From plain to fabulous: upcycled gift package |Keeping it Real

Monday, May 11, 2015

From plain to fabulous: upcycled gift package

We've been drowning on birthday parties. Maybe it's because it's spring, but apparently half of my kid's friends were born in April and May.

Last weekend we only had one birthday party, but the previous weekend we had four and we already have two more scheduled for next weekend. Let's just say I've been making and wrapping a lot of gifts.

A couple of weeks ago I shared a tutorial on how to make a gift bag out of a cereal box (missed it? it's here). It's been very useful, and I already have a few empty cereal boxes lined up to make more. Today I'm showing you how you can turn a plain cardboard box into a cute gift package.


upcycle, DIY, upcycled gift package

Boxes are particularly useful to wrap fragile gifts and, in my opinion, better than wrapping paper or paper gift bags because recipients can reuse them (for storage, for example).

In my particular case, I was looking for a fun way to wrap this diary gift set:

upcycle, DIY, upcycled gift package

(I posted about this diary gift set here, and you can find the tutorial here; it is an easy and fast handmade gift, especially for girls).

This was the starting point: one perfectly plain brown cardboard box that we received in the mail with something my husband ordered online.

upcycle, DIY, upcycled gift package

upcycle, DIY, upcycled gift package


It was the perfect size to fit the diary gift set inside, but too boring and plain, especially for the birthday party of a little girl turning eight.

So I went back to the scraps of glittery self adhesive paper (leftovers from the homemade Christmas cards) and cut some shapes. The only other things I used were a piece of purple tulle, also a leftover from last year's Halloween costumes and a bit of pink tissue paper. Here are the "ingredients":

upcycle, DIY, upcycled gift package

I actually would have preferred purple glitter paper, but I didn't have any, so I went with pink instead. The rest was made using the silver glittery paper. Oh, and I used the Sizzix to cut the stars, but if you don't have one, print the shape you want and just trace it in the back of the paper (or use cookie cutter to trace the shapes, that works very well too).

Here's how it looked with just the glitter paper on:

upcycle, DIY, upcycled gift package

I placed the tissue paper over the bottom of the box to carefully wrap the gift around it...

upcycle, DIY, upcycled gift package


 ...and then tied the purple tulle around the box to close the opening:

upcycle, DIY, upcycled gift package


This was the end result:

upcycle, DIY, upcycled gift package


This is proof that a fabulous and professional looking gift wrap does not have to be expensive and there are lots of items around your house that can be repurposed for this. It saves you money and reduces clutter.

Don't have glitter paper? Use colorful cardboard shapes, glitter glue, regular wrapping paper or even magazine cutouts. Or go online and print cute and fun digital papers (Pinterest has loads of them, free for personal use). No tulle? Use fabric scraps, yarn scraps or matching ribbons. The possibilities are endless, you just need to stretch your imagination a bit.

Have a wonderful week!






38 comments:

  1. So cute! Such a cute DIY!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So so cute. I'm always looking for ways to take something from plain to amazing. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love this! I get these random sized boxes all the time and never know what to do with them, now i have a great way to reuse them. Thanks for sharing on the Monday Mash-Up link up.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love those handy boxes with the tabs, I always save them. Thanks for posting. Hello from Inspire Me Monday at Create with Joy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Melissa. I had never saved those boxes before, but I'll be saving them from now on for sure, now that I found a great way to reuse them!

      Delete
  5. Turned out very pretty! I'm always on the lookout for new gift wrapping ideas. I will have to start saving my boxed. Visiting via Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved your cereal box tutorial, and this one is great as well! Dropping in today from #SoMe2. There is something very satisfying about not only giving a gift you love, but being proud of how pretty it is when you present it to the recipient!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This turned out really cute!

    Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You always have the best ideas! Thanks for sharing them again at Together on Tuesdays :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. So clever and just adorable! She must have loved it!
    Thanks so much for sharing with me for Something to Talk About!
    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  10. Always the way. Nothing all year and then ...bam....everything in one month. It's Sept/Oct for me! Love these....the glitter is soo cute.

    Thanks for linking up to Marvelous Monday on Smart Party Planning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Catherine, have a wonderful weekend!

      Delete
  11. Nice....great job. I know I am bad about waiting to the last minute to wrap a gift so I love reused gift bags! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I reuse a lot of gift bags too...Thank you for stopping by!

      Delete
  12. Stunning up-cycle! Well done! Thanks for linking on Make My Saturday Sweet!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Very cute idea...........also like the lil pouch for the diary.
    and I recycle gift bags all the time. I use them to put flowers in, as garbage cans, you can even put
    a light bulb or fake candle inside for a lamp or luminary, and of course, to put gifts in.....lol

    Blessings, Nellie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great ideas Nellie, thank you for stopping by!

      Delete
  14. What a great idea! I'm sure the girl loved it. Thanks for sharing with the #BlogFair. Hope you can link up again this week.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Cute! I love it and I'm sure any 8 year old girl would love it too. Thanks for linking up to Tips and Tricks. Hope to see you again this week. Kathleen @ Fearlessly Creative Mammas

    ReplyDelete
  16. This looks incredible! Pinned and tweeted. We appreciate you taking the time to party with us. I hope to see you tonight at 7 pm.. Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls

    ReplyDelete
  17. Really cute! I love creative gift wrapping. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great Job!! I love upcycling!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! Hope to see you again tomorrow!! Pinned!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Love this! Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty - We hope to see you again soon! The door is OPEN!
    ~Lorelai
    Life With Lorelai

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Linked up to this week's party already! Have a great weekend!

      Delete