Eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas

Today, I'm sharing some eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas. Sustainable gift wrapping just got easier! Do your bit for the environment by wrapping presents without plastic this year. Join me as I create some pretty faux gifts to place underneath the Christmas tree. I have a few sustainable gift wrapping ideas I think you're going to love! Add a personal touch to your gifts with some beautiful handmade gift tags. The tags are available to download from the subscriber library.

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you'll know that I'm always looking for ways to reduce plastic in my home. I'm certainly not perfect where sustainability is concerned, but I try my best and do what I can.

Shiny plastic-backed wrapping papers and metallic style or glittered papers, can't be recycled. Neither can sticky tape or the curly waxed ribbons we see so much of at Christmastime. That's why those types of wrapping papers are off-limits for me. Honestly, I much prefer my way of gift-wrapping anyway. It's pretty, sustainable and shows the recipient that you took the time to make their gift look extra-special.

As embellishments for these eco-friendly gift ideas, I use ribbons, string and wooden or clay ornaments that can be reused or recycled year after year. Fresh greens not only add a touch of rustic charm but will make your home smell amazing too!

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Table of contents

• Please save!
• Eco-friendly gift-wrapping supplies
• Shop the post
• Some tips before you start
• Instructions
• How to make an air dry clay star ornament
• Paint splattered gift wrap
• Large paint-splattered gift - black and white check ribbon
• Alternative gift decorating ideas
• How the gifts look when finished
• Sign up to our newsletter
• Enjoyed this post? Show your support!
• These posts are good too!
• More Gift wrapping inspiration

Eco-friendly gift-wrapping supplies

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• Craft paper
• String
• Narrow black ribbon
• Black and white Gingham check ribbon
• Linen ribbon assortment
• Silver craft wire
• Washi tape
• Scissors
• Craft paint
• Paintbrush
• Raffia
• White stars (See below)
• White wooden beads
• Mini silver bells
• Sprigs of fresh evergreen
• Christmas tags (see below)

Alternatives:

• Dried fruit slices
• Orange slices
• Mini Wooden snowflake ornaments

Shop the post

Some tips before you start

TIP ONE: The white stars used for this project were made from air dry clay. Read my tutorial for making air dry clay ornaments to learn how to make them. You can see how I used the stars to decorate my wooden triangle Christmas tree here.

TIP TWO: I designed some Christmas gift tags to give my gifts a cohesive look and to add to my eco-friendly gift-wrapping project. If you're a subscriber, you will find them in the subscriber library.

If you're not a subscriber but would like to download the tags, you can sign up for our Newsletter here.

Instructions

Step one – wrap the gifts

Wrap the presents with brown craft/packing paper.

One of my rolls of paper has a lovely white floral design running all over it. I wrapped one of the smaller gifts in white paper but the rest are all wrapped with plain brown craft paper.

What's a good substitute for tape?

Washi tape is a great substitute for clear sticky tape. Washi tape comes in many different patterns, so you are bound to find one to suit. The great thing is that Washi tape is made from sustainable sources and is biodegradable - perfect for our eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas.

Today, I'm using green and white striped Washi tape to seal my presents.

Step two – Decorate

How to make gifts look expensive

You can make your gifts look expensive by taking a little time to decorate them. Use ribbons, greens and simple ornaments to up your decorating game.

To give the gifts under your tree a consistent look, consider using similar or complementary coloured ribbons. Repeating the ornaments that you use for decorating your Christmas gifts will also create a cohesive look.

Use the same style of gift tags on all your gifts. Again, this creates a cohesive look. (Download my gift tags here).

Go the extra mile by creating handmade ornaments from air dry clay. Add a personal touch by stamping the recipient's name into the clay ornament with a cookie stamper.

The gift in photo one, below, has been wrapped and tied with a simple, black, narrow ribbon. I've added an air dry ornament and tucked some fresh green under the ribbon to finish.

I thought a large bow would be overkill for the smaller gift in photo four below. Instead, I've used two types of ribbon, one over the top of the other. The narrow black ribbon complements the wider buffalo check ribbon underneath.

Next, I added a homemade Christmas tag and another DIY air dry clay ornament with a white star and a bell. I secured the star ornament to the gift with some Washi tape.

See below for how to make a clay star ornament.

How to make an air dry clay star ornament

1. First, make air dry clay stars by following the tutorial in this post: How to make air dry clay Christmas ornaments.
2. Thread a small silver bell onto some fine silver crafting/jewellery wire. Twist the ends of the wire to secure it to the bell.
3. Next, thread a small white wooden bead onto the wire on top of the silver bell.
4. Take one of the air dry clay stars and wrap the wire around it a few times, crossing back and forth over and around the star.
5. Thread the end of the wire through the wire at the back of the ornament a few times.
6. Make a loop in the wire for a hanger.
7. Twist the wire a few times to secure, then cut off the remaining wire.

Paint splattered gift wrap

Another eco-friendly gift wrapping idea is to create unique wrapping paper by hand-painting designs on plain craft paper.

For three of the gifts, I created a paint-splatter effect using black and white craft paint.

It's a good idea to save small glass jars to use for painting projects. Smaller cosmetic jars are great for mixing small amounts of paint. Add a few drops of water to a drop of paint to water it down slightly, then mix it well with your paintbrush.

Warning! The paint gets everywhere! Either put something under the parcels to protect your work surface or do this bit outside.

Flick the brush towards the gifts. Start with white and finish with black paint.

After the paint splatter has dried, start by wrapping brown string around the gift a few times and tie it off in a bow. Gather some of the greens and a clay star ornament and tie them together with raffia. Attach the bundle to the string with raffia. Finish the gift-wrapping off with one of the black gift tags.

Large paint-splattered gift - black and white check ribbon

Wrap the ribbon around the parcel and tie it in a bow. Even though the ribbon is not wired, you will be able to bend it into shape. Roll the ends of the ribbon around your fingers a few times to create a curl effect.

Attach an air dry clay ornament underneath the ribbon with Washi tape.

Tuck some of the greens underneath the ribbon. You will find that the sprigs of greenery will stay underneath the tight ribbon without the need to attach it.

Finish off with a gift tag.

Alternative gift decorating ideas

• Tie some strings of raffia around the parcel instead of ribbon. (See this in the collage image numbered two above)
• Add two lines of contrasting ribbons around the parcel and attach them at the back of the gift with Washi tape. (Photo three above).

How the gifts look when finished

Here's a look at how the gifts turned out. They are going to look amazing underneath the Christmas tree, don't you think?

Why not have a go at eco-friendly gift-wrapping this year too?

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These posts are good too!

More Gift wrapping inspiration

Learn how to wrap a gift like a pro in minutes with a few easy steps with Kippi at home.

Rebecca of Zucchini Sisters shows us how to make a paper bow out of wrapping paper. Rebecca says, "this simple DIY will dress up a gift and give it a personal and unique look! Plus, it's a great way to recycle scraps of wrapping paper."