December already!  I hope you have all your shopping and gift making well underway.  I thought this month it would be fun to make the packaging of your gifts as great as the presents inside.  I love choosing decorative papers and boxes to make each gift special.  Some of the supplies you will need are:
                                  
Boxes, gift bags, plastic or glass jars, or anything you can put your gift into.
Ribbons, stamps, red and green ink, sparkles, decorative papers, wrapping paper,
Old Christmas cards, candy, markers, adhesives, pictures, and any other embellishments you would like to use.



The sky is the limit.  Be as creative as possible.  Keep the person you are giving the gift to in mind when selecting your embellishments. 

Christmas Wrapped Box:  Wrap the box with brown or white craft paper.  You can even use an old paper bag.  Stamp Christmas designs on the box using stamps with red and green ink.  Put sparkles and any other embellishments you like on the box.  I used a product called Stickles to put the sparkles on the box.  Make the tag out of an old Christmas card. Cut the card with pinking shears and write your to and from message on the back.  Tie everything up with a wired ribbon.  I tucked a piece of evergreen from my bushes under the bow just for a little extra pizzazz.


Gift Bag:   Plain or decorated bags are great for this project.  Dollar stores have a huge variety of bags to choose from.  Try to find a picture of the person you are giving the gift to.  Double matt it with decorative and solid papers and glue it onto the bag.  Glue peppermint candies on the bag with glue dots and tie all different colored ribbons to handle.
 

Glass or Plastic Jar:  This is perfect for holiday treats!  I used a plastic mayonnaise jar for this project.  Decorate the jar with strips of decorative paper and ribbon.  Cut the strips of your paper and use double-sided tape or scrapbook adhesive to adhere them to the jar.  Tie a jingle bell on the ribbon and tie it around the top of the jar.  Glue a candy kiss on the top.  I always make a few of these so I have a gift for anyone who stops in.  This is also great for neighbors or even the mailman.


Extra Tip:  If you have any wrapping paper scraps left over, my sister, Brenda showed me a great way to use them.  You can make a bow out of the paper scraps.  Take an extra piece of wrapping paper, any size but a rectangle piece works best.  Cut the piece of paper into ¼ inch strips, making sure you don’t cut all the way through the paper, leave about a ½ inch from the top.  It reminds me of making paper fringe.  Curl each strip with your scissors, like you curl a ribbon.  After each strip is curled, accordion fold the paper, tape the bottom together and fluff.    If you want the bow to look bigger, make 2 or 3 of these and tape them together.



One holiday, I decided to wrap all of my children’s gifts with white wrapping paper.  I bought rolls of three different plaid ribbons.  I tied each of their stockings with a different piece of plaid ribbon and then wrapped each of their presents with the same plaid ribbon that I tied on their stockings.  This was how they knew which presents were theirs.  It was great fun and I didn’t have to make name tags.  I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.  I would love to hear from you about any of your projects
After dinner, each person can take the frame home as a remembrance of a great time or you can save them and redo them for your December holiday table.  If you have any questions or ideas, please let me know. 

I would love to hear about your projects, email me at contactus@quackerfactory.com.) I love hearing from others Quackers!

 

 
Linda