Whether it’s for a birthday, a holiday or just because, giving some special a thought-out gift is the perfect way to express your appreciation and let that special friend know you care. Unfortunately for us busy paper-writing, midterm-taking college students, there are often parts of giving gifts that we overlook. It’s easy to spend so much time scouring Philadelphia stores and boutiques for the perfect gift that it is not hard to overlook the simplest part of giving a gift — wrapping it! Whether you’re the forgetful type that occasionally overlooks buying gift wrap or the type that wants to add that homemade touch to a gift, here are some DIY tricks you can try without having to leave your dorm.
1. Decorate a homemade card with stamps and celery.
If you have card stock in your house, there’s no need to buy your own card. For a gift label, cut a small piece of card stock and decorate it with decorative writing or (for the more artistically-inclined) a simple drawing.
- Print out a photograph and paste it to the front of the card stock for a homemade postcard.
- Wrap a lace doily around brown paper wrapping in place of a card for a simple and charming gift label.
- Have celery in your refrigerator? Cut the bottom off slightly above where the stalks are connected and dip in paint to make a rose-shaped stamp to decorate with.
2. Make your own curled ribbon from wrapping paper.
Fold a sheet of wrapping paper in half and cut narrow strips, leaving half an inch at the bottom to connect all the strips. Proceed to curl the strips of paper with a scissor. Attach the curled strips to the gift so the “ribbon” matches the wrapping paper.
3. Make your own wrapping paper.
Wrap homemade gifts with newspaper for a signature DIY look.
- Use last month’s calendar pages as wrapping paper for interesting and unusual pictures.
- Dictionary or book pages make for great wrapping paper, especially for wrapping books or journals.
- For the adventurer in your life, use an old map as wrapping paper for a vintage look.