I love wrapping up gifts! I could do this all day, every day. And it was just a matter of time before this obsession made its way to the blog.
As much as I don’t like the commercial aspect of Christmas, the act of giving is an intrinsic part of human nature and well rooted in customs all over the world. But giving should never be governed by commercialization or judged on monetary value. As the cliché goes, it’s the thought that counts. And what better way to show that you put thought into every step of the process than by presenting a beautifully packaged gift? For me though, gift wrapping is a completely selfish act, driven by the opportunity to be creative and to create something that is beautiful even though it will be dismantled once the gift is given.
I find great beauty in the simplest of things and so, even for gift wrapping, I stick to simple things: handmade or craft paper or cloth for wrapping, paper or wooden boxes, glass jars, string, ribbons and some seasonal flora. Nothing extravagant. And notice how these are all recyclable or reusable? Here are some of my creations that I managed to snap a picture of before giving away. I hope they will inspire you.
I started with:
And came up with:
Note: For attaching pine cones, simply wrap a string around the topmost scales or use hot glue to attach a wooden bead to the pine cone, and once dried, loop a string through the bead.
conifères & feuillus 
I love wrapping gifts too, adding little things from here and there, twigs, flowers, home made labels, recycled papers and ribbons, pages from big calendars, etc. It is as much a pleasure for me as it is – so far I can see – for people who receive gifts too. Thanks for your very pleasant and creative and tasty blog 🙂
I couldn’t agree more… and I love your pages of a calendar idea! Thank you for stopping by!
Great wrapping Annika. Love it.
Beautiful. I’m gift wrapping tonight. Not sure I can match your gorgeous creations but I’ll do my best!
You can for sure, it’s summertime for you… so much flora to choose from!
Very cute wrap job, Annika. You’re a lady full of talents!
Thank you but there really is nothing that special or difficult about this… but I just had to post it up!
Don’t be hard on yourself. 🙂 You would be surprised how poorly people wrap these days (if they wrap because I always get things in bags) and they don’t even have that little special touch to it. Sometimes less is more. 🙂
How pretty!!