So are you busy... shopping? crafting?

getting ready for Christmas?  Like most of you, I have been doing both.  And I can now share with you - over the next few days - some of the gifts I am giving to my friends.  I started off by making holiday banners for Diana, Pat, and Josie - three ladies that I work closely with.

The banners are made from chipboard kits cut by Grapevine Designs and they are a really good deal.  Ten banner pennants in one kit, so you can split them up and make 2 or 3 gifts.  I then covered them with Christmas paper, painted letters, and added embellishments.  I added bling by using glitter or Stickles on the letters.  My personal favorite were the glitter letters.

These are really versatile and can be hung over a fireplace, doorway, used as a wall hanging.  My intentions for my own would be to hang them on the tree.   Probably for next year, I want to make three separate ones for my tree - Peace, Hope, and Love.

I absolutely LOVE the "joy" banner and I think it is my favorite because I used traditional Christmas red and green colors and - of course - green glitter!

Here's what they look like from a distance.  I have a lot on my tree, and the lights seem really bright, but I think they look good.

I also gave these these great ladies handmade cards to use throughout the year.  What crafts have you been working on?