2 creative DIY gift wrapping bows

Wrapped presents add an element of excitement and surprise to your holiday celebrations. Create your own DIY bows from a variety of materials at home.

An imaginative way to make your own gift bow is by recycling colourful pages from a magazine. Choose a page that is colour-coordinated with the gift you're wrapping, and then tear it out of the magazine. Next, gather a ruler, pen, pair of scissors, a stapler and tape.

To make the bow, use the ruler to cut the page into nine identically sized strips, measuring at least 14.6 centimetres in length. Separate the strips into four piles, with three, three, two and one strip respectively. Leave the first pile with three strips as they are. For the second pile, cut 2.5 centimetres off each of the three strips. Cut five centimetres off the two strips in the third pile. Cut the remaining strip to 8.9 centimetres in length.

To create the bow, take one of the longest strips, and loop one end so it meets the central half way point. Loop its other end to the centre to create a figure eight, and then staple it together. Repeat this step with all the ribbons, except for the short individual ribbon, which you should just shape into a loop and staple together. Finally, arrange the three largest figure eights into a flower shape, and staple together.

Repeat with the other same-size figure eights. You should end up with three separate flowers. Use tape to stick all three flowers together, and tape the remaining loop in the centre of the ribbon. Now you'll have a bow to attach to the top of a gift box or gift bag.

Deflated balloons make a surprisingly cute and festive bow for any package. Open a package of balloons, gather a handful, and lay them parallel to one another. Tie the balloons together with another deflated balloon. Stick this balloon bow to a package with tape, or tie together more balloons to create a long string, which can wrap around a gift box and secure the balloon bow to the present. The balloon bow works the best if made from long, thin balloons, like the type used to make balloon animals.

Both of these options re-purpose unique materials into stellar DIY bows. Try it out, and see how many imaginative bows you can create from materials around the home.