It's a {Green} Wrap!

I know that we are all trying to be as ecologically conscious as possible these days, but the Christmas season does tend to make that a little bit more difficult. It seems that "consuming" is the name of the game when it comes to Christmas...There is just so much waste from product packaging, to wrapping paper, to tissue, to ribbon, to gift bags, to gift tags and gift cards...it's a LOT to be throwing away on December 26th! But what can we do? Unwrapped gifts lack the elements of anticipation and surprise, so that's not an option for me, but neither is buying rolls of wrapping paper only to rip them up and throw them away! I have scoured the internet for the best wrapping ideas I could find, so that I could pass them along to all of you...Enjoy!

Once washed and turned inside out, chip bags make pretty wrapping paper...



Furoshiki is the Japanese art of wrapping presents with fabric. I would HIGHLY recommend checking out the link to learn more...You could use any fabric you have laying around the house, or incorporate the wrapping as part of the present..a silk scarf, a vintage handkerchief or a cashmere throw would all make sumptuous wrapping/present options.



Try sewing your own fabric gift bags using this simple tutorial...



Maps, especially vintage maps, make gorgeous wrapping paper...



Newspaper- especially the comics



If you have children, replacing wrapping paper with one of their prolific pieces of artwork will put it to good use...



Calendar pages make interesting wrapping material...




You could also use ornaments in place of bows...Why not try this tutorial to make a felt bow? I can be used year after year...and it's LOVELY!



I know it's extra work to wrap your presents in these ways, but it's WELL worth it...buying something for the sole purpose of throwing it away is soooooo 2001.

Pumpkin Carving Inspiration

Soooo, as we are all well aware, Halloween is JUST around the corner. I absolutely love Halloween, and everything that's associated with it...but especially pumpkin carving.

I am going to be at home in Niagara this Halloween, and I can't wait to take an afternoon walk in the vineyards with my man, then carve up some pumpkins and roast the seeds. As I am wont to do, I took the liberty of researching some pumpkin carving designs, and I came upon some pretty impressive stuff. The Chicago Tribune culled together a pretty impressive gallery, which you should definitely check out here for unbelievable pumpkins like this elephant:



or this Gollum pumpkin:



or perhaps you prefer John himself:



Of course, I also checked out Her Majesty Martha Stewart's site, where I often find my best inspiration. I have used this Haunted Pumpkin Village before, and I may use it again, because it's pretty fun to do.



I also did these Owl Pumpkins using gourds.




They were nice because I didn't actually have to carve the pumpkin and make a huge mess, but they didn't light up...also I don't know if you've ever tried to cut one of those little decorative gourds before, but they're like cinder blocks.


A few years back I was wild for these white pumpkins, but I couldn't find them anywhere, so you can only imagine my elation when I found some at the little fruit and vegetable vendor by my house last week.



I may have to pick up a few just because they're so ethereal and creepy looking, and they make stunning luminaries...Now all I have to do is convince my dad to let me use his power drill...

OOOOH! As well! S and I had our engagement pictures this past Sunday, so hopefully I will have a few to post up here tomorrow! I can't wait to see them, and share them with you!

Making Budgeting Pretty

I would certainly would not say that I enjoy budgeting, but I dislike the thought of going broke more. After watching Gail Vaz Oxlade's show "'Till Debt Do Us Part" for the past few years (which you can view here) I have decided that not going broke is simply a matter of employing a few simple strategies.

1) Make a tangible budget: You can create your own using Excel, or try this interactive version made by Gail herself.
2) Live on cash and save receipts
3) Save for a rainy day

Since I usually require something shiny or pretty to coax me into unpleasant tasks, I have created envelopes using a template by my fave blogger Jessica Jones at How About Orange. I used scraps of leftover scrapbooking paper and labelled them with sticker letters. The envelopes are designed to hold receipts, and they correspond with the categories of our variable expenses.



Making these envelopes was seriously fun, and it brought me right back to my glory days in JK, when my teacher had me demonstrate for the class how to make the little envelopes I folded incessantly as a child. I really do love to make useful things.

Case in point #2
My magnetic spice rack, which I made using watchmaker tins from Lee Valley, and some self-adhering magnets from the dollar store. I think the total cost of this project was about $20, and I can add to my collection at any time relatively easily. These would have cost me easily $70 at Home Outfitters. Note: They are not all filled yet, but soon!




Yay for DIY!

My New-Old Table

So, Steve and I were rummaging around the house searching for materials with which to make our own version of this coffee table, when we stumbled across his hideous old coffee table from uni. He joked that we could just use it instead expending all of the extra effort to make a new one. My initial instinct was to barf, but then I took a closer look. The table had nice clean lines, it WAS vintage (70's but, hey...old is old), and it would probably look stunningly modern painted a high-gloss white.
The next day, we tripped-it into Ajax to pick up some spray paint and bulls eye primer (no sanding or stripping required= good) at Home Depot. Upon wood-filling, priming, and gloss coating, this is what we had:





Spray painting is FUN!

Turns out, it was a great idea after all.

On a side note, I finished the place mats recently, but I will not be posting about those, as my top stitching skills did not improve as I had stipulated.

Coasters and Such

As promised, I am posting some photos of my work. I do not claim to be a seamstress, but I am quite proud of these double-sided coasters. They were a total snap to make...
All I did was:
1) Measure a coaster I already had, and added 1/4 inch on all sides for seam allowances.
2) Cut out one square in each of my coordinating patterns (two squares per coaster).
3) Fold seams under according to my 1/4 inch seam allowance and press. I did this for all squares.
4) Clipped all four corners on a diagonal on each square.
5) Applied Heat and Bond interfacing according to package instructions, and fused the top and bottom pieces together.
6) Topstitched around the perimeter of my coaster. (Note to self: improve topstitching)
7) Enjoyed my coaster!

If you have coordinating fabric in different colours, you may want to have one colour thread on the top, and one on the bottom. The solution is to simply thread the top spool with the thread you want on top, and your bobbin with the thread you want showing on the bottom.

Tomorrow's projects: Matching placemats, and pot holders. I also have an awesome felt pillow project that I found here in my cue. I am definitely going to need to improve my topstitching for that project!

Here are the photos...unprofessional as advertised: