How to Color Christmas Gift Tags
Coloring your own Christmas gift tags can become a fun, creative tradition with some basic, inexpensive craft materials. You'll produce cherished mementos that will be saved in scrapbooks and treasure boxes for generations. Free pre-printed gift tags to color are available on the Internet, or you can make your own designs and cut them to the size and shape of your preference.
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Things You'll Need
- Old towels and sheets
- Newspapers
- Safety pins
- Construction paper
- Printer paper
- Pad of watercolor paper
- Paints
- Paint brushes
- Holiday cookie cutters
- Washable markers
- Scissors or pinking shears
- Glitter glue
- Toothpicks or wooden skewers
- Paper punch
- Ribbons or string
Instructions
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For Painted Christmas Gift Tags
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1
Clear a stable, flat work surface. Protect the surfaces with newspapers or old towels. Protect clothing with aprons or old towels or sheets secured with safety pins at the shoulders.
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2
Tape a piece of watercolor paper to the covered table-top. Small pieces of tape securing the corners is sufficient. This will hold the paper in place and keep it from warping while drying.
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3
Work top to bottom and left to right if you are right-handed. Work top to bottom, right to left if you are left-handed. This will avoid smearing artwork before it dries.
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4
Paint a quarter of the paper at a time in whatever colors or designs you choose. Refer to holiday wrapping paper, Christmas cards and cookie cutters to get design ideas and color combination references.
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5
Use scissors or pinking shears to cut the paper when dry. If you're creating special shapes, such as trees, stars, and stockings, cut them out first. Draw or trace the design onto the dry painted paper. Leave about 1/2-inch between designs. Cut remaining painted paper into rectangles about 2 inches long and an inch high.
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Punch a hole in a corner of the Christmas gift tag. Use a dark marker to write "to" and "from."
For Glittery Christmas Gift Tags
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7
Clear a stable, flat work surface. Protect the surfaces with newspapers or old towels. Protect clothing with aprons or old towels or sheets secured with safety pins at the shoulders.
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8
Draw or trace holiday-themed shapes and designs on construction or printer paper. Use cookie cutters in shapes such as stars, bells, trees, hearts, or circles that can be decorated as ornaments. Keep the tags relatively small, about 2-3 inches.
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Write the words "to" and "from" along with any other message, such as "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" on one side of the design. Punch a hole in the top to allow the tag to be secured to a gift with a ribbon or string. Flip the Christmas gift tag over to decorate.
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10
Color from the inside out with glitter glue. Squeeze a small amount onto the gift tag and spread around using a toothpick or wooden skewer. Use as many colors of glitter glue on each ornament as you'd like. For simpler gift tags, outline the design at the edges and leave the center blank.
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Tips & Warnings
Work on one type of project at a time. If you're painting gift tags, put all the painting materials on the table or surface. Wait until that part of the project is completed before putting out the materials needed for coloring gift tags with glitter glue. This will help prevent clutter that can result in accidents and spillage.
Keep a damp cloth handy to quickly wipe hands and spills.
Always supervise young children when they are using glue, glitter and scissors.
