Homemade Wrapping Paper

There are not many things more special than a gift you create with your own hands. It shows you really care when you take time to create a gift for someone. It is a one of a kind type gift, and many times can become an heirloom.

But whether you make your own gift, or spend time finding exactly the right thing in the store, why wrap it in ordinary wrapping paper? Consider making your own. It's not as hard as you think, and it can actually be fun. You can also make it a family project by including your children.

There are many simple ways to make wrapping paper. Start off by visiting your local butcher shop or teacher supply store and buy a long roll of butcher paper. Brown or white paper lunch sacks also make good gift giving bags to decorate.

If you want to make wrapping paper for a grandparent or another relative, or make a baby shower gift, a very simple idea is to have your small children dip their palms into finger paint. Then carefully lay their hands, fingers spread, onto the paper. Repeat several times with the palm going in different directions, stopping once in a while to add more paint to the child's palm, and to change colors.

You can also take a stamp pad and use either the child's thumb or your own. Get ink on the thumb, and press it down all over the paper. Then take markers, and turn the thumb prints into rabbits, butterflies, turkeys, or whatever else strikes your fancy.

For both these ideas, use either all pastels or all primary colors, and pick ribbons to match.

Rubber stamps also make good decorating tools. You can find these in the craft section of the closest discount store.

Pick up some cute cookie cutters and use them as stencils.

You can also get a sea sponge and cut it into different sizes. Dip it lightly in finger paint, and gently pat the surface of your paper. Let it dry, and go over it again in a different color, letting the first color show through. Repeat this with several colors until you get the look you want.

My favorite way of decorating wrapping paper, though, is one I learned from a very talented friend. Cut out pictures that will match either the gift or the person you are giving the gift to from a magazine, catalog or anything else you have around, and make a collage of them, gluing them onto your paper. Overlap them and lay them at different angles, although it looks best to have them all upright in one direction or another. You can then add dried flowers, buttons, feathers, and other things, just gluing them on top of the pictures with small dots of glue. My friend sent me a present with wrapping paper like this once. She had a strip of paper glued at the top that said, "A picture paints a thousand words, some thoughts about you! Happy birthday." The paper was covered with pictures of mothers and children, peacocks, and chickens, all things that make up my life. She then scattered dried flowers and petals over the paper. I liked it so much that I very carefully unwrapped the present, and now that wrapping paper is framed and hung up on the wall of my bedroom!

Making your own wrapping paper can be almost as much fun as giving the gift itself, and it will make your gift unique and memorable.