Jessica J., via her blog How About Orange, provided the inspiration for this snowflake package topper. See her version here. So so cute.
This Christmas wrapping paper, with vintage-looking cars each heading home from a cut-your-own tree farm, is my all-time favorite. I bought a roll last month at Target, I think. To enhance the paper's theme, I found a pattern for this snowflake with evergreen tree shapes and cut it from green gingham scrapbook paper. My snowflake doesn't look like the pattern. Either I took a detour and chose to put my own spin on it, or my direction following went awry. The end result was trees, though, so I glued a red plastic snowflake-shaped bead, leftover from my kids bead crafting days, in the center to provide a pop of color... and I smiled.
"Elf Shelf"
The Hallmark Channel, where Martha Stewart moved her daily talk show, also hosts her shows from years ago. Yesterday, an old show featured her taking a field trip to a tree farm in Maine. The farm's owner explained that a tree has a bare spot here and there. This occasional, sporatic, excess space between the branches creates what is called an "elf shelf" where a small, wrapped gift for Santa's elf can be placed. I tucked my gift box topped with a paper cutout snowflake in between some branches for Cedric, my elf to rest. The inspiration for Cedric came from I don't know where. Maybe a magazine clipping? What I do know is that with a few scissor snips of paper, yarn, and string and some strategically-placed bends in chenille stems, Cedric's playful personality was birthed.