Make Creative Gift Wrapping Paper with Kids

Unique Paper Wrapper Ideas!">


Make Creative Gift Wrapping Paper with Kids
Unique Paper Wrapper Ideas!

By Abigail Beal

Making your own wrapping paper is a fun activity that children or adults can do. With some creativity you can create gift wrap that is unique and different – everyone will know the gift is from you!

When making gift wrap with children you will probably want to use either craft white paper or craft brown paper (like the grocery bags). You could even use the inside of a grocery bag if the gift is small enough.

At several points depending on your child’s age – they may need help. If your child is not ready to cut with scissors, then manage all of the scissor work and let them have fun gluing everything. Remember to select non-toxic materials. Consider all art materials toxic unless they say they are non-toxic.

Stamping Shapes Paper:

To make this you can use either sponges or potatoes. The ease with potatoes is they give children (and adults) a “handle” to hold onto. Sponges are a little harder to hold onto once they get wet, and your designs may not get as clean and clear results.

Use tempura or acrylic paint. Be sure with children to use non-toxic paint. Remember with art materials that if they do not say they are non-toxic, chances are they are toxic – so be aware and stay safe.

Select your paint colors and cut simple designs in your potatoes or sponges. Great shapes include stars, hearts, arrows, lightning bolts, circles, triangles, letters, numbers and smiley faces. Help your children cut the designs depending on their age level.

Lay the paper flat on a dry and protected surface and stamp away with your potatoes or sponges! Remember to put your design all over the paper so that it shows all over your gift, not just one area of the paper. Let it dry overnight before wrapping gifts.

Names or Shapes Paper:

To make this paper you will need several sheets of fluorescent paper (8 ½ x 11”) is fine. You will also need glue sticks and scissors.

Select a name or a shape that you wish to do for your paper. Think about the size of your gift, is it big? Is your gift small? If your gift is big, then your letters or shapes can be bigger. If your gift is small then your letters or shapes need to be smaller.

If you are giving a birthday gift it could be fun to write the birthday child’s name. If it is a gift for Mom then you could write Mom. Or consider writing a short message like “Happy Birthday” if you have enough room.

Write boxy letters or cut out shapes and glue them onto the paper. Write the name and glue it onto the paper several times. Allow it to dry overnight. Then wrap gift.

Picture Paper:

To make this paper you will need magazines or newspapers. Catalogs such a flower catalogs or children’s catalogs are also good. Comic books are good for this also. You will need scissors and glue stick.

Select a theme for your paper. Are you going to cut out pictures of animals? Cartoon characters? Flowers? Home images? Or are you going to cut out words? Find the images and cut them out. Glue them onto the paper. Allow it to dry and then wrap your gift.

Special Message Paper:

This is good for most children of any age. First select how large the gift will be and cut the gift paper to size.

Select markers or crayons. You are going to write a special message to the friend or loved one to wish them a Happy Birthday or other good wishes. Help your child select their message.

Write the message on the paper. Now write the message again in other line with a different color marker or crayon. Continue until the paper is full. You can use medium to large handwriting – actually any size handwriting is fine. Just continue until the paper is completely filled. Let this paper dry before wrapping the gift.

When you give the gift remind the birthday child they need to read the Special Message on the wrapping paper.

Feminine Doily Paper:

This is a cute gift wrapping paper for a girl’s gift. This is also an easy project to do with even most young children because it only involves glue sticks.

To make this paper you will need paper doilies, either white or metallic (your choice). This project works best with the small doilies. You will also need a glue stick.

Glue the doilies onto the paper. Glue them in an even pattern all over the paper. The doilies will give the gift wrapping a feminine look. Once the doilies are dried, wrap the gift.

There are many other ideas for gift wrap that are in your home and right in front of your nose. Just use your imagination and you will find many other ideas to use with your children. Happy wrapping! •

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About the Author
Abigail Beal is the author of two 'zines Creative Crafts Teacher — for crafts teachers and Gift Wrap Goddess Wraps — all about gift wrap.
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source: http://kids.creativity-portal.com/

Gimana Memilih Kado Ultah ?

Gimana Memilih Kado Ultah ?

Canda punya sahabat, namanya Mikola. Dia mengaku kebingungan memilih kado ulang tahun buat sahabatnya. Mau membeli apa? Yang harganya berapa? Barang apa yang kira-kira cocok untuk dia? Aha, tak usah bingung Mikola! Simak deh petunjuk Canda berikut ini.



1. Sebagai sahabatnya, kita tentu tahu apa yang sering dipakai olehnya. Misal : bros, ikat pinggang, topi, dsb. Nah, kamu bisa memberi salah satu benda yang disukainya itu. Dijamin dia bakal jingkrak-jingkrak kegirangan.

2. Seandainya teman kita yang ulang tahun tergolong anak boros, suka hamburin uang untuk membeli sesuatu yang tak bermanfaat. Hemmm…, kita perlu memberi benda yang dapat mengingatkan dia supaya hemat dan rajin menabung. Misalnya dengan membelikan celengan.

3. Tentu kita juga tahu apa hobi atau kesenangan sahabat kita yang sedang berulang tahun. Nah alangkah baiknya kalau kita memberi perlengkapan untuk menunjang hobinya. Misalnya : alat lukis (hobi melukis), disket komputer (hobi komputer) dan perlengkapan renang (hobi renang).

4. Ada juga yang hobinya mengkoleksi benda-benda tertentu. Misalnya boneka, perangko dan mobil-mobilan. Wah, bukan main senangnya bila kita memberi benda yang sedang dikoleksinya. Setiap melihat benda yang dikoleksinya, dia akan ingat pada kita. Itulah manfaat kado. Bisa jadi kenangan sepanjang masa.

5. Bagaimana kalau sahabat kita itu kutu buku? Jelas kurang cocok kalau diberi mainan. Sebab bagi ‘si kutu buku’, buku bacaan itu lebih berharga dibanding lainnya. Makanya, dia pantas diberikan buku. Misalnya, buku pengetahuan, ensiklopedia, buku pintar, atau buku cerita yang kira-kira belum dia miliki. Hemm…, dia pasti senang sekali dan tambah pintar tentunya.

6. Pokoknya kalau memilih kado ultah itu sebaiknya benda yang berguna, bermanfaat, cukup murah, sesuai hobi atau kesenangannya dan cocok dengan jenis kelamin serta usianya. Jangan sampai anak lelaki diberi kado boneka. Hahaha… tentu akan ditertawakan. “Ini mau memberi kado, atau mau meledek sih!” begitu…

7. Dan ingat, yang namanya kado ulang tahun nggak harus benda yang dibeli di toko. Alangkah baiknya bila benda itu hasil karya tangan kita sendiri. Misalnya kita bikin bunga tiruan (imitasi), lukisan, puisi, tempat pensil, atau karya seni lainnya yang kira-kira bakal disukai. Dan kalau bisa, jangan memberi benda persis seperti yang pernah dia berikan pada kita. Soalnya, nanti dikira kado yang dulu dia berikan untuk kita, dikembalikan lagi, jadi nggak enak khan?!



Nah Mikola, semoga kamu nggak bingung lagi. Sekarang, bergegaslah mencari sesuatu yang cocok untuk sahabatmu itu. Ingat Mikola, tak usah mewah dan mahal. Malah kalau bisa kamu bikin sendiri. Dan tolong, sampaikan salam manis Canda buat sahabatmu yang berulang tahun itu ya! (*/B)

sumber:pontianakpost.com