Tissue...? But I hardly know you.

So I was staring at this particularly beautiful tissue box one day, thinking that it was a shame it was empty and had to be broken down and tossed into the recylcling bin.  (I have these moments, now and then.) But in my own defense, tissue boxes can be quite pretty and in those places throughout the cottage where a box will be seen, I try to choose a pattern that will look nice in that space.

In fact there have been several tissue box designs that I've loved but never seen again, and I still kick myself for throwing out the empty boxes rather than refilling them.  (One in particular featured a stone stairway leading up to an old cottage, with potted geraniums on every step.)

So there I was, studying this pretty tissue box, and suddenly it came to me:

Gift tags! 

I disassembled the box, used a paper cutter to slice away the bits that weren't usable, used my hole punch to make an opening for a ribbon or tie and (as a friend of mine used to say) "WALLAH!"

I use these thrifty gift tags ALL the time, not only on gift bags and wrapped presents but on gifts of food, bouquets of flowers, knitting projects, or just random things I want to pass along to friends and family. It's a sweet way to enclose a note on any occasion.

 Whatever the style, there's a gift tag waiting inside a tissue box, just crying to get out. 

And I'll be there—armed with scissors and hole punch—to set it free.