a handmade gift bow

Every now and then I notice again how hip crafting has become and am washed over with regret that my mom didn't live to see this day. I had a mom who made things all the time—partly from frugality, it's true, but also because she had a busy mind and liked to do things. She led our Bluebird and Camp Fire clubs and thus, coached numerous kids through years of creative projects. She made our clothes until we grew old enough to object. And she always had some type of handwork project going. She would have loved the explosion of handmaking that has developed with the web.

I feel this even more acutely at this time of year because I've inherited many of Mom's homemade ornaments and Christmas decor. This pinecone and nut wreath is one of my favorites, as I can remember her making it—not with a glue gun, but with grey linoleum paste slapped on with a trowel. (She would have loved glue guns!)

Mom also made her own gift bows. She had some kind of a jig that one threaded ribbon through. My clumsy child hands never mastered it, but I do remember the principle and put it to use this year.

Most of the seasonal advertising inserts are printed on glossy paper with predominantly red ink. So I cut them into 1" strips (with a $10 paper cutter—Mom would have loved paper cutters!) and taped them together as needed.

Start by turning the paper around like a little cone. You can tape it in place if you like.

Make another cone in the exact same way (flipping the paper strip under, not over). The points will not be exactly opposite each other, but will be slightly offset. This allows you to continue the pattern around, much like drawing with a Spirograph.

Continue around until you have created a full rotation, then staple the piece in the center and cut off any excess. This bow is made with five points, but you may have more or less, depending on how big your bow is and how sharply you wrap.

Make your second piece slightly smaller and place it at a slight rotation to the first. Staple it all together and cut a third strip to make the center loop. For my 4" diameter bow, I cut a 3" long strip.

Tape the loop in the center, and stick the bow to your package with another piece of tape. This is the package wrapped in the previous post. Not too fancy, but it was quick and used nothing but the contents of this morning's delivery.

japanese-style gift wrapping

I always loved the Japanese way of wrapping things. Once you get the hang of it, it's actually faster than the more conventional method used in the US. It also uses paper more efficiently and can be done with a single piece of tape. With all this going for it, I don't understand why it hasn't caught on in the same way, say, that the furoshiki has.

I apologize for the crude blocking on the box—it's actually my husband's Christmas gift and I didn't want him to see it. Also, for the record: no one in Japan would ever wrap in old newspaper.

Start with your gift placed at an angle—you'll be wrapping corner-to-corner. (This method can be applied to any object of any shape, but it's easiest to understand with a box.) For ease of discussion, I'm going to label the corners north, south, east and west.

Bring the south corner over the top.

Then pinch the top of the paper on the west side, as if making hospital corners on a bedsheet. Crease it sharply and fold it onto the top of the box.

The camera is now looking on from the southwest side. Push the paper on the west side in, and bring the west corner over the top. You can tape it down at this point if you like.

Repeat with the east side of the paper.

At this point, you have a sort of envelope with the flap open, and this is the one place it gets a little tricky: you are going to fold in both sides at once. I hope the photo is self-explanatory, but basically you push both sides inward as you simultaneously lift the north corner up and over the top. Crease the folds against the side of the box and tape. (Once you get the hang of things, this will be the only piece of tape you need.)

And that's it! Gift wrapping that takes 60 seconds and one piece of tape—what's not to like? :)

satsuma lamp

Tonight is winter solstice, the darkest night of the year and the perfect time for lighting a simple lamp.


This idea has been around for awhile—I think it first appeared here as a Clementine Candle. Typically it is halved and a star-shaped vent is cut into the lid like so:

However, D and I are partial to satsumas, having spent many winters in Japan where consuming a 200-yen bag of mikan over the course of an evening is its own special joy. I also found that the vent quickly blackened and didn't look that great, so here is my resulting modification.


First you have to know that the stem end is going to sit down, as it has the long pith that serves as a wick.

Score your satsuma about 1/3 way down and carefully peel that away. Then pull the fruit out, have a little snack and—here's the critical step—go to bed. In my experiments, I found that shells which were left to dry overnight burned brighter. So I recommend letting it sit for at least a few hours.

a dried satsuma shell

Place your satsuma rind in a holder of your choice. I used a wooden tea saucer and some pebbles because they were at hand.


Now all you have to do is add about a tablespoon of olive oil (other oils might work, but olive oil is particularly clean burning) and light the wick. This tiny little lamp will burn through dinner, dessert, and even a glass of wine and a game of cards afterwards. As I write this, mine have been going for over three hours.

You can also dress it up. I added some fragrant oil from the kids' soapmaking days and for good measure, cut the orange into petal shapes. I think a few of these would make a pretty centerpiece, or could even line up as a kind of menorah.

Here's to finding some brightness in your dark nights. Happy Solstice.