Once upon a time I used to make people gifts. –You know, the spirit of Christmas and let's avoid all that commercialism, and show our love by giving something of ourselves. This is a sweet idea, but since the gifts a) usually took a lot of time b) cost at least twice as much as I would have spent, and, the kicker, c) people often didn't like them, I gave up.
Gift wrapping, on the other hand, strikes me as a way to have my cake and eat it too. I can still purchase, for a reasonable sum, in a reasonable amount of time, with a reasonable expectation that the recipient will like it (or can take it back) a gift, and put the personal touch in the wrapping. A scavenger by nature, I collect the bows, ribbons and even paper during the holidays, supplementing those with 75–90% off bargains (never pay more than 10 cents for a spool of that offray ribbon), and garage sales. Of all my hobbies, this one allows my bargain hunting sensibilities the greatest scope, and I positively delight in putting seemingly useless objects to good purpose–because the wrapping is only for a short while, items that are broken or worn or not of the highest quality do very well.
The largest financial cost is actually space: it's just not practical to wrap on this scale without an area set aside—in my case, an old table, (which doubles as a laundry table) stacked with a dozen or so milk crates my neighbors thoughtfully left on their trash piles after absconding with them from the local party shops, set up in the driest corner of the basement. They lay sideways, with bags of ribbons and bows sorted by color, a box of fabric ribbons, and one of those little storage boxes whose drawers hold the tools—glue gun, scissors, tape, wire cutters (for silk flowers) and so forth within. One also needs to keep an assortment of boxes on hand. Wrapping is enough of a bore without a good firm foundation over which to lay the paper.
Even an extremely elaborately wrapped and decorated gift doesn't usually take more than 45 minutes to do: and let it be said, I don't actually like to wrap presents, which I suppose is one reason it took me so long to come up with this idea. In fact, my wrapping is usually awful—not for me those crisp corners! I like to decorate gifts. Because the covering by its nature is emphermeral, it combines (for me) the idea of something handmade, attractive, and, since it is fleeting, without a cost associated with it—in effect, a gift of time, and a bit of myself. (But 45 minutes is still a good bit of effort. So I take photos, which perhaps undermines the sentiment a little.)
black & silver grad's gift on map paper 29may2024
2022 summery floral giftwrap 11jan2024
Romance of the Rose giftwrap 10jan2024
Fish skeleton paper makes a reappearance 08jan2024
metallic star giftwrap 09jan2024
metallic floral giftwrap with turquoise snowflake 06jan2024
black and silver flocked giftwrap 05jan2024
printmaking designed paper with black and silver decorations 04jan2024
Black, gold and silver giftwrapping elegance 03jan2024
B&W stripes accent pine and white wrapping paper 02jan2024
2nd in a series of blue-with-bronze-stars giftwrap 31dec2023
Take 2 on this gorgeous burgundy paper... 29dec2023
Autumn leaves gift 30dec2023
Autumn themed giftwrap for the solstice. Or Xmas. Or mebbe the new year, actually.... 01jan2024
brown, bronze, and gold giftwrap on ivory paper 27dec2023
solstice gift featuring fish skeleton paper 28dec2023
bronze, brown and rich blue giftwrap 26dec2023
sloppy giftwarp lowers expectations. 25dec2023
2023 burgundy gold gift 25dec2023
giftwrap with a badly edited background 15dec2023
Baby vintage giftwrap in coral. 05dec2023
magnolia and brown paper giftwrap, versions 1 & 2. 08nov2023
Black and red plaid, silver and black ornaments 23feb2023
candycane giftwrap w silver snowflake 22feb2023
Black and white music note themed gift 21feb2023
Giftwrap again. Cuz it's fast 'n' easy 20feb2023
Black snowflakes accent red and silver wrapping 20feb2023
Page inspired giftwrap 09jan2023
green and white giftwrap for a college grad 28nov2022
Red, black and white giftwrap with silver touches 06jun2021
Henna'ed giftwrap in earth tones. 10may2021
Three henna inspired gifts with an Autumn colour scheme from 2017. 28jan2021
henna inspo in dull, upcycled earth greens, browns & tans 29jan2021
A giftwrap with a three year span... 26jan2021
Another robot gift wrap; playing with Gimp's modes 25jan2021
white on silver & black on silver for a double-decorated gift by Page from 2018 22jan2021
robot giftwrap with antennas 21jan2021
I get a little silly with silver pipe cleaners. 2018 gift finally delivered in Jan 2021. 19jan2021
unusual paper with a victorian flair 18jan2021
double (or triple) green and red gift 20jan2021
Epiphany giftwrap 06jan2021
mountain inspired gift with pine greens, browns and golds for an avid hiker 01jan2021
Red and white xmas giftwrap with snowflake 30dec2020
Another gift using that hydrangea silk flower... 28dec2020
Fran's love of geometric pattern shines in her giftwrap. 28dec2020
brightly nontraditional colour scheme for xmas 27dec2020
Blue, blue, blue giftwrap xmas prezzie for Page 26dec2020
giftwrap in the sunflower series, using Raoul Dufy paper 30jul2020
Giftwrap with salvaged supplies featuring sunflower & pine cones 31jul2020
glorious gold and burgundy giftwrap from 2019 27jan2021
2019 brown and burgundy gift 14mar2022
2019 cobalt blue snowflake giftwrap with silver & blue 09jan2020
midnight blue and white gift 08jan2020
pretty patterned paper with red, gold & blue 07jan2020
2019 xmas tree, with all the ornaments 06jan2020
Raoul Dufy giftwrap featuring a red rose & white snowflake 02jan2020
red and white striped gift 31dec2019
sky blue trimmed with metallic silver giftwarp 01jan2020
brown wallpaper with hydrangea giftwrap 30dec2019
diagonal gift wrap technique 23dec2019
2017 reindeer gift with green velvet and brown dot ribbons 20dec2019
White angel topper hovers above a blue wrapped gift 19dec2019
blue and silver gift 18dec2019
reindeer wrapping reappears in '17 with silver thread wrapped red balls. 17dec2019
vivid green paper provides a backdrop for fancy ribbon in this 2015 xmas gift. 16dec2019
2015 xmas giftwrap features partridge & ivy 13dec2019
reindeer snowflake giftwrap from 2015 12dec2019
2018 red gift with snowflake. 09dec2019
tall red gift with yellow feather 10dec2019
tall white gift with white star garlanding, silver snowflake. 10dec2019
black, olive green & white giftwrap on a zigzag striped box 14dec2018
a bit of image editing rescuses this garden/bouquet style silk flower gift wrap, made in Jul2014 13dec2018
Silk flowers in peaches, pinks & garnet decorate a burgundy & orange box. 07dec2018
Twofer: 2 Springy giftwraps for the end of Autumn 06dec2018
Orange and green gift riffing off the base box. 05dec2018
Mini-wrap features reversible blue & silver ribbon 04dec2018
little gift in winter holiday colours 03dec2018
springy lace & pink floral giftwrap. 02apr2018
a wftda coloured giftwrap with henna inspirations for a fresh meat derby trainer 23may2018
2017 guild exchange 15dec2017
2011 green, lime & red wrap with pinkish metallicized beads 12dec2018
2 2011 gifts featuring silver foil paper with blue, green & fuchsia ribbon 11dec2018
floral and geometric ribbons, some beads & a brass horn on a plain white gift 10dec2018
Optical illusion makes a red ribbon look brown. 06apr2018
sunflower & henna decorated gift... 23oct2017
Pink and green gift. 17oct2016
red rose giftwrap. 03jun2016
Denim-y blue floral giftwrap for someone whose favourite colour that is. 02jun2016
giftwrap in turquoise and coral 01jun2016
More floral giftwrap for 2016 spring. 26apr2016
Spring giftwrap celebrates flowers & butterflies 25apr2016
summer giftwrap using winter paper 26aug2015
light orangey pink floral giftwrap 25mar2015
Blue map giftwrap with spring flowers including tulip. 24mar2014
warm golden tones underpin this sunflower themed giftwrap 22mar2015
Blue giftwrap with red flower: a winter gift. 31jan2015
Tan, brown and vintage lace-edged red ribbon make up a winter themed giftwrap 26jan2015
Summer giftwrap with autumny sunflowers—orange, yellow, blue and chromoxide green. 08aug2014
Black and red dominate this elegant giftwrapping job with a 50s moderne touch. 26mar2014
Yet another variation/recycling of the blue & gold giftwrap 08dec2013
Scraps come together beautifully in this country-craft colored giftwrap. 04jun2013
Wire edged patriotic ribbon once again comes to the rescue... 19apr2013
Red, white and blue tulle patriotic wrappings (from 2011). 18apr2013
soft, romantic pink florals combine with the richness and elegance of gold paper. 02apr2013
The old windows, worn chair and matte antique wrapping, combined with the effect of lensbaby, combine for kind of a fun effect. 28mar2013
Giftwrap in classic red and green on matte brown paper 27mar2013
Elegant giftwrap with single chrysanthemum. 26mar2013
Winter giftwrap on the edge of Spring. 25mar2013
Giftwrap with three strands of beads—given the color scheme, probably a late xmas gift 21mar2013
I giftwrapped a forgotten xmas prezzie in February. 24feb2013
Purple, green and gold giftwrap for a New Orleans themed `Fat Tuesday' party. 20feb2013
I didn't have enough mauvey pink paper to cover this box, so I added some red and white striped stuff. Then I had to make everything fit together. Somehow. 14feb2013
saturated primary colors made more vivid with metallic accents make for a very bright set o stripes. 09oct2012
Japan is `Land of the Rising Sun' and the red and white stripes of this giftwrap reflect its contents' country of origin 07oct2012
Red, green, white and silver polkadot gift with metallicized red snowflake, ribbons and even pink silk flowers. Yum. 12dec2012
It's spring, and it's pink: the season and recipient are all the excuse I need to go with flowers, lace, and fluff. Yes, even I do girly-girl once in awhile. 09may2012
Fuchsia, peach, and pinks—and of course—white florals combine for a valentine's giftwrap 13feb2018
I ``help'' a hapless student wrap a present. 23dec2011
featuring a gift from 25dec2007. 05dec2017
I mixed silk flowers, beads and ribbons to decorate this gift in blue and white. note: page created 18apr10 22may2024
Holiday giftwrap from waaaaay back in 2008 pulled from the archives 04dec2017
an old post from feb 2010 is recycled with a giftwrap from 29apr2010 11jan2024
2011 gift showcased on an old 2010 post... 14dec2017
an old page from 2010 gets updated with a guild? gift from 2010... 11dec2017
F2tY does a wonderful job wrapping and decorating this gift with silk flowers. Originally posted 25jul09 25jul2009
Autumn themed giftwrap using rustic materials. Collects the autumn-themed giftwrap pages. Originally posted 04oct08. 04oct2008
This drawstring bag and figurine ensemble features a foam-card woven 16 strand diamond patterned kongo braid . Originally posted 19jun08. 19jun2008
Another of my infamous quick'n'dirty just-before-the-recipient-showed-up wrap jobs collects all the floral-themed giftwrap pages. Wrapped & photo'ed 13may, post 14may08. 14may2008
A little giftwrap for glassact's 2007 santa swap . 03dec2017
Wedding gift , with a bonus baby gift. Originally posted 25jun07 25jun2007
Blue giftwrap decorated with penguins makes a good choice for a winter birthday. Originally posted 20feb07 20feb2007
Collects the various giftwrap sub-indices (i.e. this page:) 20feb2007
Xmas gift finally delivered on Valentine's Day. 22feb2007
Gold and white, made easy by Page's efforts in this direction. File-name created 2005, file created 5jan07, posted 06jan07. (Happy epiphany:) 06jan2007
This paper, inspired by vintage Christmas illustrations, has a great deal more orange and turquoise than you might expect. Posted 01jan07. 01jan2007
The classic colors of Christmas. File created 26dec05; posted 04jan07. 05jan2007
A subtle paper pleases my mother-in-law. Originally posted 27dec05. 27dec2005
More efforts in the burgundy and gold direction, courtesy of Page. Originally posted 04jan06. 04jan2006
Charming pretty paper in many colors that is nevertheless difficult to decorate. Originally posted 28dec05. 28dec2005
Exuberant happy paper bursting with many colors that is nevertheless difficult to decorate. Originally posted 29dec05. 29dec2005
I revel in the glorious blue and gold decorations my friend has given me. 07jan2007
The classic colors of Christmas. File created 26dec05; posted 04jan07. 04jan2007
This paper, inspired by vintage Christmas illustrations, has a great deal more orange and turquoise than you might expect. Posted 01jan07. 03jan2007
The junior member of the f2 generation is entranced by vintage ribbon with candy canes and other christmas symbols printed upon it. Created 14nov05, intro 1jan07, posted 02jan07. 02jan2007
First attempt for the season. Originally posted 24dec05. 24dec2005
Stocking giftwrap posted 08dec05. 08dec2005
Purple redux: a decoration is recycled with the addition of some lime green accents. 27nov05 27nov2005
Even just two or three minutes can improve upon simply handing a present over in the plastic the store clerk dropped it into. 02may05 05may2005
Three gifts from 2005 . Includes brief comments on the creative process, but still nothing like a definitive howto. (24mar05) 25mar2005
Thin gold stripes accent major focal point and wrapping paper 22may2004
More ivory on an unusual wrapping paper 22may2004
Floral studies continue in 2002. 22may2004
Inspiration from Japan 22may2004
Incorporating another artist's work into my own. 22may2004
Peacock feathers accent a blue-violet metallic paper 22may2004
Three gifts from 2003 . Sort of. (06dec03) 22may2004
A friend is inspired–with beautiful results 22may2004
White silk flowers bloom on ivory and white paper 22may2004
Gift decorating as Flower Pot 22may2004
Originally created: Sat Sep 12 21:53:29 EDT 1998; last update: 24mar05
Autumn themed giftwrap using rustic materials. Collects the autumn-themed giftwrap pages. Originally posted 04oct08. 04oct2008
Another of my infamous quick'n'dirty just-before-the-recipient-showed-up wrap jobs collects all the floral-themed giftwrap pages. Wrapped & photo'ed 13may, post 14may08. 14may2008
Collects the various giftwrap sub-indices (i.e. this page:) 20feb2007
Xmas gift finally delivered on Valentine's Day. 22feb2007
Wrapup of the 14 posts comprising 2005 xmas holiday giftwrap series, featuring perhaps 20–25 giftwrap/decors, plus one textile bonus. Originally posted (whew, finally) 8jan07. 08jan2007
Purple redux: a decoration is recycled with the addition of some lime green accents. 27nov05 27nov2005
A friend is inspired–with beautiful results 22may2004
Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.
