Chic Gift Giving

"The manner of giving

is worth more than the gift."

~Pierre Cornielle

November is the month to be thankful.  One of the things I am thankful for is the people in my life whom I can give gifts to.  I don't want to just give any gift, I want to give something that means something.  Something that shows that person that I took time to do something special just for them.  This is one of those little crafts.

This is a craft that again can be done all with materials you probably already have.  And another great project in which we are up-cycling rather than throwing away.  I like those kind of crafts.

 

This is something I made up for my home business, however it is something that can be used for any occasion.  A fun way to wrap money rather than in a regular card.  A small pair of earrings or candy to give out as a thank you.  Absolutely anything you can think of that would fit in this little homemade box would be perfect.

So let's get to it, shall we?  What do we need for these chic little gift boxes?

• Toilet Paper rolls - I told you we were up-cycling here.  Why just throw these little guys away when you can make a cute gift box?
• Ribbon
• Cardstock/Flier - I did this sample for my home business but works just perfect with thick or thin cardstock in any color or pattern
• Paper Cutter - Not mandatory, but this paper cutter is a staple in my craft supplies.  A quick way to cut paper up to 12" x 12"
• Tape Runner/Glue Stick - Simply preference here, doesn't matter which you use
• Gift - My gift in this example is a wax sample, but as mentioned above could be anything you want to give
• Hole Punch - I use my handy dandy star punch for a lot of my crafts and this was no exception

So jumping right in ....

If you use a pen you can quickly mark off the width of your paper so you know where to cut so it is the same width as the toilet paper roll.  Then I placed in my paper cutter and cut to fit.

I lined up what part of the picture on my flier I wanted to show on my gift box, but if using plan card stock, no need to worry about that; cut to fit the roll.  Above you can see I just wrapped the flier around it quickly to get an idea of where to trim off.

Now we need to adhere the paper to the roll.  I used my tape runner and ran some tape along the bottom and about every 1/2" up just so when I stuck it on the roll I would get a nice, secure stick.

Roll up with your tape/glue and press down so that you have a nice secure fit.

Now to make the sides.  Take one end and bend in so you make a crescent shape on one side as you see above.  Then, repeat on the opposite side to close your gift box.

Here is what it looks like with the side bent in to close the box.  The toilet paper roll holds in place nicely so no need to tape or secure.

Now for the entire reason you are making this: the gift!  My example shows a wax sample that I'm giving - but remember anything you can fit inside would be perfect!  Cash, candy, small jewelery - the possibilities are endless!

Once your gift is inside you simply repeat on the other side of your roll and close up the end by using the crescent bend.  Again - the toilet paper roll is perfect for these little gift boxes because the cardboard holds perfectly with no need to seal it shut.  As you can see also, I lined up my paper so that I had the picture I wanted on the front of my gift box.

Add a tag to your gift.  "Thank you!" My example I am using one of my business cards but you can put absolutely any tag on this.  A short note, thank you or advertising.

To put the finishing touch on, I added a ribbon around it and threaded through my card, (or gift tag) to attach.  Tie a simple bow.

The front view you can see ties up the gift perfectly. 

The back view is clean and sharp.

And there you have it!  A chic little gift box that took about 10 minutes to make.  

I plan on using these a lot in my home business and also for my nieces/nephews whenever I am wrapping up their smaller Christmas presents.  For that I will be using just regular holiday wrapping paper.  Again - all materials I'll have on hand and won't cost me a single dime.  (might I note a perfect use for the toilet paper rolls in my home!)

Enjoy and have fun!  This is the gift giving season - so make it count!

Crafter Level: Novice

~Jacqui