Camille Wilkinson - Gift Wrap Green: Techniques for Beautiful, Recyclable Gift Wrapping

PART ONE
First Things First

PART TWO
Paper Wrapping Techniques

PART THREE
Fabric Wrapping Techniques

PART FOUR
Repurposing Everyday Objects

PART FIVE
Toppings, Trimmings and Embellishments

The reason gifts have such sentimental value is in part explained by how they come into our lives, as tokens of affection, typically at times of celebration. Most often, this added value is derived from personal or emotional association, rather than the gifts actual material worth, and gift wrap intensifies this symbolism significantly. Big or small, we love the anticipation of that moment of surprise this alluring paper striptease offers. Whatever the style, research shows that gift wrapping has intrinsic meaning and appeal, and elevates even the humblest gift in the eyes of the recipient.

Over the years, wrapping paper has evolved rapidly, helped to a significant degree by the invention of adhesive tape. Today this multi-billion-dollar industry generates millions of lines of mass-produced product, designed to appeal to a wide range of tastes and for every conceivable occasion and purse. Distressingly, however, the majority of it ends up in landfill, as most gift wrap paper is not, despite common belief, recyclable, being often laminated with plastic, foil or other non-paper materials. Much of it is also contaminated by sticky plastic tape that can disrupt the recycling process.

Consequently, the giant tide of consumerism is on the turn. This unsustainable consumption puts an alarming strain on resources and a backlash against conventional gift wrapping is beginning to take hold. As more and more discerning people seek out alternatives, this book focuses on more environmentally friendly papers, and on recycling and reusing supplies. Where regular gift wrap is used, it is made from recycled materials, and ones that can themselves be reused or recycled.

Many perceive the art of creative gift wrapping as the domain of the professional or the arty type. However, with just a little know-how and ingenuity gained through step-by-step guides for basic principles, and some innovative and clever wrapping techniques everyone who wants to upgrade their game in the gift-giving stakes can develop their skills significantly.

Gift Wrap Green contains a beautiful array of ideas and techniques to whet your appetite. Using readily available items and the paper of your choice, the book will enable you to achieve remarkable results easily. It offers endless scope for the creatively gifted and challenged alike to experiment and unleash their inner demon gift-wrapper. It sparks the imagination and allows you to use a variety of techniques to advance your wrapping.

So whether you make it elegantly beautiful in its simplicity, or fantastically fabulous and fun, or, indeed, anywhere in between make it with a promise to cut down on wasteful gift wrapping.

Preparation is key to gift wrapping. Find a flat, hard surface to work on it needs to be well-lit and big enough to accommodate all your supplies. Working on the floor or a bed makes wrapping more difficult to control, and without a flat surface to smooth up against, you will struggle to achieve a tight, crisp fit. Avoid cramped or cluttered conditions at all costs: if you cant unroll your paper comfortably, the chances are that accurate measuring will be impossible, risking crumpled paper, bulky folds and an untidy-looking gift.

Make sure your work surface is clean theres nothing worse than spending time wrapping a gift perfectly, only to turn it over and discover a grease stain spoiling all your efforts.

If you are just wrapping one gift, have all the elements you think you may need to hand. You may not use it all, but if the notion takes you in a slightly different direction, youll have what you want. Some of my best wraps have evolved into something quite removed from the original intent just by seeing new potential when everything is grouped together.

If you are wrapping multiple gifts, start only with the gifts, paper, scissors, tape or glue, and a pencil to hand. I like to make an event of wrapping multiple gifts. Its an ideal time to put on some music and lose yourself in the moment.

Before wrapping any gift, check and remove all price tags, then check again! If you cannot remove a tag, blank out the price neatly with a black pen.

Gift wrapping requires only a few essential tools, which Ive highlighted below with asterisks. The rest of the things on the list, if you dont already have them in your arsenal, are readily available from any art or craft outlet, as and when you need them.

CUTTING MAT A non-slip, self-healing surface for cutting paper, card and other materials, with guidelines marked for cutting accuracy.

PAPER TRIMMER A tool designed to cut several sheets of paper or a single piece of card quickly and cleanly, achieving a perfect straight edge with one smooth movement. It can also be used to create paper ribbon as well as other trimmings. A basic version is shown here and this should be used on a cutting mat. For more frequent use, consider investing in a good quality, heavy-duty paper cutter.

WOODEN RULER Only suitable for accurate measuring and drawing a straight line.

*STAINLESS STEEL RULER Unlike a wooden ruler, this provides a sound guide for scoring and cutting with a blade. An extra-long version gives a solid straight edge for tearing wrapping paper on a roll.

TRANSPARENT LINE GAUGE RULER Most often seen in the graphic art or printing industries, the extra line guides can be used for measuring type and line spacing.

ROUND HOLLOW PUNCH Available in a variety of sizes for punching a single hole, essential for making gift tags from scratch, and if you plan to make vast numbers, choose a product that punches through several layers of card at once.

*RETRACTABLE CRAFT KNIFE For cutting paper and card with confidence and precision; its flexible tip is especially good for smaller projects.