Gift tags and wrapping for handmade photo gifts: printable tags, sleeves and envelopes

A zine or photo booklet straight off the printer looks like a document. The same booklet in a coloured paper sleeve with a tag tied on looks like a present. The finishing pieces take five minutes and one or two extra sheets of card, and they are what makes a homemade gift feel considered rather than improvised.

Keep the finishing pieces in the same colours and fonts as the gift itself. A wedding booklet in ivory and gold wants an ivory tag and sleeve; a riso-style zine in blue and red wants the same blue and red on its envelope. Foldpic's gift kit uses the project's own palette and fonts for exactly this reason.

A good gift tag is about 50 × 90 mm with clipped top corners and a punched hole near the top. Print four to a sheet on 200–250 gsm card so they stay stiff. Put the recipient's name in large type, the sender's name smaller underneath, and on one or two of the tags a small square of the cover photo, so the tag hints at what is inside.

Cut along the outline, punch the marked circle with a single-hole punch and thread a ribbon, twine or a strip of the same card. Spare tags are useful: write one as a bookmark-sized note inside the gift, or keep them for the next present.

A paper sleeve is a band of card that wraps once around a book or a stack of cards, with the title on the front and a short line such as Made by Grandma on the back. Make it 30–60 mm tall and long enough to go round the piece plus its thickness and a 15 mm overlap. For an A6 card or zine, an A4 sheet is long enough; for an A5 booklet, print the band on A3 or join two pieces.

Fold it on the dashed lines so the corners are crisp, wrap it with the title centred on the front and glue the overlap underneath. A sleeve holds a calendar's month cards together neatly and keeps a zine closed in the post.

Cards, postcards, zines and month cards look finished in a matching envelope. A pocket envelope for an A6 card fits on one A4 sheet; bigger pieces need A3. Glue the bottom flap, slide the gift in and close the top flap with a sticker or washi tape rather than glue, so the recipient can open it cleanly.

Small touches go a long way: a wax seal or round sticker on the flap, a sprig of rosemary tucked under twine, kraft paper for a rustic look, or a hand-written date on the back of the sleeve. Keep anything bulky off envelopes you are posting, as uneven items can cost extra.