  What You’ll Need: Kraft paper Tape Scissors Twine/Ribbon Polaroid prints Clothes pins Festive trinkets I can’t explain when and why I developed a hatred for tacky Christmas wrapping paper, but for the past three years I have wrapped all of my Christmas gifts in a simple, plain Kraft paper and styled it up with some ribbon and trinkets. This year, I of course stuck with my Kraft paper tradition but got a little more personal. I ditched the name tags and added a sentimental touch with polaroid prints. You can get polaroid style prints from hundreds of online printing companies, but these came from Inkifi. I was very happy with the quality, price, and experience. They were delivered in less than a week. For a truly sentimental approach, you could also use real polaroids or old photos. This look turned out great and was pretty simple. Here's the rundown: 1. Wrap your gift/gift box in Kraft paper 2. Tie up the box with twine or ribbon 3. Clip a clothes pin onto the twin/ribbon 4. Clip in the polaroid photo 5. Add any extra trinkets 6. Voila! I’m also gifting a couple bottles of wine. For those, I threw on a ribbon and one of my homemade cork Christmas tree ornaments. What are your gift wrapping tricks, trips, and ideas? Drop them in a comment below! 
0 Comments
  I stumbled upon the idea for these ornaments on Sutter Home’s Instagram and fell in love. These cork trees are simple, inexpensive, and make for a great gift. I personally love gifts with a homemade touch. Check out these step-by-step instructions:  What You'll Need: 11 corks per ornament A hot glue gun Lots of extra glue sticks An assortment of string or ribbon A flat workspace TIP: I bought a huge bag of wine corks from The Center For Creative Reuse for just $7. I made 9 ornaments (that's 99 corks!) and still had plenty of corks left over. The assortment of corks was perfect for this project. Wine stains, logos, script, and branding made each ornament unique.  1. Arrange your corks: To start the process, arrange your corks in layers. Pick out corks that are about the same length and width for each row. (4-3-2-1). Hot glue each row and then wait a few minutes to let the glue fully set. 2. Build a pyramid: Once you've built each row, you're ready to construct the tree. Glue each row on top of one another in a pyramid shape. Take your time and glue one row at a time. It's best to let the glue fully dry before moving on. It also helps to apply some pressure with your hand. 3. Add the tree trunk: Now that you have the body of the tree it's time to give it a trunk. Pick out a cork (smaller corks work best for this) and outline the bottom of the cork with hot glue. Put the trunk in place on the bottom of your tree and hold it there until the glue fully sets. It may take multiple attempts/lots of glue. This is the most fragile part of the ornament. 4. Glue ribbon to the top: Once you've built your tree and you're confident the glue is fully set, you can now add a ribbon or string to the top of the ornament. Just add a line of glue to the seem between the top layers of the tree and press and hold the ends of the ribbon in place. 5. Admire your work: Your cork tree is officially complete. Give yourself a pat on the back. 6. Repeat! Keep it going. One for everyone on your list.  |
