dear ruth: may

every month i send a small gift to ruth. she and i have never met. i send her these gifts as part of a program called "secret pals" on behalf of the not-for-profit group, humanitarian service project. my goal is to brighten her day with the gift, card, and hopefully the wrapping. this month i got her a book and a gift card. the idea for the wrapping of the book came from this awesome class that i bought online from craftsy.com, titled "paper arts" by alton dulaney. he has some really nice ideas on how to make gift wrapping unique. just what i needed for my ruth. what i liked about this wrap is that it creates a pocket for the card. so simple and functional. the images here show the package with and without the card so that you can see the pocket. fun. i hope that ruth likes it too.

made: origami vase covers and upcycled milk carton vase

ok, i know, i know, the images are crunchy. they were shot with my cell phone, so my apologies. the origami vase covers are brown kraft paper that is folded. it's one of my favorite materials to work with because it is utilitarian, humble, soft to the touch and has good memory for folding. the origami patterns are from the book, home decorating with origami, written by tomoko fuse. even if you are not skilled at origami, these are patterns you can fold with ease. the vase covers are beautiful, sculptural and almost architectural. all you need is an empty can or jar to hold the flowers inside and no one will notice because the paper will cover everything. i used tape to secure the edges together but if you have some of those mini magnets or brads, that would work also. when the flowers have faded, if you don't use tape, you can take off the magnets or brads and store the covers flat to reuse them later. the bottom images are of a plastic milk carton with the stickers removed and an angled section cut off the top to create the vase opening. leaving the handle on makes it easier to transport the vase. i usually use these when i am bringing flowers to a friend because it's so easy to grab and go. decorative paper shown is zinnias from snow and graham. the translucent character of the plastic has a nice diffused quality so you can skip the decorative paper if you want instead. just a couple of ideas to package flowers that save time and money by making use of everyday items that are usually already on hand.

made: coffee table

item: coffee table
materials: 3/4" plywood, hairpin legs and marble
comments: i decided to make this table when i happened upon the hairpin legs. yeah, someone in my neighborhood put them to the curb. lucky me! the marble piece dimensions dictated the depth of the plywood top. the store where i bought the plywood was nice enough to cut it to size for me. sweet. a bit of sanding and drilling and the table was ready. my eyes are on the lookout for a larger piece of marble now...