ok…so I dumpster dived

I once dumpster “dove” into a large dumpster because a local interior designer had tossed oodles of fabrics and wall coverings in the trash.  I watched her throw these items away, so they were literally  in the dumpster for…like…30 seconds.

Those fabrics could be used for a gazillion things, couldn’t they?

YES ~ is the answer. Amidst all of the various patterns was this beautiful metallic gold fabric with raised snow flakes.  Success!  That fabric became my new Christmas wrap. Here’s how you do it… make the wrap, that is… not dive.  Martha Stewart talks about photocopying the fabrics onto paper.  I just used the fabric.  Martha does go on to tell you how to make fabric envelopes. Learn how here.

The fabric is long gone, by the way…as are my dumpster diving days.

My mother taught me the importance of a nicely wrapped present.  I really do try to put thought and imagination into how I wrap things.  To me, it’s as important as the gift itself. My sister and I used to do this woven ribbon wrap technique all the time when we were younger.  I have forgotten how beautiful the final product looks and you use far less ribbon then you would if you were making a bow.

Of course, you can always incorporate Mother Nature in with your wrapping. Or even use vintage linens. This little game tile name tag idea is a fun idea. If you’ve got a lot of cones laying around your yard, you might try this. I have always loved adding ornaments to my packages.  When I used to  live near a Neiman Marcus, I would make a ritual out of attending their Day After Christmas Sale and push everyone out of the way politely search for the most impressive ornaments they had left, often at 75% off sale price.These ornaments would then become part of my gift.

This is a great idea ~

Glitter bulbs.  Add these to your packages or your holiday decor ~   and it’s a really great way to recycle any old burnt out bulbs you might have.

These seem to easy to make.  Really?  You only need sticks and string? Yep. Oh, and glue and scissors…but how hard it that? So, I’m just suggesting to you might want to consider some different options when wrapping gifts. 

Maybe something shiny?  Maybe something bright? And, no…this is not what I’m talking about.