Gift Wrapping like a Pro – featuring Carmen owner of “Wrapped”

To me, wrapping presents at Christmas, and any other time really, is necessary, and just part of gift giving. It’s not something I’ve ever viewed as a place to use my creativity or extra effort. It’s always felt mundane and just was something else to mark off my to-do list… until this year!

This year, I’m looking forward to everything about wrapping gifts. Choosing the paper, the ribbons, using double-stick tape, gift tags… all of it! You know why? I met Carmen!

Carmen is the owner and creator of a Louisiana gift wrapping company, “Wrapped“. After having her first baby, Evangeline, in the summer of 2018 and deciding to be a stay at home mama, she made her passion for gift wrapping, her business. Being less than amateur at wrapping myself, I was ecstatic when she agreed to partner with me on this blog post.

Gift wrapping, and gift-giving in general, starts long before you even begin the actual wrapping process. All paper and ribbon isn’t created equal according to Carmen. She is very intentional when she chooses her materials.

Choosing Wrapping paper:

1. Carmen recommends shopping online or in a local shop for unique wrapping paper. She orders most of her paper from Caspari, World Market and Target. She warns, “When buying paper online, make sure you are buying a roll and not sheets! Sheet wrapping paper is beautiful (and usually your cuter and more expensive styles), but not ideal for Christmas. Sheets are rarely big enough to fit even a shoe box!”
2. Choose 3 coordinating papers that share the same color palette for a cohesive look under the tree. Stay away from “sets” that are purchased together. Carmen has found that these rolls often have much less paper on them and don’t always look great together. For the three coordinating rolls, she chooses one solid paper. Her favorite solids are Kraft, shimmer, or textured paper. As long as it’s a solid color, it works. The next one should be a neutral print. She recommends going with a stripe, polka dot, or plaid. Basically anything with a small repeating pattern will do. Lastly, she picks a fun, playful print. This one can be over-the-top. It can coordinate with the theme of your decor, speak to a look and feel you’re wanting to create, or set the tone for the formality of your gifts. So, 3 papers… plain, neutral pattern & playful.

Choosing Ribbon:

Her biggest piece of advice to ensure a pleasant wrapping experience, is to choose a ribbon type that fits your experience level. She says, “Know your ribbon types, and know yourself!” Most of Carmen’s ribbon comes from craftoutlet.com. They are based out of Baton Rouge, LA so they’re local (You know I love local businesses!) and being a Louisiana business, they carry hard-to-find colloquial patterned ribbon. (Ex. Mardi Gras, crawfish, LSU, Saints, etc.) Finding the type of ribbon that works for you is key.

1. Wired ribbon is always a good go-to. It makes your gift pretty, without much work! It comes in numerous styles, prints, and colors. It’s easy to manipulate, and it’s very forgiving. However, if you travel with gifts, wired ribbon may not be your best choice. It will require “re-foofing”.  Even though wired ribbon is easy, she recommends it for someone with at least a little crafting experience. 
2. If you don’t have much time to spend on wrapping but still want something pretty, go for satin ribbon. It comes in an infinite amount of solid colors, and always makes your gifts feel “expensive”, without the expensive price tag. It’s perfect for traveling too. Just keep in mind you typically won’t find satin ribbon in patterns or prints. And if you do decide to go the satin route, be sure to buy double-faced ribbon to avoid that “ugly” ribbon side. 
3. Not a confident wrapper? Raffia, twine, and tulle are Carmen’s recommendations for the wrapper with the least amount of experience. When working with these types, as long as you know how to tie a shoelace, you can tie a bow on your gift. They’re inexpensive and with the right paper, still look amazing. To add a little something extra with these, try doubling them up! 
4. Grosgrain ribbon can be easy to work with, but is pretty expensive. Costs can really add up when wrapping multiple Christmas gifts, especially large ones! In bow form, grosgrain can look very flat and one dimensional. This is Carmen’s least favorite ribbon to work with and one she typically stays away from.
5. Lastly, stay away from curling ribbon if you’re aiming for a luxurious look. Carmen says, “It’s cheap, but also makes your present look cheap”. In her experience, curling ribbon doesn’t hold up well. She suggests sticking with raffia or twine!  
6. When shopping for ribbon, she follows the same rules as wrapping paper! One solid, one neutral and one fun print. You can even choose between different types of ribbon to help make each gift look even more unique. Ex. One ribbon in wired (fun print), one ribbon in raffia (neutral), and one ribbon in satin (solid). Carmen also makes sure at least one of the ribbon selections is in a thicker width, minimum of 2″ wide. Wide ribbon is beautiful on large gifts.
7. Alternate different ribbons on different papers. You’ll have plenty of combinations to create a cohesive, yet eclectic look.

Preparing to wrap:

1. Going in to the summer, I usually start saving boxes to prepare for the holiday season. Shoe boxes, Amazon boxes, diaper boxes all work great for gift wrapping when Christmas rolls around. Carmen’s advice is to remember to remove shipping information that might give away what’s in the box and/or personal information.
2. She also always remembers to use a black sharpie over or remove the price tag from all gifts before wrapping.
3. Lightly tape the box closed using regular Scotch tape. Use no more than 2 pieces. A box excessively taped shut is not appealing to the recipient and sucks the fun out of the unwrapping experience.
4. Turn the gift upside down before wrapping so the top of the gift will be unwrapped first and all of the folds and taping will be on the bottom.

Wrapping the gift:

Because of Carmen’s experience, she “eyeballs” her paper and ribbon length. When you’re a pro, that’s how you roll! For me, the non-pro, I rely on a few tricks. I like to ensure I don’t waste too much. I wrapped gifts for a local gift shop, Gordon’s Drugstore in Lake Charles, LA, for several holidays when I was in college and learned a few things that I’ll share.

1. Ensure that the paper will fully wrap around the gift in one direction. You can loosely check, or use a measuring tape to know for sure. Measure all the way around the gift. Add 2″ to this measure before cutting your paper for that wrap. Mark it with a tiny snip of your scissors.
2. For the side measure, the length of the gift, line the edge of the paper up with the top edge of the gift, give yourself an inch of overage and cut a small sliver to mark it. Fold the paper, making a crease inline with the small cut you made. Be sure to line up the factory edges of the paper to get a straight crease. Carefully cut it.
3. Now, go back to the first snip, fold and crease, and cut it. Save your scraps.
4. Now you’re ready to wrap. I don’t have any special diagonal wrap tips or crazy tricks, I just use the good old-fashioned way my mama taught me. I use double-stick tape, or loop regular tape on itself so it won’t show.

Tying Bows:

Carmen’s signature bow is just that… a bow. She loves the look of a simple, well-crafted bow, and I agree! If you read my tree decorating blog post, you know I’m not really a “bow person”. She keeps it simple and works with her ribbon to create a nice classic look. Again, since she’s a pro, she “eyeballs” it and doesn’t measure her ribbon.

Obviously, the larger the gift, the larger the bow should be to keep the proportions and make the gift look right. The length of your ribbon is going to vary depending on how long you want your tails. If you want the tails of the ribbon longer, give yourself plenty to work with. If you want them shorter or are tying a knot instead of a bow, you’ll need less. In my experience, you need at least 15 inches of ribbon for the bow (not including the ribbon to go around the package). Carmen puts a wave in the tails of her wired ribbon for a chic look. (See her portfolio at the bottom of the page for more.)

Finishing Touches:

To really customize your gifts, Carmen suggests adding a few finishing touches!

1. Tie an ornament onto your bow to give your present a little something extra. This is something super easy that adds a fancy touch! Most ornaments already come looped or with a wire hook. Just string it onto your ribbon before you tie the bow. You can use ornaments that coordinate with your Christmas tree or for a personal touch, choose an ornament that reminds you of the person receiving the gift. This takes your gift to the next level!
2. Carmen will sometimes buy a floral branch from Hobby Lobby or Michael’s, cut one small piece off, and add it to the bow of a gift. This is a great way to tie your gifts in with your decor.
3. Gift tags are not just functional, they can be beautiful too! She suggests going with a plain, neutral tag, but investing in a “From” stamp. It adds an extra touch to your gifts, and saves you time and money! Just stamp on a blank gift tag, and write the gift recipient’s name on the back. You’ll have your stamp for years to come, and it usually will match any Christmas style you choose each year. You can just change out the blank tags as you wish.
4. The last thing Carmen does to finish off each gift really gives them a crisp look. She runs her finger along each side, gently creasing the paper and forming a sharp, square edge.

I hope you enjoyed these pro-tips, and “not-so-pro-tips” from Carmen and me! I know I’ll be starting my wrapping this weekend, and thanks to Carmen it’s something I’m actually looking forward to!

Scroll to the bottom for more of Carmen’s work, plus Amazon affiliate links that may help meet your wrapping needs. For a full gallery of her work and info about her business, plus updates, go ‘like’ the “Wrapped” Facebook page and follow her on Instagram. Message her if you’re interested in having her do your wrapping this year, it’s not too late but she’s booking up quick!

Thanks for stopping by, Jamie xo

Carmen’s Portfolio