How to Design Your Own Gift Tags
Express your creativity and save money at the same time by designing your own gift tags to adorn and identify birthday and holiday presents for family and friends. Use basic craft supplies like card stock, adhesives and dimensional accents to create simple tags with meaningful touches. When decorated with a small photo or an inspirational quote, the tag will become a keepsake that the recipient can later use as a bookmark or a scrapbook page embellishment.
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Things You'll Need
- Scrap paper or disposable tablecloth
- Card stock or patterned paper
- Paper trimmer, scissors or craft knife
- Glue stick or double-sided tape
- Markers, alphabet stamps and ink or letter stickers
- Stickers, rubber stamps or colored pencils
- Paper flowers, buttons or rhinestones
- White glue
- Hand-held hole punch
- Ribbon or string
Instructions
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Cover your work table with scrap paper or a disposable tablecloth to protect the surface from stamping ink, adhesives or sticky embellishments.
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Cut a 2-by-3-inch piece of card stock or patterned paper with a subtle pattern using a paper trimmer, scissors or a craft knife.
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Create a mat for the tag by using a glue stick or double-sided tape to affix the piece of card stock or paper to a coordinating shade of card stock. Use a paper trimmer, scissors or a craft knife to cut around the tag, 1/4 inch out from the edge to produce the mat.
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Add the "to" and "from" information to the center of the tag with markers, alphabet stamps and ink or letter stickers. You can also use the pens, stamps or stickers to add a personal message or quote on the back of the embellished tag.
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Design a border around the text with flat embellishments like border stickers, rubber stamps or doodles and flourishes hand drawn with markers or colored pencils.
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Embellish the bottom-right corner of the tag with dimensional accents. Affix a cluster of paper flowers, buttons or rhinestones to the tag with dabs of white glue.
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Make a hole 1/2 to one inch down from the top of the decorated tag with a handheld hole punch. Use scissors to cut a five-inch-long piece of ribbon or string. Thread the end of the ribbon or string through the hole and tie the ends together around the handle of the gift bag to attach the tag. You can also tie the ends of the ribbon or string in a knot and tape the loop to a present that you've wrapped in a box.
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Tips & Warnings
Save time by using blank, manila shipping tags sold at office supply stores as the base for homemade gift tags instead of cutting your own out of card stock.
When using a craft knife to cut paper or card stock, protect your work surface with a self-healing cutting mat. Sold at sewing, craft or scrapbooking stores, the rubbery mat will cushion the tip of the knife and keep it from slicing through to the table.
If you're presenting the gift to a small child, avoid using dimensional accents like plastic gems, foam shapes or buttons to adorn the tag. If the child is still in the stage of putting small objects into his mouth, the embellishments can become choking hazards.
