Creative and Green Gift Wrapping

Gift wrapping can be beautiful in its simplicity. Here are some ideas for inspiration from the goddess of good things, Martha Stewart. Above, brown craft paper tied with string works nicely with a fresh sprig of greens tucked in and a red bordered sticker label for a tag.

Recycling the drawings or doodles of your resident artist makes a cheerful and personal wrapping tied up with a bow.

A solid color paper or tissue looks elegant with a pretty bow and a little greenery attached.

Japanese style wrapping, furoshiki, with a piece of fabric or scarf self-tied as a carry-all is a thoughtful practice of the 3 Rs.

Natural materials as leaves and pods wrapped in rafia or grasses add an organic touch for your gifts.

Newspapers, maps, and strips of paper can be layered for an entirely recycled and creative wrapping.

Twist a sparkling or contrasting pipe cleaner into an initial or monogram to personalize your packaging.

Stamps and stickers, with a touch of red or green, make ideal tags for marking your gifts.

All images from here.

Fun and Easy Outdoor Lighting

Here's a great idea from Martha's magazine years ago. Start with a wide drinking glass, at least 2 colors of colored sand, a votive candle and its holder. Add some sand first in the larger glass to set the votive holder with the candle centered inside the outer glass. Then continue with a funnel adding sand in layers of color to fill the space between the containers. The outer glass also serves as a hurricane shade.

This works well with a concealed vase for flowers, too. Easy and fun!

Click on the photos for Martha's directions.

Being Martha's Daughter

Mothers and daughters have complicated relationships - period. Here's a fun article on Alexis Stewart and her mum, Martha.

Quilling for Love

Valentine's Day is a holiday opportunity you won't want to miss to bring out the crafting supplies and make your own card. No more excuses: not enough time, never exchanged cards before, not your style, out of doilies, and on and on.

A homemade card with an expression of love (or like) is a lovely gift in itself. With a little daring inspiration and nimble fingers you can create an amazingly beautiful card just in time for Valentine's Day. The quilled cards above and below are from the archives of Martha Stewart's website, where you will find an excellent tutorial on quilling and many more inspirations for your Valentine's Day expressions.

Using a paper cutter, I trimmed colored paper stock for quilling paper and substituted a round toothpick for a quilling tool. Hearts are easy to start with. Your card design doesn't have to be elaborate or overly decorative to get your message across. A simple heart looks very elegant on a pink or white card.

Make somebody happy with a gift of a card on Valentine's Day!

Photos courtesy of marthastewart.com