It’s probably not at all useful for me to share holiday wrapping ideas this late in the game, or at least not my sort of holiday wrapping ideas. None of them are super quick or easy, making them not particularly helpful the day before Christmas Eve.
Although … wait a minute … this post could be helpful if you need to wrap just a few presents, you don’t have any Christmas wrap on hand and you don’t feel like braving the shops. Especially if, like me, you tend to always have a roll of brown craft paper, paint and stencils lying around.
So, on that note, here’s what I came up with for this year.
I had all of those fabulous stencils on hand already, so why not make use of them for Christmas packages? All of the stencils used came from Wallcutz, FYI.
The smaller version of the Rudolph and Co stencil was the perfect size for a shirt box.
And masking off portions of the Milk & Cookie stencil allowed it to fit on a slightly smaller box.
The even smaller boxes were stenciled using masked off portions of larger stencils too.
Here are a couple of q tips on stenciling Christmas packages.
First of all, stenciling on brown craft paper is fairly forgiving. The texture of the paper makes it easier to get a crisp finish because the paint doesn’t slide around like it does on a smoother surface. That being said, when possible I tape my stencil in place using yellow Frog tape (much like I did on the paper scroll sign I shared earlier). The yellow tape for delicate surfaces won’t leave a mark on your paper when it’s removed.
Secondly, I stenciled my boxes after they were wrapped. That can be a little bit trickier since the surface isn’t as firm. These were heavy duty stiff boxes. I would not attempt this with a flimsy box. This also meant that in some cases I couldn’t tape the stencil in place, so I was just super careful to hold it firmly in place as I worked. You could stencil the paper first, and then wrap the gift, but then you have to be careful to keep your design centered as you wrap the package which can also be tricky. It’s a trade off.
I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get a clean result stenciling on a gift bag, since they are a little lumpy when laid flat, but I think it worked just fine.
Looking back, this year’s custom Christmas wrap is not my all-time favorite. I think that award goes to the wrap I created that was inspired by a tour of a velvet factory in Venice …
But I also really loved the simplicity of last year’s wrap that I created using some IOD rubber stamps.
And the year I painted everything pink and used transfer gel to add some really cool 12 days of Christmas graphics was pretty good too.
What do you think? Can you pick a favorite?
Do you have everything all wrapped and ready to go already, or do you wait until the very last minute?
q is for quandie 
Best wrapping paper ever! So beautiful!
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Thanks Anita!
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I really like this year’s wrappings. I am partial to all of your Christmas/winter stencils.
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Thanks sis!
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I love them all but if forced to choose, the pink year just might be my favorite. I enjoy wrapping presents early and try each year to vary the look, though never as creatively as you. The year I wrapped everything in brown craft paper with shiny gold ribbon may have left some in the family scratching their heads! 😉
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Sounds lovely to me!
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I used to LOVE wrapping presents but in the last few years I haven’t budgeted my time well and I end up wrapping Christmas Eve 😩 next year my goal will be to try one of these ideas-so inspiring!!!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
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It so much more fun to wrap presents when you can get creative with them 🙂 Hopefully next year!
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I’m partial to this year’s stenciled paper because to me it has a vintage look and feel. The Venetian inspired paper was very lovely too.
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I love the pink box with the 12 Days of Christmas. they all look great, but that is my favorite. I love your creativity brought to us every week through your blog. So glad you were able to retire from your not-so-fun-anymore-job and blog more!
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Me too Jennifer! I’m really looking forward to having more time for creating and blogging!
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My favorite was the velvet inspired wrap. That said I’m loving what you did this year as well. May be too late for this year but I I’ll be hanging on to this idea for next year. Merry Christmas to you and the Mr.
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I loved that velvet wrap too, probably partially because the tour of the velvet factory that inspired it was so magical. One of my favorite travel memories too.
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All your wrapping ideas are great – hard to choose just one, but I really like this year’s. As Deb mentioned, your Christmas stencils are the best! Merry Christmas to all!
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Wallcutz has some really fab stencils. I hope to be using more of them this year, Christmas and others.
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All the ideas are grand! I prefer the craft paper one (I did the same this year) because it is also a recyclable way to wrap gifts. Have a Merry Christmas.
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Good point Laura! It is nice to use a recyclable paper!
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They are all beautiful but I LOVE this year’s style. I didn’t think I was much of a “primitive” style person, but I’ve sure been loving a lot of it lately. Gifts are stuffed in bags but not prettied up. Hurt my back recently so haven’t been able to do much…my tree is still in the garage! I have a wrapped twig tree with lights already in the house so that’s gonna be it for this year! Ready or not….MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! 🙂
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Ugh, there’s nothing worse than back pain. Well … I suppose there probably is, my root canals from last year come to mind. But, back pain just seems to make doing anything more difficult. Hope you’re feeling better soon!
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I stated wrapping early. I paint or stencil my packages each year. My family thinks it is a little nuts to take all that decorating time just to get torn off. I used to do it out of necessity b/cause I could use grocery sacks turned inside out! 😉. Now I do it because I enjoy giving that little extra. Your stencils are so good!
And your packages are perfect! I also enjoy your Q-tips! 🎄🎄🎄
Smiles, alice
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I used to use grocery bags too! But now I ‘splurge’ on craft paper by the roll 😉
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I absolutely love this year’s wrapping style. Very cool how it looks “made to order” on each gift. The velvet-looking wrap was also gorgeous. I purposely wait until Christmas Eve to wrap family gifts – a tradition started when my boys were young and everything was hidden in my closet – but I need to remember this idea for other gifts. Looking at your packages, I can see how much hand made wrapping really emphasizes how much thought was put into the gift. Thanks for sharing. And have a wonderful holiday!
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I do think people … well, some people, maybe not all … do really appreciate the extra care taken in a fabulously packaged gift. Somehow it makes the gift seem all that more special.
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I love them all equally Miss Quandie and that’s a lot of loving! (-: The stenciling is the most do-able (I THINK) because it’s straight forward and you just need some drying time? But those gel transfers…….shazam! I remember being blown away when you created them, that they succeeded so beautifully!
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Yeah, those gel transfers can be tricky. But they were gorgeous. I may have to use those 12 Days of Christmas graphcis on other items next year, more than just gift wrapping.
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I love all of these!
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Thanks Melissa!
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Clever idea! Too late for this Christmas but perfect for next year!
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True! Hope you give it a try 🙂
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Absolutely adorable, all of them! Love!
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Thanks so much!
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