How to Make Your Own Wrapping Paper

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By aew4
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Newspaper Wrapping Paper

This holiday season, you'll have lots of gifts to wrap, and most likely you'll need lots of wrapping paper. There's no reason to spend a fortune on wrapping paper. These tips will show you how you can make your own cute, classy, eco-friendly paper without spending a dime.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

newspaper
ribbons
white butcher paper
stamps
ink
old magazines
color printer
digital photographs

Step 1

Giftwrap with Newspaper: The old tried-and-true classic solution, you can use newspaper to wrap elegant and eco-friendly gifts. Try using the most eye-catching, colorful sections - the comics are a great choice, as are the front pages of the food section, weekend section, travel section, and any seasonal supplements your paper may include as the holidays approach. Be careful to check the newspaper content - no one wants a gift wrapped in a tragic story!
Step 2

Giftwrap with Butcher paper: Butcher paper is a great solution for wrapping paper because you can decorate it any way you like! It's cheap, easy to find, and can be used even for larger gift boxes.

Use holiday stamps to give the butcher paper a festive look, add stickers for birthday fun, or let your kids color on it for a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that grandma and grandpa will treasure. Be creative! The possibilities are endless!
Step 3

Giftwrap with Photos: Print out a bunch of digital photos on regular paper (not photo paper) and use them to decorate the box. You can wrap it first in butcher paper or packing paper, then glue the photos on in a patchwork-quilt pattern. This is a special way to share your memories with someone. It works great for romantic or sentimental gifts for a loved one. The only problem is, the recipient won't want to open the box!
Step 4

Giftwrap with Ribbon: Ribbon is an inexpensive way to dress up your free/cheap wrapping paper. Use and re-use ribbon and bows to give your gift that extra flair. For an extra-special touch, you can curl the ends of the ribbon by quickly pulling it through your thumb and a scissor blade.

Comments

FrazzledNanny said

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on 4/20/2009 I love your picture! Thanks for the great tips on making your own wrapping paper. I love that you can recycle and save money with this idea! 5*

OBigDaddyO said

on 1/16/2009 I'll have to remember these tips for next Christmas. This past christmas I did remember to take the receipts out of the shopping bags...baby steps...Great article!