How to Make a Christmas Joy Card with Wrapping Paper

Hello friends! Raise your hand if you buy rolls and rolls of wrapping paper the week after Christmas, when it's 75% off at Target, even if you have a closet full of it?! Seriously - how can I NOT buy it, when it's so cheap they're practically GIVING it away. I always try to snag a few rolls of Christmas paper that doesn't look like Christmas paper - basic stripes or dots that could be Christmas, or could totally not be Christmas. Know what I mean? Because for 75% off....welll, you know. 

For the next few days I'm going to share some ideas how to bring your gift wrap into your paper crafting. I'll be using this super fabulous black and cream striped wrapping paper, which could be for Christmas...or could totally not be. ;) 

First, let's talk about how to tame a roll of wrapping paper for uses other than wrapping. Wrapping paper curls up on itself, and it will drive you crazy to just unroll it and attempt to create a card. To combat the curling, here's what I do:

• Trim a decent size strip from the roll, and then fold it in half. (This just makes it more manageable.) The folded piece should be no larger than around 12x12, and able to fit under a big, flat heavy-ish thing which will smoosh the paper down (like that cool oversized coffee table book which is gathering dust, or a cookie sheet, or a scrapbook album.)  
• Find a safe, flat place and leave the paper under the smooshing item overnight, or until it's flat. This part takes planning ahead - so do it today, and then you'll have some nice, flat paper to craft with tomorrow. 
•  Once it's flat, trim the fold off, creating two pieces of paper.  I store my pieces in a bin with my 12x12 cardstock and printed papers, so it stays nice and flat, and it's ready whenever I want it. 

Next, it's time to decide what to do with your fun, flat pieces of wrapping paper! For today's card, I used a piece of this stripey goodness in my die cutting machine and made a cute tag to put on my card. Then I embellished it with some other die cuts, twine, and the awesome Vintage Tinsel. I just love the combination of black, cream, red, and kraft together - especially with a pop of silver. You'll see some more of this color combo over the next few days, so come on back for the next few days to see other ways I'm using wrapping paper on my handcrafted Christmas projects! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Did you love this idea?! Don't forget to pin it! Can't wait for more ideas? Check out another idea on the Fun Stampers Journey blog, for another great way to use this black and cream wrapping paper! 

Supplies used on today's project:

Wrapping Paper

Tag Set Steel Rule Die

Snapshot Frames Die Set

Medallion Wreath Die Set