11 Different Ways to Wrap a Present

We're getting to that point where post offices have 30 minutes waits, all that's left is the tacky wrapping paper, and you're running out of creative ways to wrap a simple box. Need some help? Here are 11 wrapping ideas I've gathered from different sites and have compiled into one post. Hopefully there's an idea here for everyone on your Christmas list!

Idea #1: The Wordsmith

If you have a friend who loves word searches, you can either make one of these on the computer or get some blank paper, wrap the gift, then draw 1/4" lines vertically and horizontally with a pencil. Write in the words you know you want to include in marker (like "TOJOHN" or "FROMJANE") and then circle them in a bright color so they're easily found. Once those are done, write in a bunch of hidden words for fun! Fill in the rest of the boxes with random letters and you're all set. It's a gift that'll keep them guessing but also entertained!

Idea #2: The Music Lover

This is an easy one, all you need is some sheet music! You can either print some out for free online (just Google image search "sheet music") or you can buy Mod Podge "podgeable papers" made to look like sheet music, which is what I had on hand. See bonus instructions below on how to make the bow!

Idea #3: The Artist

Another idea from At Creative Home that's not terribly complicated. Plain paper + crayons = they gets to decorate their own gift! I recycled the paper that I received from IKEA when purchasing mugs, hence why it's a bit wrinkled.

Idea #4: The World Traveler

Find an old atlas or print out a map and use that as wrapping paper! Be creative with it - you could print out a map of where you're from, where the recipient is from, where the gift is from, and draw stars or hearts over certain locations! I also decided to make a mini bow - see bonus instructions below on how to make it yourself!

Idea #5: The Weaver

Ok, maybe you don't have that many friends who are weavers but this is still a creative idea I originally saw on MinieCo. Now you can do it all the way around the gift like they did, or you could just do it on top like I did. It's quite simple - take strips of paper and put them under, over, under, over and then over, under, over, under. It's a little time consuming and I used Elmer's glue which took a while to dry, so you might be better off using a hot glue gun to secure it.

Idea #6: The Reader

Using book pages, magazines, or leftover newspaper, use that as your wrapping paper for the person who loves to read! They might not appreciate pages being ripped out of a book so newspaper might be your best bet or find text online and print that out. I used a Mod Podge "podgeable papers" newspaper and it worked great!

Idea #7: The Teacher

This would be creative way to wrap a gift for a teacher (or a student for that matter). No, not with dry erase but with chalkboard liner! That way you can decorate it however you like and if you mess up, that's ok, just erase it and start over! Going Home to Roost's post used a chalk marker to design the packages but I'm old school, I like the feel of chalk dust between my fingers.

Idea #8: The Recycler

Do you know someone who likes to find multiple purposes for something? Well, here's one way to decorate a gift or wine bag and they can reuse it with a touch of festive flair! I originally saw this post by Huppie Mama, who decorated a box instead of a bag, so it's versatile!











Idea #9: The Noise Maker

Nothing says the holidays like jingle bells! Attach some bells to a gift to make it more festive, though make sure if the gift is for a child there is an adult nearby to make sure the bells aren't ingested. I don't think the ER would be a great place to be on Christmas morning...







Idea #10: The Nerd

Now I am a self-proclaimed nerd, so that word isn't meant to offend. If you're a fan of comic books, then wouldn't you love getting a gift wrapped in your favorite comic? I chose Batman for this one because that's my cat's name. Yep. Big nerd. So just Google image your favorite comic strip, print it out, and use that as your wrapping paper!










Idea #11: The Photographer

On Minted.com, you can pay $15 to have wrapping paper with your own photographs on it... OR, you could just print out your own photos and use that paper to wrap your gifts! Seems like a no-brainer to me! I just opened up a Word doc, inserted a bunch of different photos, and then printed it out.



Bonus tip #1: How to make a traditional bow out of paper
This comes to us from Studio Calico. Cut four long strips of paper (mine were 12" x 1/2" but you experiment with the width).

Cut three of those strips in half and mark an x in the middle of those 6 strips.

Then take one end of a strip and twist and glue it on top of the x.

Take the other end, twist and glue it on top, almost making a figure 8.

Do this for 4 strips. For the final two, cut them 1/2"-3/4" shorter and twist and glue, just like you did the others.

Then start stacking! Glue one on top of the other, until all are on except there that one long strip. Cut it to a 2.5" long strip, glue it into a loop, and glue it in the middle of your bow. Ta da!

Bonus tip #2: How to make a mini bow
I originally saw the photos here on Fun Substance but since the photos were backwards it was hard for me to follow so hopefully my photos and explanation below will make things a little easier for you!

First, have the short end of the ribbon on your right and the long end on your left. Go over the first and third tongs with the ribbon.

Then, wrap the long end around the first tong and go over the second and fourth tongs.

Keep going back and forth until you have five rows of ribbon on the tongs.

Take another separate piece of ribbon and between the second and third tongs, tie the top and bottom rows together.

Make a knot

Slip the ribbon off, cut of the ends and ta da! You've got a little bow!

TOTAL COSTS: Varies with each wrapping project
You could spend nothing because you have a printer, paper, scissors and tape or you could spend up to $6 on chalkboard liner, $4 on jingle bells, etc.

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: Varies with each wrapping project
Again, it's hard to give you a set amount of time. I can tell you the fastest project was "The Reader" because all it required was newspaper!

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): Varies with each wrapping project
I found the easiest project was again "The Reader" because it was just wrapping a box with newspaper. The most difficult was probably "The Photographer" only because I had a hard time picking out the right photos! Be creative and have fun!

2 Fast and Fun Projects with Chalkboard Liner!

Different chalkboard projects float around Pinterest but I couldn't find many involving chalkboard liner so here are two fast and fun projects you can do!

Here are the instructions from the inside of the liner (take note of what you can't use it on):

Project #1 - The New Year's Eve Jars

It's quite simple: find a jar and starting on January 1st, start putting little things in it. Movie tickets, matchbooks, seashells, wine corks, jewelry, notes, whatever you want. Do this throughout the year and come December 31st, open the jar and see everything that happened that year. Best part? You can keep the jars and open them anytime you want! Maybe if you have a kid, they'll be able to open the jar from the year they were born!

I found a Smuckers jam jar was way too small so I upgraded to a 32oz mason jar. Where does the chalkboard liner come in? You can label the top! Just take off the lid, put it on the back of the chalkboard liner, and trace around the edges. Cut out the circle you just drew, take off the backing, and stick it to the top of the lid!

Note that you may get bubbles on the top. Don't try to rub them out, it doesn't work. Trust me. Simply lift up the liner and place it back down on the lid to get the bubbles out. Once the lid is back on the jar, you're done! Just grab your chalk to label the top and start filling it with memories!

Another option is to label jars and fill them with school supplies - a great option for the teachers out there who try to keep their classrooms organized!



Project #2 - Picture Frame Turned Message Board

I had a great frame that I wanted to use for something but I broke the glass into a million pieces. Instead of going out and buying a new piece of glass, I decided to cover the back panel of the frame with chalkboard liner and turn it into a message board! It's as simple as it sounds - lay out the back panel on the liner paper, cut out however much you need to cover the back panel AND 1 cm around the edges, remove adhesive backing and cover the panel. Put it back in the frame and voila! You now have a message board you can cover with whatever you like! Grocery lists, calendars, schedules, notes to your loved ones - whatever you want to put, all you need is some chalk and you're good to go! Instructions for how to make a chalkboard coffee mug like the one in the photo can be found here.

TOTAL COSTS: $6
$6 for 6' on Amazon but it looks like it has gone up to $7
Mason jars and picture frame already had

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: Less than 5 minutes
Really, you're just cutting out the liner and sticking it on whatever you like!

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
It's something you could do in your classroom and even get the kids involved for DIY projects at home!

Chalkboard Coffee Mugs

I kept running across creative DIY project on Pinterest involving chalkboard paint and thought it would be a nice, creative, and hopefully easy project to take on. Kids, if you do nothing else, learn from Mama Kat's mistakes... today's post comes from Wit & Whistle's Chalkboard Mug post.

Here's everything you will need: a mug, a paintbrush, chalkboard paint for porcelain, painters tape (not masking tape - more on that later), rubber gloves (optional - I didn't and still have black on my nails) and eventually, chalk.

Rule #1 - Cover your workspace, so you have a safe place to put down the paintbrush and mug.

Rule #2 - Do not use chalkboard spray paint like this one. I know, it's more convenient and often times cheaper, but if you want to work with a coffee mug, bowl, etc., you really should get Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Chalkboard Paint. This is specifically made for going into the oven and those other kinds are not.

Rule #3 - Do not use masking tape. Why? Well, if you want half the mug to be chalkboard and half not, you'll end up going from this:

Top half taped, bottom half painted = good

To this:

No straight line = bad

Chalkboard paint seems to laugh at masking tape, as if to say, "You think you can stop me from where I want to go? Ha!" I made sure the tape was pressed down tight against the mug but that didn't matter. So what do you do if your straight line has gone haywire? Get a damp paper towel and wipe away the mistakes. Now I removed the tape as soon as I was done painting, per the original post, so the paint was still wet enough to wipe away. Even if you decide to wait til the paint has dried, the paint can be chipped off up until you put it in the oven. 

Rule #4: Try to paint as evenly as possibly. Meaning, if you have drips down the sides, they will dry that way. If you have brush strokes on the mug, they'll dry that way. Just something to keep in mind.

Rule #5: Practice, practice, practice. Yes, the original blog's mug looks perfect and maybe yours doesn't. That's ok! Try again, learn from your mistakes, and make another! 

After waiting 24 hours for the mug to dry, I cranked up the oven to 300 degrees and set the mug on the wire racks for 35min, per the instructions on the paint bottle. It didn't say how long to let it cool so after the 35 minutes of baking, I waited an hour before removing it from the oven so it could be completely cool.

Don't forget to chalk the mug completely before putting it to good use! Now that you've baked it, it's microwave and dishwasher safe!

Just a little chemistry joke for you

TOTAL COSTS: About $9
$5.39 for Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Chalkboard Paint from Dick Blick (almost twice that on Amazon!)

$.80 for a box of chalk from Dick Blick

$2.99 mug from IKEA

Paintbrush and tape already on hand - remember, use painters tape!

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 26 hours
7 minutes to tape mug (I was spending a lot of time trying to get my line straight)

15 minutes to paint and fix my mistakes

24 hours to dry

35 minutes to bake

1 hour to cool down

EASY-PEASY SCALE: 3 out of 5
Now this is one of those projects that won't be perfect at first but you'll get better the more you do it so don't get discouraged. Besides, the more mistakes you make, the more "homemade" it looks! Have patience and have fun!