Christmas Crafts and Cards

After getting another set of blood tests me and Dad had a quick look around the charity shops near the hospital in Stevenage and ended up buying almost the whole shop in one! Its good to be able to walk around and get things done after blood tests as when I got them done when I was very aneamic it used to really take it out of me and I would need a rest. I got these stamps for £1.50 (middle picture) which I cant wait to find a project to use them for. Another shop had individual wooden stamps starting at £4 each so these were a bargain! Its a shame I've wrapped all my presents otherwise I would have stamped everyone's names onto the brown paper in some red paint, I will need to remember that for next year! I also got this Christmas Crafts book for £2.50 which gave me some great ideas for my dinner party. It also showed me how to make these Christmas cards. The top cards are so easy to do, you simply follow the template to pierce the holes in the card and then push the ribbon through. I used red and gold ribbon and then stuck gold card to make the base and a button for the decoration on the top. The second cards are plain cards I bought in the sale last year and then stuck buttons on using my glue gun and drew a line in black pen to make them look like baubles hanging from the top. I'm really happy with them! We also ended up buying 20 James Bond DVD's for £2 each, a photo frame, the Keith Lemon book, a Christmas hits CD (wouldn't be Christmas without one!) and lots of other bits. Charity shops are amazing for gifts! 

Wrapping Presents

Today I spent the day making and wrapping some presents so I thought I would share how I wrapped some of them. The square shaped objects are simple so I used a brown paper from Wilkinsons covered by a clear wrap, one has little white balls of snow and the other is gold stars, these were ordered of the internet! The tags I got from Poundland as they go really nicely with the brown paper and add some colour. The baubles were found in a charity shop for 10p so I stocked up! I think they look great and are a good alternative to just a bow.

The best part is they are for my dad and brother so they will give them back after! 

For small or odd shaped gifts I find it better to put them in something first which is what I have done with these crackers made from toilet rolls. I have filled them with little presents like lip glosses, nail varnish and bracelets. To make them I wrapped the roll in brown paper and taped the inside, I then stuffed one end with red tissue paper and cut the clear wrap to size. The letters I traced on my laptop and then cut them out of the newspaper and outlined them with a red pen. I tied one end with red ribbon and then added the gifts and some Christmas confetti and secured the other end with ribbon. They are very fiddly but good if you have lots of bits lying around that you could use because they are so simple and look great!