10 (mostly) paperless ways to wrap presents

Christmas is so exciting but usually after all of the presents are opened, this is the scene:

Eco-guilt sets in. Especially in some parts of the world where this paper is sent to the dump instead of recycling. Well, what else can we use? Here are 10 mostly paperless (and re-usable) ideas for wrapping presents that can work for almost any holiday (not just Christmas):

1. Old paint cans: Clean them out well and take the label off. If you need to remove any sticky goo then you can get a product to do that. Get two cans of spray paint: one a primer and the other in a color of your choice. Then, spray the paint can first with the primer, allow it to dry, then paint it with the second color. After drying, find a present and some embellishments!
2. The wrapped box: instead of ripping the wrapping paper off of a box, pick some that have lids like shoeboxes and wrap the box. Wrap each part (the box and the lid, or just the lid) separately so that you can reuse it every year. Tie it shut with ribbon, twine or yarn and add a tag and embellishments.
3. The colorful box: you can buy boxes in almost any store (Zellars, Walmart, Dollarama) that have a decorated lid and a bottom. So, instead of wrapping it like the above option it is already done for you.
4. The paper bag: try this tutorial that I did for painting a paper bag.
5. Fabric bags: try this tutorial that I did for making reusable fabric bags.
6. Felt gift bags: try this tutorial that I did for making felt gift bags.
7. Mittens, scarves, hats, etc: wind a scarf around a box and tie it with ribbon or stuff a mitten and carefully fold it over. This way, the present (and the wrappings) are one and the same!
8. Dishcloths, dishtowels, etc: In addition to mittens and scarves, try wrapping the smaller presents in dishcloths and tie shut with twine, ribbon or yarn. You could also use towels, shower curtains, tablecloths or bolts of fabric for the larger presents.
9. Storage boxes or cubes: try buying a set of these (that are part of the gift), add the gift, close and wrap a ribbon around it. If you are gifting a cube, basket or such then cover the top with fabric to hide the gift then add the tag and an embellishment.
10. Reused materials: every Christmas, save the gift bags and wrapping paper so that the next Christmas, you can reuse them. We do this at home and these materials are used to wrap presents (mostly stocking stuffers) for the family.

10 ways to reuse a pump container

Pump containers (such as face wash, shampoo and hand soap containers) can be reused instead of going into the garbage. If you buy products in bulk, then you can simply wash out the pump container before reusing it again (and again, and again...). 

1. Use it to dispense dish soap (like Palmolive) around the sink.
2. Once cleaned thoroughly (pump and container), use it to dispense olive oil for cooking. This is best for ceramic dish soap containers that haven’t had soap or cleaner in them.
3. Also, once cleaned thoroughly (pump and container), use it to dispense vinegar. This is best for ceramic dish soap containers that haven’t had soap or cleaner in them.
4. Reuse it to dispense hand soap (if you don’t have a hand soap pump).
5. Reuse it to dispense the product that came in it (body wash, body lotion, shampoo, conditioner). Or, if you haven’t thought of these uses, here are some ideas.  This is best for products bought in bulk and you can simply refill the dispensers.
6. Use it to dispense mouthwash in the bathroom.
7. If you do a lot of crafting with kids, use it to dispense liquid glue.
8. Use it to dispense liquid laundry soap. This is especially useful in college or apartments. If you are in a house, use it to dispense fabric softener.
9. Use it to dispense liquid cleaning products that you have bought in bulk (floor cleaner, all purpose cleaner, etc.).
10. Take the pump and put it on a bleach bottle. Whenever you want bleach, dispense it instead of tipping a large bottle (and possibly spilling it everywhere).

Hobbies for men

I have a man who needs a hobby so I started to do some research into what this man can do with this spare time. I have a feeling that this man is not alone. Do you have a man who is looking for a hobby? Why not try one of these?

Cooking:

• Bread: have you tried making your own bread? You don’t need much equipment and it can be very rewarding (and money-saving). You can even get into making your own mother yeast culture for sourdough and making egg bread like challah. 
• Master the slow cooker: have you tried out a slow cooker? Time to see what you can make with it. You’d be surprised how you can prepare the meal before leaving for work and have it ready when you get home.
• Frozen treats: if you have kids (or are a kid at heart) you will love trying to make your own popsicles or ice cream at home. You can experiment with different flavors and juices. You can even try frozen pudding or Jell-o in Popsicle molds or a layered parfait Popsicle. Homemade ice cream is also a lot of fun.
• Farmer’s market: do you know what fruits, vegetables and herbs are in season and when? How about what you can make with them? Time to find out.
• Cooking methods: try different cooking methods when it comes to food such as grilling and BBQ, baking, poaching and pan-frying. Learn different techniques and try out recommended recipes.
• Time-warp cooking: here’s one for you – have you ever tried a medieval recipe before? Or one from the 1800s? It would be interesting to see what they ate. Time to look up a few old recipes and cookbooks online and try them out, if not just to say that you did it.
• Authentic cooking: have you tried mastering a particular genre of cooking? What ingredients make it authentic and how is it prepared? Where can you get those ingredients?
• Have you tried your hand at desserts? For example, can you temper chocolate and make truffles? Or can you make cookies?
• Snacks: why not make your snacks at home? You can try baking your own potato chips or even apple chips. You can make popcorn with different seasonings, roasted nut mixes and energy bars.
• Special breakfasts: become the master chef every Sunday morning. Time to plan out an excellent breakfast with signature recipes that everyone likes. Time to see what you can really do with eggs and hash browns. Think of the breakfasts at Cora’s or Perkin’s for inspiration.
• Canning: have you ever tried making homemade preserves? The list is endless of things that you can make: jams, jellies, pasta sauce, marmalade, applesauce, fruit, pickles, spreads, etc. You need some equipment but the results are great – and money saving.

Social:

• Dinner parties: if you or your significant other is into dinner parties, time to look into the plan. Get a cooking magazine and brainstorm what to make. Is there a theme? Is it formal or informal? Are you planning a game or event afterwards? Are kids allowed? Who is invited?
• Movie nights: plan movie nights with friends. We try to do it at least once a month and we rotate which house has it. Some movie nights are themed (Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc.) whereas some could be by genre: comedy, drama, mystery. Try a film noir night with the best film from the 1940s or a cheese overload with movies from the 60s. If you do a James Bond fest, plan the food around it and do a quiz in between the movie with a prize.
• Restaurants: look into the best restaurants in town and how much they cost. Then plan outings and what dishes to try. If you want to really track this hobby, write reviews about your experience online.
• Dates: if you are taken or single, this still works. Plan date ideas of places to go, places to eat and things to do. You can get into planning cheap things to do or expensive ones, depending on your budget.
• Social: why not set regular hang-out nights with friends? There are plenty of options for talking to friends and family from visiting to talking on Facebook, MSN or Skype. You can do regular webcam chats or have a weekly dinner night at everyone’s favorite restaurant.
• Family: plan a family reunion with some cousins or siblings. Plan the venue, the food and the events. Will it be themed? Also, look into who can do a candy toss for the kids. Treasure hunts and swimming times are always fun. If it is the summer, time to roast marshmallows around a fire or play card games until the wee hours of the morning. If it is the winter, plan it before Xmas and do a gift exchange.
• Become involved at your child’s school: perhaps you could coach a sport or become an enthusiastic benchwarmer. If your child does fundraisers, take them around in the car to sell chocolate bars or do bottle runs. Go to musical rehearsals, or better yet, get them to teach you how to play their instrument.
• Get involved with the community: there are so many programs out there like Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Highway Cleanup groups and political organizations. Time to find something that you like and go for it. 
• Sports (or game) nights: if you have the guys over to watch sports or play games, plan it out a little bit. Tidy up the room, of course, but plan out snacks and try making them yourself. Rotate whose house you have it at and on commercial breaks explain the game to the kids.

Interests:

• Learn a musical instrument: there are so many instruments out there like guitar, piano, trumpet, and the drums. Why not learn one?
• Get into brain teasers like crosswords and sudoku. Try to set a goal of playing the game in pen. These are also available electronically or as apps for your iPod.
• Reading: have you read all of the John LeCarre books? Have you tried Tom Clancy? Look into your favorite genre of books and explore.
• TV: there is nothing wrong with watching your favorite show. How about building up a repertoire? Instead of watching the same show over and over, try watching new TV shows on the same topic. For example, if you like war documentaries, try subscribing to the Military Channel and watch it whenever you can. If you have kids or you have to share with your significant other, time to invest in a PVR.
• Gym: get into the habit of working out whether it is going to the gym or doing it at home. Look into what gym equipment you like and what it can do for you. Start slow on new machines and gradually build up tolerance before switching the workout after six weeks to always keep it interesting.
• Coffee or Tea: learn more about your favorite drink and make a hobby out of ordering new blends and trying them. Try to master new drink combinations.
• Music: learn more about the artists that you like and perhaps certain genres. You may discover new artists and that you like different genres.
• Travel: plan the vacations. Look into the things to see, places to eat and the best rates. Set a budget and now it’s your job to keep it. Plan out a loose itinerary (not too detailed, more if certain attractions have better rates on certain days of the week) and if you need to buy anything (luggage, medication, tags, etc.).
• Collecting: there are plenty of things to get into collecting like antiques, old books, stamps, coins, figures, etc.
• Religion: are you religious? Maybe it’s time to explore one.
• Photography: why not take a class in photography? What cameras are best for which effects and what software works best for touching up photos?
• Health: get fired up about getting healthy. Listening to the Nutrition Diva and the Get Fit Guy can help. There are also plenty of magazines with exercise and diet plans but you can look your nutritional requirements and how to meet them.
• Wine and spirits: cultivate a good taste for wine and spirits. If you don’t like wine, what is your favorite whisky? Or scotch? Have you tried one that is aged or from a different region? You can build up a taste profile.
• Languages: have you always wanted to learn Spanish? Why not get a podcast or a CD for the car? You can take classes or buy books on learning your new language.
• Magazines: what magazines do you like to read? Have you subscribed to them? Try doing that for a year and you always have something to look forward to every month.
• History: are you into a specific event in history? Why not explore it further by looking into how it came to be, the major players and what society was like at the time?
• Genealogy: you could be surprised what you can learn about yourself and your family with genealogy. Where is your family from? Is there anyone famous in the family? All you need is to back a few generations then archives, libraries and vital statistics records can do the rest. There is even software out there that can organize your family tree.
• Pets: do you have a pet? If you do, time to plan your routine around walking the dog or try playing with the cat. Birds like attention and so do snakes. Look into what toys or food your pet likes and how you can keep them from getting bored.You could even try homemade treats for your pets.
• Technology: are you into Blackberries, iPods, iPads and computers? You can also get into computer programs or apps that make your life (and perhaps everyone else’s life) easier. What is coming out that can make your life easier around the house? Be careful with this one though because most people can’t afford to buy new technology the second that it comes out but it’s great to do research and stay informed. 

Crafts:

• Woodburning: try burning patterns on wooden picture frames or tiles of sanded wood that can be display. You can autograph your work (if you work with wood) or make your own chess set with burned squares for black, non-burned for white.
• Woodcrafting: making little wooden houses, ornaments, puzzles or things with a jigsaw (future house)
• Scroll saw: there are plenty of things that you can cut with a scroll saw. You can make the Xmas ornaments or jigsaw puzzles for the kids. You can make things to sell or to have around the house. The options are endless.
• Carving: continuing with the chess idea above, you could carve your own chess pieces out of wood or stone. What kind of wood or stone works best? Here’s one for the kids – have you ever tried carving soap?
• Sew: if you know nothing about sewing, start by learning how to use a seam ripper. You can also learn how to darn socks and fix rips in shirts. If you have mastered that, time to brainstorm what to do with those old ratty t-shirts.
• Painting: try paint by numbers or painting pottery. Or, if you have kids, create potato stamps and go nuts on some newspaper. Take some oil paints to a field and paint a landscape together.
• Pottery: try painting mugs, plates and other items. You can try firing clay too and baking it into vases, pots and amphora.
• Stained glass: try painting glass and displaying it around the house in the windows or on the front door.
• Recycling junk: there are some TV shows out there of guys that go the dump and fix up old appliances or restore rusted bicycles to new. Find your niche and explore it. If you live in a coastal region, you could try hunting down driftwood and making treasures out of it.
• Metal-detecting: have you ever wondered what was buried in your yard? Or, by the beach? Why not get a metal detector and go looking? You could find old bullets or the ring that you’ve been looking for.
• Science projects: if you have kids, perhaps you can help them with a science project. You can’t do all of the work for them but you could look into creating a potato battery. You can get the kids into science with a chemistry set.

Around the house and outside:

• Green living: why not look for ways to use less around the house? How can you save energy or reduce water consumption? Do you recycle or compost? What are things that you can reuse instead of always buying new? Also research your local waste management program and what happens to the garbage after it leaves your house.
• Research the items that you need to buy for the house. Look into items for the garage, garden and the shed. He can do the research for the appliances or items that need to be bought for each room of the house.
• How about gardening? Plan the layout of the garden this year and the amount of care each plant requires. If you don’t have any gardening space, try house plants or an indoor herb garden. You’d be surprised how well cherry tomato plants grow on a balcony in the summer.
• Are you handy around the house? If not, time to learn the basic skills like repairing leaky plumbing, fixing photo frames and furniture. If you are handy, time to try more complex things like building furniture.
• Cars: this one doesn’t require a lot of ideas from me. Walk into Canadian Tire and let it do the work.
• Motorcycles: see above.
• Outdoor sports: there are plenty of outdoor sports to try these days like paintball but why not try something new like archery, hunting and fishing?

Introduction

After many years of avoiding blogging, I finally caved in and created one.

So here you will find the musings of a busy mind. I plan on sharing all of my projects with you with instructions on how to make them. I love to make things and I'm always looking for new ideas. I am interested in upcycling and restyling clothes, knitting, scrapbooking, and cross stitching. I am also very interested in becoming more green and I am looking for ways to use less water, to recycle, to compost, etc.

So, prepare for a Canadian point of view!