Gift Wrapping Ideas #4: Pop-top Cans

Last idea for Christmas (or anytime!) wrapping:

Pop-Top Cans! Using soup/fruit/etc. cans with pop-tops and opening up the bottoms, leaving the pop-tops intact. After washing them and filling them with treats of my own (homemade caramels and hot cocoa mix), I decorated them with scrapbook paper, tags that I designed in Photoshop and ribbon. I kept mine pretty simple. I've seen these in a few places over the years but Blue Cricket Design has a good tutorial HERE.

Gift Wrapping Ideas #3: Gift Tags

I love cute gift tags! You know, I don't feel too bad writing with a Sharpie directly on the package when it's for my 3 year old, but generally I like my gifts to look a little nicer when they're for anyone else. So this year I whipped a few up in Photoshop and printed them on watercolor paper so they had some texture. Here are the four that I came up with:

Really simple, but don't you think they look a little better than the alternatives of Sharpie-labeling or stick-on tags?

If anyone wants a copy of the file that I made so you can print these out yourself, just let me know!

Here are a few other ideas that I love:

Another super simple idea that's just my style via Pepper Design Blog. You can find the details HERE.

I LOVE these! You can actually print these cute tags out and use them yourself. Just go to Creature Comforts HERE!

Probably my favorite of the group and a little less simple are these cute fabric tags from Inchmark Journal. You can find instructions for these awesome tags HERE.

Gift Wrapping Ideas #2: Papier-mâché Boxes

I had a few boxes left over from my Advent Calendar so I used them for some small gifts.

First, I painted the boxes with the same red (Apple Barrel "Burgundy") that I used on my calendar. Then I measured the sides and the top and cut some cute Christmas scrapbook paper just smaller than my measurements and adhered it to the sides and top with Mod Podge. Gotta love that stuff!

It looked a little boring so I used a brown ink pad and inked the edges of the paper, as well as the exposed edges of the box.

I put a coat of Mod Podge over the entire thing, inside and out.

Then I found some scraps of matching ribbon and tied some gift tags that I had made onto the ribbon with a little thread. I ended up inking the tag as well because it looked a little stark next to the box. This was a super easy project (like most of mine) that made those small gifts a little more special. I want to make a bunch more, but since I have no more gifts to wrap, I guess I'll have to stop (at least for now)!

Gift Wrapping Ideas #1: Origami Boxes

I am a little bit particular about wrapping gifts. I love wrapping, but it definitely brings out the perfectionist streak. I am always looking for fun and creative ways to make my gifts a little prettier. This year I had quite a few little presents to wrap, so I decided to make origami boxes for them. I think I have made about 10 boxes so far, but here are two of my faves.

There are lots of tutorials out there on how to fold these, but you can find a good video tutorial HERE. There's another pretty good photo tutorial HERE. I learned to fold them a little differently, but they end up the same in the end. I used patterned paper for the top of the box and cardstock for the bottom to make it a little sturdier.

Super easy! (Plus it's a great way to put a dent in my stash of scrapbook paper--then I can tell my husband that I NEED more! :)

My little girl helped me pick out the paper for this smaller one for my 12 year old sister. She told me that there had to be pink and that we had to use "sparkly" ribbon.

This week I'll post a few more easy ideas for making your gifts a little more personal with creative wrapping.

Advent Calendar Boxes

I have been trying to get myself organized so that I can start posting some of my favorite Christmas projects. I've been making a lot of my Christmas gifts this year and it's been a lot of fun! I've also been making quite a few decorations. One of my favorite things at Christmas is Advent Calendars. I stumbled on this one on Ali Edwards' site earlier this year and was so excited! I had a bunch of these Papier-mâché boxes laying around.

http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2007/11/christmas-proje.html

So I decided to make my own version with as much stuff as I had on hand as possible. I did buy paint (Apple Barrel "Burgundy" and Jo-Ann Craft Essentials "Spanish Olive") chipboard numbers and a few boxes, but otherwise I was able to use up a lot of my craft supplies.

First I painted my boxes. I debated on whether or not to paint some of the boxes a chocolate brown, but laziness won out in the end and I just left them their normal kraft color. I really like them though. The numbers were probably the hardest part. It's really hard to find stickers or chipboard that is all numbers, and I didn't want to have to buy 10+ sets of alphabet stickers (Need lots of 1's and 2's!). I finally found a set of chipboard numbers fro Colorbok, although all of the fonts were different and random, I decided I'd work with it. I painted them white and then I also used some white Foam Thickers from American Crafts, some stencils and a few were hand numbered by yours truly :)

Another challenge? Attaching them to the wall. Because I'm not living in my own house at the moment, I decided that I didn't really want to put dozens of holes in the walls. So instead I bought a sheet of 1/2" foam core, cut it down to a manageable size and attached the boxes to it with thumbtacks. And no, my thumbtacks don't match; and yes, it is bugging me, but with the lids all on I'll be fine :) I wasn't about to buy a bunch of thumbtacks that I didn't need. I'd much rather use that little bit of money for crafty things! So now I'm debating whether or not to attach the foam core to the wall with foam poster tape or just setting it on one of my painting easels. We'll see...

I filled each box with a note for an activity for my little girl. There were things such as:

• Driving around to look at Christmas lights
• Picking out a tree
• Playing a game
• Watching a Christmas movie
• Making gingerbread houses
• Singing Christmas songs
• Helping me make a treat, etc.

I also put a chocolate Kiss or other candy or a small gift (princess stickers and lip balm in the three biggest boxes that look empty). So there you have it...my first Christmas craft!