Craft Paper Gift Wrap

Craft Paper. Not just for book covers anymore.
Do you cringe at the price every time you have to buy gift wrapping paper? I do. Every dollar around here counts, so almost $4 for barely enough paper to wrap 3 shirt boxes always seemed like a huge waste to me, but...

gifts wrapped with craft paper and pretty ribbons

gifts wrapped with craft paper and pretty ribbons

... I like the gifts I give to be wrapped nicely and have a personal touch. Here's a solution that's super cheap, super kid-friendly, and can be as simple or as elegant as you want.

Purchase several rolls of plain brown craft paper, or visit your local news office and see if they will sell you the end rolls of news print paper. Sometimes they will sell it for very little, or simply save your brown grocery bags.

Next time you're in Walmart, Target or your local craft store check out the clearance bins for seasonal ribbons and stock up. Make sure you not only get seasonal prints, but ribbons in bold colors, and patterns in different widths that can be used for any occasion.

For a quickie wrap job that's all you need. Just wrap your gift in the paper and put a colorful ribbon on it. The basic bow works like a charm, but if you want to get fancy tie several bows or add an inexpensive pic from the floral clearance bin. (Collect a bunch after Christmas.)

You can even tie on a small toy or party favor from the dollar store.

If you want to get creative with the paper let your kids use stickers, markers, stencils or rubber stamps to create patterns or designs on the

box wrapped in white paper with shiny red ribbon

paper. (My daughter decorated the gift wrap in the top photo for her aunt Amy using markers and her imagination.) This is an expecially great idea for kids gifts.

The simplest way to do this is to cut the craft paper the size to fit the gift, decorate it, then wrap the gift.

Some other cheap gift wrapping ideas:

Use the comics from the Sunday paper.

Use old calendar pages.

Colored tissue paper with a ribbon makes a very prettily wrapped gift.

Recycle old posters this way.

Open gifts you receive very carefully and save the paper for use at a later date. Just trim away any torn or raggedy ends. Fold and store until you need it.

Use things from nature to decorate your packages. Pine cones, dried flowers, even bundles of twigs and fall leaves wrapped in ribbon can make stunning package toppers.

Take some digital photos and print on stiff paper to create personalized gift tags that can double as keepsakes.

Let your family get really creative with this and you may find your gifts to be so beautifully wrapped that the recipients will "ooh" and "ahh" before they even open them up!

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