How to make presents with paper is a question many crafters ponder.
And with the current world situation, it’s never been more relevant.
We are seeing shortages of many goods, and being warned of worse to come.
Every day we are being warned that holidays, such as Christmas, are under threat.
Why? Because we don’t need to spend money on more ‘stuff’ to show people we care.
Do we really need lavish presents? I don’t think so.
In the past, people sat by candlelight sewing and crafting to make presents, until commercialism got a hold on us.
And now, we consume ‘luxury’ and maybe largely unnecessary goods at an alarming rate.
But crafters need not fear!
Why? Because we love to make gorgeous things out of paper and give them as gifts.
There is only one thing I love more than making jewelry out of paper.
And that is telling people – “Hey, I made this necklace out of a crumpled up paper bag!”
I love nothing more than someone saying, “I love your necklace!”, when I made it from a small paper bag.
My first post about creating brown paper fabric was in 2014
Seems like so long ago now! But you can still read what I had to say back then and see my Instructables post.
That tutorial has some tips in it that I didn’t cover in my most recent video – so worth a look.
Just click here to go back in time to my other website and see how I made the bracelet below.
The brown paper fabric beads I made in 2014
How to make presents with paper is something anyone can learn.
And the paper painting techniques I demonstrate in my latest YouTube tutorial make very economical use of paint.
If you have paint, which still seems to be readily available in the UK, then you can make presents.
I just stocked up on acrylic paint at Hobbycraft so I’ll have plenty through the winter.
What you could also do is start saving waste paper, particularly strong brown paper.
I this video, I use a Holland & Barratt paper carrier and some brown paper Amazon packing.
It’s just the norm for me to save absolutely any paper that comes into the house.
So even if there is ever a paper shortage, I will have lots of recycled resources to use.
We don’t really need to keep buying new packs of paper all the time.
It’s a good idea to stock up on stringing materials or look at alternative ways to string paper beads.
The bracelet below was made as part of my Crafting in a Crisis series during the first lockdown.
When you think about how to make presents from paper, do you also think about how to present them?
Because the gift pouches I make in this tutorial really add a lovely finishing touch to handmade presents.
Making a beautiful paper bead necklace and presenting it in a handmade gift pouch makes it extra special.
And it’s so easy to do.
Imagine if someone cared enough to spend time making one of these for you.
In this project, I made the beads all different shapes and sizes and it really worked well.
The necklaces have a unique, arty look to them and they are truly unique.
That’s the beauty of handmade gifts, no one else will have one exactly the same.
And now this week’s free printables…
…for all those people who don’t want to paint and aren’t fussed about using recycled paper.
I have got five free printables for you, all taken from some of the artwork I created in my video.
If you want these free printables – please click here to go to Google Drive where they are waiting for you.
There aren’t too many terms and conditions attached to using my original images but please read and respect them.
And if you want to do something for me in return, I would love to have you following me on Instagram.
There are many more free printables over on my free printables page.
If you want to buy anything you see me using in my videos check out the links below.
You can buy my bead tools and templates in my Etsy shop.
If you are UK based you might like to buy from my Folksy shop instead.
And I do have many of the items I use in my videos listed in my Amazon shops.
Was how to make presents from paper useful to you?
If it was, let me know in the comments section under my YouTube video.
And I’d love to have you subscribe to this website and my YouTube channel if you enjoy what I do.
Thanks for reading how to make presents from paper and see you again soon.