This weekend’s project was creating a gift wrapping station. I read about it in the November 2007 issue of Real Simple and just had to do it, especially since the last time I had to wrap a gift, for my cousin Sara’s 13th birthday a few weeks back, I had to use a department store bag and hand-me-down tissue paper. It was a sad sight.

Here’s a basic clear plastic shoe organizer I got at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Don’t forget your coupons! I put scraps of ribbons, tape, a wrapping paper cutter and little baggies in the pockets. I attached it to the back part of my shelf so that it didn’t take up space on my curtain rod. It sits behind everything. It’s a bit long for this purpose but the extra pockets are hurting anything at this point.

On a multitiered pant hanger, I put spools of ribbon. The bottom two are ribbons I bought at Ikea.

I hung different sheets of tissue paper that I found at Factory Card Outlet on a second pant hanger. Packing tissue is on the bottom, then only white above that. The other three tiers hold different colors to match any colored bag.

On a skirt hanger, a bunch of gift bags hang on the clasps. The baby bags I bought at Target from the dollar bin. They each have a matching card and stickers inside.

I recently bought a chair at Ikea which came in this slender box. I cut the edges off and turned it into a nifty wrapping paper holder. A few bigger bags are tucked into the box as well.

For more details on how to make your own gift wrapping station, pick up Real Simple. I adapted the instructions to the items I had on hand. As geeky as it seems, I’m totally excited about my gift wrapping station!