How to make beautiful button gift wrap this holiday season

One fun DIY idea is to use buttons to stamp paper to make unique holiday gift wrap, proving you don't need to spend a fortune. Grab some buttons and colourful paper, get the kids to help you, and get started on the gift of giving.

1. First, choose your paper. Depending on the look you desire, just about any solid colour paper will do. Brown craft paper can be stamped with buttons of different colours for a rustic, crafty look. For a traditional holiday design, use solid green or red paper. Or, for plush, glitzy packages, go with a metallic silver or gold paper.

2. Next, choose your buttons. The buttons that work best for this project are the flat kind with holes. Have some fun and pick a few different options for some variety on your gift wrap.

3. You can use an ordinary ink pad to stamp the images on your paper. Or, you can make your own ink pad by saturating a kitchen sponge with craft paint. For a sophisticated, elegant look, choose colours that coordinate with your paper. For cheerful, festive packages, choose contrasting colours. You'll also need wine corks and craft glue for making the stamps.

1. To create the stamp, choose the side of the button you want to make the impression on your paper. Put glue on the other side of the button, and affix it to the cork.

2. Tap the stamp several times onto your ink pad or your paint-soaked sponge. If you want, you can remove any excess paint by patting the stamp on a piece of paper towel before applying the image to your paper.

3. Decide how you want to place the stamps on the paper. You can make a random pattern with different sizes and colours all over the paper. Or, for an all-over geometric design, you can repetitively stamp with the same button, leaving a small space in between each mark.

4. Once your paper is covered to your satisfaction, allow it to dry for several hours before using it to wrap packages.

• Once your packages are wrapped, trim them with ornaments made with buttons.
• You can simply tie a button to the top of the package with twine or ribbon. Or, you could make a paper pinwheel or flower and glue a button in the centre.

Wrap up your holiday gifts with style this year. Create your own button-stamped gift wrap for bright and cheery button-stamped packages.