DIY gift wrapping

Who said Eco-Friendly has to be boring?  

Sure, a regular brown paper bag can look plain and simple, but just like everything else you can dress it up. Just add a splash of color and a dash of accessories and voila-- you have yourself a new look.

I made these for Christmas last year and they were a big hit. Everyone were oohing and ahhing over them.  So, I wanted to show you guys that Eco-Friendly does not have to mean boring. This pom pom tutorial is made especially to fit the box we made last week and I only used materials I had lying around the house.

What you will need:

- Tissue paper- I am recycling tissue paper that came with my bags and gifts from my shopping spree that I had a few days ago.  If you do not have any lying around you can grab some at the dollar store. 30 sheets for $1. Now that's a deal! 

-Thread and/or ribbon (ribbon was the only thing I had to buy)

-brown paper bag or newspaper, old maps, whatever you can find.

-Scissor

- single or double sided tape- I am using double

Okay, let's get started...

Step 1: Lay the tissue paper flat.
Yes, I am aware that the tissue is wrinkly. I am recycling tissue paper that came with things I bought over the weekend. If you do not have any lying around you can get cheap tissue paper at the dollar store. 30 for $1. P.S- It will come in handy for next week wrapping tutorial.

Step 2: Cut the tissue paper to size-- In this case we want to cut the paper into 4 pieces (vertical) to fit the box we made last week- as seen here- each piece should be about 3 and 7/8 inch wide.

Step 3: Now stack them on top of each another, fold the tissues in half, and cut. We want a total of 8 sheets.

Step 4: Starting at the bottom- fold the tissue about 1/2 inch upward- Flip over and fold it another 1/2 inch upward. Repeat. End result should look like a fan.

Fold 1/2 inch upward

Flip over and fold 1/2 inch upward. Repeat

Step 5: Tie the tissue, in the middle, with a sewing thread or ribbon. Use ribbon if you want to use for your package later. Ribbon is about 40 inches long. Use thread if you plan to just tape the pom pom onto the package. Make sure the knot is tight.

Tie with thread

double knot

Step 6: Now, for the petals, there are two designs... to get a fuller look- leave it as is (shown above). To get a softer look- round out the edges by cutting the ends like the picture below. Round the ends.

Step 7: Fan out- see picture below. If you want, you can even use this as your design. Just tape the two sides together to create a flower.

Step 8: With one hand, hold down one side and with the other hand starting pulling the paper out and up- one by one. Alternate side with each pull. --- Pull one piece out then switch side and pull a piece from that side. Try to pull it all the way up, but gently; the tissue rips easily.

And you're all done! =) Just wrap the box as you normally would with the brown paper bag and tape the pom pom on top. Stop here for just the pom pom tutorial. Continue below if you need help wrapping and attaching the pom pom/ribbon to the package.

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Wrapping and attaching the pompom to the package

Step 1: Wrap the box as you normally would.

Step 2: Once the wrapping is done. Place the pom pom on the top, middle, of the box.

Step 3: Flip the box over (bottom side) and criss cross the ribbon. Follow the picture below. Bring the ribbon back around to the top of the box where the pom pom is.

Step 4: Wrap the ribbon around the pom pom bringing it to one side. Add tag. Tie a bow at the tag.

and thats it. It should end up looking like this..