DIY stamped gift wrap

I can't believe christmas day is just around the corner- yikes! I've still not finished my shopping and I have dozens of presents still left to wrap.. but that's not a bad thing because I LOVE WRAPPING!! 

I'm planning a christmas eve wrapping session this year (pj's lots of hot chocolate and home alone on repeat... yup I'm pretty dang excited about it!) I though it would be fun to hand stamp some of my paper. I have lots of christmas stamps, trees, holly etc but I wanted something more snazzy so I decided to make my own...

there's nothing more festive than eyes right? oh, ok maybe not but I thought it was neat so I did it anyway.

handmade wrapping paper is super cute and actually really quick. I prefer to stamp onto gifts once they're wrapped but you can stamp the paper beforehand (just make sure it's dry before you start wrapping!)

materials:

self adhesive foam sheets

cork sheet/coaster

scissors/craft knife

sponge applicator

paint

this is the same technique I used in my hand stamped bag tutorial. you're basically making a stamp from foam sheet which is really simple.

take a sheet of self adhesive foam. on the reverse is the paper backing. draw the eye shape onto the paper and cut it out, do the same for the pupil.

once the shapes are finished remove the paper backing and stick them onto a piece of cork. for the eye lashes I simply cut out one rectangle of foam which I stuck onto a separate piece of cork!

once the stamps are complete use the sponge applicator to gently brush on the paint and stamp away. (I recommend a few test stamps on a sheet of scrap paper first. once you have a good idea what pressure works best start printing onto your wrapping paper.)

leave to dry and your handmade paper is ready- pow!

you don't need to use my eye pattern, you can cut out any shapes you like, its far cheaper than buying rubber stamps and you have way more freedom to personalise the design.

do you like this idea, would you be tempted to try it?

back soon!

caroline x