Jane’s Journal

Natural gift wrap - autumn leaves

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This week I have been putting ideas together for the e-course on Natural Gift Wrapping which members of Snapdragon Studio will get next month.

Gift wrapping is one of those things that I feel becomes more important as the actual gifts we give become more considered - and possibly smaller. It is one of the things that can show how much thought and care has gone into a gift.

My own preference is for gift wrapping which has as light a step on the planet as possibly. Recycled, recyclable, preferably reusable. I tend to up the quality of the box or gift wrap - so that it can be re-used - and rethink other elements to make them cheaper, preferably free.

We all know that plastic padding in gift boxes is a problem and that new bubble wrap is really a no-no in environmentally aware wrapping - but the alternatives aren't all that much better. Paper and shredded wood still take a lot of energy to produce and that production is often polluting. For single use items we should really be looking for better alternatives.

I was collecting fallen leaves for another project when I realised that a nest of crunchy autumnal leaves would actually make a perfect filler for a gift box, a great alternative to shredded paper or wool curls - beautiful, snuggly, free, recyclable.

Now is the time to collect your leaves - simply gather the brightest leaves you can find, spread them out and let them dry overnight then gather them into a box or pillowcase to use in your gift wrap. Get as many as you can as you will probably need more than you think.

Store them somewhere where they won't get crushed or you will end up with autumn confetti and dust.

I found that putting a thick layer of leaves, then nestling my gifts in and adding another layer to the top worked really well.

I would love to be able to do this for our workshop orders - but its sadly just not viable - so we are sticking to some carefully folded tissue paper and recycled sheet paper instead and really hoping that they will be reused.

For my personal wrapping though this is the way I'm going.

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