How To Wrap Gifts Without Tape

Hi there! 

Can you wrap gifts without using tape?

Yes you can! I've tried it several times:

I used a scarf and made a bundle by knotting the ends together. The Japanese call this technique Furoshiki. 

I used paper and mesh and tied the ends with ribbon to make this gift look like a giant piece of candy.

This gift was intended not to be fully wrapped. It's a reusable mug and I kept the eco-friendly theme by using a decorated cardboard coffee sleeve that's "wrapped around" the mug...TADA!

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The reason behind this no-tape gift wrapping challenge is that gift wrap can't be recycled unless you remove any tape that's left on the wrapper.  

Or maybe we ran out of tape just as we were about to wrap a gift. 

To prevent all of that hassle, why not avoid the tape altogether?

Here's a crafty solution I came up with:

They're really just embellished clothespins but they perform double duty: it secures the gift wrap and it works as a gift topper...TADA! 

Curious how I made them? Here's how:

Gather some wooden clothespins.

Find your preferred color of acrylic paint and a paintbrush.

Paint the clothespins with several coats and allow to dry for several hours. 

Now it's time to make the bow:

I used mesh because this is what I had on hand. But you can use ribbon or fabric scraps. Make them as big or as small or as fluffy as you want.

Here are my little mesh bows...TADA!

Attach the bows on the clothespin with a glue gun and let the glue dry for a few minutes.

Now for the accents! You can add buttons, beads, or pompoms.

Secure in place with more hot glue and let the glue dry.

Isn't it cute?

I use it to close the top of gift bags. It also holds the card in place and the bow completes the look. No need for tape whatsoever!

This is a gift bag that I made from recycled wrapping paper. I was able to give it a second life and make it pretty with my clothespin and a handmade tag.

My cousin packaged a gift in this paper bag. I was able to reuse the bag and the next recipients can keep reusing the bag and the clothespin...TADA!

Let's aim for sustainable gift wrapping if we can and please recycle gift wrap responsibly. You can find more information here.  

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