all of my holiday gift wrapping videos!
Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas: Off-Set Focal Point
In today’s holiday gift wrapping tutorial, I demonstrate how to incorporate an inexpensive floral pick into my gift wrapping design. The one I use is quite long, so I off-set the focal point to accommodate the length. I’m quite drawn to asymmetrical designs and will often do this, especially for oblong gifts.
I am very committed to reusing any supplies I can. This particular ribbon has been used for several years and still has the gift tag attached from last year! I love how the glittery polka dot pattern on the ribbon compliments the colours in the paper so nicely. The final material I use in this design is 1/2″ metallic ribbon.
The key to this design is not only the off-set focal point, but also the use of a ribbon shredder to create thin slices of metallic ribbon. I love the “messy” look of thinly shredded ribbon. Although you could curl it as well, I often just mess it up!
Leave your email to the right and see my most current posts as they are published. Check out All Things Christmas! and BOWhemian WRAPsody in the side bar for previous Christmas ideas, recipes, tips and tutorials! Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my youtube channel as well….BOWhemian WRAPsody. Follow the link to see all of my holiday gift wrapping videos!
READY, SET, WRAP! Placemat Pizzazz
I’m so excited to share this gift wrapping idea! I saw this silver placemat at the dollar store several weeks back when they first put out the holiday collection. I immediately saw its value for adding interest and expanding the size of the focal point on larger presents. I often find it hard to make a large gift look great because no matter what you embellish with, it just seems too small for the large surface area of bigger gifts. Although this particular present isn’t huge (just slightly larger than the diameter of the placemat), it still created a very dramatic look. I love how the design on the placemat almost looks like tiny hearts.
I chose to use a plain white paper because the placemat itself makes quite a statement. I wanted to bring in a splash of colour with the ribbon. As I was creating this look, I kept feeling like it needed something more. I am generally a “less is more” kinda gal, but I definitely broke my rule in this design. In addition to the silver placemat and red/silver ribbon, I also used silver elastic ribbon, black ribbon, DIY white paper ribbon, a red bell with silver ribbon, white netting and wired decorative garland. It may seem a bit over the top, but I really felt like the design could handle multiple elements because of the size of the gift.
Check out my latest video to see how I pulled it all together. I have found a few other styles of placemats since picking this one up and can’t wait to use them in future designs…oh the possibilities!
Leave your email to the right and see my most current posts as they are published. Check out All Things Christmas! and BOWhemian WRAPsody in the side bar for previous Christmas ideas, recipes, tips and tutorials! Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my youtube channel as well….BOWhemian WRAPsody. Follow the link to see all of my holiday gift wrapping videos!
Happy Wrapping!
READY, SET, WRAP! Wintery Woodlands
In today’s gift wrapping tutorial, you will see how contemporary elements can be combined with more natural looking embellishments to create a classy Christmas gift look. I found this awesome silver/white woodgrain paper (at Superstore I think??). I feel like wood grain and silver aren’t really an expected combo, but the paper made a great starting point for this wintery design.
MATERIALS:
- woodgrain gift wrap (silver/white)
- green canvas-like fabric ribbon
- white iridescent curly ribbon
- silver wired snowflake garland
- floral pick (pine sprig)
- DIY white clay gift tag/ornament with DIY wood grain stamp to emboss the surface (If you wish to make your own, check out my previous post.) Otherwise, use a purchased gift tag or store bought embellishment….just be sure to stay true to the design.
Procedure:
Find the middle of your ribbon and wrap both ways across the gift (cross formation). Tie a knot with the bottom piece of ribbon in the knot. (I hate the look of the bottom piece being completely flat along the top.) Lay the cut wire across the knot followed by the white ribbon and sprig of greenery. Tie to secure. Loop the ornament and tie to secure. Use the green base ribbon to tie a traditional style bow over the embellishment to hold in place. Play with the design to create dimension and a balanced look. Have 57 seconds? Check out my latest video tutorial to see how easily this look can be created!
Leave your email to the right and see my most current posts as they are published. Check out All Things Christmas! and BOWhemian WRAPsody in the side bar for previous Christmas ideas, recipes, tips and tutorials! Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my youtube channel as well….BOWhemian WRAPsody. Follow the link to see all of my holiday gift wrapping videos!
DIY White Clay Gift Tags
I love the look of salt dough ornaments and have certainly used salt dough for projects in the past, but I was intrigued when I came across this recipe from Tips From a Typical Mom. It’s unlike any recipe I’ve ever used, but I had an ample supply of both cornstarch and baking soda, so thought I’d give it a whirl. Although the ingredients are different, the procedure reminded me of my favourite cooked play dough recipe. The dough is super easy to make and very user friendly. I opted to bake my ornaments/tags, but she suggests air drying as an option, as well. I love how the colour turns out to be a very pure white and I didn’t have any issues with the dough itself.
White Clay Recipe
Ingredients:
Materials:
Procedure:
Place the ingredients in a pot and stir over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken. Stir constantly to avoid scorching. When it appears smooth, like mashed potatoes, remove the pot from the heat. Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover it with a damp cloth to cool. Knead it on a smooth surface (I use my silicone mat for this.) Add more cornstarch if it is too sticky to work with.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Roll out the dough to approximately 1/4″ thick and use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes. Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make a hole at the top of each tag/ornament.
This is when I added texture to some of my shapes using my DIY wood grain stamp. I love the subtle look of the wood grain on the plain white ornaments. Of course, this step is optional, but it was easy to make the stamp and could probably be used with different mediums (although I haven’t yet tried it). When using the stamp to imprint the dough, you do not need to add much pressure and don’t worry if you apply it unevenly. The imperfection is what makes it look great!
Bake for 30 minutes, turn and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
Once cooled, thread a string through the hole. If you opt to use the ornaments as a gift tag, just write your message on the bag with a Sharpie! So cute! These gift tags could easily be reused for immediate family. If you opt to “gift” them, you may want to add the date to the back, as they make a nice keepsake.
Leave your email to the right and see my most current posts as they are published. Check out All Things Christmas! and BOWhemian WRAPsody in the side bar for previous Christmas ideas, recipes, tips and tutorials! Don’t forget to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my youtube channel as well….BOWhemian WRAPsody. Follow the link to see all of my holiday gift wrapping videos!
Holiday Gift Wrapping: Stars & Frosted Berries
For this design, I opted to go with a plain black wrapping paper. The paper has quite a flat sheen and works nicely with the shiny black ribbon. To finish off this elegant look, I simply trimmed down a Christmas Floral Pick and secured it with wired garland.
I’m always looking for ways to create an impressive look on a limited budget. I recommend purchasing one or two Christmas Floral Picks per year. I usually buy them on sale… often at the end of the season. This makes them affordable to include on any gift, but you can also opt to reserve them for immediate family, so that you can reuse them. I have a limited number of these, but am amazed at how I can completely change the look of a gift by varying the ribbon and paper from year to year.
Finally, I used decorative wired garland to secure the floral pick to the bow. The garland not only adds interest and dimension, but the wire is very handy for securing the floral element.
Check out my latest video to see how easy it is to pull this look together!
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DIY Washi Tape Tree Tags
Gift tags certainly aren’t expensive and there are many beautiful options now a days, but that wasn’t always the case. I used to find that a majority of tags were either tacky or used colour combinations that were difficult to work with. The styles and designs have really improved over the last few years with many more options that are less busy and more versatile. These “Washi Tape” Christmas trees are not so much about saving money (although they probably cost no more that a couple of cents each), but rather just a fun DIY project that takes no more than a few minutes to add a personal homemade touch to your gifts. It is also a great way to use up those rolls of Washi Tape that you’ve collected and have yet to use!
I simply mounted the Washi Tape on a chunk of leftover card stock (about 4″ X 8 1/2″). My tape was older and wasn’t sticking well, so I just reinforced it with double-sided tape. I then flipped the cardstock and measured off 2″ staggered guide marks across the top and bottom (on the back). The guide marks were made every 2″, but with one end starting 1″ in from the edge to set up the “stagger” for diagonal cuts. I then used the guide marks to cut narrow triangle Christmas trees.
Check out this short video to see how it’s done!
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