Homemade Wrapping Paper

With Christmas coming you may be feeling penurious.  Sure, you have gifts to lavish, charities to support, soirees to plan.  One thing I always forget to budget for is wrapping paper.  And then, days before Santa’s polar sojourn, I find myself languishing in retail hell, at a big box store, paying way too much for wrapping paper.  Santa, I tried to be a good girl in the budget department.  I really tried.  No more withering away in the Christmas aisle to find bargain (lackluster) holiday paper.  I am planning ahead by making my own.  Here’s a few ideas. 

You can buy plain white or brown paper in bulk from Ikea or the butcher.  Packaging wholesalers also offer bulk quantities of paper.  It’s up to you personalize the basic paper. A few supplies are needed:  paints, glitter glue and stencils.  Let’s talk about stencils. 

A radiator fan blade from Advance Auto Parts may not fit Santa’s sleigh, but with a little ingenuity it’s the perfect shape to create a pepper-mint themed paper.  Craft a geometric, houndstooth-like pattern, with Chevy emblems from Auto Parts Warehouse and wow those effete friends of yours.  The Chrome Spyder Emblem from 4 Wheel Parts could be a nice addition to a stellated-themed paper.  A Weld-On Cross from 4 Wheel Drive is an adaptable Maltesian Cross that would look delightful on wrapping paper and studding it with faux jewels would up the glam factor. 

With a little planning and a lot of imagination, you can present that present in style.  Don’t get your holiday budget hijacked by overpriced, so-so wrapping paper.  Instead, extend your fa-la-la-la-ing to crafting memorable papers for Father Christmas’ annual trek.