I love making the effort to create custom gift wrap, but so often I feel pinched on time that it never gets done. For this year’s presents, I concocted a quick and easy plan and came up with a crafty little stamp to decorate my wrapping paper using simple materials found around the house. The results? A perfect DIY trio: simple, inexpensive, and customizable.
To make DIY wrapping paper merrypad-style, you’ll need the following materials: One piece of scrap wood, vinyl foam weatherseal, tissue paper (or kraft paper or any paper with a non-glossy finish), and acrylic paint of your choice.
1. On your scrap wood, assemble a pattern with weatherseal. I chose a modern design using triangles, but stripes, or a more intricate pattern are equally possible. Weathersealing ended up being a great stamping material because one side of it is already sticky, since it’s intended use is to stick to moulding and seal drafty doorways. As it’s vinyl, it also resists being spongey, so the paint you use to stamp stays on the outermost part of the stamp. And since it’s foamy, you can mush it a bit to ensure you’re getting an even paint application. I could go on and on, I love the stuff.
Stick it directly onto the scrap wood however you envision your stamp looking.
2. Once your stamp pattern is organized and secured in place, peel the top layer of paper off the weathersealing to prep for stamping.
3. Choose your paint color, and spread a bit of it out smoothly on a flat surface. Then evenly press your stamp into the paint. I squirted some of my red acrylic paint onto the backside of a paper plate, and smoothed it out with a paint brush. It worked really well on the first try.
4. Apply the stamp to your wrapped gift (I used three layers of tissue paper for a light, matte effect, but anything with a rougher surface will hold the paint nicely). Press gently (the weatherseal will compress a little bit so that all areas of the stamp have solid impact). Lightly re-coat the stamp between every use.
5. Let it dry, and continue to wrap as per the usual. I added a simple ribbon accent to mine, but I totally forgot that I meant to use pretty twine. Voila.
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