"Green" Gift Wrap

I HATE spending a ton of money on gift wrap, just for it to be thrown away. At the same time, I like the presents to look beautiful under the tree. No cheesy Christmas wrap for me! In Leui of my husband being out of work for the last 6 months, some creativity is definitely in order this year!

I have a bunch of cheap and pretty wrapping ideas this year. Here are a few that you can try with Newspaper of all things! These ideas all came from a friend of mine, Melissa. She is our creative activities director for our MOPS group. I think you will enjoy these as much as I do.

Idea number 1!

First wrap your gift with newspaper.


Then fold a few sheets of newspaper accordion style. Use three or more sheets, depending how full you want your flower to be. Then cut enough ribbon for each fold you have at the length of your newspaper.


Place one piece of ribbon in each fold.


Pinch in the center and tie with a ribbon.


Separate your layers and tape to your gift.

BEAUTIFUL, right?
You could use black ribbon to maintain the black and white or use a color for a little pop. Both are gorgeous!

Idea number 2! (this is my favorite)

Fold a sheet of newspaper in half.


Starting at the unfolded edge, cut strips all the way across, but not all the way through. Don't make them too thick... about an inch.


Roll it up so it looks like this:


Here's my favorite part: CURL IT!!! (Who knew newspaper could curl?)


Tape it to your present!

LOVE IT!

Idea number 3!

If you're any thing like me, you hate wrapping bottles. Even more than that, you HATE using gift bags. Here is the perfect solution.

Lay your bottle at the bottom edge of a sheet of newspaper.


Roll it up and tape it down.


Start cutting 1 inch strips down to the neck of the bottle.


Tie a ribbon around the neck.


CURL!!!

How fun is this?

Have fun with your wrapping this year but maybe try to keep it cheap. I was even told that you can go to your local newspaper and ask for their end bolts. They just throw them away. It's blank newspaper. Have your kids color it or just use it the same as above.