Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas

Gifts trimmed with flair:

Project creation, article and photo by: Madeleine M Langlois

Skill: Easy.

Materials & tools:

Assorted paper remnants, rice paper, plain coloured papers

Scissors

Glue gun and sticks

Double-face tape and regular adhesive tape

Ribbons in assorted colours, widths and styles

Assorted findings: custom jewellery, belt buckles, quilling paper strips, feathers, sequins, tinsel garland, wire, beads etc.

Fabric remnants, fun fur, taffeta, fuzzy wool, scrapbooking tools, snowflake punch, decorative edge scissors, hang tags, rub-on lettering

Also see each gift wrapping description.

(Materials for this project are available at arts and craft stores.

My favourite part of the holidays is wrapping the gifts. It is the perfect occasion to use up many remnants from various projects and to let my creativity run loose, just for fun. Since my wrapping room is shared with the laundry room, it is a sure place to find some peace of mind during all the craziness of the holidays.

Minimalist with a touch of Ritz, great gift wrapping ideas start with cool findings. The secret to achieve the look of these French bonbon gift wrappings is all in the trimmings. Personalized to make an impact, even simple gifts can look elegant with a little accent. Don’t be afraid to extend the colour palette beyond the traditional; it’s all good because, really, anything goes. Even though I used assorted colour combinations of bright turquoise, greens and blues with soft pastels amidst accents of silver, angelic whites and chocolate brown, the theme is what brings everything together.

Fuzzy wool for a cozy warm feeling: Super easy yet stylish. Once a gift is wrapped, affix one or two ribbons around the box and then wrap a few lengths of fuzzy wool as decorative trim around the package. Assorted fancy yarns provide an inexpensive and chic way to dress up bonbon or cracker-shaped gifts.

Rows of ribbons: Create basic plaid patterns using satin, grosgrain and velvet types of ribbons in assorted colours and widths over a tissue-paper wrapped gift. Garnish with dash of white tinsel garland. A length of wide satin ribbon looks stunning when applied over the centre of larger gifts and plain paper bags. Secure the ribbons at the back of a package using hot glue. Wide ribbons can also be adorned with lengths of fuzzy wool.

Bejewel using recycled jewellery and belt buckles: Recycle odds and ends jewellery pieces, earrings, and charms. Glue these onto a ribbon to create an elegant centre ornament. Paint plain or wooden buckles silver or gold (or any colour) and fasten a length of ribbon around a fabric-wrapped gift. Top it all off with a single feather.

Dazzling with sequins: Make your gifts sparkle and dazzle with sequins. Use by-the-yard sequins as you would ribbons. Double rows of brightly coloured sequins look spectacular onto plain silver-wrapped gifts. Further embellish by randomly gluing individual sequins on wrapped presents.

Quilling for snowman: Quilling, also known as paper filigree, is the art of rolling thin strips of paper into different shapes and using the shapes to form designs. Quilling papers comes in packages of assorted colours. Creative accents, such as plain snowman shapes or monograms, can be crafted to garnish plainly wrapped boxes. Affix designs to gifts using double-face tape. You can even apply the papers in flat strips or fashion a checked pattern. Simple swirls make wonderful gift garnishes.

Cut-it-out with paper snowflakes: So easy to make and yet so enchanting. They make magical trimmings onto gifts, in assorted sizes. Just cut snowflake shapes using scissors with folded plain or assorted types of recycled papers. You can even have the kids help you out with this one. Paper garlands can be quite stunning too.

Punched snowflakes: Paper punches with holiday designs are wonderful to use and incorporate into gift trimming. Using a snowflake design punch and assorted papers, from velum to silver, punch out snowflake shapes and glue them onto gifts, ribbons and cards, in a row or randomly. I even used the punched out negative to make decorative bands around gift boxes, and trimmed the edges with decorative scissors.

Monograms letters: Letters, initials make delightful gift topping accents and can be shaped with wire of various colours or beaded wires.

Fabric remnants: Excellent for wrapping larger gifts, and to use up fabrics that you know you won’t use within the next year or so. I utilized fun-fur remnants to make a snowman decoration onto a larger gift box.

Hang-tags embellished with rub-on decal lettering, clip art, micro beads and photos of the gift recipient also make fantastic gift trimmings.

Get wrapping and happy trimmings!

Tips: For all gifts wrapped using fabrics, make sure to iron out any creases out first and wrap the gifts as you would with paper wrapping. Use hot glue to secure the folds instead of tape.

Variations: Other creative gift wrappings include holiday dishtowels, table cloths, fabrics, and wallpaper. Or, you can opt to make the wrapping part of the gifts using a variety of household and clothing items.

Older Christmas tree ornaments that you are no longer using also make fun gift toppings.

Don’t be bashful to use colours such as lime green, hot pink, bright orange, mauves, vibrant turquoise and blue; They are very “in” and trendy colours this season.

Pretty packages can be integrated into your table decorations, to grace a mantel, or even used outdoors. Double them up and use as name card holders.

Copyright MaddyLane Designs © 2006

For more Miy articles visit www.maddylane.com

About the Author

Madeleine has over 25 years design experience. She studied fashion merchandising and design. The fist part of her career was spent in the fashion industry designing ladies and children’s wear to fashion accessories. Maddy then went on to design giftware products, Christmas decorations, packaging concepts as well as illustrating for Canadian companies. She has even published a bilingual children’s book that she both wrote and illustrated. Maddy’s designer talents, from fashion to decor and her love for crafts has directed her to produce and write “how-to” step-by-step décor articles. For the last five years, Madeleine has been creating innovative home decorative décor items for her weekly syndicated “make-it-yourself” Miy at home articles. Maddy work has is presently featured in Magazines and newspapers.

For more “Miy” articles and a more detailed artist bio, I invite you to visit my; www.maddylane.com

You got asperger, kid!

Command 17203 Small and Medium Picture Hanging Strips, 4 Small 8 Medium Sets of Strips $6.30 Make any space yours with the Command Small and Medium Picture Hanging Strips, a damage-free solution for decorating your home or office. Ideal for frames and other items 12 pounds or less, these handy strips will lock your pictures securely onto the wall. Thanks to the innovative Command Adhesive strips, you can mount and remount them without damaging your walls–no nails, tacks, or tape required…

Set of 130 Sky Blue and Lime Green Polka Dots Circles Wall Decor Graphic Vinyl Lettering Mural Decal Stickers Kit Peel and Stick Appliques $13.99 **Please Note*** This is an original from WALL SAYINGS VINYL LETTERING. If you are not purchasing from WALL SAYINGS VINYL LETTERING then you are purchasing a knock off and we cannot guarantee the quality or accuracy of the product. This set of 130 Polka Dots includes one 12.5″ x 26″ sheet of 65 Sky Blue Polka Dots and one 12.5″ x 26″ sheet of 65 Lime Green Polka Dots as shown in the picture. The …

Set of 130 Dark Pink and Lime Green Polka Dots Wall Graphic Vinyl Lettering Mural Decal Stickers Kit Peel and Stick Appliques $13.99 **Please Note*** This is an original from WALL SAYINGS VINYL LETTERING. If you are not purchasing from WALL SAYINGS VINYL LETTERING then you are purchasing a knock off and we cannot guarantee the quality or accuracy of the product. This set of 130 Polka Dots includes one 12.5″ x 26″ sheet of 65 Lime Green Polka Dots and one 12.5″ x 26″ sheet of 65 Dark Pink Polka Dots as shown in the picture. The…

Stick-On Rhinestone Jewels Crystal Color (200 pcs) $3.57 Crystal colored stick-on rhinestone jewels add the shine and sparkle of diamonds to your craft projects. You get 200 rhinestone stickers to add to kids craft projects, scrapbooks and anything else you can think of….

Glow In The Dark Letters (A to Z) ~ Glow In The Dark Items $2.28 …

Brother M231 1/2-Inch Black on White Tape for P-Touch Labeler $12.99 Create attractive labels for home, home office, school or hobby applications. For indoor and light use. Color: Black on White. Width: 1/2″. Yield: 26.2 ft. Label Style: M tape. Yield 26.2 ft. . Durable, colorful labels that are designed for indoor applications…

HP Iron-on Transfers for Color Fabrics (6 transfer Sheets, 8.5 x 11 Inches) $11.99 Need special fun unforms, or to remember a special holiday photo? Think iron-on transfers! It’s fun and easy to make iron-on transfers for t-shirts, aprons, hats and more. Just take your favorite photo, and print out with these special transfers for color fabrics. Features Simple to print, easy to apply Ideal for darker or brightly colored cotton or cotton-poly blend fabrics Easy, cool-peel b…

Brother TZFA3 1/2 Navy Blue on White Fabric Iron-on Tape (9.8 ft) $18.00 0.5″ x 9.8′ – 1 Tape – Tape…

Baume & Mercier Men’s 8577 Capeland Watch $2,695.00 Stainless steel case with a black fabric bracelet. Unidirectional rotating bezel. Grey dial with luminous hands and stick hour markers. Date displays at the 3 o’clock position. Three: 12 hours, 30 minutes, 60 seconds sub dials. Automatic movement. Scratch resistant sapphire crystal. Case diameter: 41mm. Fold-under deployment clasp. Water resistant at 200 meters / 660 feet. AdditionalInfo: crown co…

---

Comments are closed