I had a lovely dinner party last month that included treats for each guest to take home – a trio of roasted and seasoned nuts. I packaged each one in a brown wax bag, tied each with cooking twine, and sealed with a little wax for a fancy touch. But I was at a loss as to what to put the individual packages in. My first thought was take-out boxes, but I couldn’t justify another $5 for a box that was going to be tossed out once opened. Ouch! Time to get crafty … I had a number of brown paper bags left from grocery shopping, and after a few trials I came up with a cute package that I felt good about giving. I cut open each bag and, to mask the fold lines, dampened each a little and crumpled them. (Dampening helps the paper to crumple easier). Then I smoothed, ironed on low, and cut two large rectangles out of each bag. I folded the rectangles in half, sewed on two sides, filled each with the packages of nuts, pinned shut the open side (but at 90 degrees from the first side) and sewed this end closed. Done! The brown paper was a nice complement to my rustic wax paper bags and sealing wax, and at no extra expense. Do you have any crafty wrapping solutions? — Rebecca F.

Photo credit: Rebecca Firlik