DIY clay gift tags (+ how to wrap with fabric!)
If you’re trying to do Christmas more sustainably (like I am!) then one way to make a big change is to wrap your gifts in materials that are longer lasting or that have a lower carbon footprint. I don’t know about your family, but as we unwrap our presents on Christmas day, we chuck all the paper into a big plastic bin bag, and it’s crazy to see just how much waste is generated in such a short amount of time.
So this year, I’m trying out fabric wrapping and handmade clay gift tags. The fabric wrapping can be reused to make tea towels, baby burp cloths or handkerchiefs, while the gift tags can be turned into tree ornaments as soon as the gift has been opened! You can add names to your tags by stamping them on before you bake the clay, or by writing them on with a marker after baking. Just be sure to use a solvent-free marker, as solvents will soften the clay over time.
Leather-effect leaves
You will need:
FIMO leather-effect clay
Scissors
Yarn needle or awl
Roll out a small piece of FIMO leather effect clay until it’s a few millimetres thick.
At this stage, you have the option to gently stretch your sheet of clay to give it a rougher texture. I did one batch smooth and one with a bit more roughness.
Bake the clay in the oven according to the instructions.
Once the clay has cooled, cut leaf shapes out of your sheets of clay with a pair of scissors. Use a yarn needle or awl to make a hole in one end of each leaf, and thread with ribbon or twine.
Botanical impressions
You will need:
FIMO clay
Small rolling pin
A mixture of plants, dried fruit and flowers
Yarn needle or awl
Roll a small piece of FIMO clay into a ball, then roll it out with your rolling pin to around 5mm thick.
Press one of your plants into the clay gently but firmly. If you need to, you can roll your rolling pin over the top of the plant to create a good impression. Just be careful not to misshape your circle!
Use a yarn needle or awl to make a hole in your tag.
Bake the clay in the oven according to the instructions.
Mistletoe
You will need:
FIMO clay
Small rolling pin
Yarn needle or awl
Roll a small piece of FIMO clay into a sausage shape approximately 1cm thick and 5cm long.
Gently roll your sausage so that it gradually gets narrower towards the middle of the sausage.
Bend your sausage into an arch shape, then flatten it gently with your rolling pin.
Use a yarn needle or awl to make a hole in your tag.
Bake the clay in the oven according to the instructions.
these gift tags can be reused as tree ornaments
How to wrap a gift with fabric
The Japanese have been wrapping gifts in fabric for centuries, and the most popular fold (know as ‘otsukai tsutsumi’) is super easy. However, if you don’t want your gift to have a big bow on the top (I didn’t!) then you can try some alternative folds instead. The hira tsutsumi fold is a beautiful understated fold that can be secured with ribbon or twine. I used a similar fold for one of my gifts (the one in the pictures with green ribbon), but put the book I was wrapping diagonally in the fabric to try something different.
For my other gifts, I wrapped them as I would with paper:
I started by folding one side of the fabric in a couple of centimetres and wrapped the fabric around the gift with the folded edge on top.
Then I folded the open ends into a triangle, folded the point of the triangle in, and then tucked that fold into the pocket created on the side of the gift.
At this point I had to add a small piece of tape to hold the tuck in place, but once I’d wrapped ribbon around, I could remove the tape as the ribbon was holding it.
The folded edge on top of the gift makes a great little pocket to tuck in decorations (like the berries I added). I also added ribbon and scraps of hessian to decorate, all of which can be used again on future gifts!
You can use just about any fabric you like for wrapping, as long as it’s not so sheer that you can see the gift through it. You can use scraps of fabric you have around the house and leave the edges raw, or for an extra touch, you could hem the fabric so your friend can reuse it. For example, try muslin for a baby gift or a heavy cotton for someone who needs new tea towels. I used unbleached organic cotton and linen for the gifts in these pictures.
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