Thursday 26 February 2015

Mother's Day Gift Wrapping with Laura Ashley


A while ago I met up with some fellow northern bloggers at the wonderful Rosy Lee Tea Rooms in Manchester's Northern Quarter, we were joined by some very creative ladies from the Ministry of Craft and some beautiful Laura Ashley fabrics and paper. I have been meaning to tell you about this event for some time now and with Mother's Day coming up it is the perfect time to share with you what we got up to! While spending a fun afternoon chatting to friends we were taught how to make some beautiful gift boxes and gift bags that are perfect for any occasion, especially Mother's Day.

I have  loved everything Laura Ashley since I was a young girl and I remember my mum regularly taking me to the store in Southport. The brand is timeless to me and I have always dreamed that one day I will be truly grown up and have a house with Laura Ashley paper on the walls and linen on the beds... maybe, one day, but for now I am perfectly happy to wrap gifts in this pretty paper and fabric.


We were split into groups and half of us were led over to a table filled with sewing machines. Although I'm not a stranger to a sewing machine, it had been a little while, so I was pleased to have a full introduction from the Ministry of Craft ladies, who explained how we would be using triangles of pretty fabric and ribbon to create a bunting look and then sewing the hessian fabric into a cute little drawstring sack. Ideal as an Eco-friendly way to package a gift this Mother's Day! I was quite please with my finished product, which you can see below:


After a bite to eat we then moved on to the papercraft table. I nearly squealed when I saw the selection of gorgeous Laura Ashley Wall Paper we could choose from. My Eye was immediately drawn to the beautiful Aviary Garden samples and I selected this to create my gift box with.


For the contrasting bow I went with the subtle Berkerley Scroll White which I felt complemented the Aviery Garden really well. Armed with a ruler and scissors we got measuring and cutting and it wasn't long before our boxes started to take shape. I was amazed at how professional these looked and how simple they were to make.

 No more shop bought gift bags for me! My gifts will all be coming in beautifully handcrafted boxes from now on! Although the wallpaper was an ideal consistency, you could use any thick paper or card to make these and they really do look stunning...


If you fancy having a go yourself then check out the Supersized Gift Bow Tutorial and the quick and easy Origami gift Box tutorial by the Ministry of Craft.

You can see some pictures of our day over on the Laura Ashley Blog. I'd like to thank everyone at the Ministry of Craft and Laura Ashley for a fabulous day and for teaching me some great new skills!





1 comment:

  1. That looks wonderful.
    You must be really pleased with your bag, it's beautiful

    ReplyDelete

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