For our second installment of Seasonal Wrapping with Simone LeBlanc, we wanted to bring you something truly unique. Both of us have been incredibly inspired by indigos and ocean blues. Probably no surprise for some of you since I love decorating with different blue hues. Simone has also been in love with the idea of wabi – sabi and happenstance mark-making. When pulling inspiration over on Pinterest both of us were in awe of all of the pattern, textures and layers you can play with when it comes to indigo. I can honestly say that I think Simone could have done a dozen posts on this beautiful tone.
What I love and adore about Simone’s wrapping is that it instantly inspired you to go out and create something beautiful. When I laid by eyes on this month’s post my jaw dropped. I was literally in awe of what Simone had created for all of you. The best part is there is really no wrong way to make these papers – each person’s hand/touch will create something visually stunning with their own twist. It’s about using the basic framework and steps below and then experimenting.
Get all the details on how Simone created these gorgeous wrappings below.
Supplies
* Paint: Choose 3 colors that are similar in hue: light, medium, dark. I used Farrow + Ball – Stiffkey Blue (light), Hague Blue (medium), Railings (dark). * Paintbrush: The size you choose will determine the size of the brush strokes. I used a 1/2 watercolor brush. There are some great options here. * White Wrapping Paper: I love this one from Paper Source. * 3 Spray Bottles: (1 for each of your paint colors). I love using these glass bottles, but you can use any type of spray bottle you have around the house! * Small Cardboard Rectangles: I used a stiff paper that I had in the studio. You can use any cardboard and you can make the rectangles any size – these are what you will use to make your stripes. I made mine 1 1/2 “ wide.
Step by Step Instructions
Style 1: Stripe Pattern
Cut a piece of wrapping paper roughly to the size you will need to wrap your package. Dip the end of your cardboard into one of your paint colors, about 1/2 deep. Then, simply drag the cardboard in a straight line across your paper. Simply repeat with each color. Don’t worry about making the stripes perfect in any way – they look lovely when they’re different depths and aren’t necessarily matching up perfectly. Voila!
Style 2: Brush Strokes Pattern
Cut a piece of wrapping paper roughly to the size you will need to wrap your package. Dip your paint brush into your lightest color of paint and make a simple, short vertical brush stroke on the paper. Repeat, leaving a space between your strokes that about the same width as your paint brush. For the next line, make a simple, short horizontal stroke. Repeat as you did with the vertical strokes. Once the paint dries, go back over your brush strokes with the medium color paint. Repeat with your darkest color paint as the top color. It is fine to ‘dab’ each next layer on – you don’t want to cover up the color underneath. This style looks great when it’s not perfect and shows the beauty of each brush stroke.
Style 3: Spray Bottle Pattern
Cut a piece of wrapping paper roughly to the size you will need to wrap your package. Fill each of your spray bottle about 1/4 of the way full with a mixture of about half water to half paint. You want the mixture to be opaque, but not too thick to fit through the sprayer. Shake. Spray your paper with a few squirts of your lightest shade of paint water, then move on to the middle shade and finally, the darkest shade.
Make sure to let each of your papers dry before you wrap your packages.
Most importantly there is no wrong way to create these wrappings – experiment and have fun!
Wrapping and photos by Simone LeBlanc for Sacramento Street