Spring Clean gift swap Challenge with #craftblogclub

Back at the beginning of April, I signed up to the spring clean gift swap challenge over on Katie Get Crafty's Blog as part of the #craftblogclub. So you're wondering what this #craftblogclub is all about... Well it's a community of craft bloggers who get together on Twitter each Tuesday from 7 pm- 8:30 pm and talk all things crafty, using the hashtag #craftblogclub.

Anyway onto the challenge. I signed up to make a gift for a fellow craft blogger using only materials I already have at home. You email your details over and then you're given the details of the blogger you're crafting for. It's all kept secret and is basically a spring secret Santa for awesome home made crafts and spring cleans your old craft supplies. What's not to love?

I was super excited to get crafting, especially when I found out I was making a gift for Robyn of Simple Little Pieces! She's a new blogging buddy of mine and has quickly become a really great friend too :-).

I was pleasantly surprised/ slightly horrified at the amount of craft materials I've somehow hoarded but knew they would make great gifts, so much so that I may have gone slightly overboard with crafting and made:

• Banner
• Sundae Candle
• Jewellery

Banner

I had lots of material left over from my DIY It's OK banner tutorial  (link here if you want to make your own) and thought it'd be nice to make one of Robyn's blog name Simple Little Pieces to go perhaps in her craft room, plus her blog name is so cute!

Sundae Candle

I haven't made candles for a good two and a half years yet I insisted (at my husbands despair) to cart all the materials through two house moves- one being abroad and back...oops... However I'm glad I did because I forgot how fun these are to make! I made one for myself which was originally my back-up candle in case I fudged up the first one and have now used up all of my wax- perfect! I won't be getting supplies now until my next candle making phase and have freed up some much needed space for new projects.

Jewellery

I have lots and lots and lots of pretty beads just begging to be strung and paraded around on wrists or dangling from ears so this was again a perfect opportunity to send some to a new home. They're so simple to make and really quite therapeutic to do too!

I had SO much fun making these gifts, knowing they'd surprise someone in the post. I really enjoyed putting the box together too, with a little envelope inside revealing who I am. I even went to town on the packaging... I know, I'm sad but humour me. I'm a simple soul! Regardless I hope it made the unboxing fun too. The feeling of gift giving is truly lovely, especially when it's something you've made too- something that one crafter to another will really appreciate.

Robyn has a gorgeous little pug called Meg, hence the pug next to her address (which I covered over for obvious reasons!)

I then of course received my own surprise package in the post and it was from Robyn! Haha! It came at the right time too as after a day of crappiness it perked me right up and truly made my day.

How cute is this card!?

Inside my package I received a gorgeous necklace with glass pendant made by Robyn herself. How clever is she!? I was really touched by the cross stitched blog name- the perfect accessory to any craft room! The handmade cards are incredibly dreamy and I love how the colours match in with all the other pieces. I already know when I will be using those :-).  The bunting is just perfection. I'd been wanting to make some for a while but now I don't need to and already have the perfect home for it along with my cross stitched blog name :-).

The bunting and the cross stitch have already found the perfect home on my craft shelf, as if they were always destined for it! They're displayed as a wonderful memory of the craft blog club gift swap and make me oh so happy.

I absolutely loved taking part in this challenge It's such a great idea and I'd highly recommend trying it if you're a crafter too. Roll on the next one!