Jennifer: You don’t have to give up on gorgeous gift wraps just because you’ve gone green.

Kitty: Just look at this beauty.

Jennifer: This is made with handmade paper and biodegradable cut and curling ribbon.

Kitty: And we’re going to show you how to work with these materials.

Jennifer: When you’re working with handmade paper, you don’t want to crease the edges because the paper is much softer like fabric. You want to gently fold it around the box end like this. Fold in the ends and then fold this up. Use one piece of tape because it is so soft you might end up using a slightly larger piece of tape and rubbing it like this so that it definitely holds.

Kitty: And now we’re going to top it with some biodegradable cut and curling ribbon.

Jennifer: And to do that, we’re going to stretch out some ribbon. We’re going to crisscross it so we’re going to start on top, flip the package over, twist the ribbon around like this, cross it in the back and come back around to the front

It is nice to work with this ribbon because it’s nice and stiff.

Kitty: It also shreds easily which is another pretty version.

Jennifer: Tie it like that. We’re going to take one long strand of ribbon like this and cut it. Now instead of opening the scissors like this and holding the ribbon against the blade, we’re going to show you a little trick that is a little safer. Keep the scissors closed and you can curl against the outside edge of the scissor just like you would the inside like this. And I like to do one long strand instead of several little strands because any can go back and cut the same length and bundle them together in the center.

So now we have all these fun little strands. I am going to gather them all up in the center like this, pinch them together and then place them right over my knot on my package. Then I am going to tie them up with the ribbon that is already there. Then I am going to curl these ends, so you won’t know that they are the ends. Just like that.

Kitty: So we’re just in love with this biodegradable cut and ribbon. It comes in all these different colors and they are all made with soya inks.

Jennifer: This beautiful hand made paper has real flower petals pressed in it.

Kitty: And this is paper twist ribbon. It is made in the pulp. It is dried in the sun and uses no chemicals or bleach.

Jennifer: And the dyes are all organic.

Kitty: So we’re going to show you how to make a ribbon like this right now.

When you’re using a thinner ribbon like this beautiful paper twist ribbon, you want to cut off a long piece and then double it back on itself and I am going to do it a second time so we get four strands all lined up. Then we’re going to take those together and wrap them around the package and tie it in the knot.

So with paper twist ribbon, you can untwist the ends. It started out as a flat ribbon and then they twist it to make it into these thin little strands. So what we like to do is twist the ends out. So I am just going to fan this out. See how they undo just like that?

Jennifer: It is a nice, little, artistic touch which really goes with this overall look.

Kitty: Natural materials like these call for a natural embellishment like this beautiful lotus seed pod. And to tie this on, I am going to double up a piece of the same ribbon, the paper twist ribbon. I am going to tuck it behind the lotus seed pod and behind the previous ribbon and then just tie and knot. Then I am going to cut the end and I will untwist this ribbon too.

Jennifer: You can find all kinds of natural embellishments like this lotus seed pod at your craft store or you could look for swirling twigs or dried wheat.

Kitty: And there is our beautiful handmade paper with our lotus seed pod and paper twist ribbon.