Book Page Paper Bows

With November quickly approaching, I’m thinking about getting Christmas presents wrapped and shipped to family that lives far away.  Every year I like to try to coordinate my wrapping around a theme and this year the gifts are all going to be topped with upcycled book page paper bows!  The bows take just minutes to make, could even be made from old magazines or newspapers, and look super cute sitting on top of a present.

To make these book page paper bows, find an old thrifted book {an old picture book would make a really cute bow for a child’s gift}.  I opted to use a book printed in Italian just to add a bit of a whimsical twist.

Cut paper strips 3/4 of an inch wide.  Leave three strips the full length of the book page, cut one inch off the end of two strips, and cut one strip down to 3.5 inches, for a total of six strips for each bow.

With a glue stick or a dab of hot glue, attach each strip into a circle …

… then lay them over each other with the longer strips creating the base and attach them in the center, gluing each one on to the one below it.  The shortest strip sits in the middle to create the center of the bow.

These simple paper bows are so cute and they’re the perfect accent on my red polka dot wrapping paper left over from last year.

Set up an assembly line and you can make enough bows for all your Christmas wrapping while you watch your favorite show on TV!

For more creative gift wrapping ideas to make the outside of the gift as great as the inside, be sure to check out these creative ways to gift wrap with ribbon …

… wrapping paper repurposed from vintage sewing patterns …

… and five gift wrap ideas that all use items from the office supply store!