Gift wrapping on a budget!

I really enjoy making gifts look pretty with lovely paper and ribbon. ( I pretty much start hyperventilating every time I enter the ribbon aisle in Hobby Craft) But buying supplies to create these beautiful packages can be expensive and often add a substantial cost on top of the actual gift. This is fine if you can afford it, but for a poor student like me, it's not ideal. Especially since the alternatives are that rubbishy wrapping paper which tears the moment you touch it...and that horrible shiny ribbon which you have to curl with scissors; I have yet to find a method of use which makes it look nice...(I clearly have not got the technique as I'm sure there are plenty of people who do not have this issue!) 

It's my Mum's birthday today and so whilst I was wrapping her presents yesterday (which evidently, are not as glamorous as the wrapping makes them look) I thought I'd share some of these ideas with you all.

So the first thing is wrapping paper. There are so many different ways that you can save money on wrapping paper (although Primark often have some really pretty paper which is cheap too!) One way is to make your own paper, and there are tons of tutorials and pictures online which can give you inspiration. Pinterest is great for things like this! 

Another way, if you are a real stinge like me and which is possibly a little cheeky (probably should only be done every now and then...when you're really really poor!) is to use wallpaper samples from hardware stores. I went to Homebase at the weekend to get a couple of bits and whilst walking to the checkout I walked passed the wallpaper ailse. There are so many different types of wallpaper with beautiful prints, especially the Laura Ashley wallpaper, and I remembered from when we decorated my room a while back, that you are allowed to take wallpaper samples home with you. So I took a couple of samples home with me, with the intention of using them for crafts! But when it came to wrapping up my Mum's birthday presents today and I realised that I didn't have any wrapping paper, the samples that I had taken from Homebase came in very handy! 

Note: Whoever is opening the present will probably realise pretty much as soon as they start unwrapping that it is wallpaper, as it is much thicker than normal paper. To me this doesn't matter because they still look really beautiful, however if this bothers you then this idea may not be for you!

Adding ribbon to a present can instantly prettify (yep...prettify, I made it up) gifts and make them that little bit extra special, but again they can be expensive! Especially when you are using it for gift wrapping which may just be thrown away by the receiver! So I like to make my own!

Using some cream and deep pink organza that I had leftover from an old craft project (which was around £2 for 2 meters from my local fabric store), I made ribbons of different length and width by making small cuts in the fabric, and ripping it into strips. By ripping the fabric instead of cutting it, you get a lovely frayed edge which creates a really interested texture against the paper. The great thing about this also, is that you can decide how thick or thin you want the ribbon to be! So why don't you give it a try!

I hope you have enjoyed this post! I love finding out little money saving tips like this (especially when it involves ribbon) so if you have any ideas, send them my way!

Have a lovely day!

Zahra x

P.S. Happy Birthday to my lovely Mummy!