Theme Wrap-Up: Wrap for Dudes Part I

Welcome to spring, everyone. Did those of you in college have a nice break? Did those of you in the real world enjoy your regular work week? At any rate, I would appreciate it if you check out my most recent craft posts you may have missed, here and here, to let me know what you think. Now on to the wrap-up!

Of late, it seems we've all been against promoting gender stereotypes. Baby nurseries are being painted green and yellow in lieu of the traditional pink or blue. A gender neutral world? Sure! I'm all about it. But this doesn't change the fact that it seems somewhat inappropriate to wrap a gift for a guy in a sheet swathed with flowers and kittens.

I scrounged the internet in search of what we consider "masculine" patterns, and these are the bunch the appeared over and over again:

The three prints above are available at Box and Wrap, along with countless other online stores. I sense a trend here. Men are worldly, historical, outdoorsy and technologically savvy. The prints follow suit. I actually love the idea of wrapping with a map. This decorative wrap above is great, but I also think wrapping with a real map is a neat idea (I smell a future craft post cooking). The car print is also kind of neat. The old fashioned models are charming and sophisticated; it would suit a "feminine" gift pretty well, too.

But bears? Trout? Forest greens? I enjoy camping just as much as the next person, but I wouldn't say this print is particularly appealing to wrap a gift, for men or women. Also, the color pallets of each wrap above is kind of, well, blah. There's got to be a better way!

Whimsy Press did find a creative way to take advantage of gender stereotypes:


You've got to admit, these are pretty cute. Good colors, great use of imagery, and most importantly, they're JOKING. C'mon people, it's gift wrap; can't take it too seriously. These are great rolls to buy if you have a slew of 5-year-olds' birthdays coming up, or if you enjoy whimsically wrapping for adult, male friends. The only issue is, you can't really multipurpose these wraps for girls. So you get less bang for your buck, and that's not the best.

That's why next time, I'll feature a selection of wraps aimed toward dudes in a totally gender-intermixable type of way. And you can guarantee that they won't all be beige.