Gift wrapping ideas?

[heathersy]

The current Craft magazine has some great wrapping ideas.

I always get way too into wrapping and pull in all sorts of material. The only time I use commercial wrapping paper is when I reuse it from gifts I have received, in collage fashion.One thing that I love (and which was also featured in Craft) is vegetable sack netting. Plastic shopping bags make for great ribbon when they are cut in strips and stretched to capacity.

[Parachutes]

I spend most of November last year searching for some wrapping paper for adults with a humorous twist without being kinky (like a stripping Santa, who would want that?  )

Finally, I found the most amazing (and FREE) paper available for printing along with gifttags too at Wulffmorgenthaler's homepage.
If you like the cartoons and have heard about the "Look! no hands"-man this is an essential item, however, I still find it worth checking out if you are unfamiliar with these two Danish cartoon making guys.

Link for gift wrapping paper (size A4 .pdf): http://www.wulffmorgenthaler.com/delights/christmaswrap_06.pdf
Link for gift tag (2 pr. A4 .pdf): http://www.wulffmorgenthaler.com/delights/to_from.pdf

All of my male friends are getting gifts wrapped in this crazy guy with a brown paper gift tag and just for a laugh: a sugar candystick 

[annessasgirl]

My ex's little sister used posters and comic book pages to wrap gifts (free posters and comics she collected at a comic book convention).

She also "wrapped" boxes by covering them in promo stickers she saved up from her restaurant hostessing job. Some boxes were covered with just one style of sticker, and on other boxes she used two coordinating colors/styles/sizes. And she usually didn't waste stickers on covering the bottom of the boxes, unless the picture/description of the product was on that side, too.

All of her gifts looked super cool and colorful sitting under the tree.

[RagnazIdnar]

Heres an idea for someone who has lots of gifts that go to multiple holiday events. I buy/make tons of gifts and have some that stay at home, some go to my in-laws, and some to my parent's house (and other events, too!) I was having a hard time tracking down the packages I needed when it was time to go, and I always has that last minute panic set in thinking that I've forgotten one.
My solution to this was to buy paper with different main colors. Usually I go with designs that are primarily red or have a red background, also I use green, blue, and white. Then I wrap all the gifts for one party in the same paper (this year all the ones for my house are red, the ones for my parent's are green, my in-laws are blue, and co-worker gifts are white.) and then I get creative on the ribbons and bows. I buy different widths and put ribbon on every package- layering and placing them in interesting patterns.
Another fun idea that I have used in the past is to buy cheap, solid colored paper on rolls. It can be gift wrap or butcher paper. I make stencils by printing an image onto cardstock, cutting around it, and then trace it multiple times onto the paper with a silver paint pen or silver sharpie. It also works to make a stamp with a potato or to sponge on designs. I find this especially useful for themed parties when I can't purchase paper with the colors or designs I want.
My husband's favorite wrapping job I've done is a 3-tier tower stacked in a pyramid. I found some cheap boxes with lids at a craft store and I bought 3 sizes. I spray them with 3m spray adhesive and then wrap the lids and boxes separately. These work great for edible goodies or gifts with multiple parts. I stack them, tie them together with ribbon, and put a huge bow on top!

[sweets4ever]

Great ideas, ya'll!

Jennybean, thanks SO much for sharing photos of your creations so far!  I blogged about them this morning! http://craftster.org/blog/?p=148

[aimee_ant123]

not anything too brilliant but ive used those paint color samples you get from lowes/home depot paint department to decorate my gifts before... they turned out cute...

[Jennalynn]

I'm wrapping green this year.  Trying to cut down on cutting down trees ; )

So I kept all the paper grocery bags I got this year and cut them open and turned them inside out... I stenciled bronze and gold and silver stars all over.  It looks great.

Tags are being punched with a tag shaped punch out of holiday magazines... there are so many pictures that work.  I then glue a piece of same punched solid white paper (out of the backs of all those envelopes you get in the mail). Added a few old buttons for embellishment.  I'm going for country rustic.

For ribbon I had an old sheet flannel sheet that was a nice holiday green tartan plaid and I tore strips... they end up nicely frayed (in a good way!). 

All put together it looks like those great rustic country things you pay tons for in an upscale store.

Jennifer

[ChrisSews]

This year I'm making some reuasable fabric bags and evelopes.  I'm asking my family members to reuse them on thier gifts next year.

Also a really cute idea for tags that I got from my MIL is to use pictures of the person the gift is for.  Cut out the picture of them and tie it on a string.  You can write a greeting on the back.  It's fun to embelish them...dress some people up as elves, give them santa hats, reindeer antlers and nose, etc.

[sweets4ever]

Also a really cute idea for tags that I got from my MIL is to use pictures of the person the gift is for.  Cut out the picture of them and tie it on a string.  You can write a greeting on the back.  It's fun to embelish them...dress some people up as elves, give them santa hats, reindeer antlers and nose, etc.

Oh, that's such a good idea

[jennybean]

not anything too brilliant but ive used those paint color samples you get from lowes/home depot paint department to decorate my gifts before... they turned out cute...

i like using these as the name tags!