Ready, Set, Wrap! Rustic Love Holiday Wrap

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!

ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS #2!

gift wrapping

REPOST: Gift Wrapping Tips: Post 1 (Original post December 5, 2013)

I love to decorate gifts. Back in the “olden days” when I didn’t have so much on my plate, I would be done my Christmas shopping by the end of October and be completely wrapped and ready to go by the end of November. I’ve come to accept that my years of getting all my shopping done early are over. I now to do most of my shopping online and tend to leave the bulk of it until Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I still try to support local when possible, but have definitely been sucked in by the convenience of shopping from home. I’ve never been much of a shopper (other than thrift stores of course). I’m not a browser and wouldn’t think of going to the mall just “for something to do”. When I go shopping I’m generally on a mission, with a list in hand. It just does nothing for me.

Regardless of how early I complete my shopping, I always use the same system for wrapping.

  • Basically, I wrapped all the gifts in one sitting (or at least most of them). This might take me several hours, but I find it works best for me. Binge wrap!
  • I do not add any ribbons, bows, tags or embellishments at this time. I simply choose paper, wrap and then write the person’s name (very small) on the bottom of the gift.
  • This allows me to stack and store oodles of gifts without having to compensate for the bows.  
  • I then set aside another block of time (several hours) and set to work decorating each gift. I love to do this and I thought I’d share a few of my favourite tricks!

Wrapping on a Budget

First of all, I spend very little on wrapping paper and embellishments. I always purchase materials when Christmas stuff is on clearance. I often pick up beautiful wire rimmed ribbon at Michael’s for up to 90% off. I also purchase many of the items I use from the dollar store. It’s all about how the items are used and combined with other elements. The example I am sharing today includes mostly dollar store items.

For this particular project, I used dollar store wrapping paper and dollar store wire rimmed ribbon. I can’t remember if I bought the wire holly garland and metallic shreds at the dollar store or not, but probably.  I had both on hand from last year.

I tend to use primarily wire rimmed ribbon. I will occasionally use the curly ribbon, but most often to dress-up the embellishment a bit. I wrapped the gift with one band of ribbon and tied a nice big bow. (Did you know a BOW on a gift represents family ties and the fact that we should be tied together in bonds of goodwill?) I then slipped a bit of metallic shreds beneath the bow. The shreds are not silver or gold, but rather that clear “opalescent” look. (Don’t you love that word?)  I love how it just punches up the bow and seems to fill the dead space a bit. I then like to take a 6 to 8 inch piece of wire garland and slide it under the shreds and then twist it on top of the bow to hold everything in place. I like to leave the ends of the wire garland sticking out. This look is really easy to achieve and yet takes a simple ribbon and bow and kicks it up a notch. I often choose gift tags with a string. I just prefer the “hanging” look over stickers. Such is the case with this tag. I just looped it over the wire garland.

You already know how obsessed I am with re-using and re-purposing items, so I am sure you won’t be all that surprised to know that I collect the ribbons and bows on Christmas morning and re-use many of them the following year. I have even been known to leave the tags attached and use it for the same person. Thus, my stash of beautiful ribbons and bows does not need to be replenished that often.

ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS #1! Cellophane Bows

I decided to dive into the archives throughout December and do some re-posting! I certainly hope to including some new posts as well, but watch for my daily posts about ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS…mostly a trip down memory lane re-visiting posts from Decembers past!

Gift Wrapping Tips: Post 2 (original post December 8, 2013)

I love all things pretty, but am also very frugal. Cellophane is one of my secret weapons when it comes to making gifts look great on a budget. Of course, you can pick-up a roll for a buck and get numerous bows out of one roll.

cellophane

I purchase printed cellophane, solid colours and also love the look of the clear.

 Cellophane Bows:

    • Purchase dollar store cellophane and cut off 2 to 3 strips. I generally make my strips the about 4 inches wide and the length is equal to that of the width of the roll.  The size can be altered to fit the size of the gift you are decorating.
      cut cellophane strips

      This bow was made with only two strips of cellophane.

    • Stack the strips.
    • Scrunch up the strips in the center so that the entire strip is gathered together in the center. (You know, similar to the tissue flowers we made back in the 70’s!) The YouTube video gives a great tutorial for making the tissue flowers, but these are much easier. Less layers, no folding (just scrunch), no trimming the ends to form a petal shape and less to pull apart after.
      Scrunch up cellophane

      Scrunch up the cellophane in the center of the strip, until the entire length of the strip has been gathered up.

    • With the center pinched tightly, tie a string or ribbon around the cellophane to secure it in the middle . You can tie it onto the gift at this stage or after the flower has been pulled apart. Regardless, the final step is to pull the layers of cellophane apart to create a very full looking cellophane flower.

I always incorporate a few other things to finish off the gift. In this case, the final look was made with these three items:

The thing I like best about cellophane is that you can create any kind of look you want depending on the colours and patterns you use. The ribbon and other embellishments can make you gift look fun or elegant, depending on what kind of look you are going for. Get creative and see what you can add to your gifts to dress-up a simple cellophane bow!

 

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!

Cstmas cracker upcycle
Christmas Cracker Decorations

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:

  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 1 cup baking soda
  • 3/4 cup water
  • You can add food colouring if you want….but why would you? White rules!
  • Materials:

    I used a variety of cookie cutters for the tags. I just picked up the two green ones from Michael’s and they are pretty cool because they cut the shape and emboss the surface at the same time!
    • rolling pin
    • cookie cutters
    • DIY homemade woodgrain stamp (see video)

    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!