Eco-friendly hand made wrapping paper

Wow, 2 posts this week! That's a first. OK, as promised, here's the tute on making your own wrapping paper...of course, it's eco-friendly.

I last made this paper about 7 - 8 years ago so I made a few mistakes when giving it a go..but...that means you won't! Right??! If you decide to give this a go, I'd love to see the results. I'm sure they'll be better than mine :-)

this paper is in keeping with my "pear tree" Christmas tree shown in my last post and uses a pear as a stamp. This is super easy...promise! Remember, you need to allow time for the paint to dry before using so take this into account. Using less paint and a hair dryer will give a better result in less time.



1. Gather your supplies

 recycled brown kraft paper to cover your gifts (I collect this but for this tutorial I found some cheap rolls for AUD$2 at The Reject Shop in Australia)

artist paint - I used Jo Sonia's Matte Fluid Acrylic in Burnished Copper. I like a slight glean to the paint and in the past have added the artists glitter to other colours to get that sparkly look. I can't remember the name (sorry) but will update if I can find it, or someone tells me.

1 x paint brush - doesn't matter what size, type. I used an old pastry brush (yes, I was desperate as I forgot this bit)

Choose your pear (real) - be picky when selecting your pear, you will cut it in half to print it so there a few things you need to consider: needs to be firm (not overly ripe), needs to have a good shape for stamping (I like accentuated curves), I also like it to have a stem as I think this adds to the print.














2. Roll out your paper and secure with whatever is available (I used my paint tins from my knife blocks).

3. Cut pear in half, if you're clever you may be able to slice the stem in half if using so you have 2 stamps the same. I wasn't (actually the phone was ringing) so I have one stamp with stem and one without. Doesn't matter.


4. Paint the cut side of the pear with paint - less is more - dries quicker, time is everything to me! I also like the washed out look. Ensure all bits including the stem are covered. Stamp onto the paper in random patterns, ensuring you press the stem down along it's length if you have the stem attached. You will probably find you can get 3 or 4 stamps out of each paint coating. Continue painting and stamping until you're finished...or the pear becomes soggy and the juice starts escaping onto the paper (it happened to me!).

5. You can add text to the pattern between the pears such as "partridge in a pear tree" etc...I'm not an artist and my writing is awful so I just go with the pears.




6. Allow to dry. Use a hair dryer if you have to. Wrap your present and tie with jute or string to complete the look.

7. Done! How easy was that???! Time for a glass of sparkling...Christmas is WRAPPED! Yey!

Now onto truffle making...let the fun begin! Recipe next week.

Credits: Download the gorgeous orange star gift tags attached to the gifts above from the fabulous blog, How About Orange, Orange felt ornament hand made by me, Jute Christmas Trees hand made by me, Orange Japanese Silk and Organic hand printed turquoise linen Art Frames available for purchase here, Wooden Pear Tree available here