Gift Tags From Old Wrapping Paper

I found an old roll of Christmas wrapping paper from last year in the back of the closet. It was tattered and torn and looking like it was ready for the trash. A 'normal' person would have tossed it out, but not me... I had to find a way to salvage bits and pieces of the shimmering paper. So I made some holiday gift tags with the pieces that I could save and sent the rest of the roll to the recycle bin.

Bookmarks From Napkin Scraps

Since I'm never inclined to toss out scraps, I found a use for the edges of the napkins that I cut off when making the cards in the previous post -- bookmarks. The steps are the same as before, only this time you're using the edge of the napkin and trimming it down to the size of a bookmark, punching a hole at the top (or not if you prefer it without), and adding a tassel of some sort.

Bookmarks Made With Handmade Paper

Whenever I come across a sheet of handmade paper that offers wonderful hues and textures, I am always excited to see which projects I'll be able to incorporate it in. I found this sheet and thought that it would make a perfect bookmark. I love the colors and textured elements that it has.

Stamped Tags

Tags are really neat to work with because you can use them for so many different things. They're great for journaling on a scrapbook page, for pocket cards or regular cards, for gifts, for collage and mixed media pieces, or for tagging our handmade goodies.

I blended pigment inks to create the background for this tag, and then I added a stamped flower at the bottom.

Making Memorable Gift Tags

Whenever you're giving someone a gift, don't forget about the gift tag. It's always nice to use unusual papers to make memorable tags. When I made these I thought that it would be cute to fill in the crossword blocks with different words like --With Love -- Happy Birthday -- Just For You, or the person's name. You could fill in the blocks with whatever sentiment you'd like just to give your gift that extra special touch. What's really nice is when you're able to coordinate your gift wrap paper and your tags and give your gifts a designer look.

Bookmarks Made From Recycled Handmade Paper

Here are 2 bookmarks that I made from recycled handmade paper. I got the blender out (the one that I use exclusively for making paper) and gathered up all of my scrap papers and went to town. I ended up with a few sheets of interesting looking paper, so I decided to make some bookmarks and save the rest for some other projects.

I tore the edges before the paper was completely dry and then once they (the bookmarks) were finished drying, I punched holes at the top and added the tassels.

Making Holiday Bookmarks With The Kids

My kids decided that they wanted to make bookmarks this morning (not something that I'd planned, but it was doable). I have a lot of holiday stickers and stamps laying around since I'd been working on all the Christmas and Holiday cards, so finding supplies was not an issue.

We decided on a basic layout that we would use as a guide, and then I let them go to town. It's always interesting when everybody gets the same stuff to work with and you end up with 3 different outcomes.

Use Your Artwork to Make Hang Tags

There are times when I like to use my own drawings and paintings ( even the doodles and practice pieces that don't turn out too bad) for gift tags. They add a very personal touch and just as with adding mini paintings to the front of a card, they become mini pieces of art attached to the gift.