We all remember making paper snowflakes at school, right? Well, rather than buying any old wrapping paper this year, we thought we’d call upon our very own DIY expert, Shini Park (aka Park & Cube) to give us a step-by-step gift wrap tutorial. She deploys the simplest of materials and old-school crafting methods, with delightful results. Whatever’s inside the box, your Christmas offerings will look gorgeous.

Shini’s paper snowflake gift wrap

You’ll need

  • Brown paper
  • SprayMount or Pritt Stick
  • Colourful origami paper or solid colour craft paper (cut to square)
  • String or ribbon
  • Sellotape
  • Scissors

‘As an alternative to string or ribbon, use thick yarn or bobble trimmings to give a more homey feel’

To make the paper snowflake

  • 1

    Begin with a square sheet of paper and fold it diagonally to make a triangle.

  • 2

    Fold in half again so the pointy corners meet.

  • 3

    Along the long edge, fold the flap a third of the way, and fold the other flap on top.

  • 4

    Using scissors, cut across the bottom of your paper so that it’s straight.

  • 5

    Cut lines in the triangle, making curvy lines and cutting out boxes for a variety of shapes.

  • 6

    Unfold the paper.

How to wrap

  • 1

    Using the brown paper, cut according to the size of your gift.

  • 2

    Wrap the gift traditionally.

  • 3

    Lightly spray or apply glue to the back of the origami, making sure your place a newspaper underneath to avoid stickiness if you’re using SprayMount.

  • 4

    Place it diagonally on the packed gift.

  • 5

    Using a different paper, create a paper snowflake.

  • 6

    Tie the string or ribbon into a bow.

  • 7

    Create a few and play with combinations.

Et voilà!

Shini’s top tips:

  • This trick looks best with square boxes. If your box is rectangular try using a bigger piece of coloured paper so that the snowflake covers the entire length of the box. Then wrap down the excess with string or ribbon.
  • As an alternative to string or ribbon, use thick yarn or bobble trimmings to give a more homey feel.
  • If you’re worried about the decoration getting crumpled in transit, glue the snowflake flat onto the gift and secure with ribbon.