Sunday 5 January 2014

Christmas Bauble

Sorry, the glue was still wet when I took this photo!
Ikea bauble coaster
I found these (Snofint) bauble coasters in the Ikea sale, they were reduced from 85p for a pack of 10, down to 49p, well I just had to have them! 
Ikea bauble coasters 1
They have a design on each side so I can think of lots of ways in which to use them, in a garland, as tree decorations or as a gift tags.
All I have done is punch a hole for a thread or a ribbon and outlined the edges and stripes this small dashes using a fine liner pen.
Ikea bauble coasters 2
Next I drew patterns on them using my fine tip glue applicator which contains PVA and then sprinkled the patterns with different ultra fine glitters a section at a time.
I expect you’ll be seeing more of these baubles throughout the year as I get more adventurous and think of new ways to use and decorate them.
I’m not the only one to see the potential in these little beauties as the links below show

Experimenting …… Making Wax/Faux Wax Seals

Wax seal crafts
I was having a rootle about in my craft room cupboards and found a Wax Seal Gun and a heart seal that the Duke bought me, goodness knows how many Christmas’s ago. I felt so guilty, I had asked for some proper sealing wax and a seal which he bought, plus the gun and wax sticks to go with it, but after a couple of disappointing results with the “real” wax and seal, it was all put away for a rainy day, the gun unopened and unused.  As I laid it all on my desk I said aloud …. “Oh Andy I am so sorry”.  If I could have that Christmas back again, Christmas dinner would have been late and everything would have had a seal stuck on it, to show him how grateful I was.
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But I have had it out now, and am feeling pretty chuffed.  The wax sticks which I had in various colours didn’t go very far, perhaps making a maximum of four seals per stick, but the results were very pleasing.  Now, Marc will now be saying they need some gilding …. so I will be taking some down to London on my next visit for us to play with.
Then I got to wondering how the seal would work with Utee and my Ranger Melting Pot …. as I thought that if it worked, it would be an excellent way to use up all the scraps of Utee I had kept.
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And as it happened all these scraps when melted together made a glittery, rich plum red which was perfect for seals!
Again, I was very happy with the results…….
Wax seal crafts. 1
….. I was even brave enough to “actually” seal a birthday card envelope for my Niece!
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So now …..  my next job is to do something with all these seals …. I am thinking …… Kraft card tags and on parcels wrapped in Kraft tag paper………???

Three More Christmas Presents From Marc

This is how my boudoir bed looked on Christmas morning ….. with my presents from Marc (and Rick) laid out on it …….
christmas Morning bedI can’t believe how beautifully everything goes together.  Each parcel was beautifully wrapped in Kraft paper with lots of typical Marc-esque flounces and fluster, and tags with cryptic messages written on. The first thing you will notice are the two Big Love paperweights which will have pride of place on my desk when I get back to work …. made, I do believe, with the Poundland photo paperweights I took down on my last visit in October.
Big Love paperweightsMarc says he made the gold background using Lancashire Rose Mega Flakes from Indigoblu http://www.indigoblu.com/flakes-glue-c12/flakes-c19/indigoblu-megaflake-lancashire-rose-p449.
Big Love Poundland PaperweightsThere was also this beautiful box “commissioned” by Marc’s partner Rick to make for me …
embellished box It’s absolutely stunning, and now has pride of place on the top of my drawers in my bedroom.
Embellished Box.Marc has covered it with millions of seed beads, sequins, micro beads and silver embellishments using a mixture of all the pva/water based glues known to man!  If anyone can out fiddlefart me, it’s Marc, and his patience? Marc is the most patient and diligent man I know when it comes to crafting!
Embellished pen and notebookAnd last but by no means least, this embellished notebook and pen, oh my life I just love them …… they are sooooooooooo Marc, and soooooooooo me!! The pen caused Marc the greatest fiddlefart, in fact he said that it was a “right bugger” as he had to hold it with a wire in order to cover it a tiny bit at a time so that the beads didn’t glob together and make the covering too thick    and then he had to allow it all to dry, before adding the next bit etc.  They are  beautiful and will have a special pocket in my handbag so they are with me all the time.
So Christmas Day was full of discovering wonderful, wonderful treasures made with an awful lot of love ….. I am such a lucky girl!!!