Save That Paper and Those Cards!

Every birthday and Christmas, we would hear my dad say "Don't throw that away, we can reuse it again." He would salvage the paper if we didn't rip it up in the process of opening it. My dad would actually use his pocket knife to cut the tape on his presents so he didn't rip any of the paper. It does seem like a waste to buy nice paper and only use it once. I always thought he was being silly saving it but now that I buy it, I can see his point.

One of the best purchases I feel I ever made were fabric gift bags from a co-worker whose wife made them and sold them. They came in three sizes and were especially good for odd shaped things. They can easily be used over and over again. My parents thought they were great! They are also nice for people who do not like to wrap presents, for whatever reason. They look very easy to make too. I found some free instructions for them at Craft and Fabric Links. I must admit though, it's more fun to tear off wrapping paper than untie the fabric bag bow and be careful not to pull out the ribbon like my husband does. If I had a sewing machine, I think even I could make these! If you are not a sewer either but would like some, you can buy them from www.luckycrow.com.

My parents were always looking for ways to save money, after all, they were raising four kids! One of the things I used to help my mom do was to make gift tags. My parents would recycle the Christmas cards they received by cutting parts of them up and using them for the "to" and "from" tags for gifts. Here is a video of me making some to demonstrate this very difficult procedure!