This tutorial was written December 16, 2001 using PSP7.04. The wrapping paper we'll make initially will be for an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of white paper. This size works well with small gift boxes and will also accommodate one CD. You may later want to make modifications and use it with an 8 1/2 x 13 size paper.

I always use the brightest white paper that I can find as this makes for a nicer appearance. If you want a different color background than white, I'd suggest that you start with colored paper as your printing will never bleed to the edge. If you start with a white sheet you will then have to trim it. I've done that and it does work.

Based on the number of layers and some of the layering techniques used, this tutorial is considered an Intermediate Level tutorial following the FlyByNightGraphics skill rating levels. The tutorial is rated:

This tutorial was written based on PSP7.04. If you do not already own Paint Shop Pro, you may download a trial version. If you do own PSP, then you can download or purchase the upgrade to PSP7.04. You can find and download them HERE.

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Open a new 850 x 1100 transparent image.

Flood fill with white. Now we're going to make a grid template to use in the future.

Add a layer. Change your Foreground color to Red and the Background color to Null. Get your draw tool, Single Line, Width 1, Antialias checked, and starting at 170 make a vertical straight line to the bottom of the sheet. Lay 3 more lines at every 170 pixels. Your lines will be at 170, 340, 510, and 680 - if I've done my math correctly. You should now have 5 columns for this template. These lines will only serve as a rough guide for you and do not have to be placed exactly on those grid marks. We're only making the grid lines to help us space our images fairly evenly.

Add a layer. Now we're going to add a horizontal red line every 220 pixels. Your lines will be at: 220, 440, 660, and 880. Again, these don't have to be precisely at those spots, but roughly about there. You may end up moving your images to make them fit based on how you 'see' it.

Save this in psp format as your wrapping paper template. This is what my grid looks like. Yours will also look like this if you have used the five grids down and across:

Let's start decorating this paper!

Find the tubes you want to use - not too many different ones as we'll want to use them more than once. And, we'll also add some text, if you like. This is your wrapping paper so you can be as creative as you want.

Add a layer and place your first tube in the 1st box.

Add a layer and place the second tube in the 3rd box.

Add a layer and place the third in the 5th box. For now we'll leave the 2nd and 4th box for text.

NOTE: Based on the amount of reduction you'll need for the tube, you may want to go to Sharpen|Unsharp Mask and use the following settings: Radius=3; Strength=50; and Clipping=3.

I've used three Christmas country tubes for this paper. When placing them I made sure that the tubes did not get too close to any of the outer edges. Sometimes this means having the tube overlap into another grid. This is ok. :o) Here's what my paper looks like so far:

NOTE: Here's another trick I used. Once I placed the tubes in the first row, and sharpened them if they needed it, I then kept duplicating the layer with the tube I wanted to place next, and then just moved the tube into place. That is, when you duplicate a layer, whatever is duplicated is placed right on top of the original layer. Take your mover tool and just move that object where you want it. This saves on the sizing of the tubes, as well as on the steps to sharpen. And remember, the grids are only acting as guidelines. We're going to delete those two layers at the end. :o)

If you are satisfied with the way your paper looks, hide the grid layers and go to Merge|Merge Visible.

Let's add some text! Since my tubes are all for Christmas, I'm just going to add 'Merry Christmas' to the empty boxes. I'm going to use the red from the cat's hat as I think I may add a sprig of holly to the text box, too.

Add a layer; make your Foreground color Null and select your color for the Background, then place your text in two rows:

If you are going to add something, like the holly, add a layer and then add your holly. Now, hide your merged tubes layer, and the grid line layers. Now you can go to Merge|Merge Visible. Next you can unhide your other layers. You will only need to right click on the merged text layer and the duplicate and move the text to the next open box.

This is what my paper looks like with the text placed:

Hide Layers 2 and 3, the ones with the red lines and take a look at your paper. Remember, when you print it out it will be much larger! You can move things around a bit if you think you need to make some adjustments. Once you are satisfied, delete Layers 2 and 3. Then go to Merge|Merge All Flatten. You are now ready to print - but DON'T DELETE your merged image from your work surface! If you don't like how the printed paper looks, you still can make changes!

First, go to File|Print Preview. You will quickly see if you have any problems around the edges. If so, Unmerge the paper and use your mover tool to correct the problem. In mine the star on the Santa in the upper right was partly cut off, so I needed to move it down just a bit. Once making the correction, go back to Print Preview and check the edges one more time - just to make sure.

Here is my finished Country Christmas Wrapping paper:

That's it! Now all you have to do is wrap your gift, make a tag - using one of the tubes used on your paper, and add a bow! And, I hope you've enjoyed making some gift wrap for your small packages.

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Here are some gift wraps that I've made, starting with the one we just made with this tutorial. The second is made using only three columns with four rows - and no text. And the last one is paper I made to wrap a child's birthday CD.

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