Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses, with blue satin sashes
Snow flakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites, when the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
Like silver white winters that melt into springs
And then I don’t feel so bad

    

I simply adore this song.  I love hearing it come on the radio this time of year, recalling memories so vivid they instandly bring a smile to my face.  One line that always stood out to me was Brown Paper Packages Tied Up with String.  I just love packages wrapped in bown paper, even as a little girl I would cut open paper grocery bags and steal my moms cooking twine to wrap my gifts under the tree, I was always an odd duck.  My husband, knowing me all too well, now wraps all my gifts up with twine and brown paper.  Even though it’s so simple, there is something so beautiful about it.  It’s classic, and nostalgic, and, well perfectly, perfect.  They seem to come from another time.  With this nostalgic idea in mind I set out this year to put a spin on that idea, upping my game from simple brown paper and string, to a package looking like it’s been delievered striaght from the North Pole .  With just a few tools you too can put a fun and festive twist on an old classic this holiday.

I love vintage stamps and finding them is half the fun.  For this craft I scoured Etsy finding old gorgeous holiday stamps to slap onto the gifts.  It’s so fun to see the stamps of Holidays past.  Just add a little festive baking twine, some adorable stamps, (these found on Amazon) a few retro stickers and you have a package fit for St. Nick’s sleigh.   These gifts are charming and sure to make the recipiant smile from ear to ear; after all the wrapping is part of the gift giving process! Not to mention it will save you more than a few pennies not to buy all that fancy shiny wrapping paper.  I bought a large ream of this brown paper at my local hardware store in the painting department for $10 and I didn’t even make a dent in it this holiday season.  This is also adorable on envelopes too! Imagine receiving a card in the mail looking like it has been delievered from another time.

Wrap it up!

Marcella  Rose