Holiday Gift Tags

Welcome to the 12 Days of Crafty Christmas!  Today you will learn how to make your own holiday gift tags!  You can easily create your own gift tags. I used Canva to create mine and I will show you how to do the same! Then you can personalize them, print, and use them for your gifts.

If you aren’t up to making your own, you can also use the set that I created. After the Canva tutorial, you can learn how to add foil to your Christmas and Holiday gift tags. Find out how to get the file at the bottom of this post and follow along to make your own holiday gift tags.

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Supplies to Make Printable Holiday Gift Tags

• Cardstock (I used white and black 65lb cardstock – also see my “crafty fail” at the end with rose gold paper)
• Printer to print the gift tags (if designing and printing in color) OR Laser Printer for adding foil embellishments (I use this one and it’s a good black + white laser printer for beginners)
• Holiday Gift Tag template (find the file in my FREE resource library–get the password by filling out the form at the bottom of this post) OR create your own using a Canva account
• Paper trimmer or Scissors (these are my favorite scissors for small paper crafting projects)
• Minc Machine (I have the full size 12×12, but you could use the Mini for this project by cutting down the tags before adding the foil)
• Minc Reactive Foil (I used red, green, champagne, and white)
• Hole Punch
• Optional: String, Ribbon, Jute, Bakers Twine, etc. (anything to attach the gift tag if you want)

How to Make Your Own Printable Christmas & Holiday Gift Tags

Get the Gift Tag Template

You can design your own holiday sticker seal template on programs like Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or on Canva.com.  I like to use Canva for quick projects like this. I created a small set of coordinating gift tags for this project.

If you want to download my template, fill out the form at the bottom of this post to get the password to my free resource library. Then, head back to Step 2 to learn how I added foil to the gift tags.

You can also make your own and I will teach you how in just a few steps using Canva. Be sure to head over to Canva.com where you can create your own account for free or also upgrade to paid plans. However, for this tutorial, you can use a free account to make all of your designs.

Whether you create your own design or you use mine, be sure to design it in knowing the tags will be printed in black toner ink using a laser printer to add foil to it.

Step 1 – Make a Gift Tag Template

The main gift tag template is made up of individual lines. I start with one line to get it thin enough for the project. In Canva, create a new project by clicking on CREATE A DESIGN. Then search for the word LETTER by typing it in the search box to make a project that is on 8.5×11 paper. Once the word LETTER shows up in the list, click on it to begin the project.

Add a Line to Canva

Now that you have a blank project, it’s time to add some basic shapes. First, search under the ELEMENTS section for LINE. The line I use is usually the first one that shows up, as a single line with no frills. Click on that line element to add it to the project canvas area.

TIP: Any items that have the word FREE in the bottom corner in the object picker are truly FREE. You can see this when you hover any element or other object. If it has a $ sign, then you will get charged when you download your final project.

Change the Color of the Line in Canva

Once the line is added to the project, change the color to black. With the line selected, click on the color box above the canvas area to display a menu of colors. Find black, which is usually one of the first colors, and click on it. To close the color menu, click on any blank area in the project.

Adjust the Line Size in Canva

Now it’s time to adjust the thickness (or thinness in this case) of the line. To do this, click and drag on one of the corner white dots surrounding the object and reduce the size of the line. After reducing the line about half, I like to then extend the length of the line so it’s easier to manage. (Note: You might need to Zoom in for this – the Zoom settings are at the bottom right side of the project screen.) Hover the mouse over the right or left side of the object until the arrow pointer changes to a horizontal double arrow. Then click and drag on that part of the object to extend the length of the line.

Then, continue to reduce the thickness (thinness) of the line until it gets to a H: 0.1 (height) on the size display bubble.

Duplicate and Rotate the Line in Canva

Now, use the DUPLICATE button in the top menu to make 6 lines total. Then, using the rotate button (looks like two arrows making a circle) at the bottom of each line start making the shape of the gift tag. Each line will overlap just slightly on each end to connect the lines together. Use the Zoom feature again for precision.

For width dimensions of my tag, I set two lines to W: 2.6 for each side, set one line to W: 1.7 for the bottom, and one line to W: 0.8 for the top. The two angle sides, once rotated to 45 degrees, I used my best judgement to fit the lines to the top and side edges.

Group and Duplicate the Gift Tag Shape in Canva

Now that all of the lines are created and aligned, it’s easiest to GROUP them together. Click and drag so that all of the lines are highlighted. You can also click on each one individually while holding down the SHIFT key. Once all of the lines are selected, click on GROUP in the top menu.

Now that the lines are grouped together, you can use the DUPLICATE button again to create multiple tags.

Embellish Your Gift Tags

Now onto the fun part! It’s time to embellish and add text to your gift tag. You can search for ELEMENTS to add to the gift tag. Or you can add TEXT to your gift tag. With both you can search through all of the content and font styles available, just be sure to use only elements that are FREE so you don’t get charged. Fonts that are FREE don’t have any markings next to them, but the ones that cost money have a crown next to it.

Download Canva File to a PDF

The last and final step is to download and print your design! Either click on the Download button or on the Dropdown menu where it says PRINT LETTERHEAD. Don’t be fooled by this option – it is NOT a print dialogue. You will always select DOWNLOAD. If you choose to Print Letterhead through this option then you are requesting Canva’s Print Shop to create this file for you. You don’t want to do that, you only want your downloaded project.

Select the DOWNLOAD option, then select the File Type of PDF PRINT or PDF STANDARD. I like to use PDF Print since it is a higher file size with better quality.

Step 2 – Print Gift Tag Template File

There are a few options for printing your files. You can either print them on a regular InkJet printer in color. Most people have this kind of printer with multiple colored ink cartridges. Or, you can print the file with a Laser Printer which uses a toner cartridge. Laser printers are the best way to add reactive foil to this project. InkJet printers have regular printer ink and don’t react with the reactive foil, but toner ink used in laser printers does react with the foil.

TIP:  If you don’t have a laser printer, you can also send a PDF file to be printed at Office Supply stores or Copy Shop Centers to be printed with a Laser Printer. You can have these done and take them home to finish adding foil to your gift tags.

To add the foil to this project, I used my at home laser printer. I also wanted to try to add foil to different paper types, so I printed my design on white, black, and rose gold cardstock paper.

Step 3 – Apply the Reactive Foil to the Gift Tags

Now that the designs are printed, it’s time to apply the reactive foil. This foil is only able to apply using heat and compression when the designs are printed. There are other methods to add reactive foil to projects, but for today I’ll use a Minc Machine to get all the fine details foiled. If you don’t have a Minc Machine, others have used an at home laminator. However, I’ve never tested this myself, so look for some reviews online if you want to try that.

I trimmed the reactive foil down to the size of the area I wanted foiled. Try your best to get it to the size of the area you want covered, but it doesn’t have to be perfect.

TIP: Let me give you a Public Service Announcement about Reactive Foil. This stuff will NOT cut nicely. If you try to cut clean beautiful lines you’ll be here all day. I am the queen of perfection and I just had to LET IT GO! There’s no way to fussy cut this stuff, it’s just a hot mess! So embrace it and move on, haha!

Now, insert your project with the foil and a carrier sheet over the top of your project to protect it. Then send your project through the Minc Machine. I used Heat Setting 3 since I printed on cardstock and also had a computer paper protector sheet on top. (Check out this tutorial about foil to see why I use a piece of computer paper to protect my project.)

Once the items have come out of the Minc Machine, peel back the the foil and reveal the beautiful foiled holiday gift tags!

Black and White Cardstock Results after Applying Foil

The foiled gift tags on white cardstock turned out perfect! The red and green reactive foil look really good and crisp.

The black cardstock gift tags look good, but not as crisp as the white cardstock ones. However, I think that it was actually from the paper type. Even though I used a smooth cardstock, I just don’t think the ink really “sank” into the paper like it does when printing on white cardstock. It still looks good to a normal person’s eyes, but since I’m a crazy perfectionist crafter I can tell the difference. But just like all else, you embrace the imperfections!

Crafty Fail with Rose Gold Cardstock

I wanted to try a couple of different types of paper when making these gift tags with reactive foil. I found some rose gold paper that I had left from my Thankful Fall Leaf Banner tutorial that would be perfect to make gift tags. After printing on the paper, I was pleasantly surprised that the ink did not smear and it seemed to print fairly well from the laser printer.

Still not thinking that I’m using gold foil paper, I added more reactive foil to the top of the designs, just like I did with the black and white cardstock above. Well, when it came through the machine, it just melded the reactive foil to the top of the rose gold foil cardstock so they became one.

Ultimately, I laminated the reactive foil to the top of the cardstock. So, another Public Service Announcement here – foil paper doesn’t work with reactive foil in a heated press machine, like the Minc Machine. So even though it’s a crafty fail, I learned something. I also thought that the tags printed with just the black ink looked good and could have used them on their own.

Step 4 – Cut the Holiday Gift Tags

The last step is to cut the gift tags. If you use a paper trimmer it goes faster, but just using scissors works too! Don’t forget to hole punch the top so you can add it to gifts with ribbon.

And you are done! Overall, this project probably took me about 15-20 minutes to print, foil, and cut out all 16 tags. That’s not bad at all. If you end up designing your own tags, it will take a little longer.

I loved making these tags because they are very simple, but with the foil they look perfect for the holidays. Plus you can make a lot at one time to keep on hand. I also love that they can be personalized using Canva.

Get my FREE Template and Files to Make DIY Holiday Envelope Stickers

Sign up in the form below to get access to the files for this project, plus all the other Crafty Christmas projects and more! Fill in your info below and you’ll get instant access to the resource library made just for my newsletter subscribers!

If you’ve made these holiday gift tags or customized your own, I would love to see!  Leave me a comment below or better yet, tag me on Instagram @craftyjulienow – I want to see your projects!

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Happy Holidays!