The One with the Craft Project

I've never thought of myself as what you would call " crafty"!


I can't sew, I can't knit, I can't crochet. I can't paint, draw, mould with clay or fashion fancy dress outfits out of old blankets and used washing up bottles.


In short I can't make "stuff".


I'm no good with daring stunts or putting tortoises in shoe boxes for the winter either, so a career as a Blue Peter presenter was never on the cards.


I enjoyed art at school and wanted to take it for O Level but I wasn't allowed. Not by my parents. No! By the art teacher!


"You'll never pass it" he said "It'll be a waste of a subject that you could pass elsewhere".


I did cookery and nutrition instead.


As a consequence I bake, I don't make.


I do however hoard. I hoard what myself and Clementine affectionately call "Stock".


Stock is anything interesting, unusual or downright quirky that we can use again to wrap presents in. Gift bags, boxes, ribbon from chocolate boxes or toiletry gift sets, hair clips, baubles, bangles and beads. If we can adorn a present with it, we keep it, adorn, peel it off, keep it again and then re-adorn a present back. Most of my ribbon collection has come from Clementine and hers from me. Re-use, recycle and re-adorn is our motto. 


So when the lovely Tara from Tesco online magazine e-mailed some of us bloggers with a Mother's Day craft challenge I knew I had the stock but did I have the skill? 


You decide!


Here's the original video we first had to watch on how to make a Mother's Day gift tin or box.


 http://www.tescomagazine.com/living/family-life/how-to-make-a-mothers-day-gift-box.html


Seemed easy enough. I had an old chocolate box. Well when I say old I mean full, so I had to eat all the chocolates first but hey I don't mind suffering for my art!


The box had a small pink bow on the corner which I first took off - good bit of stock that, I'll keep it. 


I then went and checked out all my existing stock for paper, ribbons and adornments.

As you can see there's quite a bit to choose from! Although my wrapping paper stocks were somewhat limited. If they didn't say Happy Birthday they said Merry Christmas! 


But I managed to find a silver and white neutral design so once I'd selected what I wanted I set to work. 


Now my wrapping skills have been described in the past as "parcely". I'm not the neatest or most patient person. Unlike hubby who, in a previous life, worked at Harrods and has been taught to wrap a present like he's doing hospital corners on a bed such is his precision.


But I had to do this one myself and hey it's a box - how hard can it be?

I cut the paper and realised I had far too much. Flappy bits overlapped and protruded at the corners. Ah well just snip those bits off it'll be fine. I covered top and bottom reasonably successfully if not tidily! 


Now came the fun bit. Time to adorn. With so much ribbon to choose from I had to recruit Hubby's expert opinion.


"I don't know" came the expert reply "They all go don't they?"


How Harrods still trade without his wisdom I'll never know.

We settled on some silky green ribbon and a string of beads to go over the top. 


It was looking good if I say so myself.


Now the purpose of the box is to give your Mum delicious home made treats in, such as biscuits. Therefore it needed a lining.


I had some very pretty clear paper with white daisies on. It would go with the colour theme beautifully. But it wouldn't crunch successfully and kept poking out and looked a mess. It also didn't cover up the wonky sticking of the paper on the inside of the box.

Amazingly I had no tissue paper but I did have some very pretty napkins.

Neither did I have any delicious home made treats yet but I did have some digestives biscuits.

So to give you an idea I improvised

The napkin I'll keep. Next Sunday the biscuits will be home made (or at least posher if I cheat and buy them... shhhh I won't tell anyone if you don't).

So here's the finished box. It's actually really easy to do and can be very effective with the right bits and bobs. If you've got children it's a nice project from them to do either with Granny for you or with you for Granny for Mother's day or even Easter. You could decorate it in spring colours and cover it in stickers of bunnies and chicks and fill it with Mini - Eggs. 

Either way if I can make it - anyone can. 

Move over Janet Ellis & Konnie Huq I've just earned my Blue Peter badge!