Simple metal-edged gift tags

A very simple little craft project today, to entertain me as I cope with a mild case of food poisoning. (So much for the rice place downtown. . . .)

Recently, Susan and I visited Michaels to check out the new Martha Stewart Crafts line. I was duly delighted by the clean design and lovely packaging. Bought myself an official Martha Glue Stick, and some pretty round package tags with metal edging.

. . . Which then got me thinking once again about my beloved foil tape, and how it might work as a metal edging for some handmade gift tags.

So I cut out some cardstock . . . .

And backed it with wrapping paper scraps. But of course, you could also use pieces of old greeting cards, or scrapbook paper, or magazine clippings, or photos, or anything.

Then, I cut some 1/4″ strips from my foil tape. (You can also buy metal tape pre-cut to this width at your craft store. It’s just so much more expensive. I’ve been using my one roll of hardware-store foil tape for several years — including two Church of Craft meetings — and have yet to reach the halfway-gone point.)

I folded the foil tape over the edges of the tag, and trimmed off the excess. With just a little practice, you can apply the tape by eyeball and it’ll come out reasonably straight and even.

I’ve never had much luck with mitering my corners when I work with foil-tape — but then, I’m not a very precise crafter. I like to just cross the pieces at the corners, and burnish them down firmly.

(Oh – and I should add that I never did get the tape to edge the round tag to my liking. So, I’ll have to rely on Martha for those.)

. . . If you have some fancy scissors, you can also cut the foil tape with those! And, you can also do a little embossing. Woo!

And then, install a grommet to finish off the tag. (See up top?) Neato!

Tagged as: holiday, paper, tutorial