A present

A box large enough for the present, if not already boxed

Some wrapping paper

A ribbon

A scissors

Some transparent tape

Optional:

A bow

A card and envelope

A small decoration such as fabric flowers, a pine cone or whatever fits the season or the gift-recipient's temperament

A folding bone (see Keywords)

Crease: for greater neatness, all folds made in the paper are also creased-the folds are squeezed together more tightly with a folding bone (or your substitute).

Ends: the two shortest sides.

Folding bone: any long, flat object with a straight edge you can hold easily in your hand- for example, a credit card, ruler, butter knife, or fingernail

Sides: the four longest, flattest sides of the box

Swallow's tail: for the long ends of ribbon bows. It's an inverted v-shaped cut that leaves two skinny tails

If you're in a pinch you can make your own wrapping paper with paint, markers or stamps, or use last week's Sunday Comics pages.

Be sure the box is centered on the paper when you start folding. You want the end pieces to be the same length on either side.

2torial #0611: Learn2 Giftwrap a Present Not now, I'm sort of wrapped up! You remembered! And you want to give someone a special gift. Wrapping a gift adds a personal touch, saves money, and is really quite simple once you have mastered a few simple tricks. It's also an opportunity to express yourself creatively and to show someone that you really care. Look for wrapping paper and ribbons that would look nice together. Ask a gift-wrapping attendant at department store, or borrow an idea from a gift catalogue. If you can picture in your mind what you want the package to look like, your job will be that much simpler. Do make sure that you have enough tape, ribbon, and paper. Flair, color, and originality are good things to keep in mind. Also, remember to remove any price tags or stickers from the gift before you get going. Set up your work space Find a clean table--or any large flat area where you can lay the above items out and where the recipient of the gift is not likely to walk in unexpectedly. Don't work in a cramped space: creased, wrinkled wrapping paper looks bad. Give yourself room to lay out and cut paper easily. A clean floor works fine, just so long as you can sit down and get up from it easily enough! Also, cut yourself three one-or-two inch long pieces of transparent tape. Stick them lightly to the corner of the table, or your arm, or wherever you can get to them easily. (You'll thank us for this later). Measure out the wrapping paper For wrapping purposes, let us determine that the four longest, flattest sides of the box are the sides. The two shortest sides will be called the ends. Be sure you have enough paper to cover all four sides of the box, plus an inch or two, and that enough paper will hang over the sides to cover the ends. A quick and easy way to measure is:   Lay out the paper. Set the box down one inch inside the side edge of the paper (let's call the edge of the box on the paper Edge A) Next, move the box far enough inside the end edge so that both ends would be covered if you folded the paper up over them (don't actually fold it yet!) Roll the box carefully three times so that all four sides have touched the paper (see picture). Edge A has now rolled down to the paper. This is where you cut. Always give yourself a little extra if you aren't sure. Extra paper can be trimmed, but if there's not enough... Cut the paper "Measure twice, cut once" is what the good carpenter says, and you'll be wise to follow this advice. After you have rolled out enough paper to cover the box, snip the edge of the paper to mark where you want to cut it. To make a straight cut, take the box off the paper. Fold the paper so that the edges are exactly lined up. The fold should be exactly where you snipped the paper. Insert the bottom blade of the scissors inside the fold. Cut the paper from the inside out in one long easy motion. If the paper snags or gets caught, stop! Use shorter snipping cuts until the paper cuts easily again. Here's a second way to cut: crease the fold with a folding bone (or credit card, etc.). Make sure the crease is straight and sharp. Hold the paper down with your weaker hand so that you can run the folding bone along the inside of the crease easily and smoothly. Pull the paper so that it tears along the crease. Some papers tear more easily than others. If you need a sharper crease, fold the paper backwards on exactly the same crease, then again the other way. This breaks down the threads in the paper so that it will tear more easily. Wrap the gift, part 1: the sides These actions are more easily performed than explained. Look at the pictures, read through it once, take a deep breath, and just jump in. Place the box in the middle of the cut-out section so that the "top" (the side you want up when it is opened) is on the bottom touching the paper. Be careful if you are wrapping something breakable! Set the box down gently, and turn it over gently as you go. Remember to line up the box so that the paper you measured for the ends runs along the ends, not along the sides. That is, make sure the package is correctly oriented on the paper. Take the paper which goes along one of the sides and fold it up along that side. Line the edge up along the middle of the side that's facing you. Hold the paper in place and run your fingers along the corner sticking up. This will crease the paper exactly where you want it--along the corners. You may need to pull up on the paper just enough to make sure the sides are smooth, tight, and unwrinkled. Take a piece of tape (remember the easy-access tape?) and stick the edge onto the box so that it will stay put. Now take the other side of the paper and lay it to cover the unpapered portion. It should overlap the edge you just taped down in the previous paragraph. Pull it so that all four sides are smooth and tight. Use another piece of tape to hold this edge in place. Ideally you should lay the tape lengthwise, centered on the edge. Note: This second edge should lay on the face-up side of the box barely to cover the first taped edge. It should not hang over. If your paper hangs over the side, trim it with your scissors, and then tape it down. Wrap the gift, part 2: the ends Remember, the more snug the fit, the neater the appearance. Turn the box so that one end faces you. Remember the box is still upside down. Fold the length of paper on the face-up side down to the end, and crease it along the edge as you did before. Tape that end down. Now fold one side in towards the middle and crease up the side. You will notice the crease creates an angle when you get to the bottom. This is good! Fold the paper into the bottom corner where the end of the box meets the paper. Crease the paper along that fold. Carefully fold the other side in, crease that side and fit the paper into the bottom corner. One last fold for this end. You will find the extra paper folds over onto itself, and the folded edge will run back along itself. Now you can fold up the end piece and tape it to the box. The end piece should either be a trapezoid (a rectangle with two sides caved in) or a triangle. If the end piece hangs up over the side, fold it back in on itself so that you have a trapezoid which fits along the end, and crease it. Tape the end piece. Turn the box around and do the same thing with the other end. Add a bow Most bows purchased today have some kind of peel-and-stick adhesive on them. Pull back the waxy paper, position the bow on top, either dead center or off to one corner. If you are not sure where to put the add-ons, hold them in place first without exposing the adhesive and have a good look. Experiment with a couple of different arrangements, then go with the one that excited you the most. Think jazzy! Usually one way will catch your eye more than others-you'll feel pleased and want to look at it more. Give yourself a moment to have this feeling. After all, you should create a gift that pleases yourself as well as the recipient. Add a ribbon (nouveau style)   Again, pictures say more than words. Consult the diagrams and go to the written directions for the specifics. Tape one end of the ribbon about one-quarter side-length in from one corner of the package. Take the other end of the ribbon and wind it under an adjacent corner (a corner directly below or across, not diagonally). Take this end over to the corner that's diagonal from the starting corner. Finally, wrap under the remaining, unadorned corner and tape it over the top of the end you started with. Remember to pull the ribbon as snugly as you did with the wrapping paper, to make it even and taut. Add a ribbon (classic style) A classic way to add ribbon is to wrap it around the middle of the package. Cut the ribbon so that the two ends are at least twice as long as the package. With the bottom of the package face-up, slip the ribbon underneath the top side. Cross the ribbon ends on the bottom side, and turn them sharply 90 degrees. The ribbon should fold neatly against itself and hold the package together a bit. Continue with both ribbon-ends out to the two unadorned sides. Gently flip the box over and bring them together at the top. Tie a bow as snug as possible. You should have enough ribbon so that there is at least as much remaining of the two ends as the length of the loops in the bow. To make it a little fancier, cut the ribbon at a diagonal or in a swallow's tail (inverted v-shape that leaves two skinny tails). If you are really good, you can fold the wrapping paper as described in Step 4 and Step 5, making the creases as indicated but not using any tape. The ribbon tied in the fashion just described can hold the entire package together--with the added thrill of popping the whole thing open when the recipient pulls on one of the ends of the bow. Neat stuff! Choosing cards, store-bought It is always nice to include a card to commemorate the occasion of your gift-giving for at least two reasons. One, it makes your gift special, and allows you to personalize the gift. Also, especially in the case of consumables such as chocolates, the card serves as a secondary memento for the recipient. Many people love to hang onto these kinds of things, which serve to remember you and the special occasion long after they have past. Pick up a card and envelope at your local stationery store. Thematic cards such as birthdays are often arranged together by section. Or, you could get a blank card and write something personal to the recipient. Choose this as an expression of you, or choose a card that you think the recipient would enjoy. Choosing cards, home-made If this person is really important to you, make your own card. The implication is that the recipient feels important since you spent extra time on them. People really do appreciate the extra effort you make when you add a card done by hand. Your effort will mean more to them than whatever the card may actually look like. Give it a try with a personal relation you most want to impress. Bonus: you'll have a chance to exercise your creativity. The simplest way might be to cut out a square of wrapping paper, fold it in half and write a message on the inside, then tuck it into the ribbon on the package. You could also write a short note on personal stationary. Decorate a card from scratch, if you have a little extra time Sketch some ideas out on a piece of scratch paper. Relax. Record whatever comes up--a nature scene, an evening in the big city that you had together, an abstract design, or even a message written out with colors and smiley faces. Try using colored pencils--they have vivid colors and are friendlier to the environment than markers. Or for techies, there is a huge range of design options with current software. Remember: Your effort will mean more to them than whatever the card may actually look like. -end- Learn More!