A couple of weeks ago I posted a picture of my famous newspaper gift wrapping and bow on Instagram and a few of you wanted a tutorial, so here is it! Although this isn’t a Fashion Friday DIY, and it has nothing to do with health or fitness… I did use Fitness Magazine as my bow material and the Sports section of the Los Angeles Times for my Wrapping! Plus, I just love DIYs and it’s still something fun and easy to make! I cannot tell you how many times I was wrapping paper-less in college. It seemed like every week was someone’s birthday, and I needed a makeshift gift wrap that didn’t look like it was thrown in a Trader Joe’s grocery bag, although I have done some sweet wrapping with those bags! The possibilities of recycled gift bows and wrapping are endless from magazines, newspaper, maps, photos, and posters. Whatever you decide to use, you can make some gorgeous eco-friendly custom wrapping!
DIY Recycled Gift Bow
Makes 1 cute bow
1 magazine page
1 ruler
1 pen
1 pair of scissors
1 stapler
1 roll of tape
10 minutes
1. Select one magazine page for your bow. It can be random or based on color, pattern, etc.
2. Carefully remove your selected page from the magazine.
3. With a ruler and pen, measure and mark the magazine page into 9 strips that are 3/4 inch each. The last “leftover” strip will be a little wider than 3/4 inch, this is ok.
4. Cut each strip in a straight line.
5. Leave the first 3 strips full size. Remove 1 inch off of the top of the next 3 strips. Remove 2 inches off of the top of the next three strips. Cut the remaining strip so that it is 3 1/2 inches in height.
6. Take one strip (with the color you want to show on the outside) and loop one end to the center, at a diagonal so a “ribbon” shape is formed.
7. Loop the remaining end so that the strip resembles a figure eight and secure it with a staple.
8. Follow steps 6 and 7 with each of the strips and keep them in size order. Take the 3 1/2 inch single strip and form it into a loop and staple or tape the ends together.
9. Take the first set of same sized figure eights and arrange them into a flower shape and secure them together with a staple.
10. Follow step 9 with the next 2 sets of figure eights.
11. Place each flower on top of each other and secure with a rolled piece of tape; largest on the bottom and smallest on the top.
12. Finish your bow by filling the center in with the remaining loop. Secure the loop with a rolled piece of tape.
Optional: Wrap your gift in newspaper or matching magazine pages, enjoy!
Custom Cards: I love making cards out of Crossword Puzzles from newspaper and magazines. You can try to fill the spaces with a note to your gift recipient!
Priscilla
August 3, 2012 at 4:49 pm (12 years ago)You’re so cute!! LOL!! I miss you love! Keep up the great work!! 🙂
Catherine
August 3, 2012 at 6:02 pm (12 years ago)Awww thank you Priscilla! xo
Lea @ Coffee and Greens
August 3, 2012 at 5:50 pm (12 years ago)I love this! I use newspaper to wrap gifts all the time because I hate paying for something that will just end up in the trash, bonus is that it’s eco-friendly too!
Catherine
August 3, 2012 at 6:15 pm (12 years ago)Haha glad to see another newspaper gift wrapper out there! xo
Holly
August 3, 2012 at 7:39 pm (12 years ago)Hey I just stumbled across your blog today and LOVE your recipes. I bookmarked so many and can’t wait to try them!
I was reading your food pyramid, and I had a question for you. Have you read the studies saying you should eat fruits by themselves? I was wondering your thoughts on that?
Catherine
August 3, 2012 at 8:29 pm (12 years ago)Thank you so much Holly! I have read studies that suggest eating fruits alone, but there are so many different theories and eating styles if you will, that I just stick with what works for me!
Julia
August 4, 2012 at 8:29 pm (12 years ago)This is so cool!!!
Catherine
August 4, 2012 at 10:46 pm (12 years ago)Thanks Julia! xo
Natasha
August 5, 2012 at 3:39 am (12 years ago)This is wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing
Catherine
August 5, 2012 at 10:29 am (12 years ago)Anytime, glad you enjoyed it! xo
Kate
August 5, 2012 at 2:18 pm (12 years ago)Hey! I just wanted to say I’ve really enjoyed this blog over the past week! I am an avid crafter and healthy eater too! I’m hooked and RFFMBT will be a huge part of my upcoming semester.
I had a question for you…. Is there any way you could do a feature on “portable” meals? Meals that are typically easier to take on the run to class or work? I’m trying to plan ahead for the school year and want to have my system down and wanted to know if you have any tips and recipes easy for taking with you and storing until lunchtime??
Thanks so much!!
Catherine
August 6, 2012 at 1:53 am (12 years ago)Hi Katie! I have some of my favorite portable healthy snacks listed in a post called “Travel Snacks” but I am definitely interested in doing a post about healthy portable meals as well!
Katy
August 6, 2012 at 10:10 am (12 years ago)Hi! I’m trying to eat better, and with school fast approaching I was wondering if you had any ideas/recommendations for healthy lunches. Thank you so much!
– Katy
CarlaNicole
August 6, 2012 at 3:26 pm (12 years ago)Hi Catherine! Sorry, I really wanted to email you but I totally understand why you prefer all questions in one place!
I can completely relate to your story I too was a chubby bunny child and didnt grow out of it until I made the choice to care about what I put into my body around the age of 16. I quickly saw results when I cut out fast food and soda, by 18 I started to incorporate light jogging/running which left me at a happy weight most of my adult life. My problem lies in being stuck in a weight loss/fittness plateau. I was hoping you might be able to offer some guidance. Im currently a nutrition educator for elementary school students so I feel like I have a pretty solid idea of what I should be eating, I also have celiac decease so that eliminates a lot of things and keeps a lot of bad carbs off limits. As for as working out goes I aim for 3 days of cardio and 2 of strength training and I switch up my rutine quite regularly. I noticed from your weight loss story that along the way, you looked amazing at 130 lbs, which is where I’m at now, so not heavy at all but for 5’3″ frame I know I could look/feel better if I lost a few more pounds. I was wondering how you found the motivation to continue to lose pass that point.
Catherine
August 7, 2012 at 3:27 pm (12 years ago)Hi Carla! I am so happy that you found my blog! Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. I completely know how you feel! 130 is a very healthy weight for your frame, but like you, I wanted to lose a little more. I was really motivated once I started trying different group exercise classes. I saw how incredible the students looked from taking the classes a few days a week, which was proof that you really get results from the workout! I fell in love with the Bar Method and loved going 4-5 times per week. Exercise is not my favorite thing in the world, but I was so proud of myself when I started seeing new muscle, and received compliments from the instructors “your form has gotten so much better!” or “you are getting so strong!” Sometimes all you need is a little reinforcement from an outside source who can see your improvements. It’s easy to think you are stuck when you don’t see improvements from both the scale and your body because you see yourself everyday. When I hit a plateau, I started taking measurements and realized that although I wasn’t losing weight, I was losing inches! It was really motivating to know that what I was doing was actually working! If your plateau just won’t budge, try moving your meals around i.e. lunch for breakfast, breakfast for dinner and try a completely different exercise to kind of surprise your body. You don’t have to go crazy, but if you usually use the treadmill, try the elliptical at different intervals! Sometimes it gets used to how you exercise and eat (small meals in the morning, bigger meals at night, or however you have them structured) and you made need a little bit of shifting to get your body rebooted and through that plateau. I’ve totally been there and am proof that you can reach your goal! Health & Happiness xo