DIY Tea Leaf Printed Wrapping Paper

If you’re like me, pretty rolls of wrapping paper almost instantly call to you when you walk into a store. Matte, glossy, sparkly, simple – the endless options make it almost impossible to only stock up on a few. While I usually tend to go for the glossy and sparkly kinds out there, last year I was getting tired of finding glitter all over days after just because of my wrapping paper. On top of that, sometimes those overly fancy wrapping papers can be difficult to wrap with (but that could just be a user error).

This year I wanted to try something different, especially since I was down to only one roll of my usual wrapping paper. Of course, I did what most people do when they want some inspiration – I went on my Pinterest.

You would be surprise by how many ways you can take simple kraft paper and transform them into the most perfect designs to canvas your gifts under the tree this year.

To create neat designs, I saw people using stencils, daubers, washi tape and much more, that it only made sense to give tea leaves a try as well.

How to make tea leaf printed wrapping paper

Selecting what kind of tea you’re going to use for this DIY wrapping paper is important. I suggest picking teas that have leaves tightly rolled and expand to their true self after steeped. It makes the steeping process fun, and it will also make for beautiful shaped leaves to make prints with.

In this specific tutorial, I decided to go with the leaves from Tea Ave’s Ginger Lily Oolong. Use a mix of leaves and buds for various textures if you can. Don’t forget to enjoy the cup of tea those leaves made you while you work on this fun craft!

Here’s what you need:

kraft paper
watercolour paint
paint brush
spent tea leaves
scissors
ribbon
tape

Steps:

1. Lay your plain kraft paper on a flat surface and cut it down to the appropriate size you need for the gift you plan to wrap. Alternatively, you can choose to paint the leaves directly onto a gift after you have wrapped it in the plain kraft paper. If you wish to do it this way, wrap the box first thing.

2. Pick out the tea leaves you wish to use. Make sure the tea leaves have dried a bit. You can gently pat them with a paper towel to speed up this step. We don’t want them to be too wet or else when we lay them on the kraft paper it will make more wet marks than paint prints.

3. Select the colour(s) of paint you wish to use and begin to brush them onto your spent tea leaves. With water colours, it’s best to damp your brush first, but again, a little goes a long way.

Enjoy this step as you’ll noticed that when you’re painting the tea leaves, the hidden beauty of the leaves appears. Markings on the leaves will be easier to make out and might even show up on your wrapping paper.

4. Press your tea leaves gently onto the kraft paper. Slowly peel the tea leaves off to reveal the painted print. If your print didn’t turn out exactly how you hoped – don’t worry – you’ll get the hang of it after you’ve done a few and be sure to try out different colours of paint as this could make a difference.

4. Once you have covered the kraft paper with your tea leaves print, allow the paint to dry for about 20 minutes. Afterwards, use your freshly designed wrapping paper to wrap your gift (if you didn’t in the start) and wrap some ribbons and bows on prior to placing it beneath your Christmas tree.

If you find some kraft paper gift bags, you can do the exact same things on them in case you have items to simply style in a bag instead of a wrapped box.

Like this tea leaf printed wrapping paper? Pin it for later here: http://bit.ly/1QUPbLv

*If you give this DIY a try, send me a photo of your creation on my Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Include the hashtag #theteacupoflife.

How are you wrapping your gifts this year? Share in the comments below.