Wrapping Paper Crafts

Since part of successful gift giving is a creative presentation, having a few ideas for wrapping paper crafts is a smart move. You don't necessarily need to spend hours creating the perfect wrapping paper, but your efforts are sure to be appreciated by the recipient of your gift. Making your own wrapping paper is also a great choice for the frugal crafter, since wrapping paper purchased from a stationary shop can easily run $5 or more per roll.

Make your wrapping paper, then top your package with a bow.

Making your own creatively designed wrapping paper isn't difficult. In most cases, you can make enough wrapping paper to wrap multiple party gifts in just one afternoon.

Here are a few ideas to consider for wrapping paper crafts:

• Enlarge color copies of your favorite family photos to make clever and very personal wrapping paper.
• If you're a scrapbooker, keep in mind that leftover alphabet stickers can be used to make an interesting wrapping paper design. This is a great way to use up all those letters that don't spell any useful words and it doesn't even matter if the stickers coordinate. In fact, this is a design that actually looks better when it's a bit random.
• Carve a stamp in a simple geometric shape from a potato, then use it to stamp a repeating pattern on your wrapping paper.
• Practice your calligraphy by repeating a quote, poem, or saying across plain wrapping paper.
• Drag bubble wrap through splashes of acrylic paint for an abstract wrapping paper design.
• Use cutouts from old magazines to make an interesting collage design on a roll of plain white butcher's wrap.

If you have children at home, making wrapping paper is a fun project to enjoy as part of your family craft time. Ideas to try include:

• Have your child dip his hands in paint, then stamp colorful handprints all over the paper.
• Make wrapping paper for a boy's gift by rolling the wheels of a toy monster truck through some paint, then "driving" it around on a sheet of plain paper.
• Have children use crayons to color designs on plain wrapping paper, then brush the surface with watercolors for a pretty resist effect. The crayon designs will seem to "pop" right through the surface.
• Use your child's leftover school artwork as wrapping paper for smaller gifts.

Have you ever received a package with wrapping paper that is just too pretty to throw away? Here are a few ideas for how to put your favorite designs to good use:

• Make paper bows from recycled wrapping paper to use as decorations for future gifts. All Free Crafts will show you how.
• At LoveToKnow Origami, there are several ideas for how to recycle wrapping paper into fun crafts. Use wrapping paper to fold an origami envelope to use when sending a handmade greeting card. You can also fold a small gift box to use for storing spare change, candy, or small trinkets.
• Cut small scraps of wrapping paper into narrow strips, then roll them around a pencil to create your own paper beads. The LoveToKnow Crafts slideshow tutorial How to Make Paper Beads explains this process in greater detail.
• Fill a clear glass ornament with rolled bits of wrapping paper as described in the LoveToKnow Crafts Christmas Craft Ornaments tutorial.
• Cover a piece of cardboard with wrapping paper, then use it to mat a favorite photo. This is a simple way to make festive wall art for your home.
• Instead of paying top dollar for decorative storage containers from a department store, decoupage pretty wrapping paper onto an old shoe box to make a place for storing photos, letters, and other keepsakes.
• If you're not worried about archival safety, one of the most fun wrapping paper crafts is to glue wrapping paper to a cardstock background to use as the basis for your next scrapbook layout.

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