It’s wonderful to have different methods available to us for applying shrink wrap around gift baskets.

One way is quite traditional, which is gathering shrink wrap above the design and, like cellophane, fanning the top edges from left to right.

Folding the shrink down and below to the underside of the basket, which is similar to the styling of a fruit basket, is a second method.

You’ll find more information about shrink wrap and cellophane wrapping by clicking this link.

Which of the above two techniques is your favorite, and why?

Shirley George Frazier

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This wedding gift wrapping became the center of attention at an engagement party I attended two weeks ago.

All the guests, including men, asked me about the wrapping technique. You’ll find some ideas at the CellophaneWrapTips.com site.

What I believe to be most intriguing is:

• The cellophane, which is printed in a manner that shields the gift
• The fan topper, which resembles a festive collar
• The bow, made with a beautiful ribbon print

The fan topper video is available below, and the bow tutorial is found at GiftBasketVideo.com through this link.

What’s your special technique for creating a stylish wedding gift basket?

Shirley George Frazier

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Like ribbon, it’s easy to go overboard when deciding which cellophane prints to buy.

Wholesalers with dozens of rolls to offer don’t make the choices simple. Each roll seems to be more attractive than the rest.

Long-time veterans like me often look at our collections and silently ask ourselves, “How did my cellophane arsenal expand so quickly?”

If I were to start all over again, here are the first five rolls I’d buy today.

• Clear – a must have in 40-inch width so that it can quickly be cut into any necessary basket size.
• Multi-Color Ribbon Print – This one is great for any celebration, from birthdays to appreciation to weddings.
• Gold/Silver/Black Swirl – This print is perfect for corporate giving and is also appropriate for bereavement.
• “Thank You” Print – Appreciation gift baskets look spectacular covered in this personalized wrap, usually available in gold-colored script.
• Green Fern Print – Eco-friendly patterns won’t soon fade away. This one is great for natural and earth-friendly themes as well as men’s gifts.

The last four choices are best in 30- or 40-inch widths, whichever you believe is better for your business.

Now that you know my preferences, what’s yours?

Shirley George Frazier

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Did a past shrink wrapping experience convince you to only choose cellophane or basket bags to enclose gift baskets?

This is the conclusion I’ve heard from several designers, and it’s a shame.

If this same sentiment was said about anchoring products, which is another difficulty when making designs the first time, there’d be a lot less designers in the world. Perhaps that’s good news if you’re facing stiff competition.

Still, when making and selling gift baskets is your passion, there’s no giving up. The art of shrink wrapping can be mastered if you overcome the following three most-encountered problems.

1. You expect flawless application on your first try. Who do you think got it right the first time? I certainly didn’t, and neither did other long-time veterans. It will take several attempts to master smoothing the film and applying heat evenly so that holes don’t develop.

2. A hair dryer is chosen to heat the film rather than a heat gun. The video I made a few months ago, which you can see here, shows how a hair dryer was unable to shrink the wrap while a heat gun instantly worked. Heat guns cost very little, and they save you lots of time.

3. You buy pre-cut bags from a retail store and fail to read the instructions. Individually-packaged bags found at craft stores are double in size. There’s a fold on one side, and the instructions tell you to un-double the film before applying it around the gift. If you didn’t, that’s why the shrink wrap looked so messy when you finished.

Don’t hate shrink wrap. Take your time, and master the technique.

Learn more about cellophane, shrink wrap, and basket bags on this page.

Shirley George Frazier

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Containers come in many shapes, and one that’s seemingly challenging to style is the wired shoe.

I’ve talked about shoes in the past, which sparked a great conversation.

The first time I looked for this non-basket container was when a client asked me to create gifts for six friends who were traveling with her on vacation. She wanted the gifts delivered ahead of time to the spa where they’d relax and enjoy an extended weekend.

A shoe was the one container I knew would wow them, and I was right. Each shoe was filled with chocolates, French twist cookies, and there was just enough room to include a mini book about girlfriends.

Each shoe was wrapped in cellophane and topped with a hand-tied bow with yards of curling ribbon cascading from the center.

Thankfully, working with a basket-less design wasn’t as difficult as I expected. In fact, it was fun.

You’ll find numerous wrapping tips on this page at CellophaneWrapTips.com.

Think for a minute about your designs. What type of container seemed at first to be a challenge but wasn’t, and which one that looked easy to work with was a major headache?

Shirley George Frazier

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Shrink wrap was not my first choice of material when closing my gift basket designs. At the time, the cost for a shrink wrap machine seemed astronomical, a supply that only large, well-capitalized retailers could afford.

Shrink wrap bags weren’t widely distributed either, so I wasn’t able to try that product to see if it was an alternative to buying a large machine.

That’s why I stayed with cellophane for a long time, which you’ll learn more about on the CellophaneWrapTips.com site.

Then I learned that bags and shells were available through supply distributors, and that’s what introduced me to the world of shrink wrap.

Today, shrink wrap of all styles is much more affordable than the costs I remember back in the 1990s. Even if you work in a home-based space, there’s room for shrink wrap in your inventory in terms of cost and space.

I often attend trade shows and watch a shrink wrap supplier demonstrate the machine he’s selling, and I notice that gift basket retailers stand beside me watching, too.

What’s your experience with shrink wrap? What made you decide to bypass cellophane and basket bags and go straight for investing in a machine?

Shirley George Frazier

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After attending yesterday’s Search Engine Strategies conference at New York City’s Hilton Hotel, I walked a few blocks east to visit a high-end chocolate shop at Rockefeller Center.

My daughter told me about the shop, which is famous for its French-inspired confections.

As I chose my chocolates and sampled a truffle, I saw a collection of Easter baskets on display.

One method of cellophane closure mirrored the style we’ve mastered. The cello was cinched at the top with a bow wrapped in place.

Another method was quite different. The cellophane was cinched on either side of the basket so that fans were created on the sides rather than the top. In other words, the basket closure resembled a piece of individually-wrapped candy, similar to the above photo.

Click here for cellophane wrapping tips that are traditional for gift baskets.

Have you seen this type of wrapping in stores, or have you tried this yourself? I never considered this, and until seeing it, didn’t think it would look attractive, but it was cute because the design was festive and colorful.

What do you think about this styling?

Shirley George Frazier

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On Monday, during my gift basket seminar at the Virginia Gift Show, I displayed a gift arranged in a tall, three-legged planter.

Its height represented higher perceived value, but what I was most interested in showing was how to wrap a gift with tall, spindled legs.

As with the sleigh basket shown here, you do not have to wrap tall legs or the outside of a strangely-shaped container.

Your wrapping technique, specifically with cellophane because shrink wrap and basket bags don’t qualify in this case, starts with lining the inside of the container first.

The cello drapes down in front and back until you’re ready to surround the entire gift and close the cello on top. Then you fill the container with stiff packing paper. Shred is added, then products are posited inside.

This closure example will soon be available at GiftBasketVideo.com, free of charge to premium and executive Golden Basket Club members.

You’ll also find more wrapping tips at CellophaneWrapTips.com.

Keep this technique in mind the next time you’re challenged with closing a unique container.

Shirley George Frazier

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