And that's a wrap!

One of my favorite Christmas activities is figuring out my "wrapping paper scheme" as I like to call it and decorating all of my gifts.  Yes, it takes a ridiculous amount of time and energy and money, but it makes me happy.  And yes, I understand I will likely not wrap presents like this when I have children and I'm wrapping a billion gifts.  However, as of now I only wrap a few and they're going to be as pretty as I possibly can make them.  They make me happy and I hope they make you happy too.  Here's this year's wrapping paper scheme.

Steps and Instructions (and I'm aware I'm probably the only person who'd have multiple steps required for wrapping their presents.)

Card Materials:

• 5.5" x 8.5"cards.  I purchased these and envelopes in a package of 25 at Michael's for $3.00
• Coordinating thread- I used red, green, and silver.
• Sewing machine
• Computer

Steps:

• So I'm not the best calligrapher, but I like to pretend that I am.  So to "cheat" I use this sneaky method: I'll design the wording on a card and then print it a couple shades lighter than the pen I'm using.  I then trace over the words with a calligraphy pen and presto! instant calligraphy quality without the calligraphy skills.  I did this first and then printed out the card.
• Sewing: sewing on paper is very similar to sewing on fabric.  If you can sew a straight line, then you can sew these cards.  The only trick is adjusting the tension on the thread.  I usually decrease mine to the lowest tension setting.  Sew straight lines in whatever shape/pattern/color you choose.  I tried to create a sort of plaid pattern with this one.  You could sew far less lines if you'd prefer.  Keep adding lines and colors until you're happy.

• Tie each thread into a knot and cut the excess.  You could also tape it to the inside of the card or leave it loose for a rustic homemade look.  To be honest, I did a combination of all three.

• Hole punch the left sides and set aside.

Christmas Birdie Materials

• Gray and white felt

Using this template from Design Sponge, cut out the bird and the wing shapes from the coordinating fabric.  I chose not to include the legs, but feel free to do so if you wish.  Glue the wing to the bird, draw on an eye, and set the completed bird aside.

Package assembly time!  Wrap your gift in brown packaging paper.  It's my favorite thing to wrap gifts with and I always have a roll of it on hand.  

• Cut a LONG length of yarn.  I used red and white yarn with glitter running through them and about 8 feet of each color.  The beauty of using yarn over ribbon is that you can use a ton more and each huge spool of yarn only costs around $3.
• Thread the yarn through the holes in your card. 

• Wrap the yarn around the present and tie in a bow.  

• Hot glue the bird to your bow and admire!  

Seriously makes me happy.