a little gift giving stock pile

Usually if I am broke, it's due to one of two reason (1) I found a really good pair of shoes on sale for a really good price and couldn't pass them up (2) I kept finding reasons to shun out a bunch of money on buying people I love gifts.

I am a die-hard gift giver. I love giving gifts. Sometimes a little too much.

So you bet, in the corner of my bedroom I have a huge round hat box filled to the brim (and overflowing) with my gift giving essentials. Little things that spruce up gifts and make me as happy about the outside of a gift I'm giving to someone, as the inside. The box is always changing and growing, but the bulk of it remains the same in theory. If you are anything like me, here are some of my favorite little things to keep around to make gifts cute and personal and to keep your friends smiling just a little bit bigger.

Brown Kraft Paper: It's cheap. Cheap, as in, you can get a HUGE roll of it in the packaging and mailing area at Walmart for like $3. And it's trendy. You can mix and match it with so many different decorations and it doesn't get old like cheesy wrapping paper does. This last Christmas, my best friend wrapped all of her and her husband's gifts in this paper and it looked adorable underneath the tree. Plus, people look at these gifts with this paper like it's something totally original and time-consuming, ha, jokes on them I guess? I also found a smaller role of the stuff with white polka dots from Target in the sale section. The best part? It goes with any holiday, any occasion. Made my day.

Little Paper Bags: I found some a while back at Paper Source, they have a couple different chevron options too. And sometimes, I just find them randomly, like in the necklace packaging from Threadsence. They are super versatile, they can hold little gifts or sometimes I'll stick cards in them instead of using an envelope to make it look a little boho and a little unique. Also, if you got some cute lightweight patterned paper, almost in a vellum-like texture, you could probably make them yourself! (Add that on to my to-do list.)

Washi Tape: It goes on sale a lot at Joanns and Michaels and it's maybe one of the best things this  decade invented (okay maybe not exactly, but still). I throw it on the back of envelopes because it's cuter than just licking the envelope. I use it to decorate kraft paper and hold things to the fridge. It adds a pop of pattern or color to tags (aka the next thing on the list) and I always somehow run out of this stuff. It's genius.

Tags: They make everything better. And cuter. I buy them whenever I find ones that suit my fancy, because guess what? They disappear faster than socks in the washing machine. I love giving gifts with multiple little parts to them and then adding a tag onto each of the pieces of the gift and writing a little explanation on it. It just adds a thoughtfulness to gifts, and you can't beat how cheap you can find these things. These are some of my favorites. Also, you could easily make them yourself, but you knew I'd say that didn't you?

Clothespins: The most common thing I use clothespins for when it comes to gifts is to clip on a tag to the rope or twine that I wrap about the gift. It looks cuter than anything else and honestly, they're just convenient for around the house, so including them in a gift to me is like adding on some useable extras or something. I always keep a good mason jar full of these things in general.

Rope, Yarn, String, Baker's Twine: I stock up on this stuff like it's going out of style. One of my favorites is this gold and white bakers twine from Paper Source. It matches everything, is perfect to use instead of that cliche curling ribbon from Christmastime, and the little bit it comes with actually goes a rather long ways.

Fabric: Especially lace, because you can cut it out and glue it to packages or wrap it around little gifts in a gift bag. When I run out of paper to wrap things in, I usually just use some fabric. Also, I often cut some strips out of the fabric to use like you would use rope and sometimes I'll throw on a fabric bow for fun.

Scrapbook Paper: The question is, what can't you make out of scrapbook paper? I've made my own cards, envelopes, tags, I've wrapped little items in them and whatnot as well. In my opinion, if you're seeking to be a more creative person, adding a stack of scrapbook paper to your life can do a whole lot of good.

Happy gift-giving, friends!