Laura Rumble - Crafter

You may remember me waffling about a couple of Secret Santas I took part in?  Well, one was a hand made swap - everything you sent including the stocking had to be hand made.  I decided to make a batch of cards and package them in a holder... I measured a pile of cards to get the depth I would need and fiddled around with scrap paper until I had worked out a template.  It is just the sort of challenge I find irresistible and I really enjoyed making it. The paper is from a like for ever kit last year (possibly August's?)  The doily and the cork butterflies are from SpiegelMomScraps , the lace from Crafty Ribbons and the ribbon is an old American Crafts roll from deep in my stash! Over the next couple of months I will share the cards I made too.  Rather than bombard you with a load of cards all at once I will spread them out with more recent makes and layouts. Thanks for stopping by!

Sometimes I like to mess around with watercolours with no aim other than to have fun.  That is how this card started out. To finish it off I heat embossed Happy Birthday over the top and wrapped a wadge of coloured threads around the middle and tied in to a bow. Thanks for stopping by!

Well, it is typical isn't it?!  I finally get my bum in gear and have a smile ready to share on a Friday but it seems Annie is taking a well deserved break for New Year's day. As you know I love rainbows.  Any rainbow is a good rainbow.  But the best thing is when they show up when everything around you is hard or rough and trying.  And that is when this one shone from the sky.  Brilliant! Linking up at Friday Smiles Happy and Healthy New Year wishes to you all!

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.  ...

Hello!  Merry Christmas to one and all! This is a cheap glass clip frame from the pound shop.  I've added some lace around the edge with red backed super sticky tape. I created a template on my Silhouette software to cut a grid of squares to match the size of the patterns on the Christmas Charm Snowflakes ribbon from Crafty Ribbons.  I stuck them to the back with more red backed super sticky tape - I love the stuff, it sticks everything! Then to finish off I used some gold Stickles glitter glue to script Merry Christmas directly on to the glass.  It looks really impressive and you don't have to tell anyone that you lay the glass over some printed script and just traced it!! Enjoy your next few festive days x

My favourite things about Christmas are Carols From Kings (a televised Carol Service) and - now don't laugh, I know it's really trivial - gift wrapping!  As I am setting the theme for Crafty Ribbons Challenges this week I have chosen Favourite Things About Christmas.  Your project must include your favourite thing from the festive season. One of my favourites this year is this parcel wrapped in decadent wide grosgrain with a matching tag and 3mm ribbon. But my project for this weeks challenge is this... There will be some coffee addicts out there who can tell what is inside from the shape of the package!!  I simply wrapped in maroon tissue and wrapped some Vintage Christmas ribbon around.  Handily it is exactly the right width. Then I whizzed up a couple of tags using paper and cut files from like for ever's Wish List kit and my sewing machine. I attached the tags by winding some 3mm grosgrain around the present a few times and tying in a bo...