gift tag no. 3 - popsicle sticks



Here is a new gift tag/gift decor project for the series that I'm creating because of the holiday season. I didn't use any paper for this one. I'm trying to use what I have so this version is using a tiny part of my popsicle sticks stash. The design is fairly simple - one stick to use for a holiday message, another for "FROM" and the last one for the "TO" information.

Materials:
- 3 popsicle sticks
- yarn (enough to make it around the gift about two-three times.
- drill

I drilled a hole on each end of the sticks (1/4" from the end). Then I started wrapping the yarn around the gift starting from the back and threading it through each of the sticks. The ends are tied in a knot on the back.



What the back looks like. Kind of interesting too.



The diagram below shows the way I wrapped the yarn around the gift. I created the illustration hoping the it would be easier to understand. I hope it is. The dotted lines indicate the yarn that is behind the box.



That's it!

Hints + tips:
- There are wider craft sticks that can be used for this. With the wider versions you could probably make a hole big enough to use ribbon instead of yarn. The possibilities are endless!
- Test what size of hole you can make on your stick without it cracking. One of the first sticks that I drilled cracked open because I was using the wrong drill bit size (too wide).

EDIT - Tonia gave me the following tip regarding the cracking in the comments below. I thought it would be better for everyone to read it. Here it is:
"Here's a tiny secret--if you ever want to drill a "large" (anyting bigger than 1/8") hole in any surface that has the potential to crack, just start with a small drill bit (1/16") and gradually work your way up. The surface won't crack then, and you can have as big of a hole as you need."

Thanks Tonia! :)

24 comments:

  1. Hi

    Love the blog, have just been scrolling through and love your ideas and work. Your photography shows it off really well. Wish I could get mine to look like that, whats the secret? Added you to my blog roll, hope you don't mind. Looking forward to visiting again

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Patricia! Here's a tiny secret--if you ever want to drill a "large" (anyting bigger than 1/8") hole in any surface that has the potential to crack, just start with a small drill bit (1/16") and gradually work your way up. The surface won't crack then, and you can have as big of a hole as you need. :-)

    Thanks for the inspiring ideas! I just love your style.
    Tonia :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Each time you post one of these, I love the idea and think it's the best. Then you go and trump it with the next one. Incredible.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh! I love this... I daresay its my favorite so far. You could have so much fun with the various types of yarn available and types of popsicle sticks... hehe. Thanks for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love it! Simple and beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are just too crafty for your own good! LOVE it! What a clever idea :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really love the simple brown paper with the vibrant red yarn. Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dude! That's so simple, but elegant and a fabulous idea! You always have the best gift tag ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey Patricia:

    I really like the repetition of three you've done here. I don't know if that was intentional, but there are a lot of triple messages in the Christmas story: 3 wisemen, the Holy Trinity (if that is one's belief) and more. Also, like how you can (with the right pen) write a greeting directly on the wood. Some experimentation would be needed to avoid getting too much ink bleeding into the woodgrain. Cute idea as always!

    - Molly

    ReplyDelete
  10. Patricia, wow!
    I am so impressed. Your ideas are just amazing. I am going to use this idea on my next gift wrapping. I will just have to eat more popsicles/ ice cream before gift wrapping time :).

    ReplyDelete
  11. another fantastic idea! thank you so much for posting this, you're brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Absolute genius - love it, love it, love it!

    I found you through the CRAFT: blog - now off to enjoy a lazy Sunday pottering through your archives!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fabulous! I found your blog through Delightful Blogs and I love your tags...and trees...and everything!

    ReplyDelete
  14. love, love, love it!! so adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  15. fyi: i had some wide popsicle sticks laying around (like the ones at the drs. office) i wanted to see if i could hole punch it instead of drill it...because i'm lazy like that. anyway....it worked!! i used a small punch (i think it's like 3/16 inch) and it worked like a charm! i'm assuming a smaller stick might crack, but it worked great on the wide ones!

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is a wonderful idea! Now I need to buy a box of popsicles to get some sticks. Thanks for the excuse!

    ReplyDelete
  17. what a sweet simple and quick idea! thanks for the tip. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a fantastic idea!!!! And the tip for drilling a big hole is great too...

    Jodie

    ReplyDelete
  19. love this idea - i was thinking some of the letraset text could work really well, too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. I wrapped a Christmas present using your idea. Since I didn't have any popsicle sticks handy I cut cardstock in long rectangles & hole-punched the ends. It turned out beautifully. However, the popsicle sticks do look best.

    You're brilliant.
    THANK YOU!

    ReplyDelete