Why am I feeling so crafty?

I don't know the answer to that question. Since September 1st I have been creating all kinds of nifty things, and eagerly looking for more nifty things to create. Maybe it is because I have more time on my hands; maybe it is because I have pent up these crafty juices for too long and they are just bursting out. Go figure.

Anyhoo, I do not like wrapping Christmas presents or decorating for said holiday. It's so much work. Last year I didn't decorate at all because we were excitedly awaiting John & Katie's wedding on Dec 26!! Donna couldn't stand it however and did some decorating on her own (fine with me). But this year something came over me (craft juices) and I have been enjoying wrapping presents and look forward to decorating! Makes my head spin a bit.

So I thought I'd share some of my wrapped packages.

Nothing real special with this one. (Except I accidentally decorated the back of the package....):





I find that it is so much easier to use my kids' initials rather than full names, especially when texting. So JK is John & Katie:

The star was made from a cardboard toilet paper tube. Flatten it, cut in slices, glue together. I used paper clips to hold the centers until the glue dried. Then I spray painted them gold and silver:

Got a little "clashy" with the patterns on this one!



Donna & Tyler. Used pages from old hymnals (purchased from MCC Connections), Christmas hymns of course:

Now to show you how I made the bow on the above gift. First you get one of these doohickies:

Then get some more pages from the hymnal and cut into various size strips:

Stick them on the doohicky. Isn't the optical illusion fun--it looks like it is spinning:

This doohicky has a face:











CAREFULLY curl the strips. I ripped a few in my over-rambunctious curling efforts...

Add some curled ribbon and TADA! (scroll back up to the finished package).

And now for an adorable picture of my Sweet B:

Ain't he CUTE??!!