With all this crumby winter weather, I wanted to do a wrap that was a little more refreshing, inspired by fresh food and cooking in the kitchen.

I’ve also been doing a bit of ‘cleaning’ when it comes to my magazine collection. I can’t believe I still had old issues of Teen Vogue. Looking at the dates on those were really scary… and embarrassing. So out into the recycling bin they went. But when I came across an old issue of Food & Drink, I thought it was perfect for alternative wrapping paper. The photography is beautiful, bright, and high quality. That’s the key for using recycled paper as wrapping. Make sure it has some great character to it. And for this wrap, the large shots of deliciously ripe fruits and veggies worked perfectly.

Materials:

1. Specialty scissors (ones that in different styles; choose your favourite from a local craft or art store; I’ve used Victorian and Colonial style cuts)

2. String, ribbon, or other tying materials that match your scheme

3. Clear adhesive tape

4. An issue of a magazine from which wrapping pages can be torn (look for vibrant colours and photography)

5. Pages of lined paper

6. Scraps of kraft paper

7. A writing tool (pen, pencil, marker… whichever you prefer)

Instructions:

1. Tear out your page(s) from the magazine, and wrap up your gift. You may need more than one page depending on the size of the gift, so try to be crafty when combining pages to cover your gift. Try not to make it look too messy when taping two pages together.

2. Take your specialty scissors and cut a strip from the lined paper. Again, you may need two strips adhered together to wrap around the whole gift, so measure it out correctly and cut another strip, then tape the strips together nicely on both sides with clear tape. Wrap the strip around your gift and trim and tape again to have it secured to the gift.

3. Use this step if you want to add a nice handwritten note to your gift. Take a piece of scrap kraft paper, or tear a one off gently. Aim for a size that suits your wrapped package. Write your heart-felt message, or a simple “to” and “from”.

4. Now your note is ready to sit on top of your gift, secured under a piece of twine or ribbon. Don’t forget to tie the bow!

Voila! Looks like it’s fresh from the garden. Happy wrapping!

{photos © Have & Hold Design}