Untreated wax-free kraft paper can be recycled and can be purchased from any good craft store. Most commercial papers can only be used once and will reach the incinerator or landfill. Picture: iStock
A few weeks ago, I bought a beautifully made bowl and accepted an enthusiastic offer for free in-house gift packaging. It slid back in front of me in frustration, stuffed it into a crumpled paper bag, and strangled it with duct tape. Packaging is a lost art, and the in-store packaging service may be amazing, or it may be very lacking.
Here are some ideas to wrap your feelings with some decorative fun. Remember, Christmas gifts will stay in people’s sight for several days, so its shape can play an important role. Spend a Sunday afternoon, bring the kids, and try the layered, highly textured vintage packaging, which is perfect.
Let’s start with the packaging itself-you don’t have to use paper directly, and of course you don’t have to use rolls of commercial paper for every gift. Fabrics, from cute remnants to rags on summer clothes, or fresh, burlap, delicate tea towels or napkins (personal pieces make sweet reward gifts) can work well.
As long as we can cut the material into neat edges, and fold and fix these edges to seal the packaging, book pages, old maps, old newspapers, and printed images of free clipart on the Internet are all winners. Wallpaper samples with rich patterns are also very suitable for removing small details or as a complete package.
Sheet music, clip art, or real (you can often find second-hand yellowed sheets) are a great way to bring origami lovers together as gifts for music lovers.
Pink scissors can be used to cut neat edges on lightweight cotton or paper, but don't worry too much about recycled textiles, just cut off any abrasions. Crisp packaging technology is everywhere on YouTube and Instagram. They all rely on double folding.
Tuck up the cut edge with a thin fold, then swipe it firmly with your fingernail. For heavier fabrics such as linen napkins-secure the end of the package with a safety pin and camouflage it under a wide silk ribbon. In order to be free of wrinkles and tape-explore Japanese Furoashiki-style binding fabrics.
With a good foundation, we want to decorate the package, and the other two layers will add a unique personality. Ordinary kraft paper (120 million euros and 25 euros from rocabapack.ie) is the most popular because it is very suitable for pasting, wrapping or template decoration-if you want a jingle, all three are fine. If the piece is awkwardly shaped or hinged; put it in a box or cardboard tube before packaging. Trawl magazines and other paper mayflies that are about to enter the green trash can. You can choose old greeting cards with paper cut images.
Use nail scissors to cut out beautiful, nostalgic or seasonal patterns as close as possible to the edges of the image. Wallpaper samples with rich patterns-again great for removing small details or as a complete package. PVA glue is very suitable for wrapping in crazy explanatory paper and drying and transparent; it will hide your sloppy mistakes.
If you are looking for a naturally slanted or vintage finish, stick to sepia, rain, gray, and white as anchor materials, and add slightly faded watercolor tones. Glittering like artificial colors will ruin this romantic, yesterday-feeling-relax on a lametta or spray glitter with dull, silent metal.
Naturally found materials and even pressed plants are lovely-just make sure they are not torn, punctured or turned into dust during processing. Fresh fir or eucalyptus spray and a small piece of cinnamon are classic and delicious scents. If it is really convenient for you, you can rub some citrus rounds into tiny stained glass features, or tuck a small cane into a ribbon or twine.
Pure black matte paper looks great, wrapped in white or Scandinavian diagonal red and white striped rope, with card luggage tags and some golden or silver natural leaves sprayed from the center.
A single photo printed at home on paper with a white border (like in the classic 4"x6" Kodak) can identify the recipient. If you have adult childhood photos, they will appreciate the touch very much. Glue it directly to the center of the gift like the beginning of a biography.
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That kind of junk magazine/paper-cut style-put paper and small crafts on the basis of the packaging before fixing it with traditional rope or ribbon? There are thousands of possibilities.
This kind of hobby packaging can be traced back to the Victorian era. If you have children, they usually have smart ideas and large amounts of materials recovered from under the bed and from toy boxes. Push-out carts and superheroes (usually left in dedicated art books)-very useful. What about the rich illustrations in those comics?
If someone likes dachshunds-find all the clip art you can find on the Internet, print them in different proportions on A4 paper, and then cut them out and stick them on the gift, wrapping the edges directly like a standard gift wrap.
Bells and baubles cut from old Christmas wreaths or your cat collar can be worn on the ribbon. Paper chains (you can easily make them into various shades) can be cut into a circle and placed on the corner of the gift, and then mixed into other pasted decorations.
The fun of bagged small decorative statues and trees in European shops-cheap and cheerful. Just don't put them on gifts for children who may be choked by these elements. Using brown or plain matte paper that can hold paint, the template is safe and fast for multiple large gifts. Check out handmade shops online, Eason, and Homesense to learn about templates, stamps, and wheels that use tinned ink.
It is not necessary to fix the package to fix the ribbon or rope. For paper (which you think may not be stored), please fix the package with tape first. Look through your handicrafts carefully and set aside some bright wool and any eye-catching twine or brightly colored thick threads.
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Try wrapping white tailoring patterns in brown paper and decorating with graffiti lines of bright wool. The white fabric wrapped asymmetrically in different directions allows you to stuff other small objects from the holly paper (you—not really!) onto the dried flowers. Curtain decorations with small pom-poms or tassels-check the trash can in your local clothing store or charity store.
Absolutely simple? A brown sandwich bag was folded neatly at the top several times and fastened firmly with wooden clothespins. For a bit of kitsch, a few primary colors of plastic nails will be amazing.
For more ideas on wrapping stylish gifts for your holiday gifts, check out the Chasing Daisies blog.
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