How to gift wrap a cylindrical gift

How to gift wrap a cylinder or tube

Wrapping a cylindrical shape gift can be done in two ways.

• By rolling your cylinder up in wrapping paper and twist the ends to form a cracker
shape.
• By fan-folded ends.

Second method is best - it gives a clean look.

Cylindrical wrapping technique

Cylindrical wrapping technique

Steps of wrapping
1. Place your cylindrical shape gift approximately 3cm in from the end of the wrapping paper.

2. Place the cylinder over on to its side.

3. Cut the wrapper off to length.

4. With wrapping paper good-side-down, fold over the nearest side edge to make a
lengthways join in the wrapping paper.
5. Crease the folded edge to leave a mark.

6. Now roll up the gift.

7. Cut across the wrapping paper. It is now the correct width.

9. Place the newly cut edge on the cylinder and roll up. Start with the cylinder positioned
centrally on the underside of the paper.

10. Square-up the join - it should be running parallel to the cylinders sides - and tape in the
middle. You are now ready to tackle the ends.

11. Make sure you have even amounts of excess wrapping paper at either end of the cylinder.
If not, push the item inside through until even.

12. Snick the ends at the join. Cut all the way down to the item inside.

13. Starting with the bottom end of the cylinder, fold in the excess gift wrap towards the
middle.

14. Run your finger back to the edge 3cm along. With the other hand, draw some more
wrapping paper toward the middle.

15. Repeat the process in 3 and 4 to create a series of 'fan folds'.

16. When you have one last fan to make, stop folding. It will be easier to finish this when you
can stand the item up.

17. Stand the item on the almost-finished end and repeat the snick and fan-folding process at
the other.

18. Complete your fan folds all the way to the last.

19. Tidy up the end of the last fan fold by folding it under.

20. Tuck under and excess wrapping paper at the tip and tape.

21. Turn over and complete the last fan fold on the bottom and repeat the tidying up process.
 How to Gift Wrap a Hexagonal Box:
Gift Wrapping 106

How to gift wrap hexagonal and other multi-angled boxes.

They produce beautiful gift wrapping results.
And it's not as difficult as it looks!

Are you puzzling over how to gift wrap a hexagonal box? Believe it or not, a multi-angled
box is easier to wrap than a round box, and it always looks like a very well-dressed gift!

A few introductory thoughts:

• About boxes - The illustrated gift wrapping instructions below show a hexagonal box,
since those seem to be the most common. But when we refer to "hexagonal box," we
really mean any box with five or more angles/sides.

• About wrapping papers - Standard wrapping papers that can be folded crisply are the
best for hexagonal boxes. This includes foil gift wraps, but not "mylar" type metallic-
finished wraps.

We don't recommend tissue wrapping paper because the corners of your box will
easily tear through. But if you add more layers, the extra bulk will be difficult to fold
into nice, sharp creases.

• Gift Wrapping Tips - Before you learn how to gift wrap a hexagonal box, it's a good
idea to review our six general wrapping tips, if you haven't already done so.

How To Gift Wrap Multi-Angled Boxes

1) Measure and cut gift wrap:
Width (side to side across the
design) - make it 1-2 inches
more than the distance around
the sides of the box.
Height (the up-and-down way,
for a directional design) should
equal the distance across the
center top of the box (measured
side to side, not angle to angle)
AND down one side. NO extra
height, please - excess paper at
the top or bottom will really get
in your way!
3) Position the gift upside down
over a support that's taller and
more narrow than the box, and
fits inside the extended paper.
I'm using a waste basket under
this large hexagonal box, but a
large juice can will do for a small
box.
Or, sit down and brace the box
between your knees - hold firmly
to prevent the box sliding down
inside the wrapping paper.
2) With the paper face down,
fold up ½ inch along one of the
side-seam edges.
Center the box on its side on the
paper. Point the top of the box
toward the top of the design (if
applicable). Bring the paper up
around the side angles of the
box. Hold the paper snugly
against the box, tuck under the
unfolded edge, and tape the side
seam near the top and bottom
rims of the box.
4) The straight sides of the box
are useful as guides. Remember
to draw the gift wrap snugly over
the top rim of the box as you
work.
Beginning on the side to the
right of the seam, fold the
wrapping paper across the rim,
toward the center of the box.
Form a pleat at the LEFT corner
of the rim section by folding
along the upper bend in the
wrapping paper.
5) Lay the fold to its right, over
the flat section of paper, and
adjust so the fold points directly
toward the opposite corner (On
boxes with odd numbers of
angles, point the pleat fold
toward the center of the opposite
SIDE). Press the pleat flat,
making a second fold beneath
the pleat.
7) How-to-gift-wrap TIP:
Solve this by gently lifting up the
first pleat, giving you room to
fold the last pleat beneath it.
9) Tape the wrapping paper
closed at the center of the box,
6) Working around to the left,
adjust each pleat to point toward
its opposite corner, and fold it
down over the previous pleat.
Continue until you have made
five pleats (seven for an
octagonal box). Oops, the last
pleat wants to fold out instead of
under.
8) Then smooth all the pleats
toward the center of the box and
press flat; be sure the paper is
nice and snug around the box
rim.
10) And that's how to gift wrap a
hexagonal box. Not so difficult,
 where the pleats meet at a point.
Invert the box and repeat from was it? Now, get ready to receive
Step 3, and now your gift box is a lot of compliments!
ready to decorate.

Make a Cardboard Tube Candle

A cardboard tube candle is a fun and easy disguise

for the well-dressed gift. It's reusable too,
and popular for birthdays or the holidays.

For about fifteen years, our family has enjoyed recycling a big red Christmas
“candle.” We made it out of an extra-wide tube from a roll of gift wrapping
paper. A cardboard tube candle is a fairly simple disguise for any gift that
will fit inside your tube - and it certainly stands out in a crowd.

Here’s how we made ours:

Materials you will need:

• a large cardboard tube, preferably wide enough to stand upright

• sheets of tissue paper for stuffing
• gift tissue (preferred) or solid-colored paper gift wrap
• yellow tissue for the flame
• 2-3 round wooden toothpicks for the wick (blacken with a marker)
• turkey lacing skewer or similar (thin, sharp & strong) for Step 5
• household glue, plus clear/doublestick tape (or glue stick)
• a gift tag or card
• 12" of ribbon or decorative cord, or 18” of curling ribbon

A few Notes:
About the candle wick - We use toothpicks, but a lollipop stick cut to about 3" might make a
good wick too, for large candles. I'd take an emery board and rough up those smooth sides at
each end, to help the wick take the glue effectively.

About a glue stick - When you wrap a cardboard tube candle, a glue stick may produce the
least visible seam. However, even solid glue may cause tissue or other thin papers to pucker,
either immediately or upon drying. So, try the glue stick on a couple of scraps to see how it
behaves with the paper you are using. Go with tape if glue makes a messy seam.

About tapes - Double-stick tape hides well - use pieces that are short enough to avoid the
paper jumping onto the tape while you are trying to position it. And use enough pieces to hold
the entire seam flat, without large gaps that can catch and tear the paper. If you prefer regular
clear, "magic" or gift wrapping tape, they are fine, too!

Preparing the gift for a cardboard tube candle - Wrap your present in gift wrap or tissue
and position it inside the tube. Firmly pack in enough crumpled tissue to hold the gift in place
near the bottom of the tube, where its weight will help the candle to stand upright. But leave a
couple of inches empty inside the very bottom of the tube.

At the top end of the tube, add enough loosely crumpled tissue paper to keep the gift from
shifting. Leave a few inches empty inside the top of the tube. Now, for the disguise!

How to Make a Cardboard Tube Candle

1) Wrap the cardboard tube in 2) Gently stuff the overlapping

solid-colored tissue or gift
wrapping paper, leaving a
generous overlap at each end. Join
two pieces of gift paper together, if
needed to provide the generous
overlap. That extra paper will be
stuffed into the ends of the roll,
and the top end must be packed in
firmly enough to support the wick
and flame.
paper into the bottom of the tube.
Do not tape the bottom closed if
you want your candle to be
reusable as a gift container. At the
top of the roll, push in the paper
slightly beyond the rim, to
resemble the concave lip of a
burning candle. Fold under the raw
edges, and tape closed inside the
rim. Then stand up your candle, or
brace it upright.
3) To fashion the flame: Crumple
a piece of yellow tissue paper into
a fairly tight ball, with a diameter
about 3/4 that of the cardboard
tube. Center the ball on a 6” - 12”
(15-25 cm.) square of yellow
tissue. The larger the cardboard
tube candle, the taller a flame is
needed. The corners of the square
will form the tip of the flame.
5) Now, the wick - a blackened
toothpick (for a large flame, two or
three set slightly apart). For each
toothpick, poke a hole about one
inch deep in the bottom of the
flame. I use a turkey-lacing
skewer - it's sharp and strong.
Generously cover the top 1/3 of
the toothpick with glue and insert
it into the bottom of the flame.
Squeeze the flame lightly to be
sure the glue makes close contact
with the tissue paper ball inside,
and allow the glue to dry
completely before proceeding.
4) Bring the corners of the square
up around the crumpled ball,
loosely tucking in the shorter
sides. Keeping the base of the
flame loose, tightly twist together
the tissue at the top, to bring the
flame to a point. Determine the
height of the flame by how far
down you twist the corners, and
trim as needed to obtain the
proper shape.
6) To affix the flame to the candle,
repeat Step 5 - poke a hole about
1" into the paper inside the top of
the candle. Cover the bottom 1/3
of the wick with glue, drip a little
glue into the hole too, and insert
the wick. Adjust the flame to stand
up straight, with about 1/3 of wick
showing. Brace the flame upright,
if necessary, while you let the glue
dry thoroughly for several hours or
overnight.
7) After the glue is dry, the wick
may still need reinforcment to
stand upright. One or two more
toothpicks can add stability, and
I've had good luck with clear tape.
Apply two pieces of tape, side by
side, to the center of the tube end,
with the wick between them. Place
them close together, so their
inside edges rise up the wick a bit
and stick to each other. If needed
at the flame end, use short pieces
that won't extend up the sides of
the flame.
How to Make a Tissue Paper Pouch
8) Gift Tag: Tape one end of the
ribbon or cord at the wick,
opposite the seam side of the
tube. Attach the tag to the other
end and let it dangle down the
front of the candle. If you use
curling ribbon, push it through a
hole in the tag, leaving a few
inches at the end for curling. The
curls will hold the tag on.
Woo hoo! - your recipient is gonna
love your cardboard tube candle!
1) Arrange 2-4 sheets of tissue
wrapping paper into a circle that
will reach 6"-8" inches above the
gift all around. For a larger gift,
use double sheets, overlapped
and taped together. Then center
the gift on the paper.
3) Draw the edges of the tissue
paper up and over the gift. Be
sure the edges lie flat, with no
gaps where they overlap, and
that all the ends are drawn up
over the gift.
2) If your gift has an unusual
shape that does not sit flat on
the bottom, slip a thick paper
plate or rigid circle of cardboard
under the gift to provide a nice
flat bottom and lend stability to
your gift pouch.
4) Gather the gift tissue into a
neck, leaving the ends loose
above it, and tuck under any
short ends.
 5) With a length of ribbon or
decorative cord, tie the gathered
tissue snugly at the neck. Curling
ribbon is a good choice. Here,
I've used several strands.
6) To make curling ribbon curls,
draw a blade of your scissors
along the inside curve of the
ribbon. Pull gently for loose curls,
more firmly for tighter curls.

7) Finishing touches: Separate 8) Don't these curls look nice

and fluff the ends of the tissue
wrapping paper that extend
above the neck of your pouch.
Arrange the curls attractively,
maybe with some peeking out
between the fluffs of gift tissue.
cascading beneath the fluffed
tissue paper? There's just one
more little detail: a gift tag. Tie it
onto the ribbon, or insert it into
the fluffed tissue ends (use a bit
of double-stick tape, if needed).

One more great feature of a gift pouch: If your gift is intended to be a surprise, this pouch
will keep them guessing. Use bubble wrap to conceal the shape of your well-dressed gift from
curious, squeezing fingers!

A tissue wrapping paper gift pouch

is hard to beat for unboxed items... it requires
very few materials, and very little fuss.
Wrapping a Cardboard Tube

Method-A: Fluffy Ends

A-1) Wrap the folded gift paper
around the tube, ending with the
folded edge on top. Tape the seam
in two or more places, spacing the
pieces of tape evenly.
A-3) Tie the neck snugly with
yarn, ribbon or a pretty cord.
Curling ribbon is a good choice.
Curl the ends by drawing a blade
of your scissors along the inside
curve of the ribbon - gently for
loose curls and more firmly for
tighter curls.
Method-B: Flat Ends
B-1) Again we begin by wrapping
the gift paper around the tube,
ending with the folded edge on top
for a neat seam. Tape the seam in
two or more places, spacing the
pieces of tape evenly.
A-2) At one end of the tube,
gather the loose gift tissue to form
a neck. Not too close to the rim,
please, or you might squeeze the
rim out-of-round or tear the paper.
A-4) Separate and fluff the tied-
off ends. Repeat at the other end
of the cardboard tube. This is my
favorite look for a tube, and tissue
paper is definitely the easiest to
work with.
B-2) To finish the ends, press one
section of loose tissue paper
slightly into the end of the tube.
Tuck under the sides as you draw
the remaining loose tissue wrap
across to cover the end of the
tube.
B-3) Make the paper ends as
B-4) Decorate both ends, covering
smooth and flat as you can. Fold
any irregularities in the paper.
under any exposed edges so that
Double-stick tape is strong enough
only the right side of the wrapping
to hold the decorations in place. A
paper is visible. Then use double-
gift tag string can be taped under
stick tape to hold the folded gift
the decoration. Or, you can affix a
wrap in place at the end of the
label directly onto the wrapped
cardboard tube.
tube.

Wrap a Rectangular Box

1) Unroll a length of gift wrap and
decide how you want to orient the
box with respect to the design. Use
a string, a tape, or the box itself to
measure a piece of gift wrap that
will encircle the box plus about 2
extra inches (5cm).
2) Leave an overlap for each end
that is less than the height of the
box. For a deep box, just over half
the height is about right. For a
shallow box like the one pictured,
a greater overlap (but no more
than the box height) is better.
 4) Bring the paper firmly up and
3) Place the paper design-side
around the box to meet at the
down, and fold up about 1/2 inch
center. With the folded edge on
along one short edge to make a
top, match up the pattern (if
neat seam. Center the gift box
possible or desirable) before taping
upside-down on the paper so the
the seam. A large box requires 2-3
seam will end up at the bottom.
pieces of tape - space them
evenly.

You can choose how to gift wrap the ends between two equally
easy methods that produce almost identical results. You may wish to try
a different method at each end of your box, to see which you like best.

Method A

5-A) Fold the sides of the gift

6-A) Make a narrow fold across
wrap to the center, keeping them
the edge of the bottom flap, to
snug around the corners of the
make a neat seam.
box. Top and bottom flaps will
form as you fold in the sides.
Crease the diagonal edges, as
shown.
7-A) Fold the top flap down
against the end of the box ...
Method B
5-B) Fold down the top section of
overlapping paper snugly against
the end of the box, and crease the
diagonal folds that form at either
side.
7-B) Fold up about 1/2 inch along
the edge of the bottom flap, for a
neat finish. Then fold the flap up
firmly against end of the box, and
tape the seam.
8-A) ... then bring the bottom flap
snugly up over it, and tape the
seam. A wide box may require 2-3
pieces of tape - space them
evenly. Repeat Steps 5A - 8A at
the other end of the box.
6-B) Fold in the sides one at a
time, keeping the paper snug at
the box corners, and crease the
diagonal folds that form at the
bottom.
8-B) You may need 2-3 pieces of
tape if your box is a wide one.
Note: The second end may be
easier to work with if you stand
the box on the wrapped end as
shown. Repeat Steps 5B - 8B at
 the other end of the box.

Methods A & B

9) Turn the box over so the seam

is at the bottom. Or, you may
decide to stand the box on end
(see below). Looks good! Now that
you know how to gift wrap a box,
you're all set to decorate it. Note
the gift tag made from a wrapping
paper scrap - it matches perfectly!

How to Gift Wrap Square and Cubic Boxes

When the ends of a box are square or nearly square, the paper overlap is
often easier to manage using Method B. If the paper reaches much beyond the
center of the box end, there will be too much bulk for Method A, as the photo
illustrates. To use Method A, cut off the excess paper ... or, use Method B.

The box opening need not end up at the top of the wrapped gift, though it may seem
intuitive to position it that way (photo below, at left). But a long, square-ended box that nicely
stands on end is a good backdrop for an up-and-down wrapping paper pattern. Part of how to
gift wrap is orienting the box properly on the paper. So before you cut, be sure that the top of
the design points toward the "up" end of the box.

How to gift wrap a square-ended box - it's easy with Method B. Fold the top overlap
section down over the box end, all the way to the corners (above, center). Fold the sides in,
one at a time (above, right), keeping the sides snug along the box corners.

Crease the diagonal folds to form the bottom flap (often an exact triangle). If there's a raw
edge, fold it in; then fold up the flap and tape at the center. If the flap extends beyond the
center of the box end, you may wish to fold it under. Or not.
 An attractive geometric pattern is formed at the ends of the box, by paper
folds (striped paper is especially good for this effect). With such an interesting
background for a bow or other decoration, this well-dressed gift looks its best
standing the tall way!

A gift tag looks nice dangling down the side of a tall gift. Use a narrow ribbon to
reach from the bow, across the top of the box, and slightly down the side. Tape the back of the
gift tag to the end of the ribbon.