Handcrafted artisanal bespoke wrapping paper is the perfect way to showcase any Christmas gift – even those ill-considered and hastily bought ones!

This wrapping paper is very easy to create even if you don’t have an artistic bent. It is very cheap to make too, especially if, like me, you already had the materials. For this you will need:

1. One large roll of plain paper. I used the MALA paper from Ikea. Despite only costing $5.59 for a 30m roll it is nice quality paper. It’s nice and thick so it won’t tear easily and it absorbs paint, pen, and glue really well.
2. Paint (I used Crayola Poster Paint purchased from Big W)
3. Paint brushes and a cup with water for the brushes
4. Palette (or a disposable plate)
5. Two small children (optional)

I set out the paper and paint and sent my two little elves to work. They made two large lengths of paper in a very short amount of time (and not the hour or two I had hoped for). I then allowed the paper to dry overnight.

After wrapping the gifts I added some simple curling ribbon. We have recently adopted two adorable kittens whose cute antics include shredding the Christmas tinsel into little bits. I “upcycled” the tinsel to gift decorations. Handwritten notes were added directly onto the paper thus eliminating the need for gift tags.

Each gift is unique and quite charming!

The leftover pieces can be made into decorative bows.

Bailey’s: Grandmother’s favourite!

This bow is made out of six even loops of paper which have been stacked and stapled. A small loop is added in the middle to finish it off. Lots of tape keeps it secure.

If this isn’t to your taste you could opt for something simpler, and perhaps a bit more elegant. Here I used some lovely origami paper from Daiso which is gold on one side and red on the other. I used craft punches to create the shapes, with the large circles being the gift tag. I bought the large round craft punch from Spotlight last year for about $30; the star-shaped one is from Daiso. Curling ribbon may be purchased from supermarkets, newsagents, or discount variety stores.

If you have enjoyed this post check out my gift-wrapping post from last year for some other cute ideas: https://thedessertspoon.com/2014/12/03/all-wrapped-up-for-Christmas/

This is my last post before Christmas so I would like to take this chance to say thank you for reading! I hope you and your family have a wonderful (and safe) Christmas and New Year!

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy New Year!