DIY Life

The plastic grocery bag appears to be going the way of the dinosaur. If the trend continues, disposable gift wrap might not be far behind. Here are five alternatives you can turn to if the over-priced Hallmark gift bags disappear from the shelves:

Re-Purposed Paper: Of course, your basic uncoated wrapping paper is recyclable and probably not the biggest threat to the environment. But, if you prefer "re-use" over "recycle", then consider other paper options. Brown paper bags, magazine pages, your old Biology notes that you kept for no reason whatsoever... (oh, don't pretend you don't have those). But please, while those crazy Brits might think nothing of wrapping their fish and chips in newspaper, spare your friends and family the aggravation of newsprint all over their fingers and bright shiny gifts.

Gift Boxes from re-purposed cardboard: I'm loving these two tutorials for paper gift boxes. Only one calls specifically for re-using materials (they recommend cereal boxes) but both could easily be made out of any light cardboard you've got sitting in the recycling bin. You might also want to whip out the rubber stamps, paint, or whatever recyclable bling you've got, to make the cardboard a wee bit more festive.

Fabric gift bags: If you know your way around a sewing machine, you could try your hand at making your own fabric gift bags. If drawstring isn't your thing, McCall's has a free pattern for a gift bag with handles. (just skip the whole crazy quilting step and go to the last set of instructions).

Fabric CD Case: This also requires a little bit of sewing skill, but if you're up to it, the possibilities are endless. CDs might also be going the way of the dinosaur, but video games, DVDs and books could all get their own custom fabric case.

Fabric Wrap: If sewing just isn't going to happen for you, the Japanese government has instructions for wrapping gifts with fabric, instead of paper. Yes, the Japanese government provides its citizens with gift-wrapping instructions, got a problem with that? I can't say the directions are particularly clear, but it's worth a shot. In the spirit of re-using, you might want to save this option for your crafty pals who'll definitely make use of a random piece of fabric after they've opened their gift.

Gift wrap comes in so many pretty designs that it sometimes seems a shame to tear into it, thereby ruining it. Some people open their gifts so slowly to save this pretty paper that feel like just giving them a roll of gift wrap as the gift. But you must admit that they have a point. Gift wrap designs come close to artwork much of the time.

Grace Bonny over at the Design*Sponge Craft Blog found a way to showcase this lovely paper in her home. She gift wrapped her closet doors. Okay, not quite but she did use it add a colorful flair to her closet door.

By simply attaching the paper with clear contact paper, tape or mod podge you can apply gift wrap much like you would wall paper. In the Design*Sponge project it is applied to the inlaid portions of her closet door. I can see this being used to decorate many things around the house, from light switch plates to end tables.

This is wonderful news if you are one of those crazy really nice people who is a gift wrap saver. Now you have a craft you can do with all those paper scraps cluttering up your craft room. Although it would most likely look best with fresh paper.

By the way I wouldn't recommend doing this with that cookie monster in the Santa hat paper that you bought on clearance last February. Pretty flower designs or watercolor looking prints would add a nicer touch.