diy holiday – EcoSalon

7 Practical & Creative Ways to Repurpose Wrapping Paper

Jen Wallace — Sat, 23 Dec 2017 08:00:51 +0000

iStock/Julia_Sudnitskaya

Have leftover wrapping paper or want to repurpose wrapping paper from gifts you’ve received? Read on to discover some smart ideas for repurposing wrapping paper.

According to Use Less Stuff (ULS), the amount of additional American household waste during the holidays between Thanksgiving and Christmas totals up to 25 million tons of garbage. Do your part to help reduce waste ending up in the landfill by breaking the cycle of single-use gift wrap with these ideas for repurposing wrapping paper. Of course, you can also choose to wrap gifts using eco-friendly alternatives.

Ideas for Repurposing Holiday Wrapping Paper

1. Decoupage

I recently came across whole rolls of wrapping paper in the attic that had actually been my grandmother’s. It was at least 20-years-old. It wasn’t in the greatest shape for using as gift wrap but included some really cool prints and patterns–especially a very pretty plaid print. One ide for old rolled paper is to use it to breathe new life into older furniture pieces with decoupage. That paper would great on a couple of end tables I have that have seen better days!

2. Holiday Cards

Turn wrapping paper scraps and leftover bits into holiday cards for next year’s holidays. Getting a holiday card in the mail is great, but getting a homemade card is even better.

3. Advent Calendar

Get super creative and use leftover gift wrap to make an advent calendar for next year. One idea is to create an advent calendar of mini wrapped gifts with a little surprise inside for each day of the month, but really the possibilities are endless.

4. Packaging

Used gift wrap and scraps are perfect for repurposing as packaging for mailed packages or in which to wrap delicate holiday ornaments before storing them away for next year.

5. Office Organizing

One year, I used gift wrap to decorate coffee cans from Trader Joe’s as used them as handy containers in my office. They are still in use and hold my colored Sharpie pens, zigzag scissors, and more.

6. Mood/Todo/Organizer Board

Make a DIY mood board. Cover plywood, luan board, or even cardboard with gift wrap and wrap it with ribbon for a practical and creative way to repurpose gift wrap.

7. DIY Holiday Placemats

Repurpose sheets of gift wrap and make some holiday-themed placemats. Simply layer wrapping paper between clear contact paper for the perfect combination of form and function.

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5 Impressively Simple and Chic Homemade Hostess Gifts

Jamie Duncan — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 09:00:33 +0000

iStock/eclipse_images

If you’re ready to depart from the customary offerings, then you’ll love these homemade hostess gifts. We’re confident you’ll like them so much that you’d better make a few extra for yourself.

Yes, wine is great, and no one is saying you can’t still include a bottle with each of these presents, but let’s mix it up a bit this year. Some hostess gifts are cringeworthy. I mean, would you really want that decoupaged vase made from old holiday wrapping paper in your house? While others require forking out a lot of dough just to impress. Lavish gifts need not apply.

This season, I encourage you to roll up your sleeves, dear crafters, and let’s get some beautiful gifts lined up for your hostess with the mostess.

1. Infused Sugars

Perfect for coffee, tea, desserts, cocktails, and more, scented and flavor-infused sugars are sure to impress your hostess. A truly unique gift, these can be whipped up in a matter of minutes and will add an aromatic smell and special flavor to whatever you decide to use them in.

It’s as simple as putting your favorite ingredients – vanilla bean, orange peel and bourbon, edible flowers, etc. – in with a coarse sugar like turbinado (usually vegan), and storing in an airtight jar. Feel free to add a decorative label, ribbon, or other personal touches. The tutorial from Food on Fifth is a great place to start.

2. Personalized Tea Bags

In this tutorial from Nellie Bellie, loose leaf tea is transformed into the sweetest set of personalized tea bags. This particular method does not require sewing, although there are some how-tos out there that call for a sewing machine if you’d prefer that route.

These are great because you have control over the color of the twine, the tag’s shape and size, and whether or not you want to include a message on said tag. The DIY uses coffee filters – unbleached is a great choice – and the loose leaf tea and additional spices of your choice. Holiday themed flavors, like pumpkin, cinnamon, or peppermint, would be fitting. Arrange the finished product in a pretty mug or box.

3. Natural Room Scents

Probably my favorite on the list, this tutorial from The Yummy Life is such a pretty, inexpensive, and healthy way to infuse your home with a natural scent. Prepping the ingredients for all of your recipients can be done at one time and refrigerated for a few days ahead of giving.

If you really want to round out the present, then pair the scented jars with a mini crock pot. They have a two-cup capacity, which is perfect for holding the contents of a pint size jar. Have fun with the scents – you can use things like vanilla beans, citrus, cinnamon sticks, extracts, and so much more.

4. Fresh Breakfast Bread

Julie Blanner shared a delicious and economical gift idea. By using one a favorite breakfast bread recipe and a few embellishments, you can bake your way into the heart of your hostess. Since this is so cost effective, we recommend splurging on some really high quality, organic ingredients to make the flavor pop.

The original tutorial used reusable loaf pans that were purchased on sale for a dollar, but you can also use recycled content paper baking pans that can be composted when they’re empty. Tie these up with twine, and add embellishments like cinnamon sticks, herbs, parchment paper, edible flowers, ornaments, craft paper, ribbon, washi tape, and more.

5. Embellished Bouquet

Maybe you’re not the crafty type, or you simply don’t have time for any sort of DIY project this year. Well, we’ve got some ideas on how to jazz up a hand-picked (or store bought, if none are in season locally) bouquet of flowers in a matter of minutes.

Design Sponge has a tutorial on how to turn branches and blooms into something really spectacular. Plus, they had the genius idea of wrapping it all up in a tea towel (linen is nice), and including a wooden spoon attached with a ribbon. There are so many variations you could do here – metal cookie cutters, measuring spoons, a packet of seeds, or an ornament would all work well as a stand-in for the spoon.

Let us know what you think about our homemade hostess gifts on the EcoSalon Facebook page!

Related on EcoSalon

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Interview: Author Ashley English on Holiday Entertaining & Handmade Gatherings

Kelly Aaron — Sun, 22 Dec 2013 08:00:26 +0000

Ashley English is a total rock star. Don’t know who she is? You should. She’s best known for her wildly successful Homemade Living series, in which she beautifully, patiently schools readers in the fine domestic arts of canning and preserving, bee and chicken keeping, and crafting homemade dairy products. The loveliest thing about Ashley’s work is that it isn’t just work–it’s her life. She lives deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina on a mini-farm with the love of her life, Glenn, and their precocious toddler, Huxley.

Though they live down a quiet, secluded country road, the English are far from being loners, opening their idyllic home to family and friends on a regular basis. “Wild Things” themed birthday parties! Ice cream socials! An annual holiday cookie exchange! It’s only fitting that Ashley’s forthcoming book, “Handmade Gatherings” (April 2014, available for pre-order), extols the virtues of hosting thoughtful, sustainable get-togethers and the importance of creating community. If you want to be utterly seduced by the idea of small-scale homesteading, you can take a peek at their charmed country life on Ashley’s blog, Small Measure, and her frequent DIY posts over at Design*Sponge.

EcoSalon’s Kelly Aaron chats with Ashley English about her new book, gets some tips for simple holiday entertaining, and wrangles a pre-press recipe from “Handmade Gatherings”!

Kelly Aaron: We all have something we want to be when we grow up, invariably changing our minds a gazillion times. Was “Cookbook Author/Appalachian Tastemaker/Chic Homesteader” ever on your radar? How did you get here?!

Ashley English: HA! Yes, and no. In high school, I aspired to be a writer, working on my high school’s newspaper staff. I was also quite concerned about the environment and involved myself with any organization with an environmental emphasis whenever I could. My focus shifted briefly right around age 20, when I thought I’d actually like to someday be a fashion designer. That interest is what ultimately prompted me to leave Asheville, NC, where I was currently living, and head to Washington, D.C., thinking it would be a stepping stone to an eventual move to NYC. Thankfully, though, in D.C. I was introduced to natural foods stores, as well as social activism (via an ex-boyfriend), and decided to circle back to my initial interest in environmental activism.

KA: What was the inspiration behind “Handmade Gatherings”? Did this have more to do with throwing your own parties or with being a lucky attendee at other people’s soirees?

AE: Glenn and I love to entertain, and I’ve been entertaining, as well as potlucking, since junior high (my debut potluck was a New Kids On the Block potluck, wherein guests arrived dressed as their favorite New Kid, bearing their favorite New Kid’s favorite food; later, for senior prom, I hosted a potluck at my house before our motley crew of rag-tag eccentrics headed to the formal prom). We also cook with a seasonal focus, so uniting those loves of seasonal cooking and collaborative entertaining in book form just made sense, and so “Handmade Gatherings” was born!

KA: Tell me about a handmade gathering, for which you were the host or a guest, that changed you in some way, for better or worse. This could be something subtle (Whoa! I never thought to serve chili out of a pumpkin!) or, you know, an earth-shattering epiphany (I witnessed a Handfasting ceremony and was moved to start my own coven).

AE: December 2008, Glenn and I hosted a “Winter Wonderland” holiday gathering. I’d been intrigued by all of the culinary and botanical elements associated with the holiday season and had been doing research on the origins of their use. Hosting a gathering that celebrated, as well as explained, why things like poinsettias, juniper, fir, oranges, cinnamon, and more are so closely tied to the holiday season was not only fun, it was deeply meaningful. Some artist friends visiting from out of town arrived early, and headed to the woods surrounding our home to forage for decorative elements. They brought back branches and seeds, pods and mushrooms, and created a gorgeous centerpiece from them. I lit loads of candles, and served a number of appetizers and cocktails deeply linked to the holidays, detailing to guests why I’d done so before serving time. Guests also departed with herbal sachets I’d made, containing a botanical blend believed to evade evil spirits on the hunt come wintertime, as well as digestive bitters I’d brewed to promote health. There were about 10 guests, plus ourselves, and to this day, we all still comment on the mark that gathering left on us.

KA: One thing that’s always impressed is your seemingly effortless way of creating community within the walls of your home. I always leave with a full belly, a warm heart, and a new friend. What’s your secret?

AE: I really believe that spaces create certain experiences. If I wanted to be awed, I’d climb up to the top of a nearby mountain, or gaze at a sacred image. So too with desiring comfort. In my home, more than anything else, I want guests to feel welcome, and comfortable. I work to achieve that by, well, bringing the outdoors in, so to speak. Our walls are painted soothing earth tones, our furniture is all meant to be lounged on (and has the cat scratches and dog indentations to prove it!), there are wooden and metal and glass objects everywhere, and lots and lots of blankets. I can’t begin to tell you how many people have told us they completely lose all sense of time when they’re in our house, and, more recently, two friends said our home felt like a “big hug.” When you’re in an environment that feels inviting, you loosen up physically and, for some, mentally, too. Such a state is super conducive to making new friends and lingering over good food.

KA: Do you have a few off-the-cuff pointers for hosting a last-minute holiday gathering? Help us!

Never underestimate the power of the homemade, as well as the “simple.” My friend and fellow author and blogger Amanda Soule recently wrote in an issue of Taproot magazine (for which she serves as founder and editor) that her holiday mantra is “simple and special.” I couldn’t agree more.

Sometimes, the simplest gesture, be it locally made beeswax candles, a jar of jam you made, or a scarf you knit leaves a more lasting impression than a costly, shiny, yet impersonal item. The same mindset for gift-giving applies to hosting winter gatherings. Pine cones gathered from your yard and placed in a bow and a heap of candles burning evoke a mode and atmosphere that’s hard to beat. Don’t feel like you have to guild the lily. Winter, with its stretch of days spent indoors, invites quiet, thoughtful reflection, not to mention collaboration (cold days are much easier to manage when you’ve got a crew ready to help you shovel snow, build a snowman, or sip hot cocoa together!). If you want to entertain, but lack the time or resources to do so, rope in your friends! It’s likely they’re wanting the very same thing.

A little gift for our readers! This recipe, perfect for serving, sharing or gifting is featured in”The Cookie Exchange” from the forthcoming book, “Handmade Gatherings“, by Ashley English.

Rosemary & Orange Shortbread Cookies

Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-½ cup sugar

-½ teaspoon salt

-1 cup butter (2 sticks), cut into chunks

-2 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary

-Zest of two oranges

Method

1) Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor.

2) Add the butter, rosemary and orange zest.

3) Pulse until the mixture begins to come together and hold its shape. This will take about 1-2 minutes, so don’t worry if the mixture looks crumbly at first.

4) Divide the dough in half. Place one halve onto a sheet of parchment paper. Shape it into a 6-inch log and roll it up in the parchment.

5) Repeat with the second half of dough.

6) Place both parchment-wrapped logs in the refrigerator and chill for 1-2 hours.

7) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

8) Remove the dough logs from the refrigerator. Slice each log into 12 rounds, about ½-inch thick each.

9) Bake at 300 degrees F for about 25 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown.

10) Cool cookies completely, and then transfer to a lidded container.

All images courtesy Ashley English

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