Tip of the Day – Make Your Own Gift Wrap
Posted on December 19, 2007 by
Remember when I told you to start collecting paper bags and boxes? Here’s why.
Make your own gift wrap. Decorate boxes directly, or cut up bags to use as wrapping paper.
I used snowflake stamps and white tempera paint to decorate cut up paper bags. If you don’t have stamps, you can make some out of potatoes, cut sponges to use as stamps, or have your kids draw pictures on the paper.
In comments, Noelle had a great tip for making gift wrap as well:
“I like to take paper bags, scrunch them up (adding a little water helps.) Then, lay them flat and let them dry. Then, take a dry paintbrush, and touch up the wrinkles with a light brush of paint, and it makes a very pretty wrapping paper.”
I also found that since I’ve done most of my holiday shopping online, the packing material from the boxes (except the obnoxious staticy packing peanuts from Macy’s) work for impromptu wrapping paper. I’m hoping to make use of those potatoes I left sitting out just a little too long…
When I was a kid, I always preferred using brown paper bags, newspapers and wrapping paper scraps for a little color. Everyone thought I was just being eccentric.
Yes! My husband built a bike this year and all the bike parts he ordered came wrapped in lovely brown paper. I saved all of it.
Mickey, there is something really appealing about brown paper packages . . . don’t worry, I won’t break out into song.
[...] Ask for paper bags — Encourage the person at the checkout to put as much as they can into one bag. Once you’ve unloaded your groceries, save the bag for wrapping paper. [...]