DIY Brown Paper + Washi Tape Sandwich Wrap

After snatching up my new-to-me vintage wine basket, it was a bit of a snowball effect…Imagine me thinking (and possibly speaking out loud in store to no one in particular) “Oh! This is so cute! Perfect for a picnic! I should definitely have a picnic…Maybe I could do it this weekend…MAYBE I could invite my friend, Bethany. Maybe, just MAYBE, I could pack pretty brown paper wrapped sandwiches and make an afternoon out of it!” And that’s exactly what we did, the result of which you may remember from Wednesday.

Other than packing up some drinks and choosing perfectly coordinated linens, I wanted to pay special attention to the sandwiches. Inspired by some of the local bakeries who wrap their to-go paninis and subs in brown paper, I decided to follow suit and accent with washi tape. That’s when I found out the hard way that brown parchment paper is pretty scarce. John and I spent a good ten minutes in the baking aisle scanning and even tearing open a few boxes in search of brown paper. Nada. So instead, I made do with what we had on hand, namely a paper J.Crew bag we had in the laundry room.

The first step was to wrap my little ham sandwiches in wax paper. After that it was just a matter of cutting my J. Crew bag down into thin strips, which I then wrapped around the middle of each sandwich and secured with a piece of cut patterned tape. That was literally all it took and cost me not a thing – My favorite price tag ever.

The wax paper kept the sandwich nicely contained, while the brown paper and washi tape added just enough character to make it feel special. This is a great solution if you have folks who prefer mustard as opposed to mayo, or vice versa – If that’s the case, use red tape for the mayo and yellow for the mustard. Is dad a turkey lover? Accent his sub with blue chevron tape to make sure he gets the right one. You could even write a message on the brown paper to further differentiate if you wanted. This project is entirely customizable.