Let’s face it. Wrapping gifts can be a real pain. Most of us don’t even know what we’re doing. The few of us that do have it figured out often take forever to get a nice looking finished product. We’ve all struggled with scissors, trying to cut straight lines through large rolls of paper, and we’ve all ended up with jagged, torn, crooked or otherwise pathetic looking results at one time or another. Even if you are one of the few that has mastered the cut, getting the right size paper can be nearly impossible. It’s either one inch short, and you have part of the present peeking through, or it’s way too big, and you are forced to re-cut, waste paper, or overlap to create a bulging mess of a package.
When you make it easy to select the perfect amount of gift wrap, and then ensure that it’s cut with a perfectly straight edge, you will eliminate most of the hassle associated with wrapping your own gifts. Now instead of increasing the cost of your present by paying someone to do it for you at the mall, or stuffing it into an expensive gift bag, you can give a great looking package that you made all by yourself. The WrapMaster [1] makes birthdays, graduations, Christmas and other holidays much easier to bear because it will give you an easy way to wrap everything yourself, while it saves you time and money in the process.
How It Works
Easily wrap any present in half the time with this simple yet clever device. Instead of struggling and guessing, you will have the perfect tool to measure the overall size of the item being wrapped, select the perfect amount of paper to cover it without using too much, and then cut it with amazing precision and accuracy. You will wonder why you ever stayed up into the wee hours, struggling with cheap rolls of paper and dull scissors only to have mediocre looking gifts under the tree. This is one of the fastest and most efficient ways to work, and operation doesn’t require practice, or special skills. It will take all of the mystery out of the process, and allow you to power through a whole pile of stuff in way less time. The WrapMaster [1] resembles a yard stick, but it’s much more useful. Instead of being a flat stick, it is more like a triangle with two sides. This shape is great for facilitating the measurement of boxes, and it also allows you to sort of cradle the roll inside the triangular shape. One of the long, straight edges is tapered to become sharp, and this will be your cutting edge. Across the surface, it’s marked with standard measurements for sizing purposes. By using this simple tool, you will be able to reduce frustration and annoyance when it comes time to wrap a present.
How To Use It:
Using this tool is quite simple, and it will be much faster than chopping away with scissors, using a separate ruler for sizing, or guessing before you cut. You will ensure that each piece you use will be the perfect size for your present, and even the edge you cut will be perfectly straight, so you won’t have to hide it, re-cut, or fold over to make the package look good. To use this tool for a fast and easy way to wrap your own presents, just follow these simple steps:
For instruction purposes, we will assume that you are wrapping a box, but a similar technique can be used to cover irregular shaped objects as well.
- First thing you will want to do is measure the box. You only need to measure two of the sides(usually width or length + height), and the rest can be figured using a little math. For this example we will assume that your box measures 5″ long and 2″ high.
- After you get your two measurements, you will then double them and add them together to get your total size. This may sound complex, but it is really quite simple, and is typically masted after doing it just once. To continue with our example, 5″ would double to 10″, and 2″ would double to 4″. Add them together, and you get 14″. Because you will want just a little bit of overlap, add in another inch to cover this. Your total needed paper size has now been calculated to 15″.
- Now that you know how much paper you need it is time to actually measure it out. To do this, either cradle the roll in the Wrap Master and hold in one hand, or lay the roll on a flat surface and then position the WrapMaster on top. Now just roll out what you think looks like the amount you need. Just eye ball it.
- To check to see if you are right, and to take an accurate measurement of how much paper you have rolled out, simply align the top edge with the 0 mark on the ruler, and then fold the far, top corner down to meet the ruler. This quick procedure will tell you the exact length of the paper you will cut. For our example, we would want to fold down and have it read 15″. If over or under, just adjust and then re-measure. Once you have the perfect amount rolled out, it is time to remove it from the roll.
- To cut the paper you will use a slightly different technique depending upon if you are working on a flat surface, or holding it in your hand. If flat on a table, simply press down on the tool with one hand, and grab the edge of the paper, and pull up. Use one continuous motion and sort of move toward your opposite shoulder for best results. If held in your hand, you will apply pressure with one hand by squeezing, and then pull the paper with your other hand. The same direction and continued motion will still give the best results, but you do not need to work at a table or counter to make an accurate cut.
- Now that you have cut the perfect amount of wrapping paper, proceed to wrap your present. With perfect edges and ideal sizing, wrapping it up is fast, and messy results are a lot harder to come by.
- To finish covering our example box, just lay your perfectly sized paper on a flat surface with the colorful side facing down. After that, put the box on top of the paper, directly in the middle.
- Start with the longer side first, and fold the paper up and over to meet in the top middle of the box. Grab and fold from the opposite side so that both overlap slightly, and meet in the middle. Now secure them in place with one or two pieces of tape.
- Turn your box so one of the shorter sides is facing you, and take the top part of the paper and fold down in order to form two vertical triangles on either side. Now fold both of these down and in toward the box, so that they fold flush and together create one larger triangle at the base of the box. Now just fold this up to sit flat on the side of the package, and tape in place.
- Turn the package to do the other side in the same way.
- Add ribbon, bow and tag to finish it off.
Not Big On Reading? Watch The Video
If the instructions above were to wordy, or if you just prefer to see it instead of reading about it, then check out the video tutorial below.
There’s no reason to sweat and struggle just to wrap a birthday present, and with the volume that some of us face at Christmas time, we could all use a faster and easier way to accomplish this task. When you are no longer guestimating size of paper, you don’t have to face the common situations that lead to wasted gift wrap or ugly looking presents. If you can cut out paper without risk of tearing or rough edges, you will also save paper, and you will make the finished product nicer to look at without any need to trim, fold or touch up in any way. Use the WrapMaster instead of the stuff you are working with now, and you will easily finish the job yourself and you will actually be proud of the results. We have all wasted money by having someone else do it for us, and fancy bags are nice in a pinch, but would’t it be nice if you could rely on yourself to create professional looking presents without trying too hard or taking too much time.
It Gets Even Easier
As if this tool did’t make the job easy enough, how about another one that takes it one step further. Don’t you find it annoying to search around for the tape each time you need it? Sure you do because it turns out that you need it the whole time you are wrapping. No matter how hard you try to set it down in the same spot, or keep it visible, you are bound to loose it under a mountain of gifts, paper, ribbons and scraps. It’s integral to the job though, so you are forced to search until it is found. Our Hands Free Tape Dispenser [2] puts and end to the search party because it will allow you to keep both hands free for wrapping, but also eliminate any possibility of lost tape. The clever design allows you to connect the tape dispenser to the back of your hand, so it is out of the way, and your fingers are free to work, but also right there each time you need a piece for wrapping. With this extra helping hand, you will be able to cut the time it takes you even more, and reduce frustration even further.
Don’t keep doing it the hard way, and please save your cash spent on so called professionals. Wrapping presents is not that difficult if you have a great set of tools to work with. Use the WrapMaster [1] alone, or get our set [3] that includes the tape dispenser and you will experience one of the quickest and most fool-proof ways to wrap a gift.