Back when I started the challenge I'd thought "I'll just do this as an Instagram thing! Have some fun, take some pictures, maybe do some quick round-up blog posts! I won't worry about blogging about it properly!"... but you know, looking back at it, I'm annoyed that I didn't take a bit of extra time to blog about it properly. Instagram and Twitter and so on can be a lot of fun, but they're so fleeting.
(I've been doing monthly(ish) blog posts featuring my Instagram pics for this very reason - it's fun sharing photos on Instagram, etc, but blogging about them feels a bit more permanent, like putting photos in an album, something to look back on in future years).
So, I'm finally going to start blogging about this project properly! I've got last year's ideas to catch up on and then I'll blog about the remaining 90 (!!) ideas sporadically, as and when I get round to, you know, actually coming up with them (this may take me a while).
To kick things off, here's four ways you can use crafty supplies to jazz up your gift wrapping. I like to use brown paper for wrapping my gifts as it makes a nice simple base onto which you can put as much colour and general loveliness as you want, but you guys can (of course) use any gift wrap you fancy as your "base" to start with...
Pompoms.
Pompoms are awesome: so colourful, so fluffy, so fun! You can buy big bags of these from the kids section of craft shops, in loads of great colours.
Three large pompoms in a row look great, and just one large pompom would look great stuck to a small gift. With smaller pompoms you can arrange them in a colourful line across your parcel or stick them at random.
I just stuck pompoms to the top of my parcels, but you could stick them on the sides as well for ultimate fluffiness.
I used double-sided sticky tape to attach my pompoms to the paper. Double-sided tape is easy to use (stick the tape to the paper then the pompom on top) but it doesn't hold the pompoms very firmly - it'd be fine if, say, you were wrapping a gift and putting it on the breakfast table to be opened on a birthday morning, but not great if you were carrying a parcel to a birthday party and lost a bunch of pompoms along the way!
For a firmer hold, you can use craft glue but remember that wet glue might seep through the paper, so only use it for packages in boxes or ones wrapped in plastic (e.g. some bubblewrap) so the item inside won't get damaged.
You could also make a string of pompoms to wrap around your gift (see the bottom right of the photos, above). Use a large, sharp sewing needle to thread lots of pompoms on a piece of embroidery thread then wrap the thread round and round the parcel, positioning the pompoms nicely. I secured the ends of my thread with pieces of sticky tape.
Beads.
This wrapping idea is super colourful, and the gift wrapping is actually a second (small) gift, as the beads can be kept and re-used once the parcel is opened. I used some gorgeous painted wooden beads, but bright plastic ones would look awesome too.
String lots of large beads onto a long piece of yarn - yarn is perfect for this as the fibres help keep the beads in place. I love this extra fluffy yarn, it's a great colour and the fluffiness adds another interesting texture to the parcel. If you don't knit, you could use string or embroidery thread instead... or just ask a knitter you know if they have any leftover bits of yarn going spare!
To decorate the gift, secure one end of the yarn to the bottom of the parcel with a piece of tape then wind it round and round and round - positioning the beads so they sit along the top of the parcel only. Once you're happy with how it looks, cut the yarn and secure the end underneath the parcel with another piece of tape.
Buttons.
This is a great way to wrap a gift for a crafty friend - you can never have too many buttons, right??
Plastic buttons stick brilliantly with double sided tape. You could stick them at random across the parcel, or stick them in a row down the centre (like the row of pompoms).
For a really fancy look, mark out simple designs with small buttons (or big buttons on a large parcel). I chose a heart, but initials would also look great. Plan the button arrangement first, laying them out on your desk or a piece of paper then transferring them one by one to the top of the parcel and sticking them in place.
The double sided tape will leave a slightly sticky residue on the buttons, but they can easily be cleaned then re-used for more gift wrapping or other crafty projects.
Feathers.
Another kids craft favourite, bright feathers are great for quick, easy, colourful gift wrapping. This idea definitely works best with a totally flat surface to work with, like a book or a gift in a box.
Use a dab of craft glue to hold each feather in place - remember that the glue could seep through the paper so use this for a gifts in boxes or wrapped in plastic (bubblewrap, etc) so they won't get damaged by the glue.
I arranged my bright feathers in colour order but you could choose feathers that are all the same colour to co-ordinate with colourful gift wrap, or mix and match colours. The bigger your parcel, of course, the more feathers you can add.
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