Tag Archives: gift wrapping

Thinking “Outside the Box” ~Literally

think outside the box
Junk or gems? Think outside the box…could these items possibly be used to enhance a gift?

Do you ever wonder what goes through other people’s minds? I’m a total visionary type of a person. I can envision the potential of an old piece of furniture, can predict how great a room would look with fresh paint and a few minor changes, can see how an idea could be modified to work in a different situation and one of my favourite things to do is imagine how I might use an item for a completely different purpose than it was originally intended…“re-purposing”. This is just how my mind works…constantly planning, reflecting and coming up with new ideas! I’m not saying I don’t appreciate a well-made item and will definitely pay whatever it takes to find a comfy and yet fashionable pair of shoes, but my happy place is not the mall, it’s definitely thrifting! (Can’t help it… my mind is automatically wandering to Macklemore’s Thrift Shop song ….although the clean version was rarely played on the radio, I would sing my own clean version and it became a bit of family joke ….”We are TEAM awesome!” ~ great memory. Sorry, how quickly I digress.)

I often wonder what a trip to a thrift store or a dollar store is like for others because when time allows… for me it is like a treasure hunt! I never know what I’m going to find! Although I often go with a list in mind, browsing the aisles without a clear agenda is what the fun is all about. For me thrifting is more of an experience, as it is impossible to anticipate what items will catch my eye and how I might use it in the future. This is seriously so much fun for me!

Dollar/Thrift Store Challenge

Although my creative thinking is not limited to gift wrapping, it is the theme of this post, so I want to challenge you to literally think “outside the box”. What are the basics you need to consider when creating a fabulous looking gift! What are the essentials elements you need to dress-up the outside of the box?

  1. WRAP ~ The material you choose to wrap the gift with is going to become the foundation for your finished look, but why limit yourself to wrapping paper? In previous posts, I’ve already tried to expand your thinking by introducing basic brown packaging paper and scrapbooking paper as great alternatives, but why stop there? What other materials could be used to wrap presents? When you’re out and about, be on the look out for other possibilities.
  2. RIBBON ~ I use the term “ribbon” loosely here because the whole purpose of this challenge is to think beyond ribbon. I want you to look at cord, string, rope, etc…anything that could be used as a substitute for ribbon.
  3. EMBELLISH ~ Do not discount anything! This element is by far the most fun to shop for. Obviously, you do need to consider price as this element is probably not part of the gift (although it could be). Otherwise, just open your mind and try to imagine how an item might be used to add impact and/or interest to a gift. In previous posts, I demonstrated how scrapbooking embellishments (flowers, felt shapes, paper cut-outs, etc.) can be incorporated to create the beautiful finishing touches on a present. I’ve also highlighted glass beads and plastic netting, as well as both real and artificial flowers, but let’s face it, the options are endless! So unleash your creativity and see what you can come up with.

THE CHALLENGE:

Think WRAP, RIBBON, EMBELLISH! Just try it! The next time you go to a garage sale, thrift store or dollar store…designate some extra time just to browse and let your creative juices flow. I can’t wait to see what you come up with! Remember your entire gift doesn’t need to reflect your creative thinking, but what a statement it makes when you draw in unexpected elements. Please comment below and let me know what kinds of items you come up with as you embark on this journey to “Think Outside the Box”.

Thank you for visiting my site today. For more great gift wrapping ideas, check out my video tutorials at the Best of BOWhemian WRAPsody. If you enjoyed the post, please take the time to LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE.

Gift Wrapping Tips: Post 1

I love to decorate gifts. Back in the “olden days” when I didn’t have so much on my plate, I would be done my Christmas shopping by the end of October and be completely wrapped and ready to go by the end of November. Sadly, I have hardly started this year. On line shopping is looking better and better all the time! Well, when I used to wrap early, I used a strategy that allowed me to store all of those wrapped gifts easily. Basically, I wrapped all the gifts in one sitting (or at least most of them). This would take me several hours, but I did not add any ribbons, bows, tags or embellishments at this time. I simply chose paper, wrapped and then wrote the person’s name (very small) on the bottom of the gift. This allowed me to stack and store oodles of gifts without having to compensate for the bows.  I would then set aside another an entire day or evening and set to work decorating each gift. I love to do this and I thought I’d share a few of my favourite tricks!

Wrapping on a Budget

First of all, I spend very little on wrapping paper and embellishments. I always purchase when the Christmas stuff is on clearance and for the last two years I’ve picked up beautiful wire rimmed ribbon at Michael’s for 90% off. I also purchase many of the items I use from the dollar store. The example I am sharing today includes mostly dollar store items.

Bow: Represents family ties and the fact that we should be tied together in bonds of goodwill.

For this particular project, I used dollar store wrapping paper and dollar store wire rimmed ribbon. I can’t remember if I bought the wire holly garland and metallic shreds at the dollar store or not, but probably.  I had both on hand from last year.

I tend to use primarily wire rimmed ribbon. I will occasionally use the curly ribbon, but most often to dress-up the embellishment a bit. I wrapped the gift with one band of ribbon and tied a nice big bow. I then slipped a bit of metallic shreds beneath the bow. The shreds are not silver or gold, but rather that clear “opalescent” look. (Don’t you love that word?)  I love how it just punches up the bow and seems to fill the dead space a bit. I then like to take a 6 to 8 inch piece of wire garland and slide it under the shreds and then twist it on top of the bow to hold everything in place. I like to leave the ends of the wire garland sticking out. This look is really easy to achieve and yet takes a simple ribbon and bow and kicks it up a notch. I often choose gift tags with a string. I just prefer the “hanging” look over stickers. Such is the case with this tag. I just looped it over the wire garland.

You already know how obsessed I am with re-using and re-purposing items, so I am sure you won’t be all that surprised to know that I collect the ribbons and bows on Christmas morning and re-use many of them the following year. I have even been known to leave the tags attached and use it for the same person. Thus, my stash of beautiful ribbons and bows does not need to be replenished that often.

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