DIY Wrapping Paper

I just want to clarify that it's not like I HATE wrapping paper. I just don't tend to use it...at least not the stuff that comes on rolls.

Oh, except at Christmas when Robb and I pack all of our gifts into our suitcases and fly to his parent's house or my parent's house, and then we do the mad scramble the night before Christmas to wrap it all up using whatever shiny reindeer paper and sticky bows we can find. On that occasion, yes, I definitely use wrapping paper.

All other occasions? Eh...I just don't. Not really sure why! There are so many pretty boutique wrapping papers available (though often with a high price). And I'm a total snob about gift bags (especially if there is no tissue in the bag). Aren't I the worst?

But I DO love the magic of a wrapped gift. The mystery of it all. The bequeathing of the gift! With a pretty bow on top! And perhaps I've seen The Sound of Music a few too many times, but the one type of paper I tend to keep around the house for wrapping (other than using "creative" sections from the newspaper) is a roll of kraft paper. In a pinch, it can by gussied up with some braided yarn or a pretty ribbon I've hung on to for some reason (I call that kind of hoarding my inner "depression-era grandma").

But sometimes I want to kick up my brown-paper packages wrapped up with string, and in those cases I get out the stamps. I know, this isn't terribly groundbreaking news--stamps on kraft paper make things pretty. But it's true! And actually, it's really really easy. And in the girliest of ways, it really seems to delight the recipient. So in my opinion--even though they're just gonna rip and throw out the paper the second they open it--it's totally worth it.

 

For this particular gift, I did a repeating flower design in cream and green, and then I tied it up with two straps that I had leftover from a Heyallday Handmade bag (they were too short, so off they went!). And whamo, that's how you use the things laying around your house to wrap up a sweet little gift. 

And yes, I am totally a depression-era grandma hoarder who uses her "saved scraps" to wrap gifts.

So, any guesses as to what's in the package?