01 Dec SUPER EASY DIY WRAPPING PAPER

Hey, hands up if you want to spend loads of money on wrapping paper! Not me. But I also have an aching desire to create beautiful parcels that get squeals of excitement from their recipients because I’m that weird person who actually really LOVES wrapping gifts. So here’s a solution. Make your own.

It ends up being super cheap and if you use a simple quick design like I have here, it doesn’t take long either. Using a combination of Ikea drawing paper and simple acrylic paint, you can make 30 metres for £5.

1. Wrapping paper – I used Ikea Mala drawing paper, 30m for £3 and brown paper from the Post Office, 25 metres for £3.35. If you can’t bear a trip to Ikea, you can also use basic lining paper from a hardware store.

2. Paint – I used Daler Rowney acrylic. They have 57 colours in their System 3 range including neons and metallics. You could also use kids’ poster paint.

3. Wool – You don’t have to use wool, but I love it instead of ribbon, it goes a lot further. I get mine from a pound shop up the road for £1.50 a ball… you may have seen it in action before here.

There aren’t any rules with this, it’s basically painting dashes on the paper but I’ll offer a few tips to keep it looking stylish…

1. Only use one colour per sheet, any more will look messy. I used metallic green and neon red and I love it.

2. Keep your dashes, dots or splodges consistent, the same size with the same spacing. Repetition is key.

3. Choose the right brush – if you want to do circles use a circular brush and use it like a stamp, if you’re doing dashes, use a flat brush with a straight edge.

5. It looks great if you use two contrasting papers like I have with the white on brown and green on white. To keep it chic, paint the same pattern on both.

Photography & styling: Emma Scott-Child
Gift tags from Kikki.K