STAMPED CHRISTMAS WRAPPING PAPER.
We all know hand made is best. There’s just something so authentic and cool about individual craftsmanship. Perhaps it’s the care and attention or that each piece is unique that makes it so good.This option’s cheap and easy too. All you need is:
- 1 potato
- An ink stamp pad
- A roll of plain paper
Cut your potato in half and cut the shape of a tree or star into it. Stamp your potato into your ink pad so that your shape picks up the ink. Now stamp onto paper. You now have your own Christmas paper design.
MAKE A CHRISTMAS WREATH
A wreath is a nice touch to your gift packaging – particularly if you have plain or natural wrapping paper.
What you’ll need is:
- A sprig of rosemary or any leafy, pliable branch from the garden.
- Thin wire, fishing line or plain string
The trick to making a good wreath is choosing a branch that is nice and bendy with lots of leaves. Shape the branch into a circle and tie together. You can tie together with something invisible like fishing line or make it more obvious with butcher’s string and a nice bow.
EMBELLISHED BOWS
Normal old bows just won’t do when wrapping your beautiful Christmas gifts so it’s time to add some flair and make it your own.
You’ll need:
- Bells or beads (or both)
- String or ribbon
String is right on-trend for this years Christmas festivities but you still can’t go wrong with a big old bow. However you choose to wrap your gift, after you’ve finished tying your bow simply thread bells, beads or both onto the untied parts of your bow and tie a knot underneath to stop them from falling off.
PAINTED CHRISTMAS WRAPPING PAPER
Unleash your creative streak on some blank paper and create a gift wrap you won’t see in the shops (or anywhere else).You’ll need:
- Plain wrapping paper
- Paint or pen
This option you can let loose on what you want to do but some suggestions would be loading up your paint brush with paint and flicking this across the paper. This is quite messy so lay some newspaper down or create outdoors. You can also simply sit down with some pens and doodle, draw dots, stars, spirals… you get the picture.
SEW YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS GOODIES BAG
If you’re not much of a sewer it doesn’t matter. As long as you have access to a sewing machine and can sew straight lines you’re set. Or, if you are very patient these could also be hand sewn.You’ll need:
- Material of your choice
- Sewing machine (or hand sew)
- Ribbon or string
- Cinnamon sticks
- Embellishments
To create the bag simply cut out two rectangles and sew three sides together, leaving one end open for the top of your bag. Fold down the opening of your bag a couple of times to create a ‘collar’.
Get your string or ribbon and tie underneath the collar at the top of your bag into a bow. Behind the bow you can place items like cinnamon sticks, rosemary, candy canes or any other embellishment to dress it up.
NAME GIFT TAGS
The final addition to your gorgeous gifts is the names of your recipients. Swing tags are so easy and cheap to make you’ll never buy generic store-bought cards again!You’ll need:
- Plain card (A5 or A4)
- A printer (or draw if you prefer)
- Scissors
- Hole Punch
Open a word document and type in the names of your gift recipients. You’ll want to space these out to allow for cutting around the names and a space to allow for hole-punching. Print out your document. Cut out the names in any shape you like (zig-zag, circle or rectangle etc.) Place a hole next to the name. Before you tie your bow, thread your card onto your ribbon or string right to the knot. Tie your bow.