Crafty What Nots Review

So this is a post I've been planning to write for ages, however I've needed a little break from blogging in the last few weeks. At the beginning of the month we had just moved house and I was just starting a new job, never mind adding to the family with a very demanding little kitten who behaves like a princess! It's been a busy few weeks, but I'm hoping to blog more now things have settled down.

Way back at the end of September Jenny from Jennysis Crafts got in touch with me about a new subscription box she was setting up. The idea was that the boxes would contain a range of craft supplies, inspirational ideas, instructions for a project and a personalised handmade gift, all with a value of around £20 for the price of jut £12.50 per monthly box (even less with a subscription!). It's no secret I'm a bit of a fan of crafty type subscription boxes, and having tried a few I was interested in seeing how Crafty What Nots (named after Eeyore's pot of 'what nots and etcs') was different. The box sent to me had the theme Floral Pavillion.

The box reminded me a little of the Linky boxes I've seen popping up on blogs, with its emphasis on papercrafts, but also a little like the old style Crafty Creatives boxes with a selection of bits and pieces in (although I've heard they are bringing out a papercrafting box too). When I opened my Crafty What Nots box (which, by the way, was HUGE) I was greeted with absolutely loads of items, all beautifully packaged. The first thing I saw was a little package with my name on, and Jenny had also included a cute little card to introduce herself.

Inside the wrapping was a personalised notebook Jenny had made for me. A personalised handmade gift is something Jenny plans to include in all boxes, which is a great idea. 

Some of the huge selection of goodies included wooden and card embellishments, buttons, stamps and ink, and a little stack of blank cards for card making. I like that these can be used for anything, really, as they are quite general - I've already been using some of the above embellishments when I was decorating packaging for a recent craft swap, and I'm planning on making some Christmas cards soon so the card blank will certainly be used. All these little bits and pieces could be used to pretty up any wrapping on gifts too. 

There was also a selection of textured craft papers in pretty floral patterns, my favourite bit of the box! I do love cute printed paper, you can use it for making cards, gift tags or boxes, which is exactly what Jenny suggested in her DIY instructions for a gift box in the design of a miniature handbag! 

Jenny's instructions were very easy to follow and with lots of detailed measurements, although it was a nice simple quick craft. and it looks pretty cute! I'd happily put together a few more of these to give people gifts in. 

Jenny also included a leaflet of other ideas of what to make with the box contents - I think some floral bunting to decorate my new craft room desk space might be next! 

If you're interested in subscribing to Crafty What Nots, or just reading more, head over to the Jennysis shop. Thanks Jenny for letting me try it out!

Valentine's Gift Bag Tutorial

Happy Valentine's! Well, almost..

We don't really celebrate in a big way, but I do have a small gift to give, so I thought I'd make it a bit more personal by making a gift bag to give it in. There are LOADS of gift bag/box tutorials online, and mine here is pretty simple, so I've also included some of my favourites for something more fancy :)

First, find some pretty paper. Scrapbook paper or card would work well. I used some pretty hot air balloon pattern wrapping paper (he's a bit of a balloon fan) - luckily this paper is quite sturdy, this might be a bit trickier with thinner type wrapping paper though. 

Next, measure your gift onto the paper. Draw your pattern around this, so you get a larger size than your item. This is just a really simple template - 4 sides, slits along the bottom so you can glue it all together, and a tab at the side to join. I also folded over the top to make it look a bit more neat when it is together. 

This is what happens when you glue it all together... 

I pinched in the sides and punched a couple of holes at the top. After putting in the gift, tie a bow with string or ribbon.. and that's it! 

Well, I did say it was simple...

Here's my Valentine's offerings, with my gift being accompanied by a jar of treats - in this case LOTS of jellybeans. I hope he shares! 

And take a look at my DIY Fox Box tutorial for more gift-giving inspiration!

If these aren't your bag, here's a few of my favourite tutorials to give a go.

Awesome DIY gift box for Cookies and other treats - find the tutorial here

Recycled newspaper gift bags - find the tutorial here

A super colourful variety of the easy square origami boxes we have all made before - make it here

...Or how about these recycled cardboard pillow boxes? Perfect for small things - here

<3

DIY Fox Box

With Valentine's day coming up, I've been looking around for DIY ideas to come up with something a bit more personal this year. I've already been inspired by thegluegungirl's simple tutorial to make my own card, and stumbled upon a really cute little gift box idea here. The instructions used a favour box and then added the extra card cut-outs to make it look like a fox. However, I have no idea where I'd get boxes like that, and, after a bit of searching, I found lots of similar versions of this 'fox box' people had made themselves, so I thought I'd have a go.

I used:
2 A4 sheets of orange card
White and black felt
2 small magnets (left over from here)

With an A4 piece of card, I used a basic template to make a gift bag shape, like this:

I then used another piece of card to make a flap over the top, and cut out a tail and ears from the card too. I used white and black felt for the face and tail parts instead of card, to make it look a bit more 'furry'. Finally, I added two little magnets under the flap and on the box, to keep it closed. This was the result:

I LOVE it! Although I've bought the boyfriend a 'proper' present, I think he'll appreciate more that I made him something, especially if I fill the box with his favourite sweet treats :)