Stone Eggs

Looking for a cheap Eco friendly alternative to the standard Christmas wrapping paper? Why not print your own? The waste we produce from polished wrapping paper makes me cringe. It can't be recycled not to mention it's used only once and then only for a few days. To be so wasteful would be considered insane at any other time of the year.

I'm always looking for ways to segway into block printing and had an idea for this wrapping alternative. Great project for the little ones as well...supervised of course. Why not block print on sheets of newsprint paper and create your own original wrapping paper? The sheets are forty pieces to a 24 x 18 inch pad and cost around a dollar and a half for the whole pad. Check your local art supply...I buy them in bulk from Curry's.

Make your own stamping blocks from potato halves...another artsy session with the kiddies. Not to mention the chance for them to experiment with some personal expression and find an identity within the family hierarchy. Sorry, first year Psychology flashback. For those of you unfamiliar with potato stamping, a design is carved into the flat face of the potato to create a stamp surface. Try Google for ideas on potato stamping. The whole clan could get involved in this one. Let your budding Picasso(s) go wild.

So there you go. You can now pull all of your children out of school, set them up in the garage and your new cottage industry business will be born. Just think of the cost savings. No more lunch money, school uniforms or books. Plus if they are really young they'll work for macaroni and cheese. Mix in some sliced wieners as an added incentive on the days you want them to work in excess of twelve hours.

Once Christmas is over the paper can be recycled (depending on the ink you use) and the discarded potato stamps can be introduced to the composter, fed to your pet Iguana or launched at passing traffic from a Spud Gun. It's win win all around.

Today's pic shows a stone Hosta leaf waiting to be discovered under a genuine Hosta leaf. The three stone eggs add a touch of interest.