Brown Paper Packages Minus the String

I have a love affair with brown kraft paper.

I do not know why I love it so much. I think because it is plentiful and cheap, if not free. You can buy a roll, but you can also collect brown paper bags and cut them up to use. It is sturdy. It has a pleasing neutral color. It is not showy or flashy, but fades into the background so that whatever you do to it takes center stage.

I haven't bought wrapping paper in ages and ages. I have been using brown paper to wrap presents since the 90s, at least. This is a maturation from my childhood tendency to wrap presents in the Sunday funny pages.

I also can't help singing "brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things..." whenever I wrap presents in brown paper. And then of course I think of Julie Andrews and my childhood and good, positive things and the Alps.

Okay, I have to admit, I have purchased colored tissue paper. I happen to love that, too. There's so much that can be done with tissue paper. Wrapping, cut outs, paper flowers. It also acts as padding for delicate packages, and it comes in so many lovely colors.

In this package, which is wrapping for a purchase from my etsy store, I combined my two paper loves, brown paper and colored tissue.

First of all, it needed to be padded with something, and my
pretty green tissue fit the bill. And then, of course, I wanted to pretty it up. I could have done something with string and cut out charms or I could have wrapped it up with the brown paper and then added the string and charm.

Like this package. Brown paper package wrapped up with string. Okay, this isn't string, it's a fabric strip that I cut out and frayed, because, well, I like upcycling and reusing, I like handmade, and I like a rough, rustic element. It's a handmade ribbon! Also seen in the felt and gold upholstery remnant charm, with the visible hand stitching.

Any way, back to the first package, I liked the green. I liked the brown paper and I wanted to show both... but how? I went through my supplies and noticed I had a tiny heart shaped punch and voila, the collision of ideas created a brainstorm.

I folded the brown paper to the size of the tissue package, leaving a slim strip of green tissue showing, and then I punched the folded part of the paper with the heart punch, on both sides of the strip. That's it, just twice, because I was going for simple here. Then I taped the brown paper down, on the back, so you can't see it and so that the folded edges pop up a little to add a bit of dimension. This is a little delicate, this package, because the tape could come up easily, but it is non fussy and non frou frou. No ribbons or bows. I like it. And was pleased with how it came out. A little bit of experimentation. A little bit of looking at old supplies in new ways and here is a new way to package.

Yay.