Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String,

These are a few of my favorite things!

A few tips on how to package packages simply and festively for the holidays

One of my favorite things of the Christmas season is the packaging.  Sometimes it actually IS brown paper packages tied up with string!  Kraft boxes and red and white bakers twine – what could be more simple and beautiful than that?

Today I’m going to share a post with you that I did a couple years ago as part of a Christmas series on the blog Salt Tree.  And since I haven’t had bright enough weather to get my Christmas decor or projects photographed properly, but I’m really starting to get stressed over not sharing anything Christmasy yet, I’m sharing this with you now.

Parchment paper, stripey paper straws, clear plastic bags, red and white bakers twine, vintage bingo papers, faux boxwood pick, and my favorite stapler ever.  This stapler uses the cutest little copper colored staples – just perfect for gifts and tags.  And guess what?  I’m going to soon have some of these darling staplers at Smith Merchants. 🙂

The item I wrapped was one of my camera straps made out of an antique European grain sack.  I started with a piece of parchment paper large enough to go around the folded camera strap.  I have a few camera straps at Smiths but I really need to restock these soon.

Wrap with the camera strap at one end of the parchment (see the strap sticking out just a little at the bottom?)  and tuck into a clear plastic bag.  I used a piece of washi tape on the parchment before I tucked it into the bag.  Washi tape is a great thing to keep around for packaging and crafting.

I cut the parchment just a few inches above the top of the clear bag.  I used my scalloped scissors – pinking shears or any fun design will work.

I also stapled each side at the top of the bag to keep the contents from sliding out during the wait till Christmas!

Now I know this looks a little odd in this photo, but stick with me, I like how this ended up!  I gathered one vintage bingo sheet in the center and stapled it.  Then I cut a paper straw into 3 pieces and stapled them on at varying heights.

A faux boxwood pick and some bakers twine and it looks festive and fun.  I tied it around the package with more bakers twine and tucked it under the tree to wait for Christmas!  Real boxwood or any greenery you can cut on your property would also be a fun accent for this.

Another fun and simple packaging idea I use a lot is the plain brown bag with handles.  A festive stamp, some washi tape, and a gift tag and you have taken the plain brown bag with handles from it’s plain state to a fun sophisticated state.

Tie the tag on with some bakers twine and tuck tissue in the top of the bag and it is ready to join the first package under the tree.

And one last little trick with the brown paper packages.  I used a Kraft box and lined it with Kraft colored tissue.

Placed the items inside and topped it with a little brown and white shred just for fun.

Gently wrap the tissue over the gift.

This Kraft box already had the sweet little red and white label so I just added the initial of the person receiving the gift.  And package number 3 found a home under the tree for a few days!  Can you believe it’s just over a week till Christmas?!!

Waiting quietly and prettily till time to be opened!

There are tons of fun ideas for packaging out there in blogland and pinterest.  My favorite packaging is using things I already have on hand and making it look really cute and fun!  I hope I’ve inspired you to wrap some simple but lovely packages this year.

Happy shopping and package wrapping this season and I hope you all get the brown paper packages you are hoping for!

Jill