Review: Simply Green: Giving

Simply Green: Giving: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrapping, Tags and Gifts from Everyday Materials
by Danny Seo
£9.74 from Amazon.co.uk

I was dubious when I received the advance proof for Simply Green: Giving: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrapping, Tags and Gifts from Everyday Materials.  It seemed like a fluff topic for an entire, near 200 page book.  But then I started actually reading it, and literally within the first five pages I had said aloud, "Oh, that's brilliant."  (Regarding what, you may ask?  Read on.)

Seo quickly turned me around regarding the necessity for a good book on green gift wrapping.  We all overdo on shiny, unrecyclable paper and gratuitous bows which just get tossed (or at best, saved and given around again, getting a bit tattier looking each time).  The first brilliant suggestion was to take the black tape from old videotapes (or send away for the Mormon video if you're short, since it's free) and cut it into strips, then curl it with scissors the way you curl regular string ribbon.  He says it looks chic and beautiful and yes, that does sound like a great idea.  The rest of the book, from how to make your own functional gift tags out of inexpensive and hypoallergenic glycerin soap (brilliant!) to presenting jewelry in an empty candy box (of course!), is packed with great little tips.  Some of them reach a bit (no, we don't really want a box tied up with burnt out fairy light strings) but there are tons of golden ideas in here. 

This is literally a book for anybody and is highly highly recommended for great small ways to go green in an area with tons of horrid waste.  We wrap presents to make the world momentarily more beautiful, but it shouldn't cost the earth or harm the earth.  With Simply Green: Giving, you rise above both.  [GT]

Product page: Simply Green: Giving: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrapping, Tags and Gifts from Everyday Materials