Recycling and Happiness

These envelopes hold the holiday thank you notes and were created by an inventive young artist. Reusing the paper liquor store bags, she craftily constructed each envelope to accommodate the odd-sized thank you notes, and played the patterned side against the plain one.

The paper bags are made of the sturdiest paper imaginable. I happen to have quite a few. The inspiration for this recycling project came from a certain Uncle Vance (not mine but someone else's) who regularly collages birthday and holiday greetings using the bags as a base. He reuses the cards sent to him and, with a little cutting and pasting, creates an entirely unique card. Think of the cards you receive and how few really resonate - Uncle Vance's are always remarkable.

My own dear mother shares the same general 'age' as Uncle Vance and she has been known to clip the image from Christmas cards and reuse them as gift cards. Brilliant and thrifty.

Those of us in l'age moyen might consider this quirky and creative, they simply think of it as thrifty. Any excuse will do. For me, I have another reason to drink wine in 2009.