Gift Wrapping: Not Just for Christmas!

This past weekend was an incredibly fun one with an engagement party for my adorable cousin at my house, including an amazing group of 20-somethings (more on this later!). But in preparation of the big event, with my aunt, uncle & dad staying at my house and looking to wrap their engagement presents, the innocent question came up:  “Do you have any wrapping paper?”  Why yes, I thought so — afterall, I LOVE wrapping presents and finding new ways to put a package together. But in point of fact, my wrapping supplies were picked clean post-Christmas and I hadn’t replenished any supplies. Arghhh…  

I come from a long line of people who enjoy a well-wrapped gift. My mom learned from her grandmother and had very high standards. Actually, my mom was often known to put as much money & time into the wrapping paper as the gift itself! She marbelized paper herself, added blooms from her garden tied to the package with raffia, or when we were little, added chocolates or peppermints as a “present topper.” My intentions are good but my schedule or lack of planning or WHATEVER makes it so that I’m often scrambling to get a present wrapped when I should in fact already be at the party. The only thing that saves me is having a neat, well-stocked line up of wrapping supplies to lure me in and get it done quick!

It seems that while most people focus on the food pantry, I’m much more interested in my art supply closet. Oh well, to each his own, right? So if you’re a fellow wrapping fiend who’s time-challenged, you might like to see some of the beauties I found to stock up again.

If you’re really going to wrap a present, why not do it with some panache? I’m obsessed with John Derian and his wrapping papers do not disappoint. There are quite a few others on his website, so if you’re not a New Yorker you can still get his items easily.

This Italian script paper would look handsome with just a simple red grosgrain bow, wouldn’t it??

I love this cool purpley watercolor wrapping paper from Paper Source too….

I was raised to believe that gift bags were a very second-rate option but I’ve long since discarded that point of view! Who wouldn’t like to get one of these cute bags?? I’m in.

If you’re giving several presents or want a more basic option, you can’t beat these bags from Amazon. I’m ordering up a bunch just to have on hand.  Filled with a punchy-colored paper, they will look great.

If you want to add a little personal touch to a simple package, you can order custom stickers — I’m going to do this from Moo.com, which I’ve used in the past for business cards and collateral. They have a whole bunch of templates so you can say something more personal like “Cheers! The Smiths”; the photo below doesn’t quite show that but if you look on their site you’ll see what I mean...

Lastly, I’ve always been partial to my Fiskar’s scissors but the scissors below from Bellocchio, one of my absolute favorite stores in San Francisco, are pretty tempting….

Bellocchio has wonderful selection of ribbons that you can order online too.

I could go on and on, but I’ve gotta get ordering now!  If you have any great sources or inspiration for wrapping presents, I’m all ears.

John Derian 1 - John Derian 2 - Paper Source 1 - Paper Source 2 - Paper Source Bag - Brown Bag - Pink Tissue Paper - Stickers - Bellocchio Scissors