Laura Rumble - Crafter

Wrapping up the Hochanda blog posts with these... I do love some stencilled wrapping paper and I was delighted to discover I could stencil ribbon too.  I  used an old neon ink from Hero and heat set as I went to stop the ink from spreading. And finally a shaker bauble with bells on! Hands up who wants a christmas tree full of shaker baubles this year?  Meeee!!!

I hope you'll be tuning in to Hochanda at 4pm today to watch Emily from Skull And Cross Buns - I will!  You can play spot the sample along with me!  My teammates are VERY talented so there'll be lots on show.  Here are my contributions: A fun stencil/acrylic embellishment combo with a stamped sentiment to complete the SACB trio! Channelling Amy R and stamping inside too. This Craft Supplies stamp set is a real gem! Stamped wrapping paper and matching tag with washi tape bow.  A tropical layout... But UK tropical!  A classy kraft layout... And a couple of cards to finish... Thanks for stopping by and be sure to tune in at 4pm!

I love wrapping presents more than I love unwrapping them.  I had this crazy idea to make a sequin shaker pocket window in some wrapping.  I measured out my paper and picked a spot that would give a tantalising glimpse but not give anything away... I moved over to my craft desk and carefully cut the dinosaur out with a craft knife. I recycled a piece of craft packaging filling it with a spoonful of star sequins and sealing the opening with double-sided tape.  I ran some glue around the edge of the cut out dinosaur on the inside on the paper and attached the pocket of sequins. Then wrapped the present and finished it off with two contrasting ribbons from Crafty Ribbons.  You can find the range of satin ribbons here and the birthday ribbons here . Thanks for stopping by!

As promised I am back with my second handcrafted Advent Calendar of the season.  You can see the first one, made for Crafty Ribbons, here . This one uses supplies from SpiegelMom Scraps, Crafty Ribbons, older supplies from my stash and a handy cardboard box! Each of the 24 glassine bags have been carefully numbered and decorated and more importantly filled with a little craft treat! They've then been mixed up and displayed in a converted box just waiting for December's arrival. There is a lovely mix of goodies from some of my favourite shops; like for ever, SpiegelMom Scraps, Shimmerz, Chloe Suzanne Designs, Crafty Ribbons, Derwent... all perfect for a crafter or scrapbooker. And I am giving it away to one of my Instagram followers!   If you'd like to be in the draw please comment on the photo on Instagram ( here ) and follow me.  You can spread the love and tag your friends too - each tag will count as another entry.  I'm also aware that some ...

One of my Secret Santa stocking swaps had so much green paper-y ribbon-y goodness in it that I couldn't help but start creating on Boxing Day! One layout morphed in to two layouts - you can watch exactly how it happened... I ended up only adding the gold word stickers, gold washi and gold glitter alphas to the goodies from the stocking - it was such a complete 'kit' that I didn't need many extras. This was my first experience with Heidi Swapp's texture paste.  I didn't use it for texture on this occasion, but when it comes to it, I'll be trying to layer it as it seems a little looser than the texture pastes I am used to.  Fabulous colour and sheen though! I love the wooden hearts covered with paper. These photos don't really pick up the shine of the paste - I expect it will be tricky to capture on camera (I already have this issue with Shimmerz products) but in the flesh it is super. I wonder if any one has any tips for sewin...

I took part in two Stocking Swaps this Christmas.  Here I'll talk you through what I received... The first swap I signed up for was a handmade swap with Cheryll .  My swap partner was Pam , a master needlewoman - excitement and pressure... I knew I'd be receiving some great goodies but I had to send her a stocking that I had sewn!  Sewing is something I enjoy, something I wish I had more time and energy to spend on, and something I am not very good at.  I think when you enjoy doing something it doesn't matter that you aren't amazing at it, it's just fun as it is. Here are my goodies... All beautifully sewn and so perfect!  Definitely things I will be pulling out every year. The little pencil case may well end up holding supplies from the next stocking! The second swap was organised by Gemma with some of my fellow 'like for ever' subscribers.  By this point I had already had one sleep and opened a few presents and was suffering.  ...

Can I share a whole bunch of wrapping ideas with you?  These are what I gave last year... Bundle two presents to the same person together with cord and add a candy cane to the knot. Pair simple gold tissue with ribbon with festive designs on them - I went with owls for my Mum. For a bottle tie a couple of ribbons around the neck of the bottle adding bells to the end of the ribbon for more festive fun! For a jar again I added bells but on a wide metallic ribbon. Here I matched the pattern on the paper to the motif on the ribbon .  This is especially apt as the ribbon says 'Have a yummy Christmas' and the present is chocolate. There is of course, the standard ribbon round and a bow - it never fails! Even a gift card in an envelope can be jazzed up with ribbon and a candy cane tucked in to the knot. Or how about going over board on tiny presents such as jewellery boxes.  Use a nice wide ribbon and tie a bow bigger than t...