37 Amazingly Creative DIY Gift Wrap Tutorials to Make Your Gift Shine

Let’s talk about some great DIY gift wrap tutorials!

One year I was so on top of things. Not only did I have all my Christmas shopping done, but I also got everything wrapped an entire week early. I was so proud of myself!

Only then did I realize that I had used wrapping paper that said Happy Birthday all over it.

All that work, wasted!! But then inspiration struck. I got a marker and added one beautiful word. Now it said “Happy Birthday Jesus”.

Perfection.

Just kidding, that’s an old stand-up comedy joke. I’m not even that fancy; my go-to for wrapping paper (for all occasions) is brown paper bags from the grocery store, cut out and wrapped inside-out around the gift so only the plain brown interior shows.

Talk about DIY gift wrap.

But what if you want to take your gift to the next level with something fun, pretty, unique, and creative? Have no fear, I didn’t create any of these tutorials; rather, I thoroughly checked them out and made sure that even I could pull off most of these easily enough.

So here are 37 amazingly creative DIY gift wrap tutorials that will make your gift shine.

37 Amazingly Creative DIY Gift Wrap Tutorials

1. Floral Cutouts DIY Gift Wrap Tutorial

From Giochei di Carta, this adorable decorative gift wrap tutorial requires only:

• Colorful craft paper
• Loctite Super Glue
• X-Acto Knife craft scalpel
• Twine

2. Cat’s Paw & Yarn Gift Wrap

Ridiculously cute. And easy! From Let’s Wrap Stuff, this DIY gift wrap tutorial shows you how to get the yarn perfectly in place. Hint: It’s the Dot Runner.

Materials:

• Plain brown wrapping paper
• Yarn
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Crafter’s Dot Runner
• Sharpie

3. Post-It Note Flower Gift Wrap Tutorial

Via Vixy Blu, this cute dandelion wrapping paper idea requires just a brown paper bag, sticky notes (I would go with this earthy set of green, yellow, and tan colored Post-Its), and a black Sharpie.

Materials:

• Brown paper bag
• Post-It notes
• Black Sharpie marker

4. DIY Holiday Shapes Sewn Gift Bags

If you have basic cutting and sewing skills, this creative Christmas wrapping paper DIY will be a breeze. All you need is a roll of brown craft paper and some thread.

Fold the craft paper over so it makes two layers, then cut out both layers into the desired shape. Sew the two halves most of the way together, slide in the gift, then sew it the rest of the way.

Christmas shapes:

• Stocking
• Star
• Snowman
• Snowflake (overlay with coffee filter snowflake cutouts)
• Gingerbread man
• Santa hat
• Mittens
• Christmas tree

Birthday shapes:

• Gift box with bow silhouette
• Balloons (use yarn or twine for the string)
• Birthday cake
• Party hat
• Boy shapes like cars, sports balls, sailboats, tanks, dinosaurs
• Girl shapes like princess crowns, mermaids, fairies, 
• Kid shapes like rubber duckies, Lego bricks, teddy bears

5. Cute Puppy Ear Lifts DIY Gift Wrap Idea

Attach this ridiculously adorbs puppy to any gift and you will have an instant winner. They recipient will enjoy playing with the pull & lift puppy ears long before (and after) the actual present gets opened. See the tutorial over at Mmm Crafts.

What you’ll need:

• Letter sized sheets of white, blue, yellow, orange and red card stock
• Smaller scraps of white and black paper
• Tacky glue
• Scissors or craft knife
• Circle punches in 1″ and 5/8″ sizes
• Printed template from Mmm Crafts

6. Easy Washi-Tape Birthday Candle Gift Wrap

Inspired by Anastasia Marie, this minimalist birthday wrapping paper idea is beyond simple.

Wrap your gift in brown craft paper. Cut out your rectangular candle shapes from regular ‘ol paper, and cover them with some fun Washi tape, trimming off any overhanging bits.

Cut out the flames from yellow paper and the wicks from any scrap of string or twine. Glue the flames down first in an even line across the gift, then glue the string “wicks” on top, and lastly glue on the Washi-taped candles.

Materials:

• Brown craft paper
• Patterned Washi tape
• Scrap paper
• Yellow paper
• A bit of white string
• Glue

7. Personalized Stamped Brown Paper Gift Wrapping Tutorial

This easy gift wrap DIY from The Crafted Life can help you save big on wrapping paper costs. Once you assemble the basics, all you need is a brown paper bag from the grocery store and you can wrap any small to mid-sized gift in a creative and personalized way.

Once you have the alphabet stamp set, ink pad, and some yarn (you can get everything for under $25) all you need is a brown paper sack from a grocery store and you have unlimited, free, and easy wrapping paper any time you need it. 

Materials:

• Paper bag
• Alphabet stamps
• Ink pad
• Colorful yarn

8. Vintage Suitcase Gift Wrap Tutorial

This easy and fun gift-wrapping tutorial from user Kimbles on Craftster is a must-do! While the tutorial shows a matchbook, this is simple enough to replicate in gift-size wrapping. Perfect for any travel-related gifts, such as a booking confirmation, an actual suitcase, or this personalized World Traveler vintage sign.

Materials:

• Brown paper for wrapping
• Darker brown construction paper
• Passport stamp printouts or these awesome stickers
• Gold-colored marker or paper for the clasps

9. Atlas Wrapping Paper

This isn’t so much a tutorial as a “hey, look, what a great idea!” Just pull out your old atlas, a map buried in the glove box, or find something at a thrift store and use it to wrap your gift. Tie it off with a little box or some twine and you have another wonderfully creative travel gift wrap idea.

Materials:

• Old map/atlas
• Ribbon or twine

10. Ninja Turtle Gift Wrap

For TMNT fans, use lime green gift wrap and a strip of colorful paper to make your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle character! I wasn’t able to find the original tutorial, but this seems easy enough to reproduce.

Materials:

• Lime green wrapping paper
• Multi-color construction paper (or just get these)
  • Orange for Michaelangelo
  • Blue for Leonardo
  • Red for Raphael
  • Purple for Donatello
• White paper for the eyes

11. Paper Bag Christmas House Gift Wrap

This lovely little tutorial from Unify Handmade transforms a paper lunch sack into something truly wonderful.

Materials:

• Brown paper bags (check the dollar store)
• White card stock
• Black card stock
• Wrapping paper scraps for the door and shutters
• Ribbon
• Hole puncher
• Glue
• Scissors
• Serrated edge scissors

12. Personalized Word Search Wrap

This is one of the more brilliant DIY wrapping paper ideas. Use this word search generator to make your own wrapping paper filled with hidden surprises!

Add words like “Happy Birthday” or “Merry Christmas” plus the person’s name, or perhaps give clues about the gift inside. Print it out, wrap it around your gift, and boom! You’re done.

Materials:

• Word search generator
• Printer & paper
• Red marker to highlight a word (optional)
• Bows or other accent

13. Wrapping Paper Gift Bag DIY

We’ve all been in that situation before… You know, when you have that oddly shaped gift and no box that fits it? Or no boxes at all?

When you desperately need that seasonal gift bag but have nothing but paper on hand, then this tutorial is just the thing. It walks you step-by-step through the process of making that perfect giftbag with just a few simple items.

Materials:

• Wrapping Paper
• Ribbon
• Crafter’s Dot Runner

14. Hamburger Wrapping Paper Stack

If you have a stack of small rectangular or square gifts (like a personalized coaster set) then this is a simple DIY. It may not look as good as the photo, but there are two ways you can fairly easily achieve the same effect: Print or draw.

First, you can print out each image on your home printer. Do a search for “sesame bun pattern,” “lettuce,” “juicy hamburger,” etc. With each image you will probably need to fiddle with your printer settings to get it to print full-page, but it’s doable. Then use the paper to wrap your smallish gift.

Tip: If the paper doesn’t fit all the way around, print multiples and tape them together. You really only need the top one to look nice, as the rest only show the sides. And even if it isn’t perfect you can add a strategic ribbon or bow.

Second, use plain paper or a roll of white paper and draw your own. Use your art skillz and add your own flair to it.

15. Happy Birthday Song DIY Wrap

Wrap your gift in plain paper, mark out the notes as shown above, and add five rubber bands. Boom! Happy birthday song. Original tutorial here.

Materials:

• Brown paper
• Marker
• Rubber bands

16. Rosemary Wrap

Here is an example purely for inspiration. Use an earthy-brown-toned wrapping paper and whatever fresh foliage you have on hand.

An orderly pattern broken by one special spot of color works wonders. This one uses rosemary and a sprig of purple blossoms to create a natural holiday wrap.

Materials:

• Brown paper
• Natural foliage
• Glue (Crafter’s Dot Runner works really well)

17. Polar Bear Gift Wrap DIY Tutorial

This fun tutorial from Mr. Printables is one of the easiest DIYs yet, but also one with great flair! Just use white wrapping paper (or brown, for brown bears) and color the flaps like you see in the picture above.

Cut out little bear paws & claws and tape them on to the front and back or sides. Presto!

Materials:

• White paper (or brown, for brown bears)
• Marker

18. Punch-a-Present Gift Wrap Game

Why not turn your gift wrap into a game? Taking a queue from the type of fun activities featured in carnivals and game shows, The Craft Patch created a DIY gift wrap tutorial that turns opening gifts into an event.

Materials:

• Cardboard box
• Additional cardboard
• Tissue paper

Cut circular holes in the cardboard box for the number of gifts. Make sure that the gifts will fit through the holes! Then, on the inside, tape colorful tissue paper over the holes.

Next, create a grid that the gifts can rest on with your extra cardboard; one vertical piece the height of the box, then two horizontal pieces cut to the width of the box. Notch each piece so they can slide together, insert into the box and tape on to the sides for support. Place your gifts inside, close the box, and get ready for fun!

19. Cute Bear Easy DIY Gift Wrap

Here’s another easy bear that just takes some brown wrapping paper and a few accents.

After wrapping your gift, cut two half-circles from your brown paper. Fold these into cones and tape onto the top for ears. Cut your white scrap paper into a circle for the muzzle. Lastly, use the marker to draw eyes and a nose.

Materials:

• Brown wrapping paper
• White scrap paper
• Black marker

20. Cute Reindeer DIY Gift Wrap Tutorial

Over at JoAnn Fabric’s blog you’ll find gift wrap tutorials for these five cuddly creatures.

Materials:

• Colored cardstock or poster board paper: white, pink, red, cream, tan, black, orange, yellow, gold, brown, red
• Patterned cardstock paper (for scarves and such)
• Double-stick tape
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Black marker

21. DIY Mouse Gift Wrap Tutorial

From Handmade Charlotte, this adorable mouse wrap tutorial takes advantage of those folded end flaps. Super cute and only requires a few basic craft items you probably already have.

Materials:

• Gray or white wrapping paper
• Pink paper scraps
• Double-sided tape
• Black marker

22. Birthday Cake Gift Box

From Studio DIY, this tutorial is a bit ridiculous. You’ll need a Cricut machine to do all the cuts, but this birthday cake slice gift box makes it worth it all by itself.

Materials:

• Cardstock in several colors (one for the main frosting/box, one for the cake strips, and others for sprinkles)
• Cricut cutting machine
• Cricut scoring stylus
• Paper straw
• Tissue paper
• Glue stick
• Hot glue gun

23. Sleepy Lion Gift Wrap Tutorial

Simple, easy, and cute as all heck. From LetsWrapStuff.com, where you’ll find plenty more gift wrap ideas.

But this one is easy enough – wrap your gift in brown or yellow paper, draw in the lion with black marker, and add the white and orange paper accents (muzzle, mane, and tail).

Materials:

• Brown or yellow wrapping paper
• Orange and white (or tan) cardstock
• Crafter’s Dot Runner
• 1.5″ circle punch

24. DIY Fruit Wrapping Paper

This tutorial (complete with templates!) from The House That Lars Built includes instructions for watermelon, pineapple, strawberry, grapefruit, and kiwi. Deliciously fun.

Materials:

• Paper (in the various fruit colors)
• Double-stick tape
• Paper trimmer

25. Crafty Confetti Gift Wrap

From Yahoo Makers comes this celebratory tutorial on how to make your own DIY confetti wrap. It is super-simple, just wrap your gift in classic brown wrapping paper, spray with adhesive, and add confetti and sequins. A true winner!

Materials:

• Brown wrapping paper
• Spray adhesive
• Confetti
• Sequins

26. Balloon Hearts DIY Wrapping Decoration

Ok so this isn’t a tutorial, it’s actually a birthday card you can order here on Etsy. But it looks easy enough to do.

Just wrap your gift in brown paper (or blue for a “sky” effect), cut out two clouds from card stock, then cut two red hearts and two pink hearts. Fold each heart in half to crease and glue them edge-to-edge. Draw the baskets as shown. Viola! You now have your own balloon hearts gift wrap scene.

Materials

• Brown wrapping paper
• White, pink, and red card stock
• Adhesive
• Black marker

27. Pink Blooms Decorative Gift Wrap Tutorial

You’ll find this gift wrap tutorial from Anastasia Marie provides that perfect bit of “pop” for your present, plus you can easily swap out bloom colors for different seasons and personalities.

Materials

• Pink card stock (for flower)
• Green card stock (for stem)
• White iridescent twine
• Gray shimmer paint (or just use a marker/crayon)
• Double-sided tape
• Scissors
• Glue
  

28. Christmas Ornament & Greens Gift Wrap Idea

This holiday gift wrap idea popped up on Pinterest, and I couldn’t trace it back to the original tutorial. But the idea is simple enough.

Cut out some old newspaper or magazine clippings into circles. Paste on to your gift, draw on the hooks and hangers, and glue some fresh evergreens (steal them from your Christmas tree) across the top.

Materials

• Brown wrapping paper
• Old newspaper/magazine
• Evergreen clippings
• Marker
• Scissors
• Paste/glue

29. Color Me Gift Wrap for Children’s Gifts

Use this brilliantly simple idea from Lines Across and the recipient will probably remember the gift wrap more than the gift itself. Which is fine!

Materials:

• White wrapping paper
• Crayons
• Washi tape
• Alphabet stamps (or just write “Color me!”)

30. How to Make Your Own Gift Bags from Wrapping Paper

Designer Trapped has an easy-to-follow tutorial on how to make gift bags from wrapping paper. This is a great way to wrap those funky-shaped gifts with a bit of elegance.

Materials:

• Wrapping paper
• Ribbon
• Hole punch
• Scissors
• Tape

31. Origami Gift Bag for Small Gifts

These adorable little origami gift bags are perfect for those small but special gifts.

If you’re like me, you lived most of your life thinking origami was nothing short of a mystic art, achievable only by mythical masters. But, in fact, it is quite achievable so long as you have a good tutorial! And that’s exactly what we have here.

Materials:

• Washi Tape
• Origami Paper

32. DIY Wrapping with Herbs & Paper Doilies

Simple, earthy, and natural, who knew that a wrapped gift could look so beautiful with just twine, paper doilies, and herbs?

From Blue Purple and Scarlett we have eight delightful examples of this style. Use herbs or foliage you find in your garden, wrap them in paper doilies, and secure it all with some twine.

Materials:

• Brown wrapping paper
• Brown twine
• White paper doilies
• Herbs

33. Father’s Day Tie Gift Wrap Tutorial

Paper Crave has put together these brilliant tutorials, complete with templates, for paper gift bags shaped like shirts with ties and bow ties.

Materials:

• Paper Crave’s gift box template + bow tie / necktie template
• Printer
• Patterned card stock
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pen or pencil
• Glue dots
• Double-sided tape
• 1/4 inch circle hole punch
• Scoring tool (optional)
• Cutting mat (optional)

34. Dried Flower Gift Wrapping DIY

For a more natural approach, with a bit of a cottage vibe, you’ll love this dried flower wrapping tutorial! Super easy to do and it leaves a lasting impression.

Materials:

• Dried Flowers
• Wrapping Paper
• Crafter’s Dot Runner
• Place Card

35. Adventure Awaits Travel Map Gift Wrap

Find and use an old map or atlas to wrap a small gift. Add a tag and cut out a map scrap in the travel mode of choice: Plane, train, automobile, cruise ship, you get the idea.

From Lime Doodle Design, reminding you that adventure awaits!

Materials:

• Old map/atlas
• Gift tag
• Twine

36. Pom Pom Gift Wrap Decoration

From Instagram account @honestlywft, this adorably fun gift decoration just requires pom poms, tassels, and your artistic spirit.

Materials:

• Brown wrapping paper
• Pom poms
• Tassels
• String
• Glue dots

37. Elegant Lace & Ribbon Gift Wrap Idea

Elegance is often shown best in understated simplicity. This lovely example from Tonka Violet uses earthy brown wrap with a strip of lace and a solid colored ribbon. Perfection!

Materials:

• Brown wrapping paper
• Lace
• Ribbon
• Glue

Looking for Gifts to Wrap?

Now that you know how to create your own adorably fun DIY wrapping paper, you just need some gifts to wrap…. how about these favorites from Northwest Gifts:

Custom Quarter Barrel Sign for Wine Bar

Real oak wood / Free personalization / Looks like top “quarter” of a wine barrel / Colorful vineyard theme

Personalized Home Bar Sign

Free customization / Made in the USA / 3-dimensional beer mug relief / Classy shape / Timeless design

Custom Engraved Pint Glasses

16 ounces / Set of four / Custom engraving included / Real glass

Custom Engraved Whiskey Barrel

Authentic oak wood whiskey barrel / Medium interior char / Free personalized engraving / Multiple sizes and styles

Neighborhood Tavern Sign

Quarter barrel sign / Free personalization / Hand-carved clinking beer mugs relief applique / Antique dark stain / 19″ diameter / Ready to hang