Creative Ways to Make Your Gifts Stand Out

Be a Wrap Star! 5 Creative Ways to Make Your Gifts Stand Out

Good things come in great-looking packages. We've got nifty and thrifty tips to help you deliver perfect presents.O, The Oprah Magazine | November 16, 2010

Prop Stylist Elizabeth Press traces her gift-wrapping prowess to her mother, whose creative, budget-conscious ideas—like wrapping boxes with painted newspaper comics, pasting gift certificates inside hollowed-out books, and making decorative stamps out of eraser carvings—proved that a little thoughtfulness goes a long way. "She really understood presentation,"Press says. "Her creativity could turn even inexpensive gifts into something fabulous."

Now Press has her own cost-saving tricks. To achieve a chic, monochromatic effect, she says, "let leftovers be your guide."If you have lime-colored ribbon from Easter, use green paper. And forget traditional holiday color combinations: Pair pink with red, yellow with gold.

1. Keep it Monochromatic
Combining any two shades of the same color "is a straightforward scheme that looks really modern,"says Press. FYI: Matte, solid-color papers tend to cost less.

2. Add Nontraditional Accents
Unexpected finishing touches are likely sitting idle in your drawers and closets. Instead of tying a bow, use cord to attach an ornament or dreidel; pin a brooch or faux flower onto ribbon; top children's gifts with chocolate coins or a glued-on toy. Press particularly loves to decorate with alphabet stamps, spelling out the recipient's name or initials, because "they instantly make a present feel personalized."

How to Make Your Own Stamps
What you'll need:
1. A rubber eraser (at least two inches wide) or a large potato sliced in half widthwise.
2. A marker to draw a simple shape on the eraser or sliced potato.
3. An X-Acto knife to carve away the eraser (or a kitchen knife for the potato), leaving the raised shape.
4. Water-based paint—or a leftover can of acrylic wall paint, diluted in a bowl.

Brush the paint onto your carving, test it on scrap paper, and stamp up your ribbon, paper, etc., in random patterns. "The idea is for it to look fun and homemade, not perfect,"stresses Press.

Tip #3: Think outside the cardboard box

3. Think outside the white cardboard box
Pick up colorful, inexpensive containers from stores like Pier 1, or use Chinese-takeout cartons from a party store (perfect for cookies and candy), tea towels or scarves (ideal for wine bottles and other odd-shaped offerings), and ID-badge sleeves (fun holders for gift cards). "You don't need wrapping paper if you have pretty fabric or containers,"Press says.

4. Focus on the Bows
For about $50 at stores like Staples, you can buy hundreds of feet (years' worth!) of kraft paper. Use it for all your presents, then dress them up with colorful ribbons. Classic hangtags give an old-fashioned "special delivery!" effect

5. Personalize Your Paper
Use a printer to make unique backdrops: a color photo of you with the gift recipient, a googled image of an Impressionist painting, a vintage map. "It takes relatively little effort,"says Press, "but it's the icing on the cake."

Find the perfect gift for everyone on your list with our giftfinder!

MY THOUGTHS

i love wrapping gifts. more than the shopping. it's a pity i'm done with all the gifts before i found this article. i'm so interested i was tempted to unwrap them and use some of the ideas here. except for bows. i can never tie a ribbon. except the laces on my shoes. and i don't want my gifts to look like footwear.

Make Holiday Work with this Xmas Wrap Ideas

Top 8 Cheap Christmas Wrap Ideas
By Erin Huffstetler, About.com Guide

Christmas wrap doesn't have to be expensive to be festive. Here are several low-cost gift wrap ideas:

1. Oatmeal Containers
Cardboard oatmeal containers are the perfect quick-wrap solution. Just wrap a band of wrapping paper around the outside of the container, and stick your gift inside. For a truly spectacular finish, cut a circle of paper to go on the top of the lid.

2. Recycled Gift Bags
Gift bags are pricey, and it's sad to think that many of them only get used once. Get in the habit of saving all of the bags that you receive, and you'll have a near-endless stash of Christmas bags to draw from.

3. Kids' Artwork
Do you have a budding artist in the house? If so, save his or her larger drawings and paintings, and you'll have a steady supply of wrapping paper. Want to work in that Christmas theme? Encourage your child to draw Christmas pictures – and prepare for an explosion of red and green artwork.

4. Kraft Paper
Give your Christmas gifts an old-timey look by wrapping them in Kraft paper. You can pick up large rolls of this brown paper from office supply stores, or cut your wrapping costs entirely by saving your brown paper grocery bags (currently making a comeback).

5. Take-Out Containers
Rinse out empty Chinese take-out containers or ask for a few extras when you order, and you'll have a clever gift box that doesn't cost a thing.

6. Wallpaper
Thrift stores often have a large collection of wallpaper – no doubt the leftovers from countless do-it-yourself projects. Dig through the stores' offerings, and you're likely to find several patterns that would work perfectly for Christmas (green and white stripes, silver and gold designs, etc.).

7. Fabric
Have a box of too-small-to-use fabric scraps? Put them to use as gift wrap, and you'll turn clutter into a treasured gift. Long forgotten scarves can also be put to use for this purpose. Dig through your own collection, or sift through thrift stores to find what you need.

8. Reusables
Get creative, and make your gift wrap a part of the present. Wrap a gift in a purse, a tin, a trinket box, an old suitcase or a reusable shopping tote. Shop yard sales and thrift stores often, and there's no end to the number of clever containers that you can find to put presents in.

MY THOUGHTS

i've tried oatmeal containers.i use boxes often. yes, i've recycled gift bags. last year i used wallpaper. actually,i made a mistake.it was so cheap, i thought it was wrapping paper. I think i'll use fabric this year. i'm clearing out my closetand i'm sure i'll find nice fabric that i can use to wrap gifts. such a splendid idea for this christmas holiday.