My plant's first strawberries... spring is in the air! Happy Easter everybody!

Giftwrap Tutorial

I love this giftwrap! After finding some fab old, black and white children's books at a bric-a-brac stall, I recycled the pages to make gift bags & by slipping in super-bright tissue parcels, I discovered these sweet little gift pouches.

They're super-simple & quick to make & are perfect for christmas gifts, especially stocking fillers! I thought I'd share a how-to with you ^-^. Happy Holidays!

You will need:

Double sided tape
Paper punch (I used a star shape),

A book page (best if it's thick) - look in junk stores, car-boot sales, charity shops & online

Coloured Tissue

Metal ruler, craft knife and cutting mat (or whatever cutting equipment you prefer)
Cute stickers (I used pippibean milk & cookie sticker flakes)

Scissors

Glue Stick

Sewing Machine (or needle and thread)

1. Take a full page and trim any messy edges. Fold in half as in the picture and glue the two sides together (with a glue stick).

2. Fold one of the edges, like in the picture.

Fold again, leaving a little space, then push up so it looks like the photo. Repeat on other side.

Secure the two edges with double sided sticky tape.

3. Flatten your pouch and punch a hole right through the front and back layers. Make sure you don't punch through the sides.

4. With your finger, fold the sides of the pouch inwards.

5. Wrap your gift in tissue & seal with a sticker, making sure you have a nice neat top edge (the one you'll see through the top of the paper pouch), and that it is the right width to fit inside your paper pouch.

6. Slip your tissue parcel inside the paper pouch, making sure you don't have any sticking out the top. Mark the line where the bottom of your tissue parcel finishes, so you can sew along it in the next step.

7. Sew along the line you just made. I used cream thread & a long plain stitch. You could do this by hand if you don't have a machine. Trim off the excess thread and paper at the bottom of your paper pouch.

FINISHED!

Variations... you could try sewing both ends of the pouch closed, sewing a little ribbon loop so that they can be hung on the tree, cutting out your receipients name in letters from book pages & sticking them on, making different shapes (I made a stocking shape which worked great!)...etc. Let me know how yours went & please share any variations!

Christmas Presents!

Here are some photos of the presents I've made this year... I can't wait to see what my friends & family think of their gifts!

They're wrapped using recycled book pages & coloured tissue. Look out for the free tutorial in the post above.

...my favourite pair of ear posts

...for a friend who loves anything chinese

...spot my new milk & cookie stickers too!

Handmade Christmas

Hey there! This year is going to be my very first ‘Handmade Christmas’, and preparations are starting now!! Here's what i've bee working on so far...

They're made from a mixture of beads - recycled from previously-loved jewellery, bought in France, a great find at my local fabric store, from a necklace bought at a local market...

On the Washing Line...

Here’s a behind-the-scenes-peek at a new batch of mushroom phone charms drying after their glossy varnish. Soon they will be attached to snowy-white straps, wrapped in green tissue, sealed with a sticker and popped into their own little paper pouch, ready to be taken to pippibean’s stockist or sent to Etsy shoppers all over the world!