How to fabulously wrap the perfect gift bag with love!

Welcome to our first segment of “Wrapped by René” where my mom shares her tips and tricks for gift wrapping fabulously!

My mom is famous for her gift wrapping skills. Whenever one of us participates in a school or workplace “Secret Santa” we jump to enlist her talents! Our friends are always wowed by the fun and whimsical display!

We’re frequently asked how she does it, and to be honest, we were just as mystified as our gift-receiving friends. We had the idea to share her techniques with you all here on our family blog. Read on to learn how to gift wrap small gifts in our first installment!

1. What you’ll need
   • Ribbons in several colors, sizes and textures
   • Paper craft bags
   • Tinsel for stuffing
   • Gift tags
   • Scissors

One of her first pieces of advice is shopping for some of these supplies after the holidays. She loves finding great deals the week between December 25th and January 1st. Check out your local craft stores for themed ribbons and tinsel that’s marked down so you can build up your toolbox for next year!

Start off with a selection of ribbons in a variety of coordinated styles. My mom says, “Just look for things you love! If you love it, they will too!” Don’t feel like you have to stick to any particular color schemes or themes… Use whatever you’re drawn to! I went shopping with her at some of her favorite places to pick up ribbon and tinsel. I was surprised to see that she didn’t stick to the holiday displays. We were picking up colors and prints that were completely unexpected. Part of the fun in gifting is sharing a part of yourself with your friends and family. Let your personality shine through!

Now that you have what you need, let’s get started! The first step is filling the gift bag with the gift. If you’re having trouble thinking of good ideas for small gifts, we have some options for you to consider! Gift cards are usually our go-to, but we also love sharing our favorite lipstick or nail polish color with friends that have mentioned they liked it in the past. We’ve also gifted a box of our favorite tea, tickets to a movie, and even some “New Car Smell” air freshener if a friend has bought a new ride recently. Thoughtfulness in your gift-giving will bring the magic of the season to life. Of course, all of these ideas are great to apply to birthdays or other celebrations too.

Now that your craft bag is filled with your gift, it’s time to get down to the business of creating a fabulous bow. It’s much simpler than you might be thinking, and with a little patience, you’ll have something spectacular to adorn your gifts with in no time.

Making the bow

It’s helpful to lay out the ribbons you’d like to use for your gift. They should be cut in varying lengths as we’ll explain below.

For your first ribbon, René recommends a long strip, about the length of your arms when stretched out.

Tie your long anchoring ribbon around both handles of the craft bag with equal lengths of excess ribbon on either side.

For your second ribbon, select something wider than the first long ribbon. Cut this one at about 2-3 feet long, or the length of your outstretched arm.

With this second ribbon, we’ll begin to craft our first bow! Fold one end of the ribbon half-way across, then the other side to meet it in the middle.

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Next, pinch the bow in the center to create the shape

Place the center of your bow over the first knot and use the anchoring ribbon to tie it down securely.

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You’ve made your first bow! Wasn’t that easy? Our next step is pretty much the same technique, but with a new ribbon.

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Our next bow makes use of a different folding technique to create a pretzel shape. For this, we’ll use a strip of ribbon a bit longer than the first two bows.

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Now pinch the center of your pretzel bow and tie down with the long anchoring ribbon, just as we did with the first two bows.

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Now we’re going to add a strip of ribbon without folding it at all! This will be your shortest strip used. My mom usually measures this out to be as long as the bows are wide.

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We’re almost done! The bow is looking fabulous at this point, but we want to add a little razzle dazzle! As you can see, using a variety of colors, textures, and prints makes a bow that is visually appealing and stands out from the crowd. Our last bow will be a gossamer ribbon with a beautifully delicate sparkle.

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Now we’re ready to “wrap it up” (pun intended lol!) Tie the long anchoring ribbon that we started with like you would tie your shoes, creating those classic “bunny ear” loops.

If you used a ribbon with metal wiring, you can now curl the excess ends to add more whimsy to the display!

To finish your bag, add a gift tag to the handle on the opposite side from where the bow has been placed.

Our last step is to add tinsel stuffing! You can use tissue if you’d like, but there’s something so fun and unexpected about the shiny tinsel that we just can’t resist!

You’re all done! You’ve created something that will bring smiles and excitement to your friends and family and it took no time at all!

Thank you for stopping by and creating with us. We love sharing our family’s favorite things with you all!

Let us know if you try any of these techniques in the comments. We’d love to hear about what your lucky gift recipients think about your gorgeous bows!

With LOVE,

The Barton Family