Tools of the Trade | Wrap Like a Thug

What a deceiving title! I am possibly the furthest thing from a thug, but I can pretend, right?

Regardless of the chance that I may let you down with the rest of this post, I should announce that I'm teaching you how to wrap--as in gift wrap. Didn't your heart just skip a beat in eager anticipation? No? Well perhaps your heart will when I tell you cheap gift-wrapping is super easy to do, and you can dress it up or down to your heart's content. The last time I purchased regular wrapping paper was at least three years ago, and I intend to keep it that way. Here are some awesome ways to re-use materials you already have around the house.

MAGAZINE PAGES: "But they're too small to cover any gifts I'm giving!" Hold on just one second, big spender. Besides the possible need to reevaluate some of your gift-giving habits, remember that papers can be bound together, especially via needle and thread. Cut sheets out of a magazine that relates to the gift (a fashion magazine for clothing, perhaps) and use a zig-zag stitch to quickly connect a quilt-like spread of wrapping. You don't have to feel guilty about throwing away old magazines and your receiver may find a few cute outfit ideas on your gift packaging. 

FABRIC SCRAPS: Similar to the magazine method listed above, random scraps can be pieced together to create a gift bag for any shape or size of gift. If you have the time and fabric on hand, you could even make a slightly nicer bag with the intent that the bag can be reused over and over to pass gifts around. Imagine all the time and money you could save with one go-to gift bag!

BROWN MASKING PAPER: If you search around my blog, you will see that I'm nearly as addicted to this stuff as I am to acrylic paints. I bought a 180-ft roll last year as a wrapping-paper alternative, but I keep finding new applications for it everyday (think small project drop cloth, vintage label paper, and doodle paper). I'm only half-way through this roll, and it only cost $3.  When I'm in a rush, I wrap it like normal wrapping paper and tie the package in twine or jute, and it looks very rustic-chic. When I have a little more time, or a theme in mind, I get out markers, stamps, or scrapbook decorations to dress the paper up. The main idea here is that you simply can't mess up with this guy. He's your man.  

CARDBOARD BOXES: When I was a kid, my parents would always wrap our oddly-shaped gifts in whatever random box they found in the nearest trash can. Every year we'd still giggle as we opened our gifts and say, "gee, thanks for the frozen chicken cordon bleu/box of checks/tennis shoes" and feign amazement when we opened the box to reveal another, more child-friendly gift. Why not take this idea up one notch with some spray paint? For Christmas, you could purchase some metallic spray paints and spray random cardboard boxes for a picturesque array of gift-hiders under your tree. Sounds enchanting, no?

Obviously, there are plenty of other ways to get creative with your gift-wrapping choices. Just don't let The Man tell you that it costs $15 a roll to wrap your presents the right way. You tell him that you already spent plenty on the gift inside and you'd like to forego splurging on wrapping that will visit the trash can in five minutes, thank you sir!