OK, show of hands, how many of you remember using a little folded scrap of wrapping paper to make a “To:/From:” card for presents when you were a kid? It was quick, easy, and required no extra supplies. And it was standard, especially for other kids’ parties. What kid cared about the card? It was all about the toys.

Well, I’d like to bring that back, at least in spirit. I’m not a big fan of gift cards. Not like “Here’s $25 to spend at Olive Garden.” I love that kind of gift card. And I’m not talking about greeting cards, either. I love real cards with humor or kind words or great pictures. I’m talking about the little cards you buy for $1 to coordinate with your present. They are fine on gift bags – they COME with gift bags – but if I’m wrapping a gift, I’d rather spend that $1 on one-third of a coffee from Starbucks and make my own gift card.

This post should be filed under “It’s Not Rocket Science, But I’ve Just Never Thought of It Before” along with my Library Shelf and Lamp Elevator.

It’s so easy. Here’s what you need:

• card stock
• wrapping paper
• scissors or paper cutter
• double stick tape
• envelope (optional)

To start, decide if you want to use an envelope or not. If you do, take the measurements of the envelope you’re using so you can create a card to fit perfectly inside of it. Then, doubling the height of the envelope and using the width, cut a piece of cardstock 1/4″ smaller on length and width to fit easily inside the envelope. (For example, if your envelope is 3″ x 4″, double the height to make a 6″ x 4″ rectangle, then shave 1/4 inch from each side, leaving the final rectangle to be 5 3/4″ x 3 3/4″.) Then fold this in half.

Next, cut a rectangle out of the wrapping paper, making sure it is smaller than the folded card. Attach your double stick tape to the 4 corners of your wrapping paper.

Adhere paper to the front of the card. That is it, friends.

Simple, easy, no need for extra supplies.

And isn’t this wrapping paper pretty? Thank you, local school fundraisers.

Now, if you’re one of those people who saves wrapping paper (I’m not, but some people are), this is a great way to use up those pieces. This year, I threw away all of our paper before I thought to reuse it, so I used up some more of my “Just Crop It” paper to make thank you cards for Christmas gifts.

You could also create a notecard set with envelopes as a sweet little birthday present or hostess gift.

This year, being more PURPOSEFUL means, thinking more about my choices, about the things I buy and the things I hang onto in storage. This is a great little project to help me declutter my craft bin and save a few dollars. (And of course by “save” I mean reallocate to my caffeine needs.)

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This post is part of a 31 Day series about improving my days by being more PURPOSEFUL.

You can read more about it here. You can find all the posts in this series here.