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Confessions of a Wrapper

Here are some ideas for a special Valentine gift using various creative ideas in shopping and wrapping. I admit to being a collector (much to the chagrin of my husband) but I love having lots of choices when it comes time to wrapping. Value Village is a great resource for that. I buy all kinds of wrap and accessories starting at 29 cents, which allows me to make a gift look spectacular without costing a lot of money.

You don’t have to put extraordinary effort into wrapping, but when time and energy permit you can come up with some fun, creative and very memorable wraps. Happy Wrapping!

The Button and Ric-Rac Wrap.

Directions:

1. Choose a large piece of wrapping paper and a long strip of coordinating wrapping paper. Wrap the gift with the large piece.
2. Take the long strip and fold the edges under so that the raw edges on the long sides are not showing.
3. Tape the strip into place at an angle you like. Diagonal, crosswise or lengthwise work well. Tuck the short ends under – even with the bottom side of the package and tape them into place.
4. Place your buttons (priced from about 99 cents for a small bag- sometimes higher or lower depending on quality, age and appeal) along the strip until they are in a pattern you like – then glue them into place.
5. Place ric-rac along both sides of the strip. Glue it into place. Trim the ends at the point where the ric-rac meets the bottom of the box. Glue the ends securely.

Shopping Tips:

1. Think multi-purpose. Solids and small patterns are very versatile.
2. Buy it before you need it – especially if it is basic! It will be ready for you when you need it and will save you money, time and aggravation in the long run.
3. About the pink wrapping: You might have automatically thought, “baby gift” if you saw this paper by itself. But with the additions of the contrasting heart paper, buttons and trim – it works out really well for a special Valentine’s wrap.
4. Ric Rac and other trims work well to jazz up a gift and they don’t cost a lot (from 69 cents at Value Village).

The Valentine Flower.

Directions:

1. Wrap gift in a solid color paper.
2. Over wrap with lace paper, a paper doily, handkerchief, a fabric doily or a piece of lace with the raw edges tucked under. (If you use a piece of fabric, you will have to tie the whole package together with ribbon in order to secure the fabric)
3. Glue flowers on the top in the shape of a heart.

I used some wooden flowers that I found on the end of toothpicks (which I removed) at our Minneapolis Farmer’s Market last summer. But, just as easily you might use small silk flowers or parts of silk flowers (starting at $1.99 for a small bunch). Flower-shaped buttons and beads also work. We usually have all of these at the stores. Use your imagination. You’ll come up with something wonderful and unique! Even the little candy hearts you can buy at the grocery store would work.

Thrifty suggestions:

Sometimes it is possible to save wrapping paper that has already been used once. This would be great for the solid color used in this example. It doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect. Take off as much tape as you can and cut out the largest expanses that don’t have a lot of folds or tape on them and use them again on a smaller gift. It works really well and helps cut down on waste.

True Love wrap

Directions:

1. Wrap your gift with simple white craft paper
2. Apply stickers all over the box (stickers start at 29 cents at Value Village). Make sure that you space them so that you have a little open space for the bow. Place some of the stickers so that they run over the edges of the package so that it looks like wrapping paper. At this point, I usually wrap this gift again with clear cellophane (comes on a roll and starts at 29 cents depending on the quantity and quality) and clear tape (not frosted). It makes it look very professional and polished. Top it with a small bow (this particular ribbon was 29 cents for about 10 feet of ribbon) and attach it to the gift.

Shopping Tips:

• Look at everything as a potential gift-wrap accessory. An ornament, a necklace (the beads!), a button, ric rac, greeting cards, wood cut-outs, kids’ craft kits, silk flowers, ribbons, fabrics, yarn, handkerchiefs, fabrics, napkins - you name it and it’s probably been used by some creative person to wrap a gift!
• Don’t overlook tissue as a good and inexpensive way to wrap! You usually need a double layer to cover but it looks great alone or wrapped again with cellophane over it!
• Tins are a great way to collect smaller items such as buttons and trims. We usually have a plentiful supply at Value Village, especially at Christmas time. The assistant manager from our New Hope store has been known to strip a tin to make it look more contemporary. She uses a citrus-based stripper from Home Depot. A thick coating left on the tin for 45-60 minutes is usually enough to do the job. Remove the stripper with a metal brush. Once that is complete, clean off the residue with steel wool, soap and water. Put a label on the tin and voila, you have a wonderful and good-looking spot for all the little things you have collected. When selecting a tin, check its condition carefully for dings and rust. The rust will come off but will leave a stain. If you like an aged look, great! If not, avoid anything with rust on it.

Curly Ribbon Wrap

Directions:

1. Stamp white craft paper with a small flower stamp (rubber stamps are sold at Value Village when available for 99 cents to $2.99) in three different colors of ink. If you don’t have a rubber stamp, make a stamp with a potato: cut out a simple shape at the end of a potato and dip it in acrylic paint and place it in a spontaneous pattern on the white craft paper. If you don’t want to bother with that, dip the eraser end of a pencil into acrylic paint and make dots all over the paper. Make sure you let it dry completely.
2. Once the paper is dry, wrap the gift. Make a bow using two different colors of curly ribbon (the most economical bow ever – curly ribbon starts at 69 cents)
3. Cut out a coordinating gift tag of something you like from a used gift card or a new one that might not be in the greatest shape or is missing its envelope.
4. Punch a hole through the gift tag and attach it with two loose ends of curly ribbon.

Shopping Tips:

1. Check out our gift cards! You’ll be amazed at what you find!. If the card has a great graphic that you can easily cut out, but you wouldn’t necessarily use it with the sentiment that is printed on the card, buy it! It will be useful for a gift tag. All of our greeting cards are 29 cents. You can’t beat that!
2. Again, check out the possibilities: buttons, beads, ribbons, yarn, wrapping paper, tissue. Your best bets for wrapping that is useful and easy to store are: assorted tissues, cellophane wrap, white craft paper and curly ribbon. They are the most versatile and inexpensive materials to wrap with. From there, the sky’s the limit!