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Making gifts for Christmas is both rewarding and honoring of the recipient. Most people value the time, resources and thought which went into the gift. After making soap as Christmas gifts, it was time to package them.
I looked at boards on Pinterest to get some ideas, but honestly, I needed to come up with my own ideas with the resources I have on hand. There were many ideas of how to decorate and package homemade soap, but nothing really resonated with me. That is ok, because each person finds their own creativity in the process. They were all very cleaver and eye appealing. I would like to share with you the process I used to decorate handmade soap.
Process
I went to my wrapping supplies and pulled out everything I could find. This included:
Two bins with assorted ribbon and adornments.
A basket with wrapping paper scraps.
A basket with decorative cellophane bags.
A drawer with gift bags and gift boxes.
A basket with sachet bags. They have snowflakes on them.
I pulled out a jar filled with twine, red and green.
Lastly, I pulled out tape, scissors and tags.
Creativity
The next step was putting the elements together. I started out with the lady's soap. As I thought about the recipient I thought about how I could make the soap look elegant. Some people love fancy wrappings and adornments which makes them feel special. Pictured on the above pictures, bottom right, is the first one I wrapped.
I used decorative ribbon and a cranberry spay adornment. The soap is sealed in clear wrap, so I just wrapped around it to make it decorative. You can still see it is soap, but it also looks like a gift.
As I looked at my supplies and thought of the gift recipients, it helped fuel my thoughts to what would this person enjoy in the way the gift is wrapped? I thought about color, texture, pattern, etc. Of course I was going with a Christmas Theme. If it was any other occasion, I would decorate the soap differently.
Wrapping for Women
Below you can see examples of "gift wrapped" soap with wrapping paper, ribbon and/or adornments. In the picture to the right, you can see soap in gift bags or boxes. I added tulle ribbon to give it that extra something to the striped red bag on the left. I put holiday dotted tissue paper in the cute penguin box, in the middle. The picture on the right is soap placed in a pretty, decorative sachet bag. Simple but elegant.
Wrapping for Men
When it came to wrapping the soaps for men, I wanted something a little bit more simple, yet fun and colorful. For these gifts, I used small cellophane bags, decorative paper bags and decorative boxes. The first picture is a small stripped gift bag with red ribbon. In the middle is the paper bag with a Santa face and beard. In front of it is a polka dot red and white bag with a fancy ribbon. These two gifts are for my son and his wife. The last one, on the right, is a decorative box with ribbon. It is elegant, but also simple.
Final Thoughts
Coming up with ideas to decorate the soap was not as difficult as I had originally thought. Once I found what I had and thought about the recipients, the creativity started to flow. I believe when you allow love to flow, there can be an avalanche of inspiration! I hope these ideas will jumpstart your creativity, too.
One idea I did see on Pinterest which I liked, but have not tried yet, was to seal the gift wrap with a dot of wax using a stamp to imprint a decorative impression or initial. I really liked the way it looked, kind of Victorian. I may have to give it a try before Christmas.
Happy Wrapping!
Melanie
Comments/pictures
Let us hear from you and see your creative style! We can do a soap wrapping "show and tell!" You never know, you might inspire someone else!
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