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How to make personalized QR code gift tags
Customize a QR code gift tag that leads to a video message when your gift recipients scan it with their smartphone.
Create QR code gift tags
Handwritten gift tags might be a thing of the past.
This holiday season, JC Penney is offering Santa Tags, a new option that allows gift-buyers to record voice messages for their recipients to play back upon unboxing their gifts. And it's all done with QR codes.
The voice message is attached to a QR code, which the recipient scans with a QR scanner on a mobile phone, and the voice note is instantly played back.
Pretty cool.
But you don't have to go to JC Penney to make this happen, because there's an even better DIY option you can tackle right now. With this tutorial, you can customize your own QR code gift tag that leads to a video message when your gift recipient scans it with a smartphone.
Step 1: Record your video message
There are many ways to get a video message online, but for this example, we'll use YouTube.
- Record your video on your cell phone, Webcam, or digital camera, and transfer it to your desktop.
- Then head to YouTube, sign in to your Google account, and click "Upload".
- Select the video file from your desktop. While it uploads, give the video a name and description. Also be sure to select "Unlisted" so that only the gift recipient will see the video.
- When the video is done uploading, copy its link to your clipboard.
Scan this QR code to see my holiday video!
Step 2: Set up the QR code tag
To make the QR code, head to http://zxing.appspot.com/generator/. From the drop-down menu, select "URL," and paste the link of the video. Then select the size of the bar code, and click "Generate."
Step 3: Make your gift tag
Once your QR code is generated, and you've tested it with a QR scanner on your phone, print it out (any regular printer will work).
Then, cut out the square QR code, and paste it into a greeting card, a traditional gift tag, or directly on the present.
