DIY Eco Friendly Holiday Gift Wrap

One of my favorite things about the holidays is picking out the perfect gift and wrapping them. I love the look of color-coordinated gifts that perfectly match my Christmas tree.  But, I recently heard a statistic that half of the paper that is consumed in the U.S. if for wrapping paper and decorative items.  This year I decided to create my own DIY eco-friendly holiday gift wrap that can be reused year after year.

I decided to use Decoart paint to create my own wrapping paper to match my black and white Christmas tree.  This was a super easy DIY project that took me less time to create than it would have taken me to drive around town finding wrapping paper to match my tree.

I love that this gift wrap is also neutral enough that I can use it for other occasions too, like birthday or anniversary presents. 

Make Your Own DIY Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Wrap

Supplies:

• Canvas Bag
• Black Felt or Fabric
• Americana Multi-Surface Satin Acrylics 2oz – Black Tie
• Americana Multi-Surface Satin Acrylics 2oz – Cotton Ball
• Decoart Galaxy Glitter 2oz – Champagne Starburst
• Small tipped paintbrush
• Large flat paintbrush
• Cardboard Box or Cardstock

Start by placing a piece of cardboard or cardstock inside the canvas bag. 

Now it’s time to add your design to the canvas bag.  I wanted to create a simple and modern design that would coordinate well with my tree.  Last year I made these ornaments and decided to replicate that same pattern on my canvas bag.  I used Americana Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Black Tie paint. 

The Multi-Surface Satin Acrylics are self-sealing, so no primer or varnish is required and they offer excellent coverage in one to two coats. This special formula is designed to brush out smoothly and once fully cured, creates a durable, hard finish that is highly resistant to cleaning chemicals, which makes it ideal for this DIY gift wrap.

Next, use black fabric or felt and add a little sparkle with the Decoart Galaxy Glitter.  This is one of my favorite products that add out-of-this-world shimmer and shine to craft projects.  

Along with the sustainable gift wrap I also created gift tags from recycled materials that we can keep using year after year.  I cut out simple shapes like a Christmas tree and monogrammed letters from cardboard boxes.  I painted the tags and added some glitter because everything needs a little more sparkle during the holidays!

The best part of this craft project is the fact that it cost me absolutely nothing.  The canvas bag actually came with a pair of shoes I bought, and the black felt was leftover from Halloween projects. 

The possibilities are truly endless and I love how this DIY holiday gift wrap turned out!  

Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Wrap Ideas

If you are looking for other ideas for eco-friendly gift wrap this holiday season consider wrapping presents in old sheet music or using canvas buckets or boxes that can be repurposed as home decor.

Transform empty containers into pretty packages with washi tape.  Or wrap a warm and fuzzy scarf around a package wrapped in a plain white paper.

Take those Amazon boxes that all of your gifts arrive in and paint them so the boxes become their own pretty gift wrap. I absolutely love how Thrifty and Chic transformed these boxes.