Creative Wrapping Paper

For many years now, I have gone to second hand stores or clearance sales to get my wrapping paper. I use old wall paper. Most of the papers are thicker than actual wrapping paper and don't rip so easily like wrapping papers do. I travel to most wedding, birthdays and Christmas parties about 3 hours each way so many times if I use traditional paper, by the time I arrive, it has several rips or tears in the paper. If I use a gift bag, it is squished in with all the luggage and usually ends up wrinkled and torn by the time we arrive. I don't always have time to wrap it when I get to our destination so this solution has been a blessing.

I usually pay between $0.25 and $1.00 a roll. They are usually larger rolls than regular wrapping paper and they are fun and come in themes. You can go into a wallpaper store and ask them for their old display books and you have hundreds of coordinated papers for smaller gifts. They have sports, Licensed papers, and baby through wedding papers. Usually you can get them for free but sometimes you have to pay a few dollars for them but it is worth it if you give many gifts. I have a very large family and a large church congregation so I am giving several gifts every few weeks so for me, it has been a blessing.

I wrap the gift as normal and I have many options for ribbon. I have many colors of curling ribbons, wedding congrats ribbons, satin or decorative ribbons, tulle, fiber decorative yarn, thicker string, raffia, hemp, twine and many other fun things. For this particular package, since it is for a wedding, I decided on tulle, sparkle decorative yarn fiber, and gold thread. I chose that route because the gift is a photo album and scrapbook supplies.

The last wedding shower I attended a few weeks ago, I used white wall paper, and her colors were apple green and dark plum purple, I used those two colors curling ribbon and fibers. It was very cute.

You can also get butcher paper or a roll of news print paper and have your kids do hand prints, stamps, marker art, body tracing tissue art etc. Here is homemade paper my daughter used last Christmas to wrap my present. I loved the personal touch. Note the amazing artwork! She must take after me! :-) I spent an hour looking for the picture of the whole paper. She did some beautiful art. I couldn't find it. Here is the front anyway.

There are so many possibilities.....