Sustainable gift ideas
And once again, we're almost at December, and like every year, we'd planned to get everything we needed before the big rush on the shops, but we've failed miserably. Wait a minute... We have a few ideas for you!
First and foremost, you'll obviously need a gift. And since sustainability is very important to us, we naturally recommend our own products, which you can of course find in our shop .
But we're far from finished. Because now the real fun begins! Here we'll show you how to wrap your gifts and give them your own personal touch. And we promise you: It will look great.
Gift bag made of black flipchart paper
Of course, the following step-by-step instructions also work with white paper , but we found the black one more elegant.
1. Cut off the edge with holes (this will leave a remaining length of approximately 96 cm).
2. Fold the paper lengthwise in the middle to give the bag more stability.
3. Fold a 6 cm edge along the short side to create a gluing margin for later gluing the pocket together. The total length of 90 cm of flipchart paper is divided into two sections: 30 cm for the pocket length and 15 cm for the pocket width.
4. Fold the paper inwards along the marked lines (do NOT glue yet).
5. Mark out 10 cm for the bottom of the bag, fold upwards and cut in the folds.
6. Fold the bag and glue it together along the adhesive edge.
7. Bag base: First fold the short sides inwards, then the long sides, and glue both in place. For added stability and a smooth base inside the bag, you can also fold a sheet of A4 paper lengthwise and glue it to the bottom. Allow to dry thoroughly!
8. Fold a center crease in the upper part of the side panels so that the bag can be closed.
9. Punch two holes with the hole punch so that the bag can be tied closed.
10. Our packing material, which you know from the Neuland packages, is perfect for decoration. Simply cut off about 40 cm, pinch it together in the middle, and tie it with string. Now you have a pretty bow.
Courage to use patterns
Is plain paper too boring for you? How about using your own designs on your gifts?
Practice, practice, practice! That's the mantra for becoming more confident and proficient on flip charts and pinboards . First, practice on small sheets of paper, then you'll dare to tackle the larger materials, and you'll see that you're getting faster, more confident, and better. But what to do with all those practice sheets? It's quite simple! Use them as wrapping paper. It would be a shame to just throw those flip charts away, wouldn't it?
If you now claim that they are not beautiful enough, then try the following trick:
After you've drawn your practice sheets, leave them somewhere out of sight for a while. After two days, take them out again and look at them. You'll discover some real gems. Far removed from your original template, the sheets have turned out beautifully. Truly in your style. Don't underestimate that. Sure, there are some designs that might be a little shaky, but you can either conceal them with the glued edge or simply leave them as they are. After all, they're hand-drawn!
In this example, we tried out some snowflakes as an exercise. In the end, we used them to create a 4:2 sketch and package refill ink . What do you think? Are you interested too?
Sewing instead of gluing?
This paper is also great for use with a sewing machine. You can't embroider intricate patterns, but simple sewn bags or packages are definitely quick to make. You don't even need to finish or secure the thread. Just cut the thread, add decorations, some bling of your choice, tie a ribbon around it, and give it away. Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?
For the marker clutch with fairy lights, we cut a black TopChart sheet in half and then cut it apart. One of the halves is folded in half crosswise, and you can set the other half aside for another project.
A seam is sewn on both the right and left sides. Then we filled the bag with markers. Approximately 30 cm of packaging material is inserted about 2 cm deep at the top to form a flap and sewn shut in the middle. Finally, we tucked the string lights inside the bag.
Fold the flap of the packaging material down and loosely twist the string lights around the clutch. Done! If you like, you can add a little glitter or attach a gift tag. How about a festively decorated Tag-It ?
Did we overpromise? Now that we've done quite a bit of crafting, we'd love to hear your tips and tricks. How do you wrap your gifts? Feel free to tag us on Facebook or Instagram if you have any great ideas for reusing packaging materials. 🙂
