My post for today is all about gift wrapping. It’s not my favorite thing to do – especially when you have a lot of presents to wrap and you wait until the last minute to do it. Like I do. But I do love a pretty and creatively wrapped gift. So I wanted to share some ideas I had on wrapping.
But then this happened.
Without getting too graphic, I was cutting some paper on my cutting board with my ruler and my xacto knife, and the knife slipped and cut part of my thumb. They couldn’t attach the piece so I just have to let it heal. It’s not pretty. But on the positive side, I did learn a few things from this incident:
1. Thumbs are very important. We really do need them – for lots of everyday things.
2. Brand new xacto blades are extremely sharp. Like they can cut a chunk out of your finger if you’re not careful.
3. I do things way too fast. I like getting things done but sometimes it’s best to slow down and take your time and be more careful.
4. My kids react very well to small emergencies. And they all have slightly different reactions but all very supportive and loving.
5. No time is a good time for an injury. But the week before Christmas? c’mon!
6. Having a minor injury and pain that will heal always makes me think of people who live with bigger and more serious pain and disease. My injury was minor and it will get better. It hurts and it’s inconvient. But it’s also temporary. It makes me think about those who are going through real, more serious pain. So I guess these things make me feel lucky.
In spite of my setback, I did manage to start my wrapping. It was slow and I had my daughter as my little helper. (My poor husband will handle the bulk of it). I didn’t go crazy with my wrapping but I did find some great solutions for those of us who are a little wrapping challenged.
First, I went with a simple color palette and stocked up on my supplies. Black, white and green is an easy color combination for this time of year. I’ll be using a lot more gift bags too. I found a bunch of black and white ones at The Dollar Store – some even with a little green too. The houndstooth tree ornaments are from Walmart.
I love these designs but the ribbon handles were in rough shape. So I added new ribbon for the handles.
For wrapping paper, I used a roll of white artist’s paper. You can find this at Michael’s or most office or art supply stores. There’s much more paper on these rolls – so it’s more cost-effective. I added some decorations to the plain white packages with stamps and sharpie doodles. Easy and cheap. I also had some black and white polka dot paper from other uses and it coordinates great. Kraft paper is also great for wrapping. The rolls are huge and last forever. And you can add some fun stamps, drawings or stickers or just keep it simple and plain.
Pom poms make great substitutions for ribbons and bows. I’m not too good at tying these days (requires thumbs), and the pom poms look so cute on top of the presents. I found white, green and black ones at Michael’s for $1. Also burlap, baker’s twine and simple yarn all make good wrapping embellishments. And add some fun texture too.
I’m finishing all my gifts off with my holiday gift tags. You can purchase these tags here. They’re $3.99 for a downloadable file that contains 5 different designs. After you download the file, you can print as many as you’d like. Just trim them out and tape them on your gifts or punch a hole and tie them on. These are a great solution for us late wrappers. Once you purchase them, you can print and have them immediately.
That’s about it for my easy-but-cute wrapping ideas.
It’s a big difference from some of these creations I did last year but I’m milking this injury as long as I can! Click here to go to my last year’s gift wrapping post.
Click here if you want to purchase my gift tags and get wrapping!
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