Remember those heart-shaped luggage tags I picked up at Dollar Tree last month?  I was originally planning to do something for Valentine’s Day with them, so I tucked them away for storage.  I put them in an organizer with clear pockets hanging on my craft room wall, right next to a stack of little sheets of craft foam that I got at Dollar Tree months ago and have slowly been working my way through.

It was one of those ideas that came without even trying.  I was sitting on the craft room floor wrapping Christmas gifts, pondering how to dress up the packages a bit.  I was staring blankly into space, deep in thought, when my eyes came into focus on the luggage tags and the sheets of foam.  A little light bulb appeared above my head—gift tags that double as ornaments!  I got so excited about the idea that I ran to Dollar Tree and bought more luggage tags.  (My store has a  whole bunch of them in the school supplies section in several different shapes, sold in packs of two.)  In the end I made eight gift tag ornaments for under five bucks!

Project estimate:

• Luggage tags, 2 for $1
• Craft foam, on hand or $1
• Christmas table scatter, $1
• Glue, on hand
• Scissors, on hand
• Paper scraps, on hand

Total: $2 and up for two

First I had to cover up the centers  of the luggage tags.  To do this, cut corresponding shapes out of craft foam that are just larger to the area of the luggage tag you want to cover.

Glue the foam shapes to the luggage tags.

Next, glue a piece of table scatter to the center of each foam shape.  (I love this table scatter and I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy it.  But you can use anything you want here!)

On the back side, cut off that unsightly tag.  Does anyone really know what all of those regulation numbers mean anyway?  (It also says they are made in China…  So I would not recommend licking or eating your ornaments.)

Remove the information card from the luggage tag and use it as a template to cut the same shape out of a scrap of scrapbook paper.

Write your to and from information on the paper, as well as the year.  Slide the paper into the window pocket and you’re done!

I had a bunch of table scatter left over, so I used some of the glittery trees to decorate a plain silver cardboard canister.  I also wanted to convey the silliness of the gift that’s inside this package, so instead of using a ribbon, I tied it up with some pom pom garland that I also found at Dollar Tree.

You can also make these into keepsake ornaments by attaching photos to the fronts instead of table scatter.  Use them to tag gifts for grandparents, or if you have young children, attach photos corresponding to the recipients of the gifts so they can help pass out the presents on Christmas morning!