Homemade Holiday Wrapping Paper

Whip up ink stamps for pennies and create a bevy of beautiful gift wrap, cards, and more.

By Parents Editors

Published on November 21, 2013

Wrap Stars

9 homemade wrapping paper packages — Photograph by Aaron Dyer

Make your own one-of-a-kind wrapping paper, perfect for packaging all of your gifts this season.

Originally published in the December/January 2014 issue of FamilyFun magazine.

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Craft Foam Stamps

These easy stamps leave a nice, sharp image. Draw your design in reverse on adhesive-backed craft foam. Cut out the shape and stick it to a wood block or sturdy cardboard. Stamp with an ink pad.

Originally published in the December/January 2014 issue of FamilyFun magazine.

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Clay Stamps

You can sculpt a stamp, too! Roll air-drying modeling clay into a ball. Create a flat surface by pressing the ball onto a table. For letters, push a plastic letter magnet, magnet side out, into the flat circle. Or form a shape, like the cat shown. Add details with improvised tools, such as a fork, pencil point, and marker cap. Use the stamp with an ink pad before the clay dries.

Take It Further: For a longer-lasting clay stamp, use Model Magic, which still has some give when dry. Follow the clay instructions above and let the stamp dry before using.

Originally published in the December/January 2014 issue of FamilyFun magazine.

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Found Object Stamps

Experiment with gluing household items to wood blocks or cardboard and "inking" them in a shallow dish of paint. We love the look of bubble wrap (top), rubber bands wrapped around a block (middle left), corrugated cardboard with the top layer peeled off (middle right), and clothesline (bottom).

Originally published in the December/January 2014 issue of FamilyFun magazine.

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