Howdy-Do!
I wanted to share some of my eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas with you during this holiday season. It’s fun to come up with new ideas for creative gift wrapping, especially when you can up-cycle old products. Rather than buying new rolls of mass manufactured wrapping paper that will end up in a landfill 3 weeks from now, consider trying some new ideas. There are so many creative ways you can wrap with stuff you have laying around your house. Seriously, just go check the back of your closet. 🙂 What a great gift to Mother Earth!!
Here are some simple ideas I would like to share with you in the hopes you may be motivated to come up with some up-cycled wrapping ideas. Enjoy!
Got Maps?
I used to have a box of maps in my car, but since I now use my cell phone for mapping, the box of maps has been sitting on a shelf in my garage for years. It’s a very dusty box! Rather than just throw the maps away, I choose to use them as wrapping paper. It’s great when you can use a map that has special significance to the gift recipient.
Tip: You can use the street index on the back of the map as a cutting guide. You know how those fancy wrapping papers have the grid printed on the back for easy and precise cutting? The street index can be used in the same way…..super easy!
Here’s an example of a gift wrapped in a map. I chose not to purchase fancy ribbon, and simply went with a bow made from multi-use hemp twine.
Pretty darn cute, huh?!
Tag it!
I used these water color paintings to make gift tags. These paintings are ones that I was not real happy with, so I saved them thinking I would use them as wrapping paper. The water color paper is really thick, so I chose to cut up the paintings and use them as gift tags.
No matter which way cut these tags, they look great! Each tag is unique and interesting. And the fact that they are handmade, adds an extra touch of love to your gift.
Get Creative with Old Books
Using outdated or damaged books is a great eco-friendly solution to wrapping paper! Simply cut out the page(s) you would like to use and wrap away! Here I have used an old book about cars from the 1970’s and a beat-up children’s atlas. They both have interesting and colorful pictures that are fun to use.
It’s fun to cut out smaller pictures to use as embellishments on your package and/or on gift tags.
Here is an example of a gift I wrapped with a page from the book about cars. I made a gift tag by cutting out a small picture from the book and gluing on to a heavier weight tag.
I used an old toy car as a topper. I just hot glued it on.
This is a gift that I wrapped with a page from a water polo magazine. Magazines are a super easy and interesting way to wrap a gift. The gift tag is made with a picture cut out of the same magazine, then pasted onto a watercolor tag. Easy!!
This gift was wrapped with a page from a children’s almanac. This gift recipient love llamas, so I made a cute llama gift tag.
It’s fun to glue a small do-dad to the top of a gift if you have left over craft items laying around.
Boxes!
I love wooden boxes, and I seem to always pick them up at the thrift store or estate sales. Or, think about reusing a box that you received a gift in.
Here are a couple of wooden boxes I picked up for 50 cents each. These work well for a small gift, gift certificates, a pair of sock, etc. I don’t even wrap these boxes with paper ….. I just tie pretty ribbon around the box itself and leave it at that. It’s very pretty, classy and different.
Here’s an example of how you can paint a basic cardboard gift box. You could so something as simple as polka dots, to something as elaborate as a landscape. The possibilities are endless! WooHoo!!
I hope I have sparked your creativity! Thank you for your time and thank you for your interest and efforts in wrapping wisely…..I know Mother Earth appreciates it and so will your gift recipients!!
Namaste — Karen
