Thank You

I have received some very lovely cards from followers of this blog and The Boyz which I thought I would share with you.  Lu made me laugh just before Christmas after checking the post and sighed saying, “Those flipping Monkeys get more post than I do!”

Once again, I am thinking that I really do not stamp enough …..
…… despite having a couple of drawers full of wooden and cling stamps …
….. as well as a whole plethora of inks and embossing powders and heat gun,
….. so perhaps one crafty New Years Resolution should be to include at least one stamped project a month ……..

And now I can hear Marc’s voice in my ear saying “…and you don’t use your Silhouette (as card above) enough either, do you Madam?” and then continuing the nagging by asking if I have downloaded this weeks Silhouette free file!! 

So that’s now one stamp and one Silhouette project a month ……… hmmmmmm!!!!!!  We shall see!!!

And last but not least, cards with Monkeys are always particularly special to me.

Overly Dressed Goat Bell

My sister-in-law loves Christmas and it is a tradition to try and bring her a Christmas tree decoration from places we visit during the year

Well, I saw some tacky baubles in Greece in the summer, but Lucy gave me that look that said “No Mum, that’s just too tacky!” …… so after further searching over the holiday I finally settled for a small, simple and very plain goat bell.

However, as Christmas neared I decided that it really needed a bit of embellishing, for fear it would look just too plain and simple amongst the other rich and ornate baubles …… but…. I think I only succeeded in making it look even more tackier than the bauble I left behind!!!!!

Maisie’s Christmas Card

I promised Maisie and her Gran that I would post a picture of the WONDERFUL 2014 Christmas card Maisie sent to me for all the world to see …….

It’s about A5 in size, using a textured white card, assorted red buttons and lot’s of different ribbons, my favourite being the one on the bottom edge, so clever, and would you believe Maisie is only 8 and is already giving us older crafters a real run for our money!!! Maisie I LOVE it ….. and keep up all the good work in 2015 xxxxx

Last Minute Christmas Packaging Idea

Well, I had finished making all my “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” bottle to give a small keepsake presents and was ready to parcel them up, but the problem was I didn’t have a clue how to. I had considered buying some Poundland crackers, just for the cracker packaging, but then I got “tight”,  why spend more money on stuff that would only be thrown away ….. especially when I had a room of paper and stuff, that owe me nothing?

It took me a couple of attempts, I know crackers was the obvious way to go, but me and crackers just don’t get on craft wise, past attempts always looked misshaped and uneven  …….

But this is what I eventually came up with, using some ancient lunch money envelopes.  I simple covered the front and back with small print scraps of 8” x 8” Christmas papers and then added a Craftwork Cards sentiment layered on plain and scalloped circles. Voila!  It didn’t really matter where I put the sentiment, front or back, but I think in the end I preferred it on the back, slightly overlapping the flap with a touch of faux stitching.

Festive Objects Of Desire

If money was no object ………
….. wouldn’t it be wonderful …….
……. to have a special set of bedding ……..
…….. just for Christmas! So this year in the sales, this is what I will be looking for, especially for the Christmas's that Iris will come to stay, it's a natural progression from Christmas pyjamas .... Primark has a "Nordic" set .... so I am off to mooch as soon as the festivities are over!

Christmas Day 2015

 xxxxx Wishing You A Very Happy Christmas xxxxx

              

‘Tis The Day Before Christmas

And nothing will be stirring inside this house!!!!!!

I think I have been doing Christmas more or less since January, starting with ideas using stuff I found reduced in the January sales, and now, I think, I deserve a few well earned days off!

…… And then, I need to pull my finger out and tidy my craft room, ready for the New Year as it is an absolute tip, nothing is in its place and I can’t find anything!

I have to say that my usual Poundshop hunting ground for festive inspiration has been a great disappointment this year when it’s come to finding bits and pieces to craft with ….. and as for stickers, my embellishment of choice for Christmas crafting …. forget it, save for the Paperchase robins that I think I did to death over the past few weeks!!! 

Anyway, have a lovely, lovely, lovely day tomorrow …… I shall be spending Christmas in Evesham with Tom, The Lovely Laura and Little Baby Iris ….. starting family new traditions,  but, I will still be leaving a light, if not a candle to shine in the large lantern in the garden, to remember all those special people who are no longer with us at Christmas, but whose spirit, I hope, will find us where ever we are.

A Very Special Memory Book For Iris

When I went up into the loft to get the Christmas decorations down I found this old book I made for Tom, when he was a little boy when he was mad about trains, using an old photo album. Seeing his childish handwriting on it, and then opening it up to look at the pictures, it was as if it was only yesterday ………

 

…… but in fact, it all happened in the autumn of 1984, thirty years ago! Where does the time go?It then seemed so sad to leave those memories alone in the cold attic until the next time someone picked the book up …..

……. so I wondered if I could take them and make something for Iris …. to  live on for another generation, and so I decided to put them in a new, smaller ring bound book ………. but keep the wording exactly the same as in the original book (made to help Tom to learn read) …….

……. and keep the pages as equally plain, so that the pictures told the story, although it would have been so easy to go wild with embellishment!

…… but, I did add everyone's names on each page, so that even though Iris will never have known her Great Granny Shelia or Grandad Andy, she will eventually recognise them and know what a huge part they played in her own Daddy’s life.

The pictures of the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway were especially poignant for me, because about 25 years later Andy did the plumbing and heating work there when they renovated the Top Station to create a tearoom.  It was a job he was very happy at and so every visit I make there is always special, as I know there’s a little bit of him still there ….. looking down at the river…….. and some of his pipework is still visible, I know, because he always pointed it out to me when we were there, saying “I did that!”

We had very many happy times at Bridgenorth, camping by the river or just going on day trips …. and as I said at the beginning of this, it all seems like yesterday.

Jewelled Tea-light Holder

Nothing fancy today, just an Ikea tea-light holder that I have covered with the multi-coloured strips of self adhesive gems I found in Poundland.

I cut the strips to fit the depth of the holder and then others to fill the gaps across the top and the bottom.

Although I thought I had cleaned the glass well, a couple of the gems unpeeled slightly, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed by a dab of PVA glue here and there .

Gingerbread Inchie Pendant Trays

These gingerbread pendants just need to be threaded with a narrow piece of red ribbon, and perhaps a bead and they will be ready to hang on the tree
They measure one inch square, with a background made up of a white glitter and snow patterned papers.

The puffy, slightly metallic, gingerbread man stickers came from Hobbycraft last year, this year sadly their Christmas stickers have been pants  ….. in fact I just haven’t bought any from them!

Once the gingerbread men were in position I flooded the pendant with Anita’s 3D, clear, glossy dimensional finish, which, when set,  the gingerbread man stand everso slightly proud, but with a seamless finish, giving an almost enamelled effect.

I am hoping that next year someone pulls their fingers out sticker wise, however I think I am going to start looking farther a field for my supplies in the coming year, most probably to China ….. you may have to wait an extra week or two for them to arrive, but you just can’t compare choice and prices ….. and I get to work with something different, that perhaps other people may not have.

Christmas Tree Place Settings

This isn’t my idea, it was Martha Stewart’s, but I’ve always loved it, so thought I would give it a try this year as I have a wonderful “real” silver Christmas tree in my garden

My father in law has cut me lots and lots of little branch slices for tags and other festive ideas that might pop in my head over the next few months.  I simply drilled a hole in the middle with my modellers drill and then just stuck in the end of a Christmas tree branch that I had sprayed with glue and sprinkled liberally with translucent micro glitter

I was then tempted to over egg the pudding by adding sequins and beads, but then controlled myself, less should be more …..

…… and these, I thought, had the “cute” factor ….. I shouldn’t turn them into brash and gaudy for my festive table …… that’s not my style …… LOL!!!!

So in the end I just added a tasteful wooden star (stuck on with a glue gun)

Obviously Christmas is a little away ahead still ….. but I am curious to see how long these little trees keep their needles so that I can work out how far in advance of a special meal I could make them.

The PE Lady’s Christmas Booties

So ……. just how cute are these booties?  How could I resist?

Knitted by our beloved PE Lady, I had to have them for Iris’s first Christmas.  Sorry,  I don’t have the pattern, I just wanted to show them to you.

2015, I suspect, will be the year when I finally pick up my knitting needles again. There was once a time in my life, when Tom and Lucy,were small, that I was never without any knitting …… in fact Lucy was always known at playgroup as the little girl with the lovely jumpers!!! So, with many beautiful wools and patterns in the shops now, and knitting being an on trend sort of hobby, I think that between the Equally Lovely Granny Denise and I, Iris will be able to take on Lucy’s mantle and become the next little girl with the lovely jumpers and cardigans!!

“The Boyz” Christmas Card 2014

This card measures 6ins x 6ins and was a nightmare to get right!!!

Firstly this wasn’t the picture I intended to use, I had a lovely picture of “The Boyz” being snow angels, but the reproduction just wasn’t right as I had compressed it, to put on their blog, doh!

So, then I had to “arrange” a Hello Magazine photo shoot” with them, but as I was doing it in November, I didn’t have a festive back drop to use and them just sat sitting on my stairs just looked deathly dull, even with the help of a piece of Poundshop tinsel!

And so reluctantly, as it isn’t an activity I particularly enjoy, I decided to cut away the boring bits using the Paint programme on my computer, which gave me a blank canvas to work on …………. and allow me to superimpose the monkeys onto a new,  more festive backgroundI can’t believe it came out so well and that you can’t see the join!  But putting a card together using the picture was the nightmare. There were too many colours, on plain, white card blank it looked like something was missing but on a patterned card it looked far too busy! Agh!!! After over two hours and only a bin full of rejects to show for my toils, I was still tearing my hair out and resorted to looking at card layouts, which helped, in a round about way.But, after a little more frustration, a card finally emerged …… with a card blank cut from this A4 pad of glossy, green card (above) I got from a market for £3 a couple of years ago, and the picture mat and layered on more of the green card then silver, plus i.5 ins strips of silver down the side and a sentiment made using The Dukes old Dymo tape maker. Phew!!!

It’s very different from The Boyz past Christmas cards. It’s contemporay and I think it works …. but lesson learned, at the first sign of any snow I need to get those Monkeys out there, in their Christmas jumpers and take as many pictures as I can …. and just keep them until I need them next Christmas, as I now know it’s much easier to work with/on white!!!!

Snowman Soup

I wasn’t sure if I would put together any packs of Snowman Soup this year, but the success of my Halloween Brew made me think, why not!

The design for the packet insert is almost the same as the one I made in 2010  using digi kit, which sadly now seems to have been retired. The font I used is 2peas Typo.

All I have done is print of the design and then mat and layer it on some PaperCellar snow design card to fit my cello bags, that I found in Home Bargains for a bargain 89p for 50 bags.

In the bags I have put a packet of hot chocolate, a candy cane and a marshmallow Christmas pole.  I used to make my own little packets of mini marshmallows to sprinkle on the top of the hot chocolate, but I think using pre-packed marshmallows is more hygienic, leaving the recipient to either dip or break up the marshmallow as they choose. However at the last minute I decided to add a mini gingerbread man from a pack from M & S (99p for 12),  which I sealed in a small cello bag with my vacuum sealer and a couple of starlight mints, again left over from other projects …. but all with a couple of months on the sell by/use by dates