Being the cheapo person that I am, I am always looking for inexpensive ways to make things fun. This especially comes to things that I hate spending money on in the first place... Like gift wrap.
The practical side of me says: "who cares what it looks like -they're just going open it and throw it all away. What a waste!". The giver in me says: "you devoted the time to finding the right gift - a little effort on the presentation is to be expected!"
So, even though I love giving gifts and wrapping them up for my loved ones, I am also bugged by expensive gift wraps that all inevitably end up in the trash.
This thought process led to my latest addiction: crepe paper. You know, the kind you find in roles in the party isle for $0.99.
Last year, I bought 500 foot roles in red, orange, yellow, blue, and green - on sale - total for under $10. I Used the colorful ribbons for streamers at parties, birthday decorations, and ribbon wands... I still had so much left over I couldnt figure out what to do with itt... Until I was bagging a gift for a school friend's birthday and I had run out of tissue paper. Seeing that the crepe paper was practically strips of tissue, I cut long sections of it and stuffed it in the bag around the gift, allowing colorful loops to spill out of the top. The effect was really happy looking so I went with it.
With the success of that crepe paper use, i decided to move on to making actual bows out of the stuff. Again, the effect is pretty happy looking!! Its kinda fun That the light weight ribbons move with the air currents, and their semi-transparency lends a layered effect, so each color seems to pop out. . Even better: since these are kids gifts, an "easy tear" bow is just the trick to getting into that gift ASAP. Who needs tricky and expensive real ribbon?!
The practical side of me says: "who cares what it looks like -they're just going open it and throw it all away. What a waste!". The giver in me says: "you devoted the time to finding the right gift - a little effort on the presentation is to be expected!"
So, even though I love giving gifts and wrapping them up for my loved ones, I am also bugged by expensive gift wraps that all inevitably end up in the trash.
This thought process led to my latest addiction: crepe paper. You know, the kind you find in roles in the party isle for $0.99.
Last year, I bought 500 foot roles in red, orange, yellow, blue, and green - on sale - total for under $10. I Used the colorful ribbons for streamers at parties, birthday decorations, and ribbon wands... I still had so much left over I couldnt figure out what to do with itt... Until I was bagging a gift for a school friend's birthday and I had run out of tissue paper. Seeing that the crepe paper was practically strips of tissue, I cut long sections of it and stuffed it in the bag around the gift, allowing colorful loops to spill out of the top. The effect was really happy looking so I went with it.
With the success of that crepe paper use, i decided to move on to making actual bows out of the stuff. Again, the effect is pretty happy looking!! Its kinda fun That the light weight ribbons move with the air currents, and their semi-transparency lends a layered effect, so each color seems to pop out. . Even better: since these are kids gifts, an "easy tear" bow is just the trick to getting into that gift ASAP. Who needs tricky and expensive real ribbon?!
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