Making wrapping paper from children's drawings

Sew pictures together using the zig zag feature on your sewing machine.

I have a hard time throwing things away--especially the drawing that my daughters make. They are amazing! I love them! But, I've filled three bins with drawings and at this rate, we'll need additional space if we're going to keep them all. So, I've started figuring out ways to reuse them (here's another way, Making Gift Bags).

You can also make envelopes by folding paper and sewing it closed on one end.

Making wrapping paper out of the drawings is super easy. The hard part is getting your children to agree to let their artwork be used in this way. We went through the bin together to choose pieces that could be used as wrapping paper. I explained that this was a great way to share their art with people they love and also recycle.

To make wrapping paper out of children's drawings (or any paper you want to recycle, for that matter)--set up your sewing machine for a zig zag stitch and thread it with the thread color of your choice. As the paper gets bigger, roll it up so that it will fit through the sewing machine. Trim your threads (or not, depending on the look you're going for), and then wrap presents.

You could use glue instead of sewing the pictures together, but I found the glue a little harder to work with--also it doesn't fold as easily as the stitched seams.

Vote on buttons

Pocket for my Ginny's Cardigan from the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits.

Nearly finished cardigan with the owl buttons.

A bit of background: I started spinning this yarn in July of 2012 on my Lendrum spinning wheel using the fast flyer to make a fine, thin yarn. I finished spinning the 8 oz of dyed Polwarth that I had purchased from Wildhare on Etsy during Spinzilla 2013. I plied it shortly after Spinzilla and started knitting Ginny's Cardigan from the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits 2013 on December 6, 2013.
On May 15, 2014, I had finished the cardigan through the yoke, buttonbands, pockets, and buttonbands. However, when I tried it on, I saw that the buttonbands needed more stitches per row to lay flat and that I had an uneven number of stitches on either side of the pattern on the back--making it skew to one side. I decided to frog it back to the beginning of the yoke to fix those mistakes. I still need to decide what buttons to use when I finish it--I have a number of great options. Maybe you can help me decide. I first thought it would be the owl buttons all the way (it is an owl cardigan afterall!), but I really am having a hard time deciding now that I've laid the buttons on the cloth. The owl buttons are a bit heavy (in weight and color).

The contenders: 

Vote on buttons in the comments!

1. Iris buttons from https://www.etsy.com/shop/RobertWGilmore.
2. Vine buttons purchased at Shuttles Spindles and Skeins, Boulder, CO.
3. Three crane buttons from https://www.etsy.com/shop/RobertWGilmore.
4. Owl buttons purchased at Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins, Boulder, CO (no longer being made, sadly).
5. Snail buttons from https://www.etsy.com/shop/RobertWGilmore.
6. Green leaf buttons purchased at Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins, Boulder, CO.