Here's a quick and easy way to brighten your work space: Measure the dimensions of a clear, straight-sided drinking glass, and cut a piece of card stock to the vessel's height and circumference. Next, cut a piece of decorative paper to the same height as the glass and 1 inch longer than its circumference. Center the card stock on the back of the decorative paper; fold excess paper over the edges of the card stock, and secure with double-sided tape. Line the glass with paper, and fill with supplies.

From the Sunflower State of Kansas, here's a way to welcome guests to the table with a great big hello. Trim sunflower stems short, so they fit into juice glasses. Cut paper into petal shapes and write guests' names on them. Then add the extra petal to the flowers with dots of tacky white glue.

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Marguerite plate, $71, johnderian.com

Sometimes bookmarks fall out and you're left thumbing through page after page, trying to remember where you left off. Or you have to look up that often-used recipe in your favorite cookbook because its ribbon markers already hold the places of other tried-and-true dishes. Avoid these annoyances with placeholders that fit onto the corner of any page. 

To make one, cut a bottom corner from an ungusseted paper bag (the kind card shops use) or a colorful envelope. Ours is about 2 inches long from corner to cut. Create several to track your best-loved recipes or when planning the menu for a special dinner.

The whole red-hearts-and-doilies thing may not speak to the guy in your life, but he will surely appreciate a gift wrapped with classic menswear details. These look like fabric but are fashioned from paper and notions.

To make a "cuff," cut card stock to fit, and adorn it with buttons affixed with glue. Give plain white office paper the tuxedo treatment with a series of symmetrical accordion folds from the center out. Wrap colored waxed linen thread around dark paper to create pinstripes, or thread it through a row of buttons on a narrow band of paper for a natty shirtfront look.