good 'n planty

Last night I tried that Japanese fabric wrapping for the first time. It was a little difficult to tie the fabric (a t-shirt material) so I think a thinner fabric would work better. It was also kind of hard to let go of the idea of putting my present in a box, cutting the perfect amount of paper and presenting the giftee with a smooth, beautifully presented gift. I'm not super pleased with the aesthetics of the wrapping- but it's just another crafty problem I'm up for the challenge of solving.

The steps on the left are the ones I tried to follow. Here's the result:

I did use my leftover-from-last-Christmas wrapping paper for something- can you guess it? Covering cigar boxes! It's a theme here now, woot!

And let me tell you- covering cigar boxes with paper is so so much easier than using fabric. Definitely go with paper.

As gift-giving begins around the office and with friends, I'm really pleased with how my gifts turned out. I feel proud and rewarded to be giving things I made with my hands, and in quite a few cases, with recycled materials.  I can't show the gifts here yet, but I'll do my best to post a gift round-up post-Christmas.

Today I was reading "What's Your Composting Sign?" from a recent issue of Organic Gardening (December 2006-January 2007) and I was struck by the familiarity of the illustrations. When I checked the illustrator I knew the name right away. Linzie Hunter has been all over the web lately, notably for her spam one-liners - she's made a cool collection of artwork from spam phrases she discovered in her inbox.

When I was a kid, my mom put all our gifts into big reusable fabric bags and this Christmas I've been considering alternative wrapping materials. There's some recycled paper sources here, the Japanese art of fabric wrapping (amazing!) here, repurposing stuff around your house to wrap presents here, collage wrapping here, and my contribution (and cigar box use #2) fabric covered cigar boxes:

 I didn't take pictures as I went, there isn't much to explain- I used large amounts of mod podge, a bit of hot glue, and I  didn't cover the top of the sides otherwise the box wouldn't shut properly. Also, I experimented using a sweater and that didn't work at all. Too bulky. Thin fabric is best, paper would be a breeze, I just didn't feel like measuring and cutting.

Last night I watched this movie while crafting.

The movie focused on a few of the lost boys of Sudan and their transition to life in America. It was moving to see the motivation and will that the boys (now men) had to take the education and profits they gained here and bring or send them straight home. My sister called while I was watching and we talked a while about how hard it is to witness something so moving, or become aware of a huge problem and just go back to your daily life... "baby steps"  just don't seem like enough. By the end of the movie, I was ready to open my apartment up to refugees and join the Peace Corps. Especially at this time of year, I feel the need to cut back on personal luxuries and give more of my time, money and energy to places that need it, whether it's within my personal network of family and friends, my community, or thousands of miles away.

Here are some sites and ideas that I've been checking out:

kiva.org Provides small loans to entreprenuers in developing countries. 

ten thousand villages Sells wares produced by people in developing countries and pays them a fair price for their labor.

heifer.org Accepts donations to provide livestock for families in developing countries.

all would make excellent Christmas presents.  

Surprise! I don't have 101 uses, but I'm trying to come up with that many because I have a ton of them*, they were super cheap, and they're little wooden boxes(!) The possibities are endless. As you can tell from the post below, the shape of the particular box was perfect to:

1. Create a nativity scene (would also make a nice diorama). When I was in 2nd grade we had to read a book and then create a diorama of the story. I chose the original Boxcar children (before the series got popular. I was so ahead of my time...). I loved how the kids scavenged dishes from an old dump nearby and furnished the boxcar and I furnished my little shoebox accordingly. Anyways, it made me kind of sad when I saw a package of thin foam slabs wrapped up and sold as a "Diarama Kit" in the craft section of a local megastore. It looked so sterile and wasteful...seems like a cigar box would make a really sweet substitution.

*I don't know if this is a common practice or I'm just incredibly lucky- I once dated a cigar smoker and from that I know that a local cigar store sells cigar boxes for anywhere from .25 to 2.00 a piece (most I bought were .25-.75).  I would imagine some places even toss them (!!) so it'd be worth asking about next time you pass your local cancer shack.