Recycled Gift Wrap Ideas

by Noreen Doll.

I love recycled gift wrap ideas.

By reusing things to wrap presents, you can let your creativity go wild and end up with some really unique gift wraps. And they’re free!

Some Items You Can Recycle Into Gift Wrapping.

With a little thought, you can recycle almost anything into an interesting package.

• Bags of all kinds: fabric, paper, and plastic
• Cardboard boxes from foods such as cereal, crackers, cookies, jello, etc.
• Oatmeal boxes
• Paper towel and toilet paper tubes
• Boxes you have received in the mail
• Aluminum and tin cans
• Unused metal or plastic paint containers
• Fabric that you sew into bags or just use flat for wrapping, old sheets and pillow cases,
• Paper of all kinds: brown kraft paper for packaging in boxes you receive, newspaper, brown paper bags, telephone books, recycled wrapping paper, old books and magazines, old maps and atlases, old calendars,
• Plastic tablecloths – these are especially handy for wrapping large, bulky items.
• Plastic containers of all shapes and sizes
• Yarn, String, Twine, Rope, Wire, Rubber Bands, Used Ribbons (iron them to make them neat and wrinkle free – or use wrinkled if you want that look).

Decoupage a Box with Wrapping Paper

Use a shoe box or other box with a lift off lid to decoupage with wrapping paper or other paper. You could even add small pieces of used gift wrap paper as a collage to the box lid and bottom.

This reusable, recycled gift box has old maps decoupaged all over it.

Reusable Gift Box from a Matchbox.

Cover an empty matchbox with gift wrap or scrapbook paper to make a small reusable gift box.

Fun Gift Wrap Ideas to Try

Wrap a gift in a man’s shirt. Button it down the front, fold down the top and bottom, and use the sleeves to tie in a knot across it.

Or cut the legs off a pair of jeans and sew one end shut, while tying a piece of twine or ribbon around the open end after inserting a gift.

Place your gift in a pillowcase and close it with a pretty ribbon tied into a big bow wrapped around the top.

Iron crayon shavings between 2 sheets of tissue paper or waxed paper and wrap a gift with it. A great way to use crayon pieces and keep the kids busy peeling and shaving the crayons!

Large Round Gift Bag

This easy bag uses the crumpled brown kraft paper packaged in boxes for shipping.

Camo Wrapping Paper

Use the brown paper that comes as packaging, and craft paint to create camo wrapping paper.

Noreen Doll

Crafty Journal