Credit: Courtesy of Jessica Jones
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My mom's obsession with gift bows has become a family tradition; at every gift-giving occasion, we try to sneak them into the trash while she cries out for us to save "the good bows." "Good bows" are shiny, printed, textured, especially tiny, or unusually big, and she keeps them in a 28-year-old cardboard box in a closet. And while we tease her, she's actually doing a good thing for the environment by reusing bows until they rip, tear, or fall apart instead of buying new each year.
She will never find herself in a "gift wrap emergency," like that one that inspired Jessica Jones at How About Orange to create her own bow from a magazine page—but since I don't save bows, I find myself in these emergencies pretty consistently. Next time, I'll follow these instructions: take a magazine page and cut it into nine 3/4-inch-wide strips of varying lengths (check the tutorial for the specifics), twist each into a figure 8, and then glue or staple the centers together to form tiered circles. The end result? Simple, upcycled bows that are more colorful, unusual, and personalized than the ones you buy in bulk—and a season's worth of new additions to my mom's (or your's) bow box.
More Green Gift Ideas
12 Easy Green Alternatives to Wasteful Gift Wrap
Green Delights of Junk Mail Gift Wrap
2009 TreeHugger Gift Guide: Have a Slow Holiday
How to Go Green: Gift Giving
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