If you have been itching to do something more with all those gorgeous digital kits, you are in for a treat. Today, Melissa Oh joins us to share her gorgeous gift decorating techniques!

guest blog post by Melissa Oh

Hi, I'm Melissa Oh from the Pink Paper Peppermints blog and I'm thrilled to be helping out Melissa with a guest post today!

One of my favorite things about digital scrapbooking is how versatile all the supplies are. You can print them over and over again, and use them for so many fun crafts!

Today I'll be showing you some creative ideas for using your supplies to wrap gifts and decorate for Christmas or any special occasion. To learn even more, be sure to check out Melissa's workshop, "Create Papercraft Keepsakes - Hybrid Crafting the Easy Way"

What You Need to Get Started

Supplies

• Digital Scrapbooking Papers and Elements (I'm using a kit I designed called "Good Cheer" and at the end of the post I have a little surprise for you!)
• Photo Editing Software (such as Photoshop or Photoshop Elements or even Microsoft Word)
• Matte Photo Paper (or cardstock, brochure paper, or even plain printer paper)
• Micro-Tip Scissors (I prefer Fiskars Micro-Tips, they are super sharp and excellent for fine detail work)
• Paper Trimmer (I like We R Memory Keepers Trim & Score board because well, it trims and scores)
• Adhesive (I use regular glue stick and also a basic, student grade Matte Gel Medium)
• Stapler
• Twine

Optional:

• Inkjet Transparencies
• Embellishments such as sequins & buttons
• Pick Me Up tool by Silhouette
  

 

Printing Your Supplies

Printing your supplies is just a matter of opening them in a letter-sized (or A4) document and hitting print!

The process varies depending on the software you're using (I'm using Photoshop Elements 12 in the image below) but in most programs you'll go to File-> Open and then navigate to the folder where your digital supplies are.

Open the files you want to use (usually by double-clicking) and then click and drag on to your 8.x5 x 11 canvas.

In Microsoft Word you'll first open a new document, then go to Insert -> Pictures -> From File and then navigate to your folder as above.

Double-click on the image you want to use and it will open in your new document.

I usually like to print my hybrid scrapbooking supplies on matte photo paper because it produces such a rich, saturated color.

It can be a little pricey though, so if you'd rather, you can use cardstock or even plain printer paper. You won't get quite as bright a color, but it will still look cute for less money!

Cut Everything Out

 

Once you've printed all your supplies, it's time to find a good binge show on Netflix or your favorite Christmas movie and get to cutting.

This is therapeutic for me, but you can also use your Silhouette to do the heavy lifting (or um...cutting). Melissa has a great tutorial here on using printed digital paper in your Silhouette.

 

 

Now that everything is printed and cut out, let's look at some creative ways to use your digital scrapbook supplies in your holiday gift-giving and decorating.

 

The Stack Wrap

I'm a big fan of layers and layers and one of my favorite ways to use my supplies in packaging is to just stack them on top of each other and wrap them up with twine.

The first thing I do is wrap my package in a solid color paper.

Today I'm using plain, white, butcher paper from my son's drawing table, but you could also use kraft paper, a solid wrapping paper or for smaller packages, a digital paper printed on plain printer paper.

 

Next I cut a strip of digital scrapbooking paper to use as a wrap around my package.

On all but the smallest of packages you'll need to cut two or more strips to wrap all the way around the boxes since your strips can only be about 10" long.

I just make sure the seams match up on the bottom and/or back of the package so they aren't noticeable.

 

Now I just stack my elements and wrap with twine, adding a touch of glue stick or other adhesive as I go. And then my pretty package is finished!

 

The Garland Wrap

Another type of paper that I love to print digital supplies on is inkjet transparency paper. It looks so pretty layered over papers and catches the light in the perfect holiday way!

The larger packages (50 sheets) require a sizable investment (40.00 to 50.00 dollars in the U.S.) but you can find small packages of 5 or 10 sheets on Amazon if you want to experiment before investing in the larger size.

To create the garland wrap I first print my elements on transparency paper (the same way I did on photo paper as above) and then cut them out.

 

Next I cut a length of twine slightly larger than the girth of my package (I just wrap the twine around to measure this) and thread the twine through.

I like to alternate threading the twine in through the front on the first shape and up through the back on the next shape to create a sense of movement.

As you can see in the photo above, I don't worry too much about getting the cut perfect on these shapes. The transparencies are very forgiving and little imperfections are hardly noticeable.

When I've finished threading the shapes through the twine I wrap it around the package and tie it in the back.

Once I finished my garland I thought the package needed a little something more so I added some sequins using matte gel medium and my Silhouette Pick Me Up tool (love this tool for sequins!).

I have to be honest and tell you that it would have to be a very special recipient indeed for me to hand glue sequins all over their package, ha! But you could use stickers and get a similar effect in a much shorter amount of time.

 

The Monogram Wrap

 

Everyone loves to receive a personalized gift and what's more personal than a monogram?

This is a fun technique that you can use not just for wrapping, but also to make your own letter stickers and even large banners!

The first thing I do is choose the typeface for my monogram. A thick, serif typeface is best. Here I used Georgia.

Next you'll want to reverse it or choose mirror image on your printer. We're printing it backwards because we're going to print some digital paper on the other side and that will be the front.

I chose a matching color to print it, even though it's the back, I still want it to be pretty. 🙂

I print my letter out and the place the paper back in the printer in reverse so that the pattern will print on the opposite side. Each printer is different so you'll need to consult your manual or experiment to see which way to place your paper.

Now I place my digital paper in the document and resize it so the pattern shows up well on my monogram and print on the reverse side of the paper.

 

Back Side of Paper:

Front Side of Paper:

 

Next I cut out my monogram.

I wrap another strip of printed digi scrap paper around my package.

And add the star elements, twine and monogram for the final touch.

Tree Ornaments

You may have noticed in the back ground of some of my photos that I decorated a small tinsel tree with the printed ornaments too! Both the transparency and photo paper elements look good as ornaments.

To make them just print, cut, punch a hole and add twine or an ornament hook!

 

Paper Bows

 

Our final wrapping idea is to create a paper bow with your digital supplies.

Here I've used a template from my "Good Cheer" kit, but I have a little freebie for you on my blog that includes a pdf printable of this bow and some cute, retro Christmas tag printables too! (more about that a little later)

All you need to do is print and cut out the patterns of the small and large bow (they are labeled).

Next with bow laying print side down, fold each petal of the bow in to the center, one at a time and glue.

Once you've glued all the petals in you can staple them in the center for extra security if you wish.

 

Do this with both the large and small bows.

 

Next stack the smaller bow on top of the larger bow and glue or staple together. I like to alternate the petals so that the top petals are between the bottom petals like below.

 

Finally go through your buttons and baubles to find the perfect center for your bow.

I settled on a piece of tinsel twine for mine:

Add a digital paper wrap and a cute little tag and you're done!

 

I hope you've enjoyed these ideas on using your digi supplies in your holiday preparations this year!

If you have any questions be sure to let me know in the comments!

And don't forget to download the Free Printable Christmas mini-kit that includes the bow pattern printables and 8 pretty retro tags!

You can also find out some exciting news about the "Good Cheer" digital scrapbooking kit I used in the tutorials, while you're there!

One More Thing

Before I go I want to thank Melissa for inviting me to be here today! I had so much fun putting together this tutorial.

I also wanted to ask each of you if you have any creative ways that you use digital supplies? Or are you new to hybrid art and scrapbooking?

Let's talk about it in the comments!

♥ Melissa Oh~

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Who is Melissa Oh?

Melissa is currently a full-time, homeschooling mom and the author of Pink Paper Peppermints blog, as well as a digital artist, creating bible journaling, scrapbooking and paper crafting kits.

She's been involved in the paper crafting industry for more than fifteen years, working as an instructor, writer and product designer and taught paper crafting and art classes at local stores and national conventions both in the USA and Canada.

She dreams in color wheels and papery things, but her real passion in life is to see every person realize the width, depth and breadth of God's extraordinary love for them. ♥