- Joined
- 30 Mar 2008
- Messages
- 2,477
- Age
- 39
Well, it's been a while since I've been able to do any mesh work, and the reason for that is simple enough...
IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Now I know I face this time with a sense of horror and apprehension (bah Humbug! ), and I've been furiously working away to get all those things done that need to be done before heading back to the folks over the holiday. Anyway, I was wrapping up presents last night - normally I'm an expert at this but for some reason this year I seem to have lost the knack.
So, I thought wouldn't it be a good idea if we posted the little things we learn that make the process go a little easier. So anyway, my wrapping tips (it's all I'm good for really).
Well that's my hard earned knowledge. Any other takers?
IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Now I know I face this time with a sense of horror and apprehension (bah Humbug! ), and I've been furiously working away to get all those things done that need to be done before heading back to the folks over the holiday. Anyway, I was wrapping up presents last night - normally I'm an expert at this but for some reason this year I seem to have lost the knack.
So, I thought wouldn't it be a good idea if we posted the little things we learn that make the process go a little easier. So anyway, my wrapping tips (it's all I'm good for really).
- Plan! Seriously, don't just grab a roll and go for it, take stock of what needs to be wrapped and try to judge how much paper is needed, then cut the paper accordingly. Also consider how much space is needed to wrap and have all the required implements to hand.
- Find a partner in crime - it saves so much time and frustration having someone else to hold the paper tight and keep track of the end of the tape... Of course is you can't then make sure you have some small heavy objects that wont damage what they're being placed on.
- Too much paper is just as bad as too little. If there's too much then you're either forever folding it back and back and end up with a lump on the end, or you have to cut some off in mid wrap (and then run the risk of lopping too much off...). Similarly too much tape isn't always a good thing...
- Fold over the cut edges. Chances are that your straight cut isn't really that straight, so folding a new edge along the paper before you wrap it makes it look a little neater.
- Try to align the seam with a corner. Obviously this is easier on square or rectangular gifts. If you put just enough slack into the wrap you can rotate the paper around the gift to align it with the corner, helping to conceal the seam. Make your victim work to get inside the present, it provides them with a (minor) challenge to overcome with the resultant sense of achievement, makes the process last a little longer, and provides you with some entertainment
- Clever usage of tags and/or ribbons. These can be used to again disguise seams and also any accidental damage to the paper (like when the tape accidentally touches the paper and takes away a small bit of surface on an otherwise flawless wrap).
- Be observant and creative. Anybody (almost anybody) can wrap a box, but there are different styles of enveloping that gift. Look around the shop windows you may see the odd idea. One year we made pseudo-Christmas Crackers, we had two sizes of toilet roll tube that fitted nicely inside each other, wrap them and decorate the two halves and place the (small) gift inside. Or another is to make a bag or pouch with a folding top out of wrapping paper.
Well that's my hard earned knowledge. Any other takers?