Wrap it Up #1: Brown bags, dish towels, and washi tape

Today is the first of 5 days of the Wrap it Up series here on C.R.A.F.T.! I’ve got 10 talented creative bloggers ready to show us how to DIY gift wrap that is cute, creative, and cheap! I’m kicking it off with some super simple ideas using dish towels, brown paper bags, and washi tape.

While painting the igloo, I discovered you can buy giant rolls of brown builders paper at any hardware store. You get 140 feet of brown paper goodness for $11. You can also buy a 140 ft. roll of brown builders paper on Amazon for a great deal! Not too shabby, huh? As for the dish towel, that’s from IKEA for .79 cents. Wowzers. The dish towel is fun to wrap holiday hostess gifts that are odd sizes, like serving spoons or candles. And I love that the “wrapping paper” is part of the gift too.

Washi tape and the brown paper bags (or building paper) is greatness because it’s so easy and plentiful. Instead of using plain clear tape, just use pieces of washi to tape up the ends. It tears with your fingers, which I really like. You can find washi tape everywhere these days. Here are some extra cute rolls on Amazon: bicycles, polka dots, and gold triangles. Washi tape makes plain brown paper look awesome, don’t ya think?

You can even use washi tape to decorate the front of your package… get creative and make strips, an “X” shape, like I did, or try an initial! There are lots of fun things to do. Heck, let the kids go nuts with washi on the brown paper. That will keep them entertained while you get some wrapping done! The snowflakes come in a packs of 20 from Hobby Lobby and I am a firm believer that they make all packages look cuter! So, are you ready for 9 more DIY gift wrap ideas? Here’s the Wrap it Up series schedule. Come back at 1p this afternoon for a fun reusable gift wrap idea from Rachel! We will have 2 tutorials on each of these 5 days:

11/26   C.R.A.F.T. & Lines Across

11/29   Sew Caroline & Our  5th House

12/4  Craftaholics Anonymous & Kristen Duke

12/6  Positively Splendid & Ellison Lane

12/ 11   Sarah M. Dorsey & owen’s olivia

Psst… for more creative ways to wrap gifts with recycled materials check out the plastic bag pom pom, cupcake liner bows, and 13 more recycled gift wrap ideas!