DIY Gift Tags

Back in the day, my mom and sisters and I would head out the day after Christmas to stock up on gift tags, wrapping paper, and ornaments. And to get a coffee and a treat because that’s how we do things. What’s kind of ironic is though we haven’t been able to get back to my parent’s place for Christmas for the past several years, I still have this thing in my head that I must go out to find Christmas tags and wrapping paper on the 26th.

No matter that I don’t really like surfing through aisles that are strewn with Christmas stuff. No matter that it really isn’t the same without my sisters and mom. I have to admit that last year I stopped short as I was picking up some gift tags. It occurred to me that I honestly could just make my own DIY gift tags for next year rather than buying them (even though the store-bought ones were really cute!)

So this year, I pulled out the good old circle punch and set to work to make my own homemade gift tags. I should have probably put quotes around the word, “work” since it was hardly work at all. This is such a simple project you can make it with the kids or make a bunch and package them as gifts for the gift-giving genius in your life. (We all have one of those, right?)

DIY Gift Tags

You will need:

Circle hole punch (mine makes a one-inch circle)
Watercolor paper (or heavy card stock)
Small hole punch
Watercolors
Paintbrush + water
Gel pen

First, punch the tags using the large circle punch. Alternately, you can use any large punch that you own. There are so many great designs on the market today that would work for this project.

Use your small hole punch to punch a hole at the top of the circles. This is when I wish I had a beautiful gold punch so this picture could look more fancy. Oh well.

Wet the bottom half of the tag with water and add your watercolors to it. As you can see in the picture, I was curious as to how my trusty fabric paint would work. The colors came out just fine and I really like how the metallic part of the paint added a slight glint to the tags.

Continue to decorate the tags however you’d like – lines, polka dots, miniature Christmas trees…have fun! When the watercolors dry, use the gel pen to add a “to” and “from” (or whatever sentiment you’d like) to the tags.

Because I watered down the red fabric paint, it made a lovely twinkly pink, which is perfect for my little girl who just happens to have a December birthday.

Have you ever made your own DIY gift tags?