Christmas Gift Wrapping!

I recently had an opportunity to do a little presentation on how to wrap your Christmas gifts for the Divine Dessert Night at my church.  I thought I'd give a little summary here of the ideas I shared.  Of course, the ideas are not my own (although the wrapping job is) - bet you can't guess where I went for ideas!  (Pinterest of course!)  

It's not too hard to add a little extra love to your wrapping this year!  

Tier it up with pretty paper:

Pick one print and use it everywhere (see how I did this for my gifts last year):

Use nature - pine cones, cedar branches, cranberries (or cinnamon sticks!):

Just go crazy with the curly ribbon (note: shipping paper is the most inexpensive way to wrap, and easy to accessorize!  Plus, most shipping paper rolls have double the amount of paper as a regular roll of gift wrap):

Paper snowflakes (hint: iron it out on low to make it nice and smooth!):

Leftover lace/tulle:

For smaller gifts - old sheet music!  (and if you can't bear to rip out a page, photocopy it!):

Eco-Chic magazine wrap with matching bow:

I received lots of comments on this one!  Cut paint chips into shapes as gift tags (bonus: it's free!):

Make yarn pom poms (you can find lots of tutorials online if you search around - so simple!):

So there you go!  Happy wrapping :)

art!

You know I'm a fan of using wrapping paper in interesting ways - so far as table "cloths" and runners - (as seen here and here) but I absolutely love this idea of hanging a handmade sheet of paper in a frame for instant (and inexpensive!) but beautiful art. This marble print that kristen f. davis designs used is amazing! For those in the Waterloo Region...I know a place uptown called Write Impressions that has single sheets of paper (for $4 or $5) with beautiful prints.

See her full post here!

all wrapped up.

Now that you're finished your Christmas gift buying (hopefully!), it's time to wrap them up! This part makes me excited because I start to imagine the look on people's faces when they open up their gift. Plus, it's another opportunity to get creative. If you're looking for inspiration - here's a few ideas!

Find 3 kinds of paper with the same colour, but coordinating patterns. I chose plain brown shipping paper and red/off white patterned papers.

Sometimes the best isn't the most obvious or expensive. Why not use a roll of twine for $1 instead of fancy shiny ribbon? It fits with the look, and goes alot further too. I added a little pinecone that I had leftover to one of these gifts.

I was inspired by the Sound of Music - the "brown paper packages, tied up with strings".

I jazzed up this plain brown bag with a strip of gift wrap down the middle. I also added some leftover decor berries to this one. This gift was the hardest to wrap at first, but I kept adding more details - now it's my favourite!

Ta-Da!! Happy wrapping! I hope you find more joy in giving this year, than ever before :)