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Monday, December 14, 2015

You know this, right? Gift-wrapping on the diagonal


If you can't get the paper to wrap all the way around a gift, but it's close, try shifting the package to the diagonal on the paper.


Your wrap will resemble the layout of an envelope, on the backside.


On the front side, with many gift wraps, you wont be able to tell that the paper is wrapped parallel or diagonal around the gift. And on some wraps, the diagonal may also be more interesting (like a stripe).


Here are some slippers that I couldn't get the paper quite around, when the slippers' edge was parallel to the paper's edge. I turned the slippers to the diagonal, and they fit.

And you know this, too, right? If you run out of tape, you can raid the art supplies and use glue stick, or in some cases, skip sealing the paper, altogether, and let ribbon hold it closed.


20 comments:

  1. My daughter just told me yesterday that we need more tape. I thought we had plenty. I'll have to dig out the glue sticks, so thank you for that tip. :)

    Lucky person to be getting those slippers. They are on my list too.

    Happy Monday to you, Lili.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Belinda,
      Actually, slippers are on my list, as well!

      Have a wonderful week -- last week of school, right? Then it's Christmas break?

      Delete
  2. Good idea! What I dislike most is that someone has a small gift to wrap and then cuts only a square large enough for the gift and leaves the awkward rest on the roll. I'd rather that they cut the entire piece off the roll then cut only from that to fit the gift leaving the rest for another small gift.

    But we're not doing any gifts again this year for each other though we have participated/will participate in little get-togethers that require gift exchanges. We provide so much for our kids all year round that they know not to expect even more under the tree. Speaking of the tree, it's my old college fake tree that is the highlight of the village that surrounds it. My youngest asked if I planned on putting that up so I did. The cats like to sleep in the village and we call them Catzilla because the size of the cats look huge inside the tiny village! It's quite funny.

    Alice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alice,
      Oh now that happens here as well. So I'll cut off the rest of that part of the roll, and roll it up to slide into the cardboard tube, for someone to use for another small gift. But, instead of using the scraps, someone in this house will just cut the big roll, again!! At the end of the roll I wind up doing patchwork gift-wrapping!

      I love the pictures of Catzilla, Alice! Isn't that just how a cat is? they see a nice spot, that surely was set up just for them!

      I like the village, too. i always admire those in Christmas stores.

      Delete
  3. Ah you reminded me that I need to get more tape! I don't have any glue sticks but that is a great idea! I use a lot of tape, my husband always teases me that he needs a knife to open his packages, I tape the boxes shut & everything. Not very frugal but I have always been like that with wrapping.
    Rhonda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rhonda,
      When I was growing up, my older sister took great pride in really securely wrapping packages!
      You're just keeping your hubby in suspense as he unwraps his gift!

      Delete
  4. My grandmother never used any tape on packages. She just used ribbon to hold them closed. We grandkids (23 of us) were always amazed at how she did it. I'm thinking that maybe her stills came from a time when they wrapped up most things you bought with brown paper and string. None-the-less, it was amazing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      you know, my grandmother never did either. She saved all of her gift wrap, so any tape would mar the wrapping paper. She just tied the package well with ribbon, yarn or string.

      Delete
  5. can I put in a photo?

    I will email you Catzilla, Lili.


    Alice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Got it, Alice! I may try and post it at the end of this one!

      Delete
  6. Good tip. I hate wrapping gifts with a passion. I try to make it more palatable by wrapping when I am home alone and can play a fun movie ... inevitably I run out of something, such as tape ... now I have a back-up plan, thanks to you! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      I try to make it more enjoyable by playing Christmas music, and eating Christmas cookies! not terribly good for my waistline!

      Delete
  7. I use this trick from time to time. It really is clever, and sometimes helps use up those smaller pieces of wrapping paper.
    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary,
      I read somewhere that this is the way gifts are always wrapped in other parts of the world, on the diagonal. I may have to permanently change how I wrap gifts, as my gift-wrap stash dwindles.

      Delete
  8. We used to re-use wrapping paper and all sort of odd sizes were saved so we had to get creative! My sister was brilliant - like if paper would wrap all sides but one, she might center a different print in the middle, or the picture from an old greeting card, and wrap the larger print around so as to showcase the smaller one. I hope that makes sense. As a child I prided myself on how carefully I could peel off the tape so the biggest amount of wrapping could be re-used. All Christmas cards were saved and we used pinking shears to cut out pictures to use for gift tags. Wrapping presents is so much fun for me! But I know it's nothing but aggravating for a lot of people. My biggest problem now is that I'll lay down the paper, turn to pick up the item to be wrapped, and when I turn back my cat is lying across the paper. He can't stand for anything else to get all the attention!

    Usually I can't comment on an article, only if I'm replying to another person. Has something changed recently?

    Ushuaia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, and I would love to see the Catzilla village if it's possible! Thanks. :)

      Delete
    2. I'm going to try and post both photos!

      Delete
    3. Hi Ushuaia,
      Oh yes, makes perfect sense. I call this patchwork gift-wrapping. Although, I'm not sure I've ever done such a brilliant job that it looked as nice as your sister's sounds.

      Hmmm, I'm not aware of something changing. But Blogger may have changed something. I may leave off the Captcha thing in the future (where you have to enter numbers or identify pictures, to "prove you're not a robot"). I do hope that whatever it is, I can find a way around it, or fix it, or in some way it improves for you.

      Wishing you and your family a very blessed Christmas, Ushuaia!

      Delete
    4. I had another thought -- sometimes I can't reply to a comment. But if I refresh the page, it will often allow me to. Have you tried to refresh/reload the page?

      Delete
  9. Well, I refreshed the page and saw 'Add comment' appear and then disappear as the page finished refreshing! I tried opening this page in Chrome instead of IE and everything is where it should be. I guess my ability to comment depended on the mood of my browser. :)

    Thank you, have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your break!

    Ushuaia

    ReplyDelete

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