by Ruth Belena

Created on: November 19, 2010

It is a great idea to make gifts stand out and seem more personal by creating your own unique wrapping paper. You can also turn any type of gift wrapping into personalized wrapping paper. You could make personalized wrapping paper using technology, or you might want to be more traditional in the way you use paper craft materials and your own artistic abilities.

• Using technology

A digital camera, scanner and printer can be used to design and print out personalized wrapping paper. A gift could be wrapped in paper filled with family photos, a favorite pet or a beautiful place that has personal associations. If the gift is for someone about to leave the country, for example, those images could relate to his or her destination, or to what that person is leaving behind.

Personalized wrapping paper can feature printed images of fictional characters, live performers, heroes or heroines from the past. When you know exactly what a person is a big fan of, you can find suitable images on the Internet to print out onto large sheets of paper. Smaller images can be cut out after printing, and then pasted onto sheets of plain paper or metallic wrapping.
 
• Using traditional paper crafts

Characters and scenes can be cut out from magazines, newspapers, old greetings cards, calendars and other paper products. These can be pasted individually onto sheets of wrapping paper or made into a large paper collage, which can then be used for wrapping.

Picture collages and personalized designs can reflect the interests of the recipient. For instance, a sports enthusiast could be given a gift wrapped up with images of star players, or of the team that person supports.

• Being artistic 

Images are not necessary for personalizing wrapping paper, you might just want to write the name of the recipient and add handwritten verses or personal messages. When a gift is wrapped in white or light colored paper, you can use a glitter pen or write your scripts using different colored inks that stand out against a plain background.

If you are artistic you can draw, paint or create your own digital images to use on your personalized wrapping paper. A picture or design could relate in some way to the gift inside, or it could be something associated with individual preferences, an astrological sign or a favorite type of animal.

Your own personal creativity and imagination is the best guide to follow when you want to make personalized wrapping paper. You can add to the pleasure of your family, friends and co-workers, whenever they receive a gift from you. Each gift you give can be presented in your own creative style, demonstrating your thoughtfulness and showing how much you care. 

Learn more about this author, Ruth Belena.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.