Free Cellophane Gift Packaging from Boxes of Tea

more free gift packaging ideas

Do you have any food or spa gifts that you'd like to package in clear cellophane for gifting? This kind of gift-packaging can be very appealing for both homemade and commercially-made gifts. I can think of several commercially-made gifts that come in a large bag that could be divided up into smaller gifts by repackaging. Bath bombs, candies, nuts, and even tea bags often come several to a large package, making them ideal for divvying up into personal gifts.

Both large and small boxes of tea come over-wrapped in thin cellophane to preserve the freshness of the tea itself. This same cellophane can be carefully removed from the package and repurposed/recycled into gift packaging. Perhaps you recall seeing this post, where I showed you how I used the cellophane from a tea box to overwrap a bar of homemade soap. I carefully cut the cellophane off the box and wrapped the soap as one would a boxed gift, using glue stick to seal the cellophane wrapping in place of tape. I want to emphasize that you do have to carefully cut away this type of thin cellophane, as it can tear. With that said, it is free packaging for gifts. And free is always a good thing, right?



Yesterday, I was filling the birthday gift bag that I made from an H & M store shopping bag, and needed 2 small cellophane gift bags for repackaging commercial candy as part of the gift. I have these 2 small boxes of holiday tea that both came over-wrapped in cellophane. Once removed from the boxes, these would make perfect little gift bags for candy.

After turning the boxes on end, I carefully cut the top off of the cellophane from one of the ends of each, leaving the rest of the cellophane in an open box-like shape.

I carefully scrunched and slid the cellophane off of each box until I had an empty rectangular "bag" for each.

The bags were now ready for filling. Once I'd added the candy of my choosing, I straightened and cut an ordinary twist-tie in half and used these to secure the candy bags closed. Tied up with ribbons and I have a couple of nice-looking bags of candy for gifting.

Repurposing the cellophane packaging from my boxes of tea is not only a freebie, saving me money on gift wrap, but it also gives a second use to something that might otherwise go straight to a landfill.  So much of holiday gifting creates excess waste. I think that it's nice to add a few gifts that do something good for a change.

Transforming Paper Store Bags into Gift Bags with Spray-Paint

Do you have a bunch of store shopping bags, the kind that you get when you buy merchandise from a clothing or gift store? Since I have young adult daughters in my house, these bags find their way into our possession with moderate frequency. Some of them are quite nice as they are, and we reuse those bags for gifts within our family. Others are okay -- good bags, but with a prominent logo on each side. They're not as nice for gifting, especially outside of our immediate family. 

With a couple of cans of spray-paint (I used matte silver and matte gold), these store bags can be transformed into nice gift bags.

Here's an H & M store bag. There's not especially nice about the bag, except that it's in good conditions and has a nice gift bag-style handle (instead of just a plain paper sack).

I taped off the handle with painters tape because I wasn't sure how easy it would be to spray-paint or how well the spray-paint would adhere. For instance, I was concerned the spray-paint might rub off when being handled. So, I taped it with painters tape.

Next, I stuffed the bag with plastic bags and wraps from packages, such as the plastic wrap from a large package of bathroom tissue. With the top plastic bag, I fixed the plastic so that it was level with the top of the bag. The plastic bags and wrap protect the interior of the bag from overspray as well as hole the bag open completely, even on the sides.

After taping and stuffing the store bag, I gave it 3 light coats of one color (silver) of spray-paint. You can see that when the paint is still wet, the logo beneath shows through. 

When the paint dries, the logo basically vanishes.

(My indoor lighting is bad for photography, but IRL this bag is silver striped with gold.)

After the third coat of paint had dried, I used a second color of spray-paint (gold) to add some visual texture to the bag in the form of diagonal stripes. The purpose for this second color is to camouflage any of the logo that might show through. 

I am really pleased with how easy this was as well as how nice my new "gift bag" looks. This bag will soon be used, as I needed a gift bag for a birthday gift this week. I'll be rounding up the rest of my store bags later this week to make holiday gift bags.