Merry Christmas....and a last minute gift wrap idea

Merry Christmas to all of my blog friends here in the states and around the world.  I truly wish a happy holiday season and joyous new year to all of you!  You all help to make my seasons bright! 
OK, now it's wouldn't be Christmas Eve without some last minute crafting and wrapping now would it?  I thought I would share a quickie on my favorite gift wrapping adornment this year.  Pom poms!  There are cute little gadgets out there to make the perfect pom but when mama elf is wrapping late at night long after the local craft store closes, you make do with something a little less technical....yarn and chipboard scraps! 

First step, use a scrap of chipboard or cardboard to make a wrapping stick..this one is about 11"x 1/2".  Cut a small slit in one end to anchor your tie sting like above.
Start wrapping your yarn around and around the wrap stick including the anchor string you did above.  No need to tie anythign to anything at this point.

Wrap and wrap until you have a nice volume of yarn around the wrap stick...the more volume, the more pom pom in the end.

When you are satisfied that you have enough yarn on the wrap stick, use the anchor string to tie a knot in the center of the yarn.  Tie it as tight as you can.

Flip the wrap stick over and cut done the center of the volume of yarn.
Before fluffing and trimming your pom pom, it will look like the photo above...tie string in the middle with two puffs of yarn on either side.  To fluff the pom pom shake it around, do a little happy dance and then give it a hair cut with scissors to trim any stragglers.

You can tie them onto gifts in lieu of a ribbon bow or add them to a tage with holiday picks like I did above.  FUN huh?  So fun I think our whole house has caught the pom pom fever...look what I found under the tree this morning.....

awwwwwwwwwe!  My little elf in training was busy yesterday!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the final few days of 2010!  hugs, Dana