Glittered Spiders

I was rootling about in one of the drawers on my desk when I found four spiders left over from Halloween ……..
…………….and I just couldn’t resist glittering them!
They each measure about 3ins long, so they are quite substantial and therefore quite striking.  I used ultra fine glitters and PVA glue in a fine tip applicator bottle to glitter them up.

You can’t tell from the pictures but they really do sparkle and look quite beautiful, in a weird sort of way!

I can’t think of an immediate use for them, but there’s another nine months to think of something before Halloween comes round again……. but I am thinking they would look good on a gothic shaped mirror ……. with a painted web and perhaps a battery operated candle or two ……… ?????

Christmas Cards for 2014 – Using Primark Gift Tags–Ding Dong Merrily …..

The hand cut card blank for each of these cards measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a white linen effect card.

The toppers for this set of cards are made using the “Ding Dong” design from a “luxury” pack of 24 gift tags (£1) from the Primark 2013 Christmas range. All I have done is cut the front off the tags and then mat and layered them on an assortment of scrap papers in matching colours and navy gingham card stock.

There is a very slight 3D element to the toppers which adds just a little extra  dimension to the cards.

I have also layered using a Spellbinders scalloped edged square,a much under used die, that I have rediscovered in recent weeks

The design has then been finished off with a bit of faux stitching using a black fine liner pen and a smattering of white dots using a white gel pen from Paperchase.  Done and ding dong dusted!!!

New Baby Card

This card measures 5ins by 5ins and is made using a white linen effect card.

Not a lot to this card, but I was very apprehensive when I started it, as it was the first card I have agreed to make for anyone in over a year.

The background paper is actually gift wrap, but as it was  a good quality one it stood the rigours of being mat and layered and the edged with faux stitching.

The embellishment is a Russ keepsake badge, one of a few I found in Home Bargains a couple of years ago ….. for just 25p each (I think they cost about £1.99 now!), so there is the option to remove it if the recipient wants to, because it is only attached it with an adhesive foam pad.

The sentiment is handwritten in my fair hand, again mat and layered on silver mirror card and finally a few matching blue punched hearts fill the empty spaces to bring the card together.

I always look out for bargain badges in my bargain shops, the one I have used here is excellent quality, they are something a bit different on a “lazy” made card but nonetheless are effective.

I Saw These And Wondered …..

I saw these “Signature” numbers in a local gift shop and thought what a brilliant idea …… but at £11.99 they were a tad expensive …..

….. and then wondered if you could make something similar using the large papier mache numbers you see in craft shops ….. with a coat of paint and base, made from perhaps a covered narrow box, and then signed by well wishers with birthday wishes with a permanent Sharpie pen ?????? 

Christmas Cards for 2014 – Heart Design

Each of these white or red card hand cut card blanks measure 5ins x 5ins and use either a linen effect or plain textured cardstock.

The centre pieces are made using the heart design from a pack of red foil gift tags (below), with the backs cut off and papers from the 6” x 6” Christmas paper pack from Wilkinson's Christmas 2013 range, which unfortunately I just didn’t have the time to use before Christmas. 

I I’ve also added red and clear flat back gems on the heart and scalloped edges of the Spellbinder die cut square, plus a touch of faux stitching around some of the edges, in either black or white gel pen.

There’s a lot of mat and layering going on, but I have been mindful, no matter how tempting, not to use any foam pads to add extra dimension because if posted they may not fit through the post office gauge, and so cost extra to post.

I wish now that I had given into temptation and for the sake of another £3 had bought two packs of this paper instead of just the one,as I have enjoyed using it so much, I knew at the time I would regret it, and now I am bitterly,  as I doubt I will ever see it again, so lesson learned!
http://www.wilko.com/

Christmas Cards for 2014 – Snowflake Card Using A Primark Gift Tag.

The hand cut card blank for this card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a light brown, ribbed effect Kraft cardstock.The topper for this card are made using the snowflake design from this “luxury” pack of 24 gift tags (£1) from the Primark 2013 Christmas range. All I have done is cut the front off the tag and then mat and layered it on a complimentary red and white patterned paper, and scraps of Kraft and mirror card. There is a very slight 3D element to the topper which adds just a touch of extra dimension to the card.

I have also layered using a Spellbinders scalloped edged square, which I have then embellished with small red flat backed gems, as I have the snowflake.

Toppers can cost so much, which is why looking for interesting 3D gift tags is a no brainer, 24 toppers for £1, brilliant, especially when crafting on a budget!!

More Pages From My Las Vegas Scrapbook ……… My trip To Michaels and Walmart ……

Once more, I am going to try and let the pages from my Las Vegas scrapbook/journal do most of the talking ……

However, now, reading the pages back, I can see that when I put these pages together I must have been very heavily under the influence of the rather generous Las Vegas cocktails I was swiftly becoming accustomed to, judging by my spelling and poor sentence construction!!!!!!!!! Please forgive me …. I just hope you can make some sense of what I was trying to say …….

A couple of years ago I made friends via my “Mums Monkey” blog with Dianne, who lives in Florida,  and never fails to leave a comment each day and who I and “The Boys” love very much, even though we have never met!  Well, not yet!!!!!!!! 

Anyway, I told Dianne of my dream of one day going to a Michael’s, but never ever believed I actually would, and with each parcel she sent a Michaels bag was always included.……

…….. and I kept them all safe, promising her that one day, if ever I got there, I would stand outside Michaels holding the very first bag she sent me aloft ……. as I did above!

From Michaels, we had a little lunch in a chicken place as recommended by our taxi driver …..and then on to Walmarts …… oh my life …….. so many objects of desire ….. but so little room in my suitcase!

And finally, to a 99c Only Store, and another tick on my bucket list! I’ll be honest, by the time we got there, we were totally wiped out, never before have I been sooooooooooo hot, normally I’d have bounded across the retail park from store to store full of excitement and expectation ……

…..but the heat just sapped the strength out of you in a way I never expected. But I have memories that I will remember forever …… it was all so wonderful, I had to pinch myself so many times to actually believe I was there!

Ranger Melting Pot ….. Just Playing

The one thing that I noticed almost straight away when I started “playing” with my Melting Pot was how brittle the pieces I made were, if I dropped them, they invariably ended up in bits on the floor, which wasn’t that brilliant, especially as I had it in mind to make Christmas tree decorations, tags and perhaps some pendants, and for that, they needed to be a little more robust.

So, then I did me some research and “discovered” UTEE F-L-E-X, a resilient resin that makes Ultra Utee more durable and stronger.  Wooo hoooo,  I thought, I’ll get me and Marc some of that ……. only to discover, when I tried to buy it, that it had been discontinued!!!!! Aghhhhhh 

More research followed …. and I stumbled across a couple of links that suggested adding a small section of a glue stick to your Utee when you are melting it  ….. well,  it would have been rude not to try, wouldn’t it?

And would you believe it, it worked!  In fact I found the Utee a little easier to pour as well.

I poured the melted Utee and glue stick mix onto my heat resistant mat and then “cut” into it with a plastic cutter (another experiment, which also worked, as I thought you could only use metal cutters with hot Utee)

When cool the star and the blob (above) had a degree of flexibity that Utee alone doesn’t have,  and then …. I threw both on the floor with a little force, and both survived! And when I deliberately tried to snap the “blob”, it certainly felt more resistant, although it did break eventually.  So from here on in, I think it’s just a matter of more experimenting with how much glue stick to add for maximum strength and flexibility.

I also tried stamping into the Utee ….. not so successful ….. but only because I pressed down far too hard!!!

Christmas 2014 – A Marriage Of Two Tags

I liked the idea of both these tags found on Google, but wondered if I could marry the two ideas, I love holly and I love using Dymo tape on projects ….. but couldn’t decide which I liked best!!!

And this is what I came up with …. I cut the Kraft card tags so that they  measured approximately 10cm x 5cm, setting a green eyelet round the punched hole to make them look just that little bit more “professional”.

I then added the Dymo Tape sentiments, two Kaisercraft die cut embellishments, a few red, flat backed gems and some white gel pen lines and dots to finish the whole effect.

Scratting About In Skips!

I can’t resist a crafty look in the odd skip or bin when I see one, so when I saw the bins at work overflowing, well,  it would have been rude not to have a mooch wouldn’t it……?

….. and I so glad I did! When I first saw these tins I thought “Well they’re coming home with me ….. in all their shabby chic, retro glory” ….. and then I shook them ….. there was something inside ….

…… Oh Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, they contained hundreds and hundreds of pen nibs …. the handwritten stickers on the tins corresponding to the size of the nibs in the tin!

I know pen nibs are big with Tim Holtz at the moment ….. and I know these don’t have fancy words embossed on them ….. but they are manner from heaven for altered art etc. I just can’t believe they were chucked ….

I also rescued these two flasks, they were completely covered in paint, but after a week in my dishwasher they are now completely clean …… I have always loved scientific bottles, flasks and test tubes since way before they became trendy, the glass is always so delicate and thin, and the shapes oooooo, don’t get me started! I am now thinking that this pair will look very lovely filled with small bath beads on my new glass shelves in my new boudoir bathroom, when it is done.

It would have been nice to have found a pile of wooden rulers, also very on trend at the moment, but I did however find a lone scientific measuring stick thingy ….. which I am sure will come in useful for a project in the future …… but,  leaving the best till last …… this was what was left outside in yard for a couple of weeks …….

IT’S beautiful! It used to be in the site supervisors office for years and is now surplus to requirements ….. but there was no way I could leave it …. so my name was put on it until it was “decommissioned”.  It needs a bit of tender loving care, but nothing major I don’t think ….. and I am just going to have to find a space for it, either in my kitchen or craft room ….. I need to have a think!! But a very, very happy day mooching!

Tin Can Planters

This month I have been mainly collecting giant baked bean cans!

The school kitchen must get through umpteen of these giant tin cans every week and after I had been talking to Marc about my plans for the bottom of my garden, I suddenly thought of all the cans that were being thrown away, when I could use them as planters, like the picture below:-

I could paint them, but I think for this first year and experiment, I am just going to let them age gracefully (as above).  All I am intend to do is drill a few drainage holes in the bottom and leave them at that.  My plan is plant each one with a lavender pup, which will hopefully attract the bees, smell wonderful and eventually create a supply of lavender for crafty projects when dried.  Well, that’s the theory. But is anyone has any other ideas for low maintenance pots, I am open to all suggestions.

I will also be packing a few of the cans in my suitcase to take down to Marc for his patio garden ….. and I’ll let you know what he does with his, when he has done it!!! 

Guest Crafter - Butterfly Wedding Invitations By The Equally Lovely Denise.

The Equally Lovely Denise has put me to shame!!!  I have had a Silhouette machine since time began but have never really gone past the basics with it, and there’s Denise who has had her Cameo for five minutes and has hit the floor running!!!  So confident was she that she offered to make a friends wedding invitations ….  and what she made are so truly stunning  I just had to share them with you.

The brief was a vague outline of butterflies/cream/silver diamante and gold, Denise made three samples for the Bride To Be who couldn’t decide which she liked best, so Denise went with them all!!!

All the template downloaded and available from Silhouette Online http://www.silhouetteonlinestore.com/

The corner butterfly design is by Daniela Angelova butterfly card ID: #45128

They were made using cream and ivory linen card from Papermill Direct (some reversed in colour) with 4mm flat back diamante gems, and 'peel off' sentiments.

The sideways design is by Jamie Koay Butterfly card ID: #11772 and is also made using cream linen card and trimmed with ivory Offray feather satin ribbon, with a small punched and layered butterfly in gold

And finally, the geometric card with butterflies is another design by Daniela Angelova ID: #46905,  trimmed with Berisford silver edged satin ribbon in honey gold.

All the cards had inserts made using cream paper from Staples.

Denise calculated  that the cards averaged at about £1 each including factoring in for a new mat and blade.

The envelopes were a job lot bought on eBay  for, can you believe, £6.50 + £6.50 P&P for 600 in ivory/gold/white by bidding right up to the last minute!  OMG, what a bargain!!!

As I said, all stunning and as I gaze across at my own Silhouette, just ten inches away from me,  I really should pull my finger out and get to grips with it and use it more, especially when I see what can be done with it!!

Christmas 2014 - Red Snowflake Tags

These tags measure approximately 10cm x 5cm and are made using a heavy plain red cardstock. I’ve hand cut the tags, using a template I took from an old Ikea tag, which, to me, is the perfect size for any parcel tag. I have then used scraps left over from the 6” x 6” Christmas paper pack I got from the Wilkinson 2013 Christmas range for the background, adding red punch circles that have been embellished with plastic snow flakes from a garland found in a charity shop a while back, with a flat back gem in the centre.  The whole design is then pulled together with faux stitching and a few dots round the edges, using a white gel pen from Paperchase.

I have set a silver eyelet for the thread, always a good look when making a “professionally” finished tag!!!!! The red and white butchers twine just finishes off the whole design.

Now, planning well ahead …. I need a roll of plain silver or white gift wrap to set off and compliment these little babies!!! 

Birthday Matches

This idea was a very, very disappointing, so it’s a case of going back to the drawing board and trying again.

My niece's 21st birthday is coming up and I thought it would be nice to have some special “birthday” matches with which to light the 21 candles on her cake.

I will admit to being really lazy and thought I could just suitably cover a matchbox I already had ….. using a piece of sparkly hologram paper and a bit of doodling ….. however covering the box was a lot more fiddly than I thought, and my doodling was a far cry from the “cute and magical” I had envisioned ….

So I am going to get out my Stampin’ Up Sizzix Matchbox die and approach the idea properly ….. but am I right in thinking that matches will strike on sand paper???