Creative Ideas for Used Wrapping Paper
Instead of wadding used wrapping paper into a ball and tossing it into the trash, reuse the colorful paper to design decorative and practical projects. After you open your birthday, holiday and special occasion gifts, carefully roll the used gift wrap around a recycled wrapping paper tube or paper towel roll to store for future use.
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Drawer Liners
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Turn used wrapping paper into drawer liners that serve as a reminder of the special occasion. Turn gift wrap from a baby shower into liners for the drawers in the baby's dresser or changing table, for example. You can also use the paper from a child's birthday gifts to line a toy chest or wrapping from bridal shower presents to cover kitchen drawers.
Create the drawer liner by measuring the inside bottom of the drawer with a ruler and use scissors or a paper trimmer to cut a piece of wrapping paper to the same dimensions. Affix the paper to the drawer with double-stick tape.
Book Covers
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Wrap the covers of favorite or school books with used gift wrapping to keep them in excellent condition. Use scissors or a craft knife to cut a piece of gift wrap that's 2 inches taller than the book and 3 times wider than the front cover. Fold 1 inch of the top and bottom edges toward the center of the paper.
Place the book's spine in the center of the paper and fold the left edge of the paper around the front cover and the right edge of the paper around the back cover, creasing the folds. Open the book and slip the front cover into the flap created with the folded paper. Use tape to secure the flap. Repeat the process with the back cover.
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Party Banners
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Design vibrant signs for birthday parties, holidays and special occasions throughout with scraps of used wrapping paper. Create a banner that says "Happy Birthday" by using scissors or a craft knife to cut 13 triangles out of card stock that are 5 inches wide at the top and 7 inches tall. Use 4-inch-tall letter stencils and a pencil to trace the letters that make up "Happy Birthday" onto the pieces of recycled wrapping paper. Cut the letters out with scissors or a craft knife.
Affix each letter to one of the card stock triangles---with the triangle's tip pointing down---using a glue stick or double-stick tape. Create holes in the top two corners of each triangle with a 1/4-inch handheld hole punch. Thread a piece of ribbon or string through each triangle to form the banner, pulling the end of the ribbon up through the hole on the left and pushing it down through the hole on the right. Leave at least 6 inches of ribbon on each side of the banner to tie to a fixture or tape to a window or wall.
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