The Ultimate Gift Wrapping Guide

Welcome to my ultimate gift wrapping guide. After years of writing and wrapping presents, all I know is now consolidated in one place. Buckle up!

From a young age I have always believed in the power of a well wrapped gift. There wasn’t a lot of spare money growing up, I learnt how to make a little go a long way early on. Creativity and making ordinary things beautiful is my love language. Ever since I learnt to sew, I have made decorations and small gifts for loved ones, like these flower fairies. It is my firm belief that our time and energy is our most valuable resource. If you don’t have money to spend, spend some time making gifts personal. My tags and gift toppers have become just as important as the gift inside.

For this ultimate gift wrapping guide I’ll take you through all the steps to make your gifts sparkle this year. I want you to remember all these techniques can be used throughout the year and not just Christmas. They don’t have to be done all at once, select what works for you and build up as you go.

My pet hate is gift bags, unless they are simple brown paper I’m not interested. Difficult to recycle and reuse, stop before you buy anymore. Gift boxes over gift bags work so much better. I like to have a few different sizes, some for gift vouchers and some t0 hold candles or small gifts. Presenting a small neatly wrapped present is the first step to creating a gifting moment.

Ebay or Amazon sell small die cut postal boxes, like these Plain cardboard boxes . They come in different sizes select the right size for the gifts you give. They can then be packed flat once given or recycled. If that gift bag habit feels too much of a step to give up try buying pretty gift boxes, Sostrene Grene’s pretty printed gift boxes are the sweetest around. So much so you could actually skip the wrapping paper part. If you have small gifts, why not get some plain crackers , they can be easily decorated like these DIY Fabric Crackers .

Now you have a firm foundation to work with, gather your essential wrapping supplies. This will include;

Brown paper (post offices always have the best sort),

Paper tape (for the eco conscious), double sided tape or Washi tape

Plain gift tags (The Works, Hobbycraft or Flying Tiger all have great options) They need to be fairly thick.

Craft Wire 

Now you have your basic kit, I want you to go on a treasure hunt. Dig out any rolls of gift wrap you have saved for ‘best’, tissue paper, ribbon and pretty fabric scraps. For fabric, anything goes, I like to mix sheer fabrics like chiffon, organza and basic dress net with sparkly fabrics and patterns. I’ll often rip up old dresses and turn them into ribbons. I like to add some sequins and beads into the mix too. Gather everything together and see what you’ve got.

Now your supplies are in one place it’s time to get wrapping.

Let’s be honest, brown paper can be a bit dull and nice. Over the years especially when my children were little, I had more time to get creative with my papers. Painting brown paper is the quickest way to bring in some personality.

Use any paint you have, over the years I’ve used up old tester pots, ink and simple white acrylic paint. Stripes or spots are my go to. Quick and easy, you can add glitter or gold leaf to make them feel jazzy. I’ve often written my children’s names all over the wrapping too, to make it feel personal. Again everything is quick and easy. Do what feels right.

If upcycling or painting wrapping paper is appealing to you. Have a look at these two posts. My Moon Inspired recycled Gift Wrapping makes the most of paper and cardboards scraps. Whilst my Upcycled gift wrap  shows how you can turn vast lengths of packaging paper into something really beautiful.

If painting paper doesn’t appeal buying a few sheets of really special paper can hit the spot. I do this more as my children are older and crafternoon’s happen less and less.

We know the importance of supporting our small independent businesses. If a big shop isn’t on the cards, buying a roll of wrapping from a local shop is a nice gesture. My favourite local place is Other Letters. They always have the best and most inspiring selection of cards, wrapping and decorations. If you are looking for some Christmas cosy, a trip to see them in the Old Foundry Leigh-on-Sea, is just the spot. You could tie the trip in with a wreath workshop, just saying ;-)!

My basics of gift wrapping post will now take you through the basics of wrapping and decorating a present. It’s a really good straight forward post giving you all the information you need for a perfect present. Once your base layer is sorted, now is the time to embellish and get creative.

I like to add a patterned layer to my gifts. Using that ‘special’ paper I’ll cut small strips and wrap them around the centre of the gift. The patterned layer, doesn’t have to be fancy paper. Often I’ll save paper and tissue from other gifts to use for wrapping. To me a bit of scrunch and crinkle adds to the overall effect. From there, I’ll add ribbons and tags to create my signature bow.

Using any fabric scraps I have, I tie a length of ribbon or string around the gift. Leaving the long arms out. In the centre where the knot is, layer a mix of different fabrics; really mix sheer, patterned and shiny fabrics. Five or six layers will be fine. Tie the long arms of the main ribbon into a bow. Your fabrics should now make a ‘puff’. Trim off any excess fabrics and arrange so you can see every layer.

Obviously we could stop here but adding a tag is really fun. There are some lovely projects here, if you’d like to see a mix of ideas. However, my two personal favourites are; Dried flower gift tags .This post will take you in the world of air dry clay and dried flowers. My second Dried flower post (need to change the name!), uses eucalyptus leaves and hand dyed silk to make the most of every scrap.

I was about to write a wrap up (sorry!) sentence when I suddenly remembered RIBBON! This is niche but creating ribbon from flower petals is my favourite thing to do. Usually I make a few rolls in deep winter to see me through the year. If you haven’t seem my stitched flower petal ribbons, take a look at this hydrangea and washi tape post or this making ribbon from petal DIY . Each post is full of images and words to inspire you to get creative this Christmas.

Like I said in the beginning this post is years worth of ideas. My passion is to help you find creativity in the smallest ways. Taking time to be creative and explore ideas is so important to our well being. One small step is all you need to take. Christmas can make us feel all sorts of things, I know that taking time to wrap carefully and thoughtfully helps me find calm during the festive period. You CAN create your own magic too.

I’d love to see if you use any of these ideas, tag me on Instagram @lottsandlots to show me what you’ve done. Happy Wrapping! x