Weekend DIY: Handmade Gift Wrap

This post is written by contributing author Angela Hamilton.  

Happy December! I couldn't be happier to present a post on gift wrap in the very beginning of this month. Are all your gifts ready for giving? Any of them?

Last weekend I scoured the local thrift shops for the perfect vases to purchase and paint for my mom's Christmas gift, and left Goodwill with a few. When I saw the cashier wrapping the glass in this large packing paper, I knew it would be used for wrapping my gifts as well. Later I came up with these decorated packages:

 I decided to wrap my rigid items with this paper as it's the perfect size. In the above photo, I used a foam sticker that I had no use for and stamped it in my ink pad for a sponge-like effect.

To make confetti wrap, simply cut circles into tissue paper and use a hole-punch for smaller dots. Just dab glue from a glue stick lightly onto the paper so it doesn't wrinkle. I adorned my packages with simple kraft paper tags and cotton yarn.

Ric-rac is probably my #1 favorite supply for gift wrapping. Try a few thrift shops and you'll likely score some unique vintage sewing notions, including similar ribbon. I used to collect some from a shop in my college-town. The snowflakes are simply stamped right on the paper.

Other great ways to create your gift wrap yourself are by:

• stamping with yarn (see a tutorial here); I wrapped yarn around a wooden stamp for the same effect,
• cutting different shapes with tissue paper,
• using lace trim as ribbon,
• adding secondhand ornaments or embellishments to your gift box or bag.

Have you made your own wrap this year? Leave a link in your comment to inspire others! Happy holidays!

Angela Hamilton is a writer and crafter from the Pacific Northwest, and a recent college graduate who blogs about creativity, her adventures alongside her Nikon, and her thrift-shopping, list-making lifestyle. She is currently striving to find a balance between working full-time in an office and following those distant dreams of writing and making things every single day. Her blog is Garden & Sea, and she runs both a vintage shop  and a crochet shop on Etsy. Connect with Angela on Twitter.