It’s been a good many years since I’ve enjoyed wrapping presents. Not sure why, but this year I have had a fun time making the presents pretty. Probably a result of hanging out on Pinterest a little too much.
Finding pretty ribbons at JoAnn Fabrics at 75% off was a good place to start for inspiration too.
Over the years, I’ve collected papers with brown backgrounds and simple designs. I keep them all in a large old crock that sits near the tree. It keeps the wrapping items handy and also makes a nice holiday decoration.
Likewise, the ribbons are collected together in another old crock.
Besides using paper with a brown background, I’ve been buying papier mache boxes at the craft stores and decorating them. They are reusable and not as wasteful as wrapping paper.
For this papier mache box, I simply used the eraser end of a pencil, dipped in white house paint, to give it a polka dot/snow flake look. A fluffy white pom pom tops it off.
Pom poms are a nice change up from ribbon, are easy to make, and give the package a fun, festive look.
I know perfectly wrapped packages are time consuming and not always logical, especially for children, who usually just rip through everything. But, I don’t have as many gifts to give these days, and a Christmas tree looks sad without presents under it. Some of these boxes hold presents and some are empty. The empty ones will be used again and again over the years, either under the tree or separately as Christmas decor.
For this box, I decided to glue wrapping paper to the bottom with Mod Podge. If using Mod Podge, it will make the paper expand and bubble when applying. Just use a hair dryer to apply heat, and the paper will shrink back up and lay flat. I decided not to cover the top, thinking it might make it too busy, so I left it plain and added a painted snow flake ornament with brown jute twine.
This papier mache box is the smallest of the set, and all I did to it is paint the bottom. The painted tree and a small tree round were added again with brown jute twine. Because the twine is tied on the bottom of the package, it can easily be removed and used again to hold another present.
This package just has plain brown paper with a pretty ribbon to dress it up and an inexpensive balsam wood ornament.
Even small little gift bags can be sweet and simple.
For the special people in your life, take the time to make their gift as special as they are. They will appreciate it.
They are all beautiful, Cindy! As I always have, love your style!!
Thank you dear Barbara! Remember the days when we used to always be doing something crafty? I still have and use when I travel, the fabric jewelry holder you made me so many years ago now.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Ribbons make all the difference from my perspective and I’ve invested more in fabric and wired ribbons for the past few years. I’m known among my friends for wrapping most gifts without using tape so the paper can be reused but, even then, most of that paper gets tossed away. I like the paper mache boxes a lot but, with big bulky items, I find I’m relying more on bags.
There is such a variety of pretty wired ribbons available now at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s and JoAnne’s and it is usually always on sale. All of the ribbons I used were 75% off making it less expensive than buying a ready made bow. The boxes come in different sizes and usually sets of 3. I think I’ll keep my eyes open for more varied sizes so I can continue this trend. I’ll probably add bags too, but keep them plain brown, red, or green and dress them up simply.
These are beautiful, Cindy! I love the brown paper theme, and that it is all reuseable. They really do look very special.
Thank you Ali. I had such fun doing it and with a little Pinterest surfing, the ideas are endless. I like that the tree looks happier, but also that everything is reusable. I was reading the other day on The Frustrated Gardener’s blog post how much paper is thrown away in the UK. It made me sick that we are so wasteful. Can you imagine how many times that would be magnified here in the US?