Weekend Wrap Up: For the Football Lover

This is a fun way to wrap up a gift for the sports nut (specifically a football fan) in your life and it could cost you exactly $0.00 to pull it off.  The three "main ingredients" are:

1.  The sports section of the newspaper
2.  The drawstring from an old pair of sweat pants
3.  And a soda can (if you can find it, a Dr. Pepper NFL can)

You'll also need a pair of scissors, a sharpie, scotch tape, a hole punch, and a metal file.

 

 Take the newspaper and wrap your gift just as you would with expensive wrapping paper.

You'll need a gift tag, so grab a soda can that is similar in color to a football.  I happened to have a couple of limited edition Dr. Pepper cans that have the image of football laces down the side. Trace out a football shape and cut and file the shape.  If you need a more detailed tutorial on effectively cutting a soda can, check out my YouTube tutorial.

Once you've filed the rough edges of your football shaped gift tag, use a standard size hole punch to make a hole at one end.  Use your sharpie to mark the back (silver) side of the aluminum with the name of your gift recipient.  Now you can wrap the package with the drawstring, threading both ends through the hole in the gift tag. Tie the two strings together to form a knot on top of the tag.  All set for giving!

Weekend Wrap Up for the Traveler in your Life

If you have someone in your life who loves to travel, you can't resist this gift wrap idea made from an old map, t-shirt and a soda can!

Here's what you'll need; an old map, aluminum from a soda can, scissors, a hole punch, a marker, crazy glue and strips cut from an old t-shirt

Once you've wrapped your gift in an old map, tie a curled piece of the t-shirt around the box.  Instructions for prepping the t-shirt strips can be found on my YouTube channel and you can always pick them up in my Etsy shop! Back to it, here's where we left off before the shameless plug:

Now for the name tag.  I've used an old soda can to fashion a gift tag that resembles a luggage tag.  Cut two rectangular shapes of the same size.  On one of them, draw a 1/4" margin on all four sides of the back side of the can. 

Then fold the can over and pinch in the center as shown below, make and X shaped cut where you pinched it.  This will give you the room you need to insert your scissors and cut out the center of the "frame."

Once you've cut your frame apply a thin layer of super glue (I love this super glue that you apply with a brush) and adhere it to the other rectangular piece of aluminum, trim the edges and punch a whole.

Now simply use a sharpie to name your recipient and tie it to the package.  You can even add a really big loopy bow made from extra strips of t-shirt that would resemble the shoelace bows that people make to identify their luggage among the sea of bags on the carousel.

The Weekend Wrapup that Includes a Little Extra Gift

I'm really getting a lot of use from packing material this holiday season and we'll utilize more of it today along with a few other things from around the house to make this beautifully wrapped holiday gift!

You'll need packing paper, an old T-shirt, an aluminum can, a hole punch, an alligator style hair clip (the only thing you'll need to buy) and something to cut your can with.

There are a few handmade components to this gift wrap, so first we'll make a gift tag out of a beverage can.  After you've cut and cleaned your can you can either use your favorite die cut machine to cut the gift tag of your choice or cut one out with a pair scissors.  Then just use a hole punch make a hole near the top of your tag and add a tiny scrap of t-shirt ribbon.  You can use a sharpie to mark the back side of your gift tag.

Once you've wrapped your gift, you'll need to cut a few strips of your t-shirt to make a ribbon long enough to tie around your gift.  If you need a little help making the ribbon, I put together a YouTube video to show you how or you can just pick some up in my Etsy shop.   Okay, wrap your ribbon around the gift.

Now for the final touch, the reusable embellishment - the little extra gift.  Cut another strip of t-shirt that's about 2" wide and a circle that is about 2" in diameter (you can adjust this to other sizes depending on the size of your gift).  Follow the instructions in this tutorial that I found online to make a fabric rosette out of your t-shirt material:

Use a little hot glue to attach an alligator clip to the back side of the rosette.  You'll want to pinch your alligator clip open while you press it into place, otherwise you'll end up glueing the whole thing shut...learn from MY experiences people!

Tie the gift tag to your gift and then clip on to the t-shirt rosette.

Once your gift recipient has unwrapped their gift they still have a beautiful rosette that they can use in the their hair clipped to a headband, clipped to a handbag or even on a jacket lapel. And yes, you can just pick up these fabric flowers in my Etsy shop as well.

Happy Wrapping!

Weekend Wrap Up with a Little Comic Relief

Have an odd shaped package to wrap?  Here's a fun little solution that won't cost a cent.

Gather up a few supplies; the comics section of the newspaper, a pair of scissors and a couple old t-shirts

Take one of your t-shirts and fold it in half lengthwise twice.  Cut 1/2" strips along the bottom and open up the strips so that you're left with a loops of tshirt material.

Take each loop and pull it through your hand to make the edges curl inward.  Then you you can cut that to the lengths that you need for wrapping.  Need a visual?  Check out my video tutorial here.

Now just take a handful of your curled up strips and wrap them around the neck of your package.  Don't make it a habit of keeping old t-shirts laying around?  That's okay, you can get them from my Etsy shop.

Weekend Wrapup: For Those Already Dreaming of Spring

This is the perfect wrap for those who love spring, butterflies or the garden!  If you need some help making your butterflies from beverage cans please see my YouTube video.  Just want to purchase the butterflies?  You can find them in my Etsy shop.  Okay, here's what we're aiming for:

The supplies are few.  Just gather up some floral themed magazine pages, soda can butterflies and foam tape (and if you're wrapping a package that requires more than one magazine page to cover it, you'll need a sewing machine):

Piece together the magazine pages and sew them together into a sheet similar to wrapping paper:

Wrap your gift and use your foam tape to apply your butterflies to the gift.  You can even use a Sharpie to mark one of your butterflies with the gift recipients name:

And viola, a no cost but beautiful and environmentally friendly way to present a holiday gift to a loved one!