Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With... Washi Tape!

This Christmas my gift wrapping was all about decorative tape!   

 

 

 

It's so easy to add simple stripes of washi or glitter tape to plain parcels, and the effect is fantastic. I wrapped all my gifts with brown paper then decorated them with lines of pretty tape: narrow but super sparkly glitter tape, and a trio of green and pink tapes with festive woodland designs on them.

I'd really recommend this as an easy way to wrap special gifts, whatever the occasion. Just choose tape in appropriate colours and designs and get sticking. Everyone was a lot more impressed with the results than my level of effort really deserved!

The glitter tape looked really fabulous against the plain brown parcel paper.

Top tip: if you're adding stripes to the centre of a parcel, start with the line that's in the very centre then work outwards.

Try to keep your lines evenly space and if you're adding two overlapping sets of stripes make sure to take extra care that you're sticking the colours in the same order each time. I wrapped these gifts quite late one night and didn't pay enough attention to the colours and was super annoyed when I realised my mistake.

Of course, this is one of those things where really no-one will notice you've made a mistake unless you point it out to them but if you're a crafty perfectionist like me it will get on your nerves!

The gifts I wrapped with the pretty woodland tape were much more subtle than all that colourful glitter (everything is more subtle than glitter, isn't it?)  but the finished effect was still very lovely.

As you can see I used six stripes per parcel, varying the position of the stripes to give each package a slightly different look. 

I didn't get a chance to take close-up pics of these so you can see just how pretty that tape looked because my camera battery died about 30 seconds after taking the photos in this post... but here's a card I made using tape from the same range. Isn't it charming?

Click here for lots of ideas for making simple cards with washi tape (this post was originally designed as a Christmas crafting post, but if you use non-Christmassy tape I think these card designs would work all year round), or visit my tutorial archive for lots more card-making and gift wrapping ideas.

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.

Gift Wrap Idea: Buttons

With all my business parcels packed and posted for the year it's time to turn my attention to my own Christmas gifts!

I'm using lots of yarn and pompoms (perfect for making use of the leftover yarn from the scarves I've been knitting) but I'm also trying out a few other ideas including one I'd like to share with you today... decorating your gifts with lovely buttons.

 

If you've got any crafty friends I think using craft supplies like buttons (or beads) and ribbon is a fab way to personalise their gifts. And because they'll be able to add the trimmings to their supplies stash and use them to make new things it's eco friendly too.

Start with a simple wrapped parcel (regular readers will know I'm a big fan of brown paper!) and tie ric rac, ribbon, yarn, lace or any other trims you fancy round it.

You can keep it simple with one striking trim like this ric rac...

... or use lots of co-ordinating trims together:

 

Then you need to add the buttons - this is a bit fiddly but well worth it. Thread an assortment of buttons onto a length of embroidery thread or yarn, and then weave the string around the ribbon so the button string becomes intertwined and the buttons are evenly spaced.

You don't need buttons for the underside of the parcel so I'd recommend tying one button string top to bottom around the parcel and a second string left to right (instead of using one long piece as you would with a normal bit of ribbon) leaving the ends of each string empty and tying the ends together on the underside of the parcel.

 

Another way to use buttons in your wrapping (and fewer of them!) is to make a button tag.

You can make a homemade tag easily with some cardstock, a holepunch and some embroidery thread or yarn as a string, or raid your stationery supplies if you've got some! Use a needle to pole the holes you'll need and then sew your buttons onto the tag using a double thickness of thread or some embroidery thread.

 

Use some sticky tape to secure the end of the thread and cover your sewing with a large address label or use craft glue to stick down a piece of paper or card.

 

Then write your tag and tie it to your parcel. Lovely.

 

PS if you'd like to add a vintage crafty feel to your gift wrapping without any of this messing around with buttons check out these lovely downloadable tags from doe-c-doe - button cards and vintage trims.

Please feel free to borrow one or two photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire post on your site. Thanks!

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