Bookish Wrapping Ideas + Tips!

Are you finished with your holiday wrapping? I bet you've been too busy reading, my little chickadees! ;)

I always give a lot of book presents, and this year is no exception. Inspired by Book Riot's post on cute ways to wrap book presents, I thought I'd share a few bookish present photos of my own! I'm a big believer in packaging being an important part of the gifting experience, so I love making presents feel special. And few gifts are more meaningful than a book you've chosen especially for a friend.

Here are some ideas from presents I've sent that might be useful as you head into the weekend. Some wrapping tips are listed below, too.

Sequin ribbon + jingle bell and hand-glittered pine cone + vintage velvet ribbon (contains A Monster Calls and Liesl & Po)

handmade pipe cleaner present toppers

paper printed from Reprodepo's Pattern Book + handmade tissue flower (contains The Golden Compass)

Vintage book paper (The Moffats!) + yarn

 Little House book paper (from damaged book) + yarn + vintage covered wagon Crackerjack charm

Packaging books together

More book paper as gift wrap + handmade tissue paper flower

handmade Christmas tags, with Little House quotes

handmade Pooh tags

Vintage map + handmade tag + vintage anchor charm

Ramona Quimby as wrapping paper (contains The Help)

Cut words & scrap images, from Bookish Valentines swap

Sequin ribbon + Christmas floral (contains secret book for my husband this year--shh!)

I sent literally a dozen books out the door this Christmas, including The Lost Girl and the Necromancer books. Nothing makes me happier than sharing good books with friends and family.

How about you, did you give book presents for the holidays? And do you have good wrapping ideas to share? C'mon, don't keep all your ideas to yourself!

A Few Book-Wrapping Tips:

-- Try to make sure your corners and edges are neat. Pinch your thumb and index fingers loosely together and run the "v" along the outlines to crease the paper into sharp lines and tight corners. This is good to do with all presents, but clean edges make a big difference when you're wrapping an uneven/bulky object like a book.

-- If you are layering book pages for wrapping paper, lay out your design first so that the bulk of the appealing illustration/wording will show where you want it, which is on the top of the present. For big presents, bind your overlapping pages together with packing tape on the underside and reinforce as needed on the top. Using washi tape would be really cute for the top, too!

-- Good sources for inexpensive gift toppers and ribbon: the craft store, a walk in the woods, eBay and Etsy for small charms in quantity, and your own printer, using thoughtfully-chosen images.

-- More wrapping/gift topper ideas: bookmarks (links to a free download for Cassandra Clare and Madeleine L'Engle bookmarks, by the way!), ornaments, candy canes, plain old kraft paper, tea towels, furoshiki with pretty fabric.

-- Look online for inspiration. I love what's going on in the handmade community, and Martha Stewart always has great ideas for simple but beautiful gift wrap, too.

-- Be creative with your embellishments! Even if you're in a rush, simply using ribbon over pre-made bows can make help your presents stand out.

But in the end, it really is all about the book inside. I like getting books as gifts, no matter how they're wrapped up--and most bibliophiles would probably agree.