I absolutely love giving gifts. Mainly I guess because I love to go shopping, and because I also love to make people happy. So, for me, picking out a present for somebody special that I think they will love and then seeing their reaction when they open the gift, is priceless!
For me, it is also all about the wrapping up! I really enjoy wrapping gifts, and getting creative! I love to use special papers, strings, ribbons, stamps, cellophane and wash tape to create a wrap as beautiful as the gift inside. One of my favourite times of year is wrapping up all the Christmas gifts with Liam (with a big glass of red wine as fuel, naturally!)
I know some people think its futile to spend time, effort and money on wrapping gifts nicely - as it's all going to be ripped off in seconds and thrown away - but I beg to differ! I think it is really quite beautiful to put effort into that part of the gift giving - it adds that extra-special touch and shows you've gone the extra mile to make the gift super special for the recipient.
Anyone who knows me well will also know that I am completely obsessed with photos - from taking them (hello, have you SEEN my Instagram account, I'm addicted!) to displaying them around my home...photos really do make me equally as happy as shopping and gift giving do, so when wrap.me asked me to review some of their personalised photo wrapping paper, how could I say no? Two of my passions combined.
wrap.me is an online store which connects up to your social media accounts (Instagram and Facebook) and lets you import 30 of your favourite photos which will then be arranged into a grid pattern and printed as wrapping paper.
You can choose either a white or black border around your photos, or no border at all depending on your preference and you can manipulate the order of your photographs if needed. Once you're happy with the arrangement and layout of your photographs your bespoke wrapping paper with be printed as either a paper sheet of gift wrap or in a roll.
The single sheet measures 65cm x 46cm and costs £4.99
The small roll measures 50cm x 2.2m and costs £9.99
The large roll measures 50cm x 3.6m and costs £14.99
I opted for two sheets of paper using photographs of Bert to use to wrap up Father's Day gifts, and a large roll of wrapping paper using some images of the food and cakes I've baked over the years - I figured that everyone loves food, right? So this would make a good 'all rounder' wrapping paper to keep in my craft cupboard.
I found the ordering process with wrap.me so super-easy, and within twenty minutes I had connected my accounts, chosen my photographs, and ordered the sheets and rolls of paper- it really couldn't have been simpler.
Who could resist The Bertster's charms?
Within a week the gift wrapping arrived and I was so excited to see the finished result and get wrapping!
It was packaged very carefully in cellophane and protective cardboard sleeves and a triangular tube type thing for the roll - so as to ensure the papers weren't damaged in transit, and as hoped, they arrived in perfect condition.
The paper itself is lovely and thick, it's great quality makes it easy to wrap with and a dream to cut. It sticks well using normal sellotape or washi tape, and what can I say, it just looks incredible! The photo print quality is really good too, as you can see in the photos - the images are nice and clear, and the colours are vibrant and strong.
It was hard to use it for wrapping - I literally just wanted to pin it up on the wall.
Grandad Paul's Father's Day gift wrapped in Bert's gorgeous cheeky face!
The images of Bert covering the paper made me so happy to look at - and I hoped that Liam, my stepdad Rob, and my Father-in-Law Paul would all love this little extra part to their Father's Day gifts. Who could resist that cheeky smiling face looking up at them?
Father's Day gifts wrapped in style thanks to wrap.me
I used my favourite sticky tape - yellow biscuit tape from the fabulous Nikki McWilliams to add a little extra fun edge to the gift wrapping, and I couldn't wait to give the special men in my life their gifts.
Needless to say they were all besotted with how their gifts were wrapped - and each time a gift was given we spent time pouring over the memories captured on the paper! Using the Wrap.Me paper to wrap the Father's Day gifts made the gift giving experience extra special for both recipient and gift-giver.
Next to the large roll of food-based wrap...
My roll of foodie inspired wrap from wrap.me
The roll came tightly wrapped in cellophane and protected by a hard cardboard tube to ensure it didn't get creased. The roll measuring 3.6 meters in length will last me ages, and it is so awesome to see all my kitchen creations laid out like that on a giant sheet of paper.
Looking at it for longer than five seconds makes you insanely hungry!
Yum....food glorious food adorning my roll of personalised photo wrapping paper from wrap.me
I got the chance to use this paper when I gave my best friends and couple Danni & Charlie a house warming gift (a photo canvas of their gorgeous kitten Penny - see...I told you I love photos!)...both Danni and Charlie are regular tryer-outers of the food I cook, and some of the images were of food and cakes I'd baked for them in the past. The present looked really fun and inviting smothered in this delicious paper, and again Danni seemed truly touched by the use of such a different sort of wrapping paper.
Danni & Charlie's house-warming gift wrapped in my foodie paper from Wrap.Me
I would undoubtedly use the wrap.me service again. In fact, I already have ideas for some special birthdays' coming up this year and for a special Christmas gift I'll be giving!
Although pricier than your standard gift-wrap, these super-special personalised papers really are priceless - they have to be seen as part of the gift itself and then the price seems much more reasonable.
I think that using this personalised paper printing service could be a particularly lovely touch for someone's wedding or anniversary, for a special birthday, or Christmas - imagine the possibilities...!
What would you choose to print on some wrap.me paper? I'd love to know.
Mrs B
xxx
For more information on the wrap.me service follow their social media channels:
wrap.me on Facebook
wrap.me on Twitter
wrap.me on Instagram
wrap.me on Pinterest
wrap.me on YouTube
Disclaimer: I was sent two sheets and a large roll of photo wrapping paper for the purpose of this review. All words, opinions and images are my own.
