Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Gift Wrapping: The Joy of Kraft Paper
One of the more "random" questions I get asked a lot about my blog is "where can I buy some of that stripey brown paper you use in your gift wrapping projects?" As you can see, I use this paper a lot...
(Click on the images throughout this post to view the full gift wrap how to for each project).
The soft, subtle stripe gives a lovely soft, retro feel to your gift-wrapping and it's a great neutral on top of which you can pile lots of colour and sparkle and general glitz!
This type of paper is known as "kraft" paper - I think it's a lot more common / popular in the USA than it is here? Most of the folks who ask me about it tend to be from the UK, anyway. I always buy a roll or two of it if I spot it somewhere and I know my supplies are running low (they sometimes have it in Post Offices, or in pound shops) but a Google search for it usually brings up the sort of packaging supplies companies where you have to buy giant rolls of everything which isn't exactly ideal for recommending to people when they email me!
But - good news! - I have recently found a couple of UK-based shops that sell it in sensible non-wholesale sizes, so I thought I'd share the links with you guys in case you fancy getting some for your own gift-wrapping supplies stash... and so I've got a post I can link people to in future when they ask :)
"Party & celebrations" store Pipii sells it in 8 metre rolls:
And stationery store Paperchase sells it in 5 metre rolls. They also sell some awesome silver and gold kraft paper which is another of my gift-wrapping staples, I just love it. Added bonus: it's recycled.
Every time I buy some I think "oh, it would be silly to buy more than one roll of this, don't go crazy and spend all your money on rolls of paper, you idiot" and then regret not buying more as it's always gone in a flash. I use it a lot for wrapping Christmas gifts...
(The gold wrap in the photos above actually came from Oxfam. They always have a nice range of recycled wrapping paper in their shops in the run up to Christmas. I've also bought huge rolls of yummy red kraft wrap from IKEA's Christmas store)
... and it's great for paper crafting too.
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9 comments:
Lovely post! I've been a fan of kraft paper for a long while now and particularly the printed rolls you can get at Christmas - I find it much nicer to work with when wrapping and it rarely tears or punctures once done.
I love the plaited 'ribbon'.
I shall endeavour to use it more for everyday wrapping - I'm lucky as our local post office stocks it in rolls.
I love using kraft paper as wrapping paper. For a few years I've been using finger paints and handmade stencils to decorate it with, and people seem to enjoy receiving handmade gifts inside handmade wrapping paper. Even better, presents look great wrapped in matching paper :)
I prefer Kraft paper to wrapping paper too - all my presents come wrapped in brown paper with a nice bit of ribbon. It saves having hoards of different wrapping paper for birthdays, christenings, christmases, etc! And frankly, I just like buying ribbon :)
as someone who only ever wraps with plain gold paper, I know how difficult that can be to track down, but the mind simply boggles that some people can't work out where to buy simple old fashioned brown/craft paper - I know at least four shops withing half a mile of my house that stock it
I just bought a roll of it from Wilkinsons this morning - complete coincident though as I've only just read this post.
Love seeing all the giftwrapping you've done with it - so many lovely ideas :-)
love these red pompom, beautiful..
I love kraft paper! I buy mine from Wilkinson's, they seem to do reasonably priced 5 meter rolls :)
InkyIshtar - Ooh, handpainted / stencilled wrapping paper sounds lovely! Love the idea of designing the paper to match the gift, too.
Claire - Yup, plain giftwrap is so versatile! And I have to admit to having a bit of a ribbon-buying addiction myself :)
Tanya - I think it probably depends where you live! I've had problems locating shops that sell it in the past.
Jessica - thanks!
Chloe - ah, I forgot about Wilko, I think I've got a roll from there in my gift-wrapping stash at the moment :)
I found some on eBay in the uk! Thank you for the lovely examples!
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