Mini Gift Baskets

In addition to gift boxes and gift bags, these little baskets are the perfect way to make any small gift that extra bit special. They are so adorable, and so incredibly easy to make.

To start, I followed the tutorial here (I used 8 x 8 inch cardstock) then once I had my basic basket, I added some of my own paper flowers to the design. I coloured the small brads (or split pins) with nail polish to match the individual colour scheme, and disguised the backs of the brads with a length of grosgrain ribbon inside.

For this next (green) basket I used 6 x 6 inch cardstock, and added just one handle to the centre.

No doubt I shall be making plenty more of these before Christmas!

Gingerbread Man Gift Bags

With Christmas fast approaching, I have started to think about creating some mini gift bags this year. There are many tutorials on how to make these bags, but I started by following this one here.

Once I had my basic bag, I took inspiration from my love of homemade gingerbread, and decided to work on a Gingerbread Man theme ...

The colours are so warming on this one, and the Gingerbread Man's cute expression is sure to make the recipient smile.

And just in case it snows, I made this snowy version too. 

Mmm ... warm gingerbread on a cold, snowy day!

The following two photos show the insides of these bags, with the theme continuing all around. The ribbons on the first one are disguised by paper punched flowers, and the tops are held together by a small velcro dot.

 Now to the kitchen, to start making the gingerbread ...!

Steampunk Wedding Card

Recently, I was invited to a steampunk wedding, and I really wanted to create a card to fit in with the day's theme. Prior to this, I had very little knowledge of anything to do with steampunk, so I did some research, and hopefully the resulting card didn't look too out of place!

I printed the two keys on the front, cut them out and covered them with a thin layer of 3D Clear Gloss Finish.

I added another key to the inside, and raised the steampunk tag slightly (on two strips of thin card) so that a gift card could be slipped underneath.

Note to self: Do more research involving Nathan Fillion as Castle!

Sweet Teapot!

I love this teapot box, and the memories it evokes of the summer just gone...

So, will it be filled with strawberry candy or sweet biscuit treats?

Miniature Teacup Box

Having made so many teapots, of varying colours and patterns, I decided it was time to try to make a teacup box to compliment them. And I found the perfect one - in the shape of the 'A Cuppa' template from Hot Off The Press. The size of the teacup was almost exactly what I wanted, making my teapot look like a one-cup teapot.

However, not satisfied with just creating the normal size teacup, I experimented a bit and reduced the template in size to make a miniature teacup.

I love it! It's so cute, and it kept it's shape perfectly.

Here are the two teacups together, and one with the teapot, to show the difference in size.

Now, what about a miniature teapot...?

Handcrafted Gift Boxes

These are some of my favourite creations to date ...

DIY Evil Queen Crown

OK, so this isn't in any way a gift box or a gift, but I wanted to show this tutorial in case anyone else wanted to create one.

An Evil Queen costume is nowhere near complete without an evil-looking crown, and as I couldn't find one that I really liked, I chose to make one myself.

Starting with 2 strips of black cardstock (250gsm recommended), 3cm wide, I glued the ends together so that it was big enough to sit on the crown of my head.

I created a template for the next part, cutting out 6 small 'spikes' out of black cardstock, and 1 slightly taller 'spike' for the front:

Using PVA glue, I attached each 'spike' to the crown as shown, making sure they were all evenly spaced.

To the front, I glued on an extra piece of black cardstock (using the following template) to represent the familiar widow's peak.

I then carefully drew a pattern all the way around the crown using 3D Clear Gloss Finish, making sure to seal all of the joins.

To give it an aged metal look, I lightly applied silver ink to each of the edges and quickly blended it in with a sponge before it dried. (You could also try a textured look for your crown by following this tutorial.)

Finally, to add some sparkle, I added several black and silver jewels to the front, and sprayed the whole crown with Spray and Shine.

The finished crown. I hope you like it, and are inspired to create your own! If, however, you prefer to use an actual template, you can find one that I designed in my Etsy store.

Candy Wrapper Crafts

Over the past few months I've been experimenting with a variety of different crafts, and I absolutely love this one. I never knew that sweet papers and crisp wrappers could be used to create such wonderful pieces.

Here are a few of my favourite creations ...