Holiday Projects for View from the Bay
Furoshiki - Japanese art of cloth gift wrapping
The Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan has a guide (PDF) on using cloth as opposed to paper for wrapping gifts to cut down on the wasted paper usually used in gift wrap. It's also a beautiful, embellished way to give a gift to a friend or family member. Shown in the finished picture above is the Otsukai Tsutsumi (Basic Carry wrap), Hon Tsutsumi (2 Book Carry Wrap), and the Bin Tsutsumi 1 (Bottle Carry Wrap 1). You can also be creative and use up your old fabric scraps. Even if you don't have enough to wrap one gift, you can sew patchwork pieces together. Link.
If you are in the Bay Area, one of the best places to buy fabrics for less is Discount Fabrics, located in San Francisco and Berkeley. I like the warehouse one on 4th street because they have a huge selection and great deals every day!
Discount Fabrics
525 4th Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
415-495-5337
Website - Link.
Other Featured Projects
Holiday Project: Make a Scrap Fabric Ornament
Melissa has added scrap fabric ornament to the CRAFT flickr pool. The full tutorial is included and easy to make. Link.
Holiday Project: Photo Ornaments
Decorate your Christmas tree with your own photo memories with this tutorial from Photojojo on how to make your own photo ornaments. Link.
Holiday Project: Beaded Tree
Roxycraft, the maker of the cutest amigurumi patterns, also has a blog in town. Tamie Snow's latest project is a photo tutorial on how to make this cute looking bead tree. Her pom-pom and furry trees are also super cute and could easily be glued onto the tree foam. Link.
