Most of you know that I'm not a very crafty person, so I was really excited when Laura Ashley invited me to join my lovely North West Blogger friends to attend their Christmas craft workshop and pick up some gift wrapping ideas. I can do the basic, but has always wanted to do something special with my gifts.
I arrived a bit early and saw the lovely ladies from the Ministry of Craft preparing our workshop, which includes a table full of sewing machines! I admit I panicked a bit as it was almost 15 years ago when I last used one, but I was sure it was going to be fun. At least I knew I won't be judged!
We were split into 2 groups and I decided to get the sewing out of the way first. We were to sew a bunting present sack using Laura Ashley's lovely fabrics. My favourite was the one with the pink berries, which reminded me a bit of cherry blossom.
We were meant to sew 3 rows of bunting, but I ended up with no space for the 3rd. It's okay, I can still add a bow in the corner so never mind. But then I had to redo the top second flag because I aligned the ribbon and flag wrong, and I still didn't get it right the second time haha (hopeless). The last second flag came off as well and was hanging on its dear life as one of its corner came off. I managed to sew the rest of the sack together though, and I guess I can always use hot glue gun to glue the 2 loose bits!
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| Image courtesy of Laura Ashley |
After indulging in some yummy canapes and tea (really good tea and coffee from Rosylee), we continued with the second craft - Origami gift box and bow using Laura Ashley's wallpapers! I chose 2 different pattern for the lid and base, and it matches my sofa haha.
The origami gift box is so easy to make and there was no sticking involved! I'm going to remember how to make this, it'll be perfect for presents with lots of bits and bobs or presents with an awkward shape. You can even line the base with a piece of cardboard just to make it a bit stronger.
The event's timing was perfect, but I had to rush to Trafford Centre, so I couldn't finish my gift bow. Luckily they've given us instruction sheets for the bow, so now I just need to get some strong double sided tape and redo the bow so it'll look just like the one on the sample boxes!
I had an absolutely fantastic time and although there were hick-ups, I was very pleased with my creations! I was really happy to see my fellow blogger friends again as well, and there were plenty of giggles and catching ups too! After a long time without Internet, this was exactly what I needed! And Laura Ashley has also kindly given us each a lovely bag full of Christmas presents, including
a set of 6 lovely silver dinner candles
a beautiful Christmas bauble and
a fantastic cookie cutter decoration set, which comes with 3 pairs of cookie cutters for you to make Stained Glass cookies!
What more can a blogger ask for from a fantastic event??
If you are still doing last minute shopping like me, Laura Ashley is having a 50% off sale at the moment! Don't forget to pick up some lovely wallpapers and fabrics as well to get crafty and get yourself into the Christmas mood! 10 days to go!
You can see more pictures of the day, the pattern of the fabrics and wallpapers used and tutorials for the crafts we made at Laura Ashley's blog now.