DIY Network

Creative Gift-Wrap From "DIY Crafts" episode DIC-141

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Following our simple techniques, anyone can wrap beautiful gifts like these. Figure A Figure B Figure C Figure D Figure E Figure F Figure G Figure H Figure I Figure J Figure K Figure L

Have you ever wanted to make gift-wrap yourself to match the colors and design of the gift you're giving? Debbie Stapley, host of HGTV's Crafts and Company, shows how to make unique, inexpensive wrapping paper.

Dyed Tissue Paper

Materials:

Tissue paper (or paper towels, rice paper)
Food coloring
Bowls
Water
Measuring spoons

1. Place 2 tablespoons of water in each of three bowls. Squeeze two generous squirts of a different food coloring into each bowl. Swirl to mix the water and food coloring.

2. Fold a piece of tissue paper in half. Then fold it in half again, creating quarters. Fold the quartered paper diagonally twice (figure A). Then fold the center corner at right angles to the rest of the paper (figure B).

3. Or fold the paper accordion style (figure C). Fold the two smaller ends at right angles to create corners (figure D).

4. Dip each of the corners into a different food-color-and-water mixture (figure E).

5. Carefully unfold the tissue paper: it's fragile when wet. Hang it up to dry.

6. Wrap a package with the tissue paper. The designs will be brightly colored and random (figure F).

• Use white tissue paper to get truer colors in the design (figure G ).

Decorated Brown-Paper Bags

Materials:

Brown-paper grocery bag
Paper-backed iron-on adhesive
Fabric
Pattern from a coloring book or drawn freehand
Paper
Pencil
Scissors
Iron
Dimensional paint
Rickrack, ribbon or raffia
Tissue paper

1. Select a pattern from a coloring book, or draw a design freehand. Debbie used a star. Cut out a paper pattern of the desired design.

2. Trace the design onto the paper-backed iron-on adhesive. Cut out the design.

3. Iron the adhesive design onto the back of the fabric. Cut out.

4. Peel the backing away from the adhesive, and iron the fabric design to the front of a paper bag.

5. Outline the design with dimensional paint. Tie rickrack or ribbon around the top of the paper bag to gather. Stuff tissue paper inside the bag (figure H).

Here are some other looks:

Select fabric with a design, cut out one of the motifs, and glue it onto the bag. Tie raffia around the top of the bag. Stuff the inside of the bag with tissue paper and more raffia (figure I).

Wrap a package with a map. Cut narrow strips from the map paper. Tie grosgrain ribbon around the center of a bunch of the strips, and tie them to the top of the package. Create a curly bow from map strips by pulling the blade of a scissors under each strip. Leave some of the strips straight for variety. Make loops from the ribbon ends, and hot-glue them to the top of the package (figure J).

Tie nylon tulle around a package instead of ribbon.

Wrap a package in colorful comics from the Sunday newspaper. Cut wavy strips from solid-color gift-wrap to tape around the package in place of ribbon (figure K).

Rubber-stamp plain brown paper, and wrap the package. Tie on a colorful bow (figure L).

Glue doilies onto solid-color gift-wrapping paper.

Tie a colorful scarf around a gift box, and knot the ends together.

Punch decorative shapes in a brown-paper bag. Stuff it with colorful tissue paper that can be seen through the punched holes.