DIY gift wrap for Valentine’s day

[wc_heading type=”h2″ title=”I get all warm and fuzzy inside when I receive gifts from people I love.And what makes me feel even more special is when the wrapping is beautiful and personalized.I feel like a star.So today I’m going to show how you can make your own DIY gift wrap for Valentine’s day with some used printer paper,acrylic paints,precision knife and lots of fun! ” text_align=”center”]

DIY gift wrap using printer paper?Come on, is this a joke; you may ask.I’m sure many of you have tons of used printer paper at your house. I have a box full of printer paper that’s only been printed on one side. My husband brings home booklets from the office that he needs to read and then he generally trashes it which I hate. I hate wasting paper because you can do so much for the blank areas that are left.I sometimes draw my sketches on them or jot down notes and ideas for blog posts. But this post is not going to be about these things. In this post, I’m going to show you a really fun DIY gift wrap idea that you can try for this Valentine’s day.

DIY GIFT WRAP PROCESS

Step 1:Get your supplies ready. For this DIY gift wrap, you will need 1.Printer paper(I’m using one that has been printed on one side. (Saving the planet!)2.A small gift box 3.Regular pen knife 4.Precision pen knife 5.Acrylic paints 6.Palette 7.Ruler 8.Clear tape.

First you’ll need to cut the printer paper in the exact same width as the gift box. You can use the gift box as a guide for measurement and then by using a ruler and a pen knife, cut the paper.

Step 2: In this step, you need to take the strip of paper you previously cut and wrap it around the gift box.Secure the paper taut by sticking a piece of clear tape. You only need to cover the gift box in such a way that you get the top and bottom covered at this stage. The sides can be left exposed.

Step 3:The fun begins! To avoid getting your table dirty, use an old tablecloth beneath the area where you’re going to be painting.Keep the gift box aside and take your acrylic paints out. You may use any color you wish but since this DIY gift wrap is for Valentine’s day, I used Crimson red, Vermillion and Titanium white.I used acrylic paints as a choice of medium for this DIY gift wrap because they dry fast and do not need as much water as watercolors. Since the printer paper is thin, it may not be able to handle the excessive water that watercolors require. You can alternatively use colored pencil or crayons.(Please excuse my messy palette.)

Place a few blobs of color on to your palette.I saved up a dropper that one of my son’s medicines had for the purpose of dropping some water onto the colors. I then used an old toothbrush to mix up the colors. The initial idea was to spray the paint using the brush but then it struck me that using my fingers would do a faster job plus it’s going to be messy and fun.You will now need to get your hands dirty.Use your fingers to randomly apply color on the paper.Alternate between the different colors until you are pleased with the outcome.You will end up up with a random,abstract pattern as shown below once you’re done.

Keep it aside and let it dry.

Step 4:Take another printer paper. For this step, you will need a precision knife for example an X-acto knife to make cutouts on the paper. For this purpose, I printed out a little heart shape along with with my baby boy’s name “Izyan”. You can download the psd template of the same and edit it accordingly or the jpeg version if you don’t have Photoshop.Alternatively you can also draw heart shaped patterns or freehand anything that you wish and cut out. There are no set rules!

Step 5: Start cutting!If you have one of those fancy machines like Cricut, then you don’t have to follow this step. The precision knife works great for small details and circular shapes. I would suggest that you turn the paper according to the direction in which you are cutting to get a smooth cut for the heart shape. For the straight shapes, you can use a small ruler or go freehand whichever you find convenient.

Step 6:After you cut out the shapes and letters from the second printer paper, you will need to wrap  it around the box. Place the cut area on top of the gift box approximately in the middle. You’ll see that the messy pattern you created shows up beautifully through the cut area. Secure the printer paper with clear tape and viola you’ve just made   your DIY gift wrap.

What do you think?

I hope you loved following me through this easy DIY gift wrap idea for Valentine’s day. How easy would you rate this on a scale of 1 to 5?(1 being easy and 5 being very hard).Would you try this with your kids at home?Let’s get our chat on in the comments below.If you try this out make sure you share them with me in Instagram using the hashtag #makeinkstruck. I would love to see your amazing rendition of this tutorial.Have a nice day!

xo,Zakkiya H.

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Disclaimer:There are no affiliate links in this post. The “timex” watch box used is for illustration purposes only. I’m in no way an advertiser or affiliate of the same.

About zakkiya @ inkstruck studio

Zakkiya is the creative blogger and founder of Inkstruck Studio. She’s a self taught artist who let go of her architecture profession to pursue her passion in art. Zakkiya likes to write detailed tutorials in watercolor, calligraphy, and hand lettering. She also teaches watercolor workshops occasionally in Doha where she’s based currently. Other passions include traveling, photography, and basketball.When she’s not working, you can find her cuddling and running around with her toddler boy.