Ever think of your holiday packaging as a gift? Probably not if you scored a $0.99 roll of wrapping paper & taped it all together. Last week we shared our rustic wrapping style to add a little personal touch and mountain-flair to the holidays. But, what if you go one step further? What if you create a custom wooden box to hold your gifts & make your packaging a special present in itself? You’ll create a box that no one will ever throw away!
A Box for a Present
We’ve had a whole stack of wooden boxes for a couple months now but didn’t know exactly what we wanted to do with them. As we were wrapping gifts in the studio, we thought “How cool would it be to customize those wooden boxes & give them as part of our gifts?” A wooden box is useful to store anything, so even the simplest of designs will be appreciated. No throwing away a box this holiday season! You’ll be giving a cool custom wooden box with lots of fun gifts tucked inside. It’s like a double win this holiday!
Design a Custom Wooden Box
The perfect box!
Everyone seems to use wooden crates but they aren’t always as functional as a container with a lid. Just a simple lid allows you to stack them and store items safely & secretly away. We love to support local businesses and manufacturers that produce in the USA. While we could make our own wooden boxes or crates, we decided to stick with our design & finish focus and let the experts build the boxes. Poole & Sons, Inc. is our go-to wooden box producer, located just to our north in Idaho.
Don’t feel pressure to create an elaborate design that takes a month to complete. That isn’t necessary! Even something as simple as just staining the wood will be beautiful, but if you want to go further with your creativity then go for it. Chalk paints, antiquing, textures, stencils, embellishments… the possibilities are endless.
We strive to create each design specific to that special person by using our favorite technique – wrapit nluv! Adding that personal touch of what is important to them into the design makes all the difference.
Create your Custom Packaging
Simple beauty – A gorgeous dark stain.
#1: To start things off, choose the right size and style of custom wood packaging. We chose a wooden box style with a lid. Look around until you find just what you need – it’s out there.
#2: Sketch out your designs for each box. Remember to tailor it for each person if you can.
#3: Personal preference for us is to NOT have perfect edges on our custom wooden boxes. So, we take a little sandpaper and round off the edges.
#4: Decide if you want to stain the wood, paint it or even do both. We stained some and painted others.
Filled with treats… it’s a two-for-one surprise!
#5: All of our designs will have some element of writing, stencils or other faux finish effects. With this in mind, we chose to apply a thin layer of clear wax over the paint before any further details are added & a varnish layer for the stained wood. This buffer layer will give us ‘forgiveness’ if we want to change our minds once we start the detailed design.
#6: Have fun customizing your wooden box packaging however simple or detailed you go. They’ll love whatever you do!
#7: Since the intent is that these boxes are used for a long time, make sure you seal the box inside & out for wear and tear. Depending on your supplies and design, a varnish might be the right choice or multiple layers of wax. You decide what will be best.
#8: Last step and the best of all is to load up your custom wooden box with all those awesome wrapped presents. Your presents inside another present will definitively be unique this holiday season!
A Lasting Memory
Filled with gifts for a ‘double the fun’ present!
We think spending time with those that you love is the best part of the holidays. But, a gift that is custom made for that someone special is a wonderful way for them to think of you when you aren’t there. Your unexpected personal touch to your holiday packaging will be a fun surprise and enjoyed long after the gift-giving season. Happy holidays everyone!
