Newspaper Gift Wraps

An artist uncle told me years ago that if I ever run out of gift wrapping paper, I should use newspaper instead. “How uncool” was my silent response to his suggestion. After all, who uses down-market newsprint to adorn gifts? The idea is to embellish, is it not?

Today, when carbon footprints are such a big deal, I realize the import of his words.

For newspaper wraps not only save a few trees from being cut, they get you scoring high with the environmentalists, make you feel good about having done your bit for the planet, and give you a chance to be creative. Now that’s quite a list….

So here’s a couple of newspaper wraps I did recently for gifts to family. When I finished wrapping the first one, I didn’t know what to do with the bits sticking out. So I shaped leaves out of them…


Of course you can do better. Add more detailing, stick on more stuff, and give your creative self a free hand. Heck, you could even paint on it. But lazy ol’ me just stuck to plain newspaper, and some coloured bits from the glossies to jazz things up. Here’s a red paper bow I added to the second one…


The creature I mentioned in my last post is still work-in-progress. Will try finishing up soon… In the meanwhile, what do you think of these?

I am back after a long absence from this page. Am halfway through a recycling project with my kids. Here's the story behind it....

There was this creature I created way back in the mid-90s.... with twigs from the garden and lots of paper and glue. The poor fellow has since gathered a lot of dust, and his paper coat has faded, making him look sad (see below).

So my kids unanimously agreed to give him a fresh lease of life. The fellow has a name too now! :) And is all-white with a fresh base coat of paper. Check back in a few days and you will get to see him in his new colours!