I’ve Been Busy …… Introducing, In Hello magazine Type Fashion, My New Craft Room!

I may have only been blogging once a week, but believe me my feet haven’t touched the ground since I decided to stand back for a while ….. As it happens it was a very wise decision, as my life seems to have been taking on a lot of new changes and happenings, which are set to continue for the next six months or so at least, the most exciting of which will be the safe arrival of my first grandchild “Jellybean” in June …….

….. which is why my spare bedroom has gone from this to this ….. and my old Craft Room is no more!

It was a job I firmly intended to do during the summer holidays, but then in a mad mood of impetuosity I decided to get it started over Easter while I was in Iceland, aghhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a brilliant gentleman called Ade who sorted it all for me (he, who did my “boutique” bathroom too).  I just give him a whole raft of wishy washy, fiddle farty ideas and somehow he knows exactly what I want!!!  So when I came home, all I had to do was fill all the shelves and drawers with all the stuff from my old and nearly double the size craft room ……

…… and I did it !!! Well, almost, I still have my sewing machines, Christmas bits and pieces and picture frames in the old room, but it’s all hidden away (but easily reachable when needed)  but now my guests (including Tom, The Lovely Laura and Jellybean) will have a lovely spacious room to spread out in plus tea making facilities.

Christmas 2014 - Retro Snowman Tags

These tags measure approximately 10cm x 5cms and are made using a base tag of plain red card and scraps from retro style Christmas papers.
The canvas snowman toppers cost me 50p for a pack of 4 from a reduced section in The Range.
There’s not a lot to them, the eyelet has been set using my Crop-a-dile, I am still very heavy handed with it, but a proper eyelet does make a tag look so professional! There’s a bit of mat and layering and faux stitching going on…..
….. all finished off with a a length of red and white bakers twine.  These would look good on a parcel wrapped in plain or bottle green Kraft paper.

Rubber Duckie Card.

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut blank using a navy blue gingham card.
I’m not sure if this card is suffering from a mat and layering overload!!!??
The ducks came from my visit to Michael’s in Las Vegas, they are sooooo cute, but I am not sure that this card has done their cuteness justice.

However, as there are nine ducks in the pack at least I can have a couple more tries to see if I can get the balance right! 

Having said that though, I think it’s a card that I could possibly use for the birth of a baby boy, with the addition of a sentiment somewhere ….  possibly on the “water”…..??

Rubber Duckie Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut card blank using a white linen effect card.
I found these self adhesive, flock duck embellishments from in Michael’s in Las Vegas……. and just couldn't resist them

Baby cards immediately came to mind, but I am also thinking perhaps a leaving cards .... or just a plain "You're quackers!" ?

Cadbury Miniature Bunny Chocolates

These chocolates are just a daft idea made for fun, perhaps a case of over egging (or bunnyising) a Cadbury miniature!!!!

All I’ve done is cover a few Cadbury miniatures to make them look a bit more Eastery ….

…… using a wrapper as a template,  I have cut new ones using scraps from Boofle  6 x 6 papers.

There’s a bit of an art to unwrapping the chocolates without damaging the foil …. but I got there in the end. I then “rolled” the chocolate in a new wrapper, sealing it with double sided tape at the end.

The final touch is a little doodled grass before adding the Easter bunny, done and dusted!

Elizabeth Shaw Bunny Mint Favours

Come on, with Easter next on our crafting calendars did you really think I wouldn’t do something with my crafty confectionary staple Elizabeth Shaw mints?!!!!!!

I try to stock up on the mints whenever see them in Home Bargains or B M Bargains at around £1.99 a box, especially as they always seem to have the milk chocolate ones, which are my personal favourite, dark chocolate is an acquired taste for me I am afraid. I know one day this source will more than likely dry up and then I will have to try and find them in the supermarkets for close on double the price, so I always check the “use by date” and then buy enough for a couple or three projects.

So, once more, I have got my old faithful, umpteen years old Stampin’ Up scalloped and plain circle out and got punching, in pink and yellow pastels for the outside, and Boofle 6” x 6” papers for the middle.

I am a fairly patient person ….. but after a while doing all the dots and faux stitching on both sides of the mints does begin to rankle and I just want to get them done!

Then comes the writing bit, when I start just pray that I can get it pretty well centred first time, and not have to chuck too many in the bin to get them just right.

Then,  all I have to do is sandwich them altogether, using double-sided tape ….. I am not sure how I am going to package them up to give as presents at Easter ….. but I do have a few organza bags from way back when (…somewhere …..) that need using up!

Nine Square Easter Bunny Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut blank using a white linen effect card.

How long has it been since I last made a nine square card???  Blinking years!!! However, the Paperchase wooden. confetti rabbits I found at a greatly reduced price a few weeks ago just screamed to be put on one!!

I matched them up with papers from a Boofle 6” x 6” paper pack, which are just perfect for Easter and spring cards.

The squares measure 1in x 1ins and I have edged them and the main square with tiny faux stitching.

That’s it ….. all done and bunny hopping dusted!

My New Bathroom and “Bespoke” Bath Panel!!

Well, the past two weeks at chez moi have been a hive on industry, with the work on my bathroom, after months of planning finally started and now completed, and if I say so myself, it looks beautiful!

I’ll be honest my part in the proceedings were almost nil, except for the bath panel, which you’ll remember from previous posts -http://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/my-bespoke-bath-panel.html  and  then buying all the little “incidental” bits and pieces to go with it, plus, more importantly making limitless cups of tea for the wonderful Ade who did all of the hard graft.

As you know, originally I dreamed of a boudoir bathroom to match my bedroom, all frou frou, and girly, but in the end, with my choice of stainless steel border tiles,  it all became very simple and streamlined ….

….. and less is more. My bejewelled mirror looked totally out of place and is now looking for a new home, and all the random coloured candle and tealight holders that I wanted to give the room an eclectic style have also fallen by the wayside……

…… to be replaced by just a few plain pieces.

And the bath panel?  Well I think it looks wonderful, an acquired taste perhaps, but a total one off,  covered using papers from my very favourite 12” x 12” My Mind’s Eye, Stella and Rose 180 page paper pad.

The panel is the main splash of colour in the room, and so I picked out certain colours from it with which to match my towels and bath mats i.e dusty blue and aubergine, sage green, a pastel yellow.

All in all I think I have gone from a boudoir to boutique bathroom!!!  The only original idea I still have left is for a cluster of the patchwork pictures on the wall nearest the loo, which I started using the same papers on the bath panel and Poundland picture frames, which are a perfect match to my new mirror, but I am not sure. http://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-first-of-my-boudoir-bathroom.html

Perhaps I need to live with the room as it is for a while before starting to consider cluttering up its clean lines!