Last month, my friends at Instax Philippines invited me to teach nearly a hundred instax craft enthusiasts at the Instax & Crafts event at SM Megamall. With the Christmas season starting early here in the Philippines, they asked if I could come up with something festive. Click through to learn how to use Instax prints for your gift tags.

Gift wrapping has always been so important to me. I’ve always believed that the wrapping is just as important as the present itself. This idea stemmed from the observation that gift tags were often just thrown out. Personalize it enough, it becomes a gift in itself. It doesn’t get more personalized than this, does it?

For this specific tutorial, I printed out a few throwback Christmas photos on my new Instax Share SP-2. Then, I pulled a few rolls of washi in festive colors–red, green and gold.

Start out by sticking washi on the sides of the instax print.

Cut the washi to the length of the actual photo.

Fold the washi over the edges.

Next, stick washi onto the top edge.

The top corners of your instax prints are cut at an angle. So, cut the corners of the washi at an angle as well.

Then, fold the excess washi over the edges. Repeat on the bottom edge of the print.

The frame is now done. You can easily just punch the top and call it day, but here’s how I usually finish off the tag. Cut a strip of washi, about 2-3 inches long.

Fold the washi onto itself, leaving about half an inch of allowance.

Sorry, this photo doesn’t show an allowance, but it’s definitely best to leave some stick washi at the tailend.

Then, fold the washi onto itself one more time, using the allowance to stick the washi.

Make sure to leave the loop free from adhesive.

Adhere the looped washi to the top edge of the instax print.

This step is completely optional, too. You can cover the wrong side of the print with scrapbook paper. For Christmas gift tags, I highly recommend the Christmas Noel stack by Recollections.

Cut the cardstock sheet to size.

Glue the cardstock onto the wrong side of the print.

Allow to dry fully before using for wrapping.

After wrapping your present, string it with your favorite wrapping materials. Ribbons, jute string, yarn, baker’s twine. Any of those will do.

String through the loop when wrapping.

All done!

Tag @mikkomix or @itrydiy when you post your final projects on instagram. I’d love to see your work! Happy crafting!