With the holiday season just around the corner, now is a good time to start bookmarking ideas for festive decorating—including creative ways to wrap your gifts! If you’re looking to add a touch of handcrafted charm to your gift wrap this season, this DIY tutorial for Washi Tape Leaf Gift Toppers from the Poppytalk archives is the perfect place to start. Using just a few simple supplies and your favourite washi tape, you can transform plain wrapping paper into a beautiful, personalized package that’s sure to make someone feel special. Whether you’re going for classic gold, festive green, or any colour in between, these washi tape leaves bring a unique charm that feels both thoughtful and modern.
What You’ll Need
A collection of fresh leaves from a strong and hardy winter hedge
A selection of washi tape (we used Scotch® Expressions metallic in gold)
White gift wrap paper, or white copy paper (or brown craft paper would be nice too)
Print out: Mini Pampas Grass PDF
Print out: Mini Feathers PDF
Scissors
Instructions
Pampas Grass + Feather Gift Wrap Decor
Print out the mini pampas grass and mini feather PDF files (link above). For the feathers, with the printout in the portrait direction, fold the paper in half (as seen in Diagram 1 directly below). Then fold again. Then cut following the edge of the feathers. Each page will make 8 mini feathers. For the pampas grass, simply cut out as many as you would like.
After the feathers are cut, fold the feathers in half (you can do this in bunches of 4. Then cut along the edges (top to bottom) to create a feathered effect. You’ll notice that the top feather will have the black edges. If you would like to have black edges on all the others for reach print out (like we created), you will need to run a black fine tip pen along the edges. (Note: we only added a bit of edges here and there, to make it look more hand illustrated, and to lessen the work involved). Repeat with as many feathers as you would like to make.
For the Washi Tape Leaf Gift Toppers
Collect your leaves and make sure they are clean from any dust and nice and dry. Start to wrap the leaves by placing the washi tape on the diagonal starting at the top front part of the leaf and wrapping all the way around to the back. Cut off at the back, and then start again overlapping just a little over the first tape, going around to the back again, and repeat until you reach the bottom of the leaf. Once you’re at the bottom, wrap the tape around the stem, securing tightly.
For the berries
Simply place the tape over each berry, wrapping around as tightly as possible.
Wrap as many leaves as you need and then accessorize with a combination of the mini pampas grass and feather images. Either tape together with washi tape to create one single stem, or combine and adhere using the tape applied to the back of the topper.
Finish off the wrapping using washi tape in the place of ribbon, wrapping around the gift, either centred or varied on different ends as we’ve done (see below).
In just a few simple steps, you can create these charming DIY Washi Tape Leaf Toppers to add a personalized, festive touch to your holiday gift wrap, or any wrap really. This project is super easy, budge friendly, and can be customized to any colour scheme, making it a fun way to elevate your presents without a lot of effort. With just a bit of washi tape, scissors, and creativity, you’ll have unique, eye-catching gift toppers that make every package feel special. Happy wrapping!
