How To Wrap The Perfect Present

I love a good wrapped gift. In my house, I make it a priority to wrap every gift—no gift bags allowed! Even though it will be ripped to pieces in a matter of seconds, I’m still all about the presentation under the tree.

Every year, I make it a tradition. With Christmas music on and occasionally a glass of wine in hand, my living room turns into Santa’s workshop—literally. Am I the only one who thinks that wrapping presents is strangely calm? It’s a huge stress reliever for me, which I definitely need around the holidays.

Since I’ve been stuck in my ways wrapping-wise, I wanted to learn new techniques to make my packages as pretty as possible. So, I reached out to the professionals at one of my fav, fav, fav stationary stores in Los Angeles, Black Ink in Pacific Palisades.

Now let’s get wrapping! Here are some different techniques and tips for wrapping and tying ribbons from the AH-mazing owners, Patti and Page for your holiday season:

How To Flawlessly Wrap:

Even though this seems pretty standard, there are ways to make it look flawless and professional. No store gift wrapping needed!

STEP 1:

Start by setting the present in the middle of the wrapping paper. Make sure you have enough paper that will cover both sides. If you don’t have enough, use two sheets placed on the top and bottom of present. Make sure the top of the gift is facing the plain side.

STEP 2:

Fold edges over to make it clean. Secure with tape as needed. If you have any excess paper on the sides/edges of the present, make sure to trim off.

STEP 3:

Fold both sides in to form a V shape. Fold top flap down and fold the raw edge as the bottom flap. Secure with magic tape.

STEP 4:

Repeat on other side.

STEP 5:

Pinch all edges of gift with your fingers for a neat and clean finish.

STEP 6:

Finish off with an embellishment. If you want to decorate with something other than a ribbon or bow—opt for something more creative. Ornaments, candy canes, rosemary sprigs, and baubles make a fun and unique package.

How To Tie A Double Bow:

STEP 1:

Wrap long length of wire ribbon around box. Overlap and turn ribbon on the bottom of box and make ribbon on all four sides of gift. Cross the ribbon at top and tie knot.

STEP 2:

Cut more ribbon from spool and fold accordion style as poufy as you want. Fold in half.

STEP 3:

Cut a notch on all edges. Open up ribbon into two sections. Lay in center of knot. Twist and turn each piece of ribbon and fluff out.

STEP 4:

Cut excess ribbon.

How To Tie A Diagonal Bow:

STEP 1:

Lay ribbon flat diagonally from corner to corner. Adjust accordingly to make sure you have enough ribbon to tie a bow.

STEP 2:

Tie at knot at your preferred edge and then make the bowknot. ALWAYS tie right over left with the tail being up top. Keeping your finger in the middle while tying keeps the knot taught.

STEP 3:

If your bow needs to be adjusted, pinch knot and move.

Don’t worry if your bows aren’t perfect every single time. According to the girls at Black Ink, they even get LBS (Limpy Bow Syndrome) from time to time. Practice makes perfect—so get to wrapping!

I love, love, love the paper we used. Make sure to check out Snow & Graham and Jillson Roberts this season!