CREATIVE GIFT WRAPS
Gift wrapping ideas – techniques that will turn unwrapping into an adventure!
Wrapping gifts can be just as enjoyable as actually buying the present. Nowdays, there are so many different options to choose from and wrapping has become a real crafty skill. From the choice of materials to the use of seal wax or calligraphy, you too can give extra attention to how beautifully your gift is presented to your loved one.
I have gathered some of my most favourite gift wrapping ideas that will not only look amazing but thanks to them you can learn a variety of techniques that will even help you grow your designing abilities as an artist!
How do you pack a birthday gift? Simple wrapping paper & seal wax technique
Birthdays birthdays birthdays – evergreen all year round! Birthdays happen all the time and it’s a great opportunity to choose gifts that will bring joy, and also a chance to add personal touch via great wrapping technique. It’s easy to choose a wrapping paper, cut a piece out and write a name on top, maybe not even that. But does this show real effort? What if you want to wrap the gift beautifully without paying extra to have it done for you?
Social media nowdays are full of gorgeous creative DIY projects and gift wrapping can be one of them. And it doesn’t have to be expensive! The base is a simple, tasteful wrapping paper that you wrap your gift in, plus there is one simple additional step that will add the stylish touch of a designer! This is the sophisticated beauty of seal wax, which I love to use for different crafty projects, for example the DIY tea bags.
What you’ll need?
- wrapping paper of your choice
- transparent sticky tape
- seal wax stick in a colour pallette of your choice
- seal wax stamp – design can be prepared and also custom made if you prefer to display your own brand
- a candle
- silver thread
Wrap the present in the wrapping paper of your choice and secure with a piece of sticky tape. Once your present is wrapped, take the silver thread and turn it around the item a few times, no need to make the individual threads meet. Leaving the thread naturally spread will give an organic, rustic look.
Put about 0.5cm of the seal wax stick into a tea spoon (can use melting seal wax spoon too) and hold it above the candle until the wax is melted. Hold both ends of the thread with your fingers while pouring the wax over the top. Before the wax cools down, press the seal wax stamp on top and leave for 10 seconds. Remove and you’re done!
This technique is very straight forward – the key is in the colour choices. Whether you’re a fan of funky colourful patterns or prefer more of the pastel/neutral/nude colour scheme, make sure the pattern goes well with the wrapping paper design, seal wax and the thread. I used silver but you can pick any colour you love!
How do you wrap Christmas presents creatively? The magic of white ink!
Calligraphy technique is becomming very popular, in both simple home DIY projects and professional stationery & invitation making businesses. It’s an inexpensive yet very eye catching way to decorate, create professional graphics and even mixed media art. There are also two simple ways to use the same skill – by applying dark ink onto lighter background and by swithing the tools the other way around – white ink on dark background. For this wrapping project I chose the second option!
What you’ll need?
- ordinary brown wrapping paper
- heavier weight stationery paper in dark colour shade of your choice
- rustic wrapping thread
- simple dip pen
- white ink
- folk pattern & botanical design inspiration (a photo, a book or even an image on Pinterest)
Initially, I decided to draw white/salmon/gold colour ‘terrazzo’ inspired pattern across the entire piece of wrapping paper cut out according to the size of the present. However, then I came across a botanical image of magnolia tree and changed the idea to a simple, line art botanical drawing across one side of the present. On the other side I used even darker, charcoal grey paper card which I covered in simple folk design pattern using dip pen and white ink. Once the folk drawing was finished and dry, I used the hole punch to make holes, one on each edge, and used a rustic wrapping thread to hold it in place.
How do you wrap a present step by step? What can I use as wrapping paper?
The answer is fabric – the amazing Furoshiki way of wrapping items in a piece of cloth!
It reminds me of all the fairytales I was told as a kid – almost all began with the line ‘There was a young man called Ian, one day he decided to leave his home and go explore the world. The only thing he brought with him was a bundle of homebaked cakes wrapped in a scarf.’ And then there was this image of a barefoot guy with a big smile, old linen shorts, white shirt and long branch with a little bag hanging off of the end, made of the scarf. He would walk from village to village, exchanging work for roof and some food, and eventually he’d find the love of his life, work for her father and they would get married. I just love fairytales!
It seems that wrapping items in a piece of cloth is popular in many places, including Japan. The technique is called Furoshiki and it’s yet another creative idea influenced by skillful and sophisticated Japanese culture, similarly to the kimono DIY fashion project I finished recently. Despite being a tradition, this technique seems to have survived into the modern days due to the qualities and symbolism it represents. In fact, flooded with plastic waste. cloths and ‘zero-waste-living’ among consuming society is becoming increasingly popular because of the more enviromentally gentle ability to recycle. The modern name ‘furoshiki’ has changed throughout Japanese generations and is supposed to come from the word ‘furo’ which means ‘bath’. It’s believed that initially, durint the Nara period the cloth was used to wrap imperial treasures, and later to also carry noblemen’s clothes.
There are many different wrapping ways and styles, each of them has it’s own name. The wrapping technique depends on the size and shape of the wrapped content, you can beautifully wrap anything from a neatly regular box to a framed image to a bottle of wine! There are also different cloth prints and designs, depending on the occassion you can choose both the most suitable pattern and the wrapping style.
Wrapping Project
For my project I chose two square (approx. 40x40cm) pieces of cloth, the first with one soft salmon pink colour and no pattern, and the second more colourful – ivory with lovely pastel print of swallows. To wrap I chose one of the basic techniques using two tie knots. The unusual texture of a fabric and the pattern on it are more than enough when it comes to creative presentation. Gifts wrapped in the furoshiki style don’t need any additional design touches!
Patricia sadler
I found this site both beautiful and fascinating . Thank you so much for sharing all the ideas
Tricia Sadler