Brown Paper Packages

When I was in high school, I bought these little yellow butterfly patches and ironed them onto my backpack because of a line I read in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years Of Solitude. Mauricio Babilonia, lover of Meme, is followed by yellow butterflies wherever he goes. The line reads something like "and she knew he'd been there, because the butterflies were there."

I was 16 and so in love with LOVE. And though the butterflies were totally heinous (in addition to the backpack and the rest of my wardrobe) I still love "fiction-inspired design" for lack of a better term. One that I still cling onto is "brown paper packages" from the song My Favorite Things in The Sound of Music. I just can't stand fancy wrapping paper with balloons and holly berries. I think wrapping things in postal wrap makes it so much more exciting- it always reminds me of getting something in the mail which is the BEST.


Scotch Kraft Postal Wrapping Paper, 30in x 15ft. Get it at any mailing center or crafts store.

It's also a blank slate for your ribbon (string). I like using rope or a really neutral gingham for thank you gifts. For good friends I like picking out a ribbon that suites their personality, and pink velvet for a 16th birthday!