How to Wrap a Gift With...Aluminum Foil?

Yes, you read it correctly. In keeping with this week's theme of metallic wrap, I wanted to show you a way you could create a whimsical gift using something you might already have at home. Decorating with aluminum foil is a great way to wrap if you're still novice and don't have time for perfection, or, if you are a boy and like household things that are shiny. Let's begin, shall we?

You need several materials for this project:

You'll need one sheet of aluminum foil, large enough to cover the entire object you're wrapping (duh). Just a guesstimate usually works for me.

You'll also need scissors, tape (I find package tape works best for non-traditional wrapping materials), ribbon, glue, glitter, and a gold decorative plate to display it on. Just kidding on that last thing. Also, you're free to play with decorations in whatever way you choose. Want to glue buttons on your gift? Knock yourself out.

And of course, you'll need the perfect gift. I'll be wrapping The Sartorialist by visionary street fashion photographer Scott Schuman. It is based off his world famous blog, and is a great gift for a lover of fashion, photography, cities, and people watching; I highly recommend it. (It is published by the Penguin Group)

Now onto the steps:

1) Lay your gift face down on the aluminum foil. I decided for the dull side to be the side that shows on the outside of the gift, but if you prefer a more flamboyant gift, it's fine to show the shiny side instead.

2) Make a short, inward fold on one long side of the foil and flatten it.

3) Fold one side of the aluminum foil over the book, and then fold the other, making sure the top fold is the one with the folded edge from above. Tape down.

4) Choose one of the two remaining open folds. Press the top and bottom pieces of foil to form a flap, and press it flat against the gift, as shown above. Make a small, inward fold with the edge of the foil.

5) Fold the flap up to meet the bottom side of the package and tape down. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with the other remaining open end.

6) Add a ribbon to the wrapped gift as a finishing touch. (If desired, I will provide a ribbons tutorial one day.) You can be finished here, or you can continue decorating for a more festive gift. See next steps for more.

7) Draw designs of your choice in craft glue all the heck over your gift. I chose the letter S for Sarah because naturally, I wrapped a gift for myself.

8) Coat glue with glitter liberally. Allow about a half hour to dry.

9) Shake off excess glitter and voila! You have a tin foil present! You can't really go wrong with this craft. If it doesn't turn out well it will still make a hilarious conversation piece, and if it does turn out well, it'll look impressive. I'm actually pretty proud, my roommate saw the gift on our coffee table and thought it was silver wrapping paper. Wee!

Let me know what you thought of this craft and please send pics if anyone tries it at home! My email is sromeo@fordham.edu.