How to Make Reusable Chalkboard Gift Tags

This tutorial was originally published on Crafting a Green World in 2016.

Make reusable, DIY chalkboard gift tags for all of your holiday gift wrapping adventures!  

Okay, I DID find just one more cardboard record album cover craft to make with my scraps--reusable DIY chalkboard gift tags! These reusable DIY chalkboard gift tags came together in just minutes, from the scraps leftover from making my latest batch of album cover bookmarks. I'll be pretty excited to have them already in hand when the gift-giving season really starts rolling, and since they have a chalkboard side, we can use them over and over again.  

You will need: 

  cardboard. The base of these gift tags is an interesting piece of cardboard, upcycled from anything that you like. Record album covers are great, of course, but so is the cardboard packaging from your favorite foods, or perhaps even old calendar pages. 

  chalkboard tape. The reason why this project is so quick and easy is that a few months ago, I found a roll of chalkboard tape on sale, and I bought it even though I didn't have a project in mind for it (my husband haaaaaates when I do this, by the way, but look at that tape now, Matt. LOOK AT THAT TAPE NOW!!!). 

You could experiment with chalkboard paint instead, but my intuition says that it will warp your cardboard if you're not super careful. 

  chalk markers. Chalk markers will enable you to write messages on the gift tags that won't rub off. When you're finished, wipe it off with a damp cloth and it's ready to go again! 

  scissors or gift tag hole punch. I have a gift tag punch that I use for lighter materials, but it won't cut through record album cardboard. Anyway, it's cuter to freehand around fun images.  

To make these tags, simply cut out a rough outline of your graphic on your cardboard, then back it with the chalkboard tape. 

Having done that, you can cut out the exact outline that you want, cutting through both cardboard and tape at the same time for perfectly clean edges. 

 Punch a smaller hole for hanging at the top of your gift tag, then write your chalk message on the back.

   My only worry, now, is that the older of my two kids will wash off all of her sister's tags and write her own name in, instead. Fortunately, she's also my kid with messy handwriting, so I *should* be able to tell...