1. FABRIC! A long-time tradition in Japan, gifts are wrapped in beautiful fabrics, often silk, that are re-used several times over. The fabric itself can be a gift, a useful item: a scarf, a bandana, a lunch bag and tied up with fabric ribbon which can be worn as a belt or hair ornament.

2. WHAT’S COOKING? Kitchen gifts can be wrapped in colorful dish towels, use oven mitts as “pockets” to hold small items. Use tablecloths to wrap large gifts, to pad heavy or breakable items such as dishes and ceramic-ware. Aprons are a great way to wrap gifts for the aspiring chef. A kitchen canister could hold many goodies!

3. HOME GROWN! For the gardener, wrap gifts in a bucket, a planter, or hang them as ornaments on a living tree. Think of “organic” ideas like bird seed and a bird feeder, garden tools, decorative stone. Maybe a gardening book wrapped in a reusable canvas tote that can be used when shopping.

4. KID STUFF! Wrap presents for kids in knit caps, close the hat with a novelty barrette, bracelet or rubber bands. Put stuffed toys or action figures in a cowboy hat and secure with a bright bandana. Use fabric paints to customize a pillowcase and wrap up large gifts in that!

5. BOXING DAY. The day after Christmas is known as “boxing day” in England and Australia because that is the day so many boxes are thrown out! Put your boxes to good use elsewhere… wrap gifts in a hat box, a gift tin, a tool box or an artists case. How about using a pencil box, a card case, or a coffee mug for business people?

6. PAPER, PLEASE. If you must use paper, think of creative ways to re-use it: wrap a travel-related gift in an old road map. Wrap a music related-gift in old sheet music. Make your own wrapping paper from grocery bags, have the kids decorate with crayon, or write a poem or the person’s name right on the paper, or use potato stamps in a holiday design. If you MUST buy wrapping paper, look for recycled paper – avoid wrapping paper with metallic colors, which is often produced in an environmentally unfriendly manner.

7. ACCESSORIZE! Use luggage tags or tree ornaments as gift tags. Instead of ribbon, use natural raffia. Use flowers instead of ribbon.

8. SHIPPING NEWS: When shipping gifts, use real popcorn (popped, no butter!) instead of foam “peanuts” and enclose a note to feed the birds with it!]]>
1. FABRIC! A long-time tradition in Japan, gifts are wrapped in beautiful fabrics, often silk, that are re-used several times over. The fabric itself can be a gift, a useful item: a scarf, a bandana, a lunch bag and tied up with fabric ribbon which can be worn as a belt or hair ornament.

2. WHAT’S COOKING? Kitchen gifts can be wrapped in colorful dish towels, use oven mitts as “pockets” to hold small items. Use tablecloths to wrap large gifts, to pad heavy or breakable items such as dishes and ceramic-ware. Aprons are a great way to wrap gifts for the aspiring chef. A kitchen canister could hold many goodies!

3. HOME GROWN! For the gardener, wrap gifts in a bucket, a planter, or hang them as ornaments on a living tree. Think of “organic” ideas like bird seed and a bird feeder, garden tools, decorative stone. Maybe a gardening book wrapped in a reusable canvas tote that can be used when shopping.

4. KID STUFF! Wrap presents for kids in knit caps, close the hat with a novelty barrette, bracelet or rubber bands. Put stuffed toys or action figures in a cowboy hat and secure with a bright bandana. Use fabric paints to customize a pillowcase and wrap up large gifts in that!

5. BOXING DAY. The day after Christmas is known as “boxing day” in England and Australia because that is the day so many boxes are thrown out! Put your boxes to good use elsewhere… wrap gifts in a hat box, a gift tin, a tool box or an artists case. How about using a pencil box, a card case, or a coffee mug for business people?

6. PAPER, PLEASE. If you must use paper, think of creative ways to re-use it: wrap a travel-related gift in an old road map. Wrap a music related-gift in old sheet music. Make your own wrapping paper from grocery bags, have the kids decorate with crayon, or write a poem or the person’s name right on the paper, or use potato stamps in a holiday design. If you MUST buy wrapping paper, look for recycled paper – avoid wrapping paper with metallic colors, which is often produced in an environmentally unfriendly manner.

7. ACCESSORIZE! Use luggage tags or tree ornaments as gift tags. Instead of ribbon, use natural raffia. Use flowers instead of ribbon.

8. SHIPPING NEWS: When shipping gifts, use real popcorn (popped, no butter!) instead of foam “peanuts” and enclose a note to feed the birds with it!]]> For years I did the whole traditional make-up thing.  Liquid foundation, applied carefully with a make-up sponge and blended just so, topped with powder, and freshened up as needed.  Add in the blush, eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, lipstick - the whole routine took about half an hour.  And I hated it!  I was constantly breaking out - I felt like my skin couldn't breathe.  I tried so many different brands but they never seemed to be the right color, consistency, or price.

But then, one day, I saw this infomercial.  Now I'm not a big infomercial person - I like to try before I buy, to put my hands on it and see exactly what I'm getting.  But this product sounded like something I had been looking for my entire adult life... Bare Minerals.

Bare Minerals is NOT make-up!  It's minerals, natural, pure, and GOOD for your skin.  It feels great going on, and looks beautiful because it looks like bare, natural, beautiful skin.  I can tell you this honestly because I use Bare Minerals every day and I absolutely LOVE it!  I will never wear liquid foundation ever again - EVER!  It is so simple and quick to put on - my whole routine now takes about 5 minutes start to finish.  My skin is more clear than it has ever been.  I am a walking talking advertisement for this product - it makes me happy!

I have told several of my friends about Bare Minerals and they're all hooked now, too.  My 15 year old niece and her friend wear it, and so do my step-daughters.  It's great for every age.

I wear medium beige as a base, then I love the new soft focus warmth for some color, topped off by tinted mineral veil.  These are "my" colors, and they have several others depending on your complexion.  I have lots of different shadows so I can play around depending on what I'm wearing.  The brushes are great.  Their new product is the nighttime minerals, which are worn over moisturizer at night.  Love it!

When I first started wearing Bare Minerals about 4 years ago I could only get them through mail order.  Now there's a Bare Escentuals store at the Topanga Plaza Mall in Woodland Hills, California, and Sephora carries the whole line.  There's a Sephora store at The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks, so I can go anytime I want - and I can also order online with Sephora.  Easy!

I don't recommend products lightly, but this is one that I use myself, and I love - so I recommend it highly!

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