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Wrap it up in Style!

© Peggy Hoehne

Do you find yourself spending a small fortune for gift-wrap every year, just to see it ripped off and thrown away? Do you every think about how many more gifts you might have bought if you hadn't spent so much on the packaging? Would you like to make your packages more distinctive?

You can save money on gift-wrap and at the same time create something unique and individual. This can be especially fun if you have children. Grandparents will cherish the wrapping paper with the small handprints and one-of-a-kind drawings as much as they do the gift inside.

Your starting material can be white butcher paper, brown mailing paper, newsprint roll ends or any other material you can obtain cheaply and can be drawn, painted or stamped on. Other items that can be used are newspapers, Sunday comics, magazines, brown paper grocery bags, plain paper bags, inside out foil chip bags, egg cartons, colored paper, wallpaper. Many of these are used at this site to make Wrapping Paper.

With just paper, paint and cookie cutters or sponges you can make Hanukkah Wrapping Paper or add a few ingredients and make Wrapping Paper for any event. There is even a tip for New Baby gift-wrap.

Create your own Holiday Tote Bag using a brown paper bag. Fold the top down twice to the inside making a hem. Punch two holes on each side and use twine for handles. If the bag has a store name or writing on it you can cover it with bits of old gift-wrap, pictures cut from magazines or greeting cards. Add each child's name and pile all of their presents in one bag if you need to transport gifts to another location. They then have a bag to take opened gifts home in, too. Customized Gift Bags can be made in a similar fashion.

Make a Mini Gift Giving Box from an egg carton. Cut two egg carton sections, a top and bottom. Tape them together on one side only making a hinge. Paint your mini box and decorate with glitter, stickers, or sequins. Put tissue inside and you have a decorative box for a small gift item or piece of jewelry.

Grandparents would love Christmasy Hands Paper. Does someone on your gift list quilt or sew? Wrap their gift in a yard of pretty material. It will make a pretty gift and be useful afterward. At Suite 101's topic, Sewing, guest author, Nikki Willhite, has suggestions for Using Fabric Scraps. "Fabric scraps can be used for wrapping presents. Use it like paper, or make into gift bags. You can make a more formal, structured gift bag, or simply make a drawstring bag. Or, cut out shapes from the design of the fabric, and use to decorate gifts wrapped in plain brown paper. You can also tear the fabric into strips, and use it as ribbon."