Wow, here it is Saturday and already the end of Birthday Week. I guess the party's gotta end sometime, right? It's been so great putting together assortment after assortment of smart birthday finds in party decor, recipes and paper goods. I only hope you've enjoyed looking through each post as much as I have creating them for you. But, before the party ends completely there is one last thing I'd like to share with you and that's some simple ideas and tips for making your own gift wrap.
Supplies You'll Need: -plain wrapping paper; I've used parcel post in this how to but, butcher's wrap works great too. A white background will always show your colored inks better.
-ink or stamp pad
-rubber stamp or clear stamp and acrylic block
{
tip: clear stamps make it easier to line up patterns}
-scissors
-tape
-ribbon
Gift Wrap How To:1. Gather your supplies and find a clean area to work. Make sure you have enough room to lay your wrapping paper flat out. To avoid getting any ink on your furniture it might be a good idea to use a work mat. If you don't have one just substitute some scrap paper. I'd tend to avoid newspaper if you're working with butcher's wrap - news ink could stain your paper.
2. Measure how much paper you'll need to wrap your gift and cut to size. Lay your paper out flat. If it is curling up grab some heavy coasters and plop down on opposite corners. Now for your first stamped image - be sure to align it in the center of your paper and work out from there.
3. Continue to stamp in an evenly spaced row down the center. When you are ready to move onto the next row be sure to stagger the stamped image. You don't want the images in the center row and the rows next to it to line up. Just be mindful of keeping the same amount of space between each stamped image.
4. When you finish your second row continue on with the third in the same manner. The staggered the images from the third row should match up with the center row but not the second. Keep stamping rows until the right half of your paper is complete. Then work out from the center again towards the left until your wrapping paper is done.
5. Allow a minute or two for the paper to dry before you grab your gift and wrap it up.
6. Add your pretty ribbon, tie into a bow and voila your done!
If you're not a card person I'd recommend making a small 3"x 3" gift card to match your wrapping paper. Cut a piece of paper into a 3"x 6" strip, stamp it in the same manner you did the gift wrap, fold it in half, grab a hole punch and put a hole in the upper left hand corner of the card, thread some ribbon through, write a quick message and attach to your gift.
For more d.i.y. gift wrap ideas check out these articles:
-If you find it impossible to wrap a gift neatly check out this refresher,
The Perfect Package, courtesy of
Martha Stewart.
-This
dip dye wrapping paper, also from Martha, is such a great idea. I haven't had the opportunity to try it yet myself, but it sure does look like a good activity. Hmmm...I wonder if it would work with tissue paper.
-Here's a cute how to from
Creature Comforts,
grocery bag pom-poms. I've made these myself before, they're super cute and fun and no one explains it better.
Well, that's all for today folks. I hope you enjoyed this little how to. Now go out and make something pretty!
Why should you buy everything already made in someone else's vision? Why not have a little fun and make it yourself? As a paper crafter and artist I sometimes take for granted that not everyone has the means - or quite frankly, the time - to make their mailing tags by hand, but that doesn't mean that they don't want to embellish and decorate a set of those tags 'til their hearts content. 
1. If you're getting a gift from me this year (or any year for that) chances are it's going to look like this. There is just something warm and familiar to me about gifts wrapped in kraft paper, topped with organic decorations like pine cones and branches and a little 
Wrapping Paper Match Up: 
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