{"title":"How to Make Christmas Gift Tags","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/paper-crafts/how-to-make-christmas-gift-tags","category":{"slug":"paper-crafts","name":"Paper Crafts"},"creator":{"name":"True Joy Home & Studio","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXSsUc-E6Fa0h-jCpNGAvjQ","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4PtkSeM2nA"},"tldr":"Make kraft Christmas gift tags with drawn ornaments, a stamped greeting and gem baubles. Eight steps, no cutting machine needed.","totalDurationSeconds":441,"difficulty":"easy","tools":["scissors","handheld hole punch","ink blending sponge","fine gel pen"],"materials":["kraft cardstock or ready-cut kraft tags","distress ink, walnut stain","black ink pad","Merry Christmas stamp","flat-back gems in assorted colours","tacky glue","string or bakers twine"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Cut and Punch the Tag Bases","text":"Start with plain kraft cardstock. Cut a rectangle, trim the two top corners off at an angle to get the classic luggage-tag shape, and punch a hole at the top.A cutting machine gets through a batch fast, but scissors and a hole punch produce exactly the same tag. Nothing about this design needs a machine.Watch this step"},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Ink the Edges","text":"Rub distress ink around the edge of each tag with an old sponge, working from the outside inward so the colour fades as it moves toward the middle.Walnut stain gives that aged border. This is the one step that stops the tags looking like plain brown card, and it takes a few seconds per tag.Watch this step"},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Stamp the Greeting","text":"Stamp Merry Christmas along the bottom of each tag in black ink.Press the stamp straight down and lift it straight up. Rocking it, which feels like it should give better coverage, is what blurs the edges of the letters.Watch this step"},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Draw the Ornament Strings","text":"With a fine gel pen, draw two or three long lines down from the top edge of the tag. These are the strings the ornaments hang from.Stop each line at a different height - one short, one much lower, one in between. Lines that all end level look like a chart. Lines at different heights look like ornaments.Watch this step"},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Draw the Ornament Caps","text":"At the bottom of each line, draw a small loop with two little curls coming off it, a bit like a tiny bow or a heart.That shape is the cap of the bauble, and it is what makes the whole thing read as an ornament instead of a dot on the end of a string.Watch this step"},{"number":6,"title":"Step 6: Choose the Gems","text":"Pick three flat-back gems per tag in colours that work together, and lay them out before you glue anything.Keeping them all roughly one size looks tidiest across a batch. Mixing a couple of larger ones in works too, as long as you do it deliberately rather than because you ran out.Watch this step"},{"number":7,"title":"Step 7: Glue the Gems On","text":"Put one small dot of tacky glue at the end of each drawn string and press a gem into it.A little squeeze-out around the edge is not a problem, because tacky glue dries clear. Store the bottle upside down with the lid on and the nozzle stops clogging between sessions.Watch this step"},{"number":8,"title":"Step 8: String the Tags","text":"Once the glue is dry, cut about ten inches of string and fold it in half. Push the folded loop through the hole from the front, pull it round to the back, then open the loop and feed the two loose ends through it.Pull it tight and the tag is finished and ready to tie onto a gift or a gift bag.Watch this step"}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-09-03T20:47:39.116Z","published":"2026-09-03T20:47:34.834Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}