Christmas Conscience

[mrs_ladybird]

I was wrapping some Christmas gifts the other night and I started getting a guilty conscience about the whole experience. I just felt bad using all that nice paper to wrap gifts knowing it will just be thrown out again. My mom and I were really good about trying to save the wrapping paper for a few years, and we even went so far as to iron it a few years so it would look nice again the next year. There's only so many times you can do that before you just have to throw it out anyway, and it never looks quite as nice as the very first time you wrap the gift anyway.

Then I had an idea. When all the pretty Christmas fabric is on clearance after Christmas I'm going to buy a bunch. I found some patterns online for making fabric gift bags, and I want to experiment with using fabric as wrapping paper as well! I can get some nice matching fabric ribbon and see what I can do! I'm struggling with how to attach the packages shut, I'm thinking maybe velcro, but I'd have to pick a few sizes of fabric and sew the velcro on, because I don't think peel and stick velcro would stay on the fabric. I could just use the ribbon to tie the packages shut as well, but that gets to be a little bit of a challenge to get all the edges closed to tie a bow with just one person. I'm sure I'll have some fun with experimenting though!

Then, when Christmas is over, I really can iron the wrapping paper and it will go back to looking as good as new again! I could even learn how to tie some fancy bows with ribbon and then with a couple of stitches I could hold the bows in place so I would be able to use them year after year. I think this will be a fun project and it will make me feel better about being less wasteful at Christmas! :)

Comments

[sengalli.livejournal.com]

Hey,

My family has been using Gift bags for years. It does save on alot of paper. And then on top, because we all like the feeling of tearing into paper, we wrap the gifts in old newspapers before we put it in the sack. That way we can recycle the newspaper the next day, we still get to open presents, and we don't feel bad. If you need help with the Santa sacks, I can ask my Mom what pattern she used, cause we made close to 200 in different sizes

[bellajellybean.livejournal.com]

One question:

are you for real?

[neonrose5.livejournal.com]

Tie 'em shut.. make a spot for a draw string, thread a fabric ribbon through & tie it shut..

Can ya tell I have a few like that? *g*