How to Wrap Everything: Part II!

Clever ways to create the prettiest packaging for gifts of any size and shape.

1. Glittered Boxes: Give cardboard jewelry boxes a ruby-slipper-inspired makeover and you won't even need wrapping paper.  Brush the tops with acrylic paint to cover the label; let dry.  Apply craft glue, and then sprinkle on glitter in the same shade as the paint.  For extra sparkle, finish with metallic ribbon or embroidery floss.

2. Glass Jars: Pack small presents into glass vessels,  such as jam and preserves jars, that would otherwise be destined for the recycling bin.  Remove labels with hot, soapy water.  Spray-paint the lids a bright shade, and add a matching ribbon and gift tag.
3. Paper Goodies: Put scraps and used pieces of wrapping paper through a shredder to create multicolored cushioning you can use in place of tissue or packing peanuts for fragile items.
   
4. Fabric Bows: Wide fabric ribbon is luxurious - and pricey.  You can get the look for less using scraps of cloth.  Tear lightweight material, such as sheer cotton, to fray the edge.  With heavier pieces, such as silk, trim with a rotary cutter and then pull out threads to fray.  A thicker fabric band underneath the ribbon creates a striped effect.
   
5. Paint-Swatch Tags: Those mauves you mulled over for the dining room look pretty on paper (if not on your walls).  So consider turning the leftover paint chips into colorful gift tags.  Use a circle cutter or a tag craft punch to create the desired shapes.  If you're penning notes on dark swatches, use a white gel pen for contrast.
   

{This post is an excerpt from "How to Wrap Everything" as published in Martha Stewart Living magazine}