DIY Holiday Season Gift Wrap

Nothing beats a homemade present but we don’t always have time to invest in that personal touch, or do we? Long-standing BAMBI member and all-around creative whizz Donatella Lazzari says we do and shows us how!By Donatella Lazzari If you are running short of time, beautifully crafted packaging will always make your chosen present extra special. Believe it or not, making your own wrapping paper is easy, and it is a great activity that the children will love.

Materials

• Thin red paper
• Thin white paper
• Brown parcel paper
• White and red poster paint (water based)
• Paintbrush, paper plates, scissors, craft knife, multipurpose glue, corrugated plastic sheet
• Items for stamping: potatoes, 5mm foam, cork, sponges, bubble wrap, empty paper rolls, etc.

Planning your pattern and preparing your stamps

The choice of decoration is very personal and it’s all down to your own imagination and taste. In decorating my gift wrap, I prefer geometrical shapes and a repetitive pattern.

You can use anything for stamping shapes: circles from empty paper rolls, pieces of sponge or gift wrap are perfect for cloud/snow effect, forks for stripes. You can use cut fruit and vegetables (celery stalk, star fruit, apple or grape cut in half); you can use a potato. Simply cut it in half and carve a simple pattern (stripes, triangle, heart, star). If you would like to create stamps that will last and can be reused, I suggest cutting them out of wine bottle corks (small stamps) or foam. Foam is very easy to cut with scissors or a craft knife; thicker foam (min. 5mm) will give the best results. You can use your shapes individually or mount them on a small piece of corrugated plastic sheet with multipurpose glue. These stamps can be washed clean after use and stored for future use after they’ve dried out.

Stamping

I suggest you keep it simple to start with: use only a couple of colours and dedicate a plate, a brush and a stamp for each colour.Prepare some paint in the paper plate. Don’t add any water. Diluted paint will make the thin paper soggy. Start stamping your paper from the top, working your way down. This way you will not rest your arm/shirt on the painted paper. You can brush fresh paint on your stamp after every time you stamp. This way you will get a constant print. Or after every other stamp if you’d like shading effects.For a regular pattern, experiment with lining up your stamps or staggering them, changing the orientation or alternating the two colours. This will take a little more concentration and precision in the execution. Remember to have fun and enjoy!Photos by Donatella Lazzari 

About the Author

Donatella is a mother of three, dedicated wife, arts and crafts teacher, dormant qualified architect, aspiring “mumpreneur”, enthusiast photographer, designer and cook! 360° creative Donatella is part Italian part Thai and arrived from London 10 years ago. Holding possibly one of the longest-standing BAMBI membership numbers, she has always been proud to be part of this extraordinary and always inspiring diverse group of women.The views expressed in the articles in this magazine are not necessarily those of BAMBI committee members and we assume no responsibility for them or their effects.BAMBI News welcomes volunteer contributors to our magazine. Please contact editor@bambiweb.org.