Stamped Linen Gift Tags

My dad worked in a hospital once upon a time and became a master bed maker, and then taught us girls how to make our beds with tight corners and unwrinkled sheets.  I became a pro!  It is a skill that drives Mike nuts, since my bed has to be perfectly made (when it is actually made, that is…).

The same goes for gift wrapping; there is an art to it.  I don’t usually do much, just wrap it in paper (I’m good at that part!) and, if I have time, slap on a name with a Sharpie or something.  But I was thinking about how I love giving gifts, how I love picking out that perfect item for someone I love, and then I toss it in a regular old gift bag, or wrap it thoughtlessly?  No!  That won’t do!  Time for a change! I could at least start with some custom gift tags to show how much thought I put into the gift.

To make these gift tags, you’ll need some linen fabric, Kraft paper (mailing paper), stamps, and ink.  All you do is stamp your fabric, cut it out, and then sew it to the Kraft paper.  I punched holes in the Kraft paper in order to string some baker’s twine around it too.

One thing I learned while making these tags is you will want to use a stamp with lots of white space, or blank space, so that the words can be easily seen.  The weave of linen is beautiful but it can make it hard to see more dense stamp images.  I got this stamp in the dollar section at Jo Ann’s, and the ink at Wal Mart for 97 cents.

The back of the tag will just have a frame of stitching, and you can write your message within it.

SO much cuter than a Sharpie!

I think they look perfect against a solid wrapping background, like this white I had on hand.  And a pretty vintage crochet ribbon- which I’ll be taking back as soon as Mike opens his present ;)

Suddenly these special gifts seem a little more special!  Happy gift wrapping!