You spent good time and money finding the perfect gift, only to throw it in a gift bag with some gnarly tissue paper? Sure, there are times when a gift bag is unavoidable, but if you really want to make the recipient of your gift swoon, consider taking the extra time to wrap your gift with a little pizzazz!

Beautiful packaging doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. I frequently find unique papers at the dollar store, and always salvage little remnants of ribbon, stray buttons, and rhinestones to keep for future gift wrapping. It’s a great way to recycle and keep your creative juices flowing.

Here’s how to make a simple paper rosette to dress up your packaging:

1. First, find some scrap paper. I like to mix and match dollar store finds with basic kraft and little bits of handmade Italian papers for a truly eclectic feel.
2. Cut your paper into long strips. The width of your strips will determine the size of your rosette.
3. Next, accordion fold the paper and secure with one staple in the middle. Open the paper up on both sides to make a circle and adhere with a line of hot glue.
4. Lastly, top your rosette with an adornment. In this case, I’ve used buttons and pom-poms found in my craft closet.
5. To complete the look, I introduced green faux flower blooms, scrap ribbon, and twine, all of which were recycled from previous gifts!

About the author:

Artist Heather L. Young is the creative genius behind FLYoung Studio. Her blog for FLYoung Studio is all about her illustrations, painting, crafty madness, studio messes, and more! Never afraid to try different mediums for her artwork, Heather has a wide variety of eye-pleasing pieces.

She admits to being slightly obsessed with rhinestones and anything that flies. If she’s not painting, you might find her trying her hand at crochet, jewelry making, sewing, and any project where she could use her Dremel tool. Her artwork is also incorporated into her web and logo design, which she does as FLYoung Studio North.