At the heart of this book is the furoshiki, a traditional Japanese  square cloth used for wrapping a carrying items, a practice which dates back to the 17th century. Along with easy-to-follow instructions that will inspire a whole new approach to gift presentation, Wrapagami includes a brief overview of the history of the furoshiki, directions for creating your own furoshiki, ideas for reusing furoshiki and resources for purchasing furoshiki.

Not only is fabric gift wrap a creative and eco-friendly way to present a gift (no paper, tape or scissors required) — the fabric is a gift in itself, especially for those of us who love fabric.

I recently tried my hand at creating my own furoshiki and wrapping a few handcrafted treasures for a friend — a set of crocheted trivets (more about that in a future post), a recycled gift card mini notepad and a duct tape wallet.

Wrapagami is going to be a treasured item on my bookshelf that will get repeated use. I may even buy a few copies and wrap them wrapagami style to give as gifts.

Check out Jennifer Playford’s website for how-to videos or to purchase furoshiki with her original designs.

By the way, here is a close-up of the duct tape wallet for those who are curious. Crafted by Us has an amazing duct tape video podcast/tutorial if you’d like to make one.

watch out wine charm...there's a new kid in town

Wine charms, while fun to make and often a delightful little adornment on one’s wine (or martini) glass, are so…yesterday.

Alas, wine charms do serve a tremendously useful purpose — keeping your beverage from getting lost in the crowd.

But, what if your cocktail-container doesn’t have a stem?

Use your handy lime zester to engrave each guest’s initial into their drink’s lime. For the truly talented, try engraving a mini portrait or drawing (daisy, cat’s face, heart, sun, bumble bee…you get the idea). Thanks Better Homes & Gardens for this clever, creative tip just in time for all those Cinco de Mayo margaritas.

Of course, the wine charm still has its place. Who would want a glass of wine with a lime in it?! Rubber Romance Stamps (creator of very lovely stamps) has a clever wine charm tutorial using stamps and shrink plastic.

Cheers!

Grabbed some of my used gift cards and a stack of security envelopes that I’ve been collecting and whipped up this little mini notepad.

The thing I love about collecting security envelopes is now I get excited when there are bills in the mailbox! Can’t wait to tear them open and see the pretty paper lining.

Looking for crafty things to do with security envelopes? Check out these ideas:

Security Envelope Beads

Security Envelope Business Card Holder

Repurposed Security Envelopes (turn ‘em inside out and reuse ‘em!)

Security Envelope Valentine

Security Envelope Flowers, Mobiles, Garlands & More

Wait, there is more…check out this flickr group with the mission “to collect and organize envelope security patterns from around the world.”

Still more, The Security Project is an installation containing 289 buttons made of security envelopes.

This clever idea comes from A Little Great.

Super simple instructions:

Using card stock, cut 8.5″ x 1″ strips.

Fold each strip in half.

Instead of stapling the chain together in a traditional circle, make a heart shape instead.

Enjoy!