In keeping with my “keep it simple” approach to Penelope’s birthday, I decorated the kitchen very sparsely. I hung the banner I made the birthday banner for Penelope’s first birthday, added a white tablecloth to the table and wrapped her gifts in white butcher paper.
The thing about kids’ toys: they never come in a simple box. They’re always in an annoying blister pack or odd-shaped rectangle. That was certainly the case with the gifts we gave her this year. I was just in such a hurry to get her gifts wrapped before she wandered into my bedroom, somehow I channeled my inner short cook and came up with a really simple and fast way to wrap her awkward-shaped gifts.
I’m not sure about you, but I figured I’d share this technique in case it would come in handy for any of you. I think the gifts turned out quite nicely, considering their shape and the simple paper used. Click the link below for the whole tutorial (and video!).
ODD-SHAPED WRAPPING TUTORIAL
This technique is pretty straight forward. You want to have your gift, wrapping paper, scissors and tape. I used decorative packing tape for mine. Washi tape would be fun, too.
- Cut your paper to size. Lay out your gift and cut it short on the horizontal, about 3-5 inches on either side. Make sure the side flaps come up and over your gift, covering about one fourth on either side.
- Fold in the sides. Crease the sides inward, so the folds don’t overlap the edges as you wrap the gift.
- Fold the top edge.
- Fold the bottom edge.
- Wrap around to the front of the package and secure with tape.
- Address the taped edge, or turn over for a cleaner look.
Watch the video below to see how I do it in real time.
This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without the express consent of Melissa Esplin. I love getting shout outs from around the web, but please, link with love. Do not copy this post, publish more than 2 photos or outright steal this idea for commercial publications. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!
very useful … i m not even able to fold a sheet of paper into two !!!!
LOVE this! I’m the present wrapper in our family and while I try to differentiate my wrapping techniques, the paper is always folded the same way. Thanks for sharing a new, more interesting technique!
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