Gift Wrapping with Jane Means
Wrapped gifts on display
Last weekend was a special weekend for me. It was the first time that I attended a hands on Gift wrapping Workshop.
I was privilege to attend the workshop conductor conducted by famed Author, Presenter and Designer Jane Means from UK.
She has been wrapping for many big brands for the past 15 years and has her own line of gift wrapping accessories and stationary which she sells online.
The basic tools that was needed- Scissors and tape
The first thing we learned in the workshop was how to make a simple bow out of a wired ribbon.
Instruction cards on how to make a rose
We started off by making a 3 pleat bow and later added a rose to it.
Using the bow and rose as a plate directions
As you can see by adding the rose to the bow it gives it a lot more “volume”.
Using the bow on a bottle we wrapped up.
Bows are very versatile and can be used to dress up any item. You can see it here being use to decorate a bottle which had been wrapped up.
The bow and rose used as decoration on a box- The example done by Jane.
Mine isn’t half as pretty as the one made by Jane and certainly needs lots to work on to get to her standard. I definitely need more practice!!
Wrapping a flat present
Besides learning how to make bows out of wired ribbons we also made bows out of ribbons of different materials.
I learned how to make a tailored ribbon bow which could be used for boxes or any odd shaped presents. In the collage above you could use the bow to decorate the tissue which was used to wrap up the present.
If just having a simple bow on a tissue wrapped present isn’t desirable there are other ways which you can do you gift wrapping.
For the same packet of sweets we can add another layer of wrapping using cellophane to give “bulk” to the gift . ( seen above)
DIY envelopes decorated with ribbons
Another items which Jane showed me how to make are these envelopes from wrapping paper.
They are quite simple to make and are great for small items or even samples which can be use as door gifts at an event.
A pinwheel
This pinwheel certainly makes a great prop for decorating a gift table or buffet table. I didn’t make a pinwheel during the workshop but a blue pompom instead.
A Tin with a pompom on the top
Using a pompom as a decoration really makes the present look so much more eye catching. Using the pompom as the center piece on the wrapped up tin makes it more outstanding and it’s certainly not that difficult to make. If you are not sure how to make it you can refer to the tutorial on tissue pompom on Jane’s blog.
A ric rac flower decoration
This has to be one of my favourite decorations that afternoon. Making a ric rag flower is quite easy and it really looks very pretty.
A present with another ric rac flower
All you need is some ric rac ribbon and twirl it into a flower before attaching some stitches at the bottom to hold it in place. What would like to try is a dual color rose made from ric rac ribbon as I’m sure it will look even more outstanding.
Our group photo with Jane Means
It was a really lovely afternoon for me and I had lots of fun learning new wrapping techniques while attending the workshop with fellow SMB bloggers.
I certainly recommend that you sign up for a gift wrapping class if you are interested in jazzing up your gifts.
Disclaimer: I was invited to attend this gift wrapping workshop. All opinions are 100% mine
by E. Way is a book of self reflection where the author recalls how it was for her growing up in a traditional Chinese family where high emphasis is placed on academic results and achievements.