Can you hear those jingle bells? Christmas crafting has begun! This homemade gift wrap made with Christmas scented paint is the first of many Christmas crafts that are on the way – but this one is the best smelling!
Homemade gift wrap with Christmas scented paint
To make our homemade gift wrap, we used a big roll of brown parcel paper, some Christmas-themed cookie cutters, and some special Christmas paint.
The children loved using our homemade spice paints, so I thought we would update them for the festive season and make some Christmas paints. It’s very easy to give your paints an extra sensory dimension: just add scent!
Christmas scented paint
You can use food oil, essential oil, herbs, spices or perfume to scent your paint. Just think of the key scents of the season and match them up with the colours of the holiday. You only need a little of the oils or spices to get the effect, but do take care to consider any allergies or intolerances your individual children might have before you pick your scents.
We used:
white paint with vanilla extract {I’m thinking you could also stir in some toothpaste for a peppermint?}
red poster paint mixed with cranberry juice
green paint with a drop or two of peppermint extract {my daughter thought a pine fragrance would be good too}
brown paint with a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg
Then we set out our roll of brown paper – with a tablecloth in place to protect the table – and used the red and white paints to make some gift wrap.
Cookie cutters are great for printing. They’re easy for children to hold and of course you can get all sorts of shapes, to match whatever theme you like. If you set the paint out on plates or shallow bowls it’s easy to dip the cutters into the paint.
You can play some Christmas music while you print, and enjoy the festive smells from the paint! I think the finished gift wrap looks so pretty.
We’re going to be using some of it to make a homemade advent calendar, and we’ll use the rest of the paint to make a handprint Christmas wreath.
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Patsy Kincaid says
25/11/2013 at 2:57 amThis is a great idea. I work where our supplies come in boxes with the long brown paper that they use for filler. I carefully flatten it with my hands as I roll it like any other wrapping paper. I then take it home and iron it on a low setting and re-roll it just for such crafty occasions as this. It’s not pristine but a bit distressed. How cool to add a pretty scent to a package.
Cathy James says
25/11/2013 at 10:46 amGreat recycling Patsy! I love free craft supplies.
Lolita says
05/12/2013 at 6:45 amLovely idea. Does the scent last long after the paint has dried? Will the recipient of the parcel be able to smell these wonderful smells?!
Cathy James says
05/12/2013 at 10:35 amHi Lolita, I guess that’s going to depend on just how much scent you add to the paint. We didn’t use a huge amount, as it was mainly for the children to enjoy the sensory element of it, so ours doesn’t have the fragrance any more.