More holiday printable freebies

In case you're still scrambling to give cards and wrap gifts, here are a couple more goodies you might like. Left: a quirky Santa card, illustrated by Rosemary Travale. Right: awesomely orange reindeer gift tags, designed by Kristina Walton for Creature Comforts (scroll through all the December posts at Creature Comforts for a host of pretty downloads.)

And with that, I leave you until the new year, friends. Happy holidays to everyone!

(Images from The Little Chimp Society, left, and Creature Comforts, right.)

How to make paper lantern ornaments

Well, kids, I had tons of ideas for other ornaments and decorations and lovely new things I wanted to make before Christmas. But my ambition did not quite correspond to the amount of free time I have. Too many graphic design projects to finish before we head out of town this week. But during my internet travels I did come across these nifty paper ball decorations, complete with instructions. Nice work, anonymous blogger at The Creative Place.

This just in: A shortcut to making these. Thanks, Whitney!

(Image from The Creative Place)

Make a little paper Santa buddy

This Santa Claus papertoy is cute! Everyone who works in a cubicle: drop everything right now and use your last hour of work today to make one for your desk. Download the free template from Ataque Mutante right here.

Printable holiday packaging

If you've got small gift items you'd like to dress in adorable wrapping, check out the free downloads available from these lovely ladies. Melissa Esplin has created a printable candy box template available here. Her post has links to previous years' designs, too. Kellie Medivitz has designed tons of printable gift wrap sheets and tags for you to choose from. Her "Tweet Twitters" design is above; check out all the options in her Goodies category right here.

Felt ball ornaments

I tried making yesterday's project out of felt. Equally cute, I think. And more durable, too. To make them, follow these instructions, but use felt and a hot glue gun instead of paper.

How to make 3D paper ornaments

Here's a Christmas ornament you can make with colored papers or magazine pages. I'm not sure what to call it. A funnel ball? The instructions:

1. Cut out 10 paper circles (any size, as long as they're all the same). Text weight paper will be easier to work with than cardstock.
2. Cut each circle along the radius.
3. Put a small piece of double-stick tape on each side of the cut near the edge of the paper.

4. Flip the circle over so the taped side is down; then pull each flap across the circle toward you and twist to form a cone. Press the taped ends down to secure. You should end up with two cones that look vaguely like a fortune cookie. Do this to each of your 10 circles.

5. String the double cones together with a needle and thread. Make sure they're gathered snugly in a ball and tie a knot. Use the trailing ends of the thread to make a loop for hanging.

Here's one made from magazine pages. If you like recycled crafts, give it a whirl.

Update: I tried a felt version!

Felt gift bows

Check it out—Kathleen from Twig & Thistle used my gift bow tutorial to make bows out of felt and hot glue. They're so cute! See more of her handiwork in her post right here. It's a great idea, since these are less likely to be permanently mashed in the car on the way to grandma's.

(Image from Twig & Thistle)