Hand Painted Mug – Porcelain Painter Pen

Well I say hand painted ….. which suggests that I used a paint brush, but really  I used a black Marabu Porcelain Painter pen, but the title sounds much more posh, skilled and artistic doesn’t it?????!!!!

When I saw the mug in discountUK, with it’s classy back inside, I just had to have it (well, I bought two, but the other one will probably appear later on in another guise) and for 99p, it had to be done.

My source of inspiration was a bowl I bought in a charity shop when Marc stayed with me in the summer, which I think was also 99p.It was like the mug was made for a similar design. Once “painted” the mug had to be baked in the oven for 30 minutes at 160F and should now be dishwasher proof and ready for me to take to work for my coffee!

Exciting Times !!!!

Looks like “Mum’s Monkey” is being picked up in a few high places, but it comes to something when the invitations go to Monkey, Darrell and Nigel and not me!!!!!!!   ……. Anyway, this is what they found in their mail box when they got home from work last night …….

“Dear Mum’s Monkey,

I hope you’re well.

We’d like to invite you to a very exclusive screening on Tuesday 24^th February to launch the brand new series of Caitlin & Caz Moran’s RAISED BY WOLVES.

However, this is no ordinary press screening… a very special coach trip is also involved! Not only will you be accompanied by the writers and creators, Caitlin & Caz Moran, but also joining us will be the two brilliant actresses who play their teenage alter egos; Helen Monks & Alexa Davies.

The trip will begin at Wolverhampton Train Station at ****, we’ll board the coach with our very own Wulfrunians Caitlin & Caz, who will curate a unique tour of the city where they grew up – accompanied by some substantial refreshments. Forget local churches, and points of interest, this will be an no holds barred take on their hometown.

Once the tour has ended, the coach will take us on to Wolverhampton Cineworld where we’ll offer a first look preview of the first two episodes followed by a Q&A with the four ladies.

The invite for the screening is below - we really hope you can join us.”

How exciting is that?  Well,  it goes without saying that “we” shall all be going, but I think it was the promise of “substantial” coach refreshments that probably swayed it ……!!!!!

Taking Crafting A Bit Too Far …….

It’s been a bit bitter in Wolverhampton just lately and I finally decided to succumbed and rummage through my drawers to find a pair of gloves to wear  …… only to find,  as I put them on at the bus stop that ……….

……this was obviously a pair that I had cut a couple of fingers off when I had run out of snowmen’s hats for snowman chocolate bars, and had then absentmindedly rolled them back up and put away again !!

Still, I hope you noticed how straight and even my cuts were!!!

What am I like???????

MESSAGE FOR LIZZIE

xxxx Lizzie, what can I say?  I received your parcel on Saturday and am totally, totally overwhelmed ……. I just don’t know what to say …. but THANK YOU SO MUCH.  So many treasures ….. I loved everything and believe me everything has been very lovingly stroked and adored, especially the Tim Holtz pieces, you are so kind, too kind!!

I don’t have your e-mail, but a proper “thank you” is on it’s way, I just wanted to let you know it had arrived …… and I am very, very touched xxxxxx

Baby Welcome Card

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

This is the card I made my Granddaughter Iris when she was born. Iris arrived a little sooner than I’d expected, and as I didn’t want to make a card in advance until I knew Tom and The Lovely Laura’s baby was safe it was made in the couple of hours before Lucy and I left for Worcester to meet Iris for the very first time. 

All I knew was that I wanted the card to be fresh, simple and unfussy. The self adhesive birds came from a pack I got from Michael’s in Las Vegas, that were just waiting to be used for such a wonderful occasion. 

Simple Premo! Sculpey Clay Necklace

The idea for this simple necklace is not mine, it was inspired by a tutorial I found on Pinterest. Sometimes I want to play, but feel a little lost, especially as I only started using oven bake clay seriously in the run up to Christmas. so having something to follow helps me over the initial hesitant stage and then I can develop and run with the idea if I am happy with the initial results.

http://crafts.tutsplus.com/tutorials/make-your-own-colourful-polymer-clay-necklaces--craft-8943

I used some of the Premo! Sculpey clay that Marc gave me a while back and thought I might also add a couple of metal beads from a deconstructed charity shop find, found when Marc was with me in the summer.

Admittedly,  I made the beads really, really quickly, so they vary and the finish is far from perfect, but if I was being arty farty I would say that they were …… erm …. organic!!!!!!!

I also think I may have baked them for a little too long as the colours darkened quite considerably …… but I was only experimenting!!!

All I did then was to thread the hardened beads onto a length of leather cord.  I did try a metal bead  between each separate colour, but it didn’t look right, so I settled for just one at each end.

I could tidy up this idea a lot …… if I wanted to make another necklace.  However, the beads might reappear once I have worn it a few times, in a new guise somewhere along the line, perhaps as part of hanging decoration ….. hmmmmmmmm!

Sorry, Only One Fiddle Fart Post Per Week ………

Sorry, for yet another change to my blog schedule …. for the next few months at least, I think there will only be one Fiddle Fart post per week, on a Monday ….. I am having a bit of a mojo malfunction …… but with all good reason, as my mind has been on other things!

I said a week or so ago that I had handed in my notice at work …….. but what I didn’t say was that at Christmas I suggested to Tom and the Lovely Laura that perhaps they might consider my helping to look after Iris a bit when the said Lovely Laura goes back to work in June. Well, to be honest there wasn’t much debate, and none of it was in the slightest bit heated!!!!!  So, from mid June I will be splitting my week, spending three days in Evesham and four days in Wolverhampton, but with the long term view that eventually I will move to Evesham permanently within the next eighteen months/two years!

But, before I start the drama of selling and buying houses, I hope that during my days/evenings spent in Evesham I can gradually start to make new friends and build up a social life, so that when I “really” move, it will feel like I am already settled, if that makes sense?

So as you can see, my mind has been rather occupied and I am afraid not a lot of crafting has been done, Chez Greysquirrel ……. but I still think I want to keep things ticking over blog wise  ….. it’s been too much part of my life to give up completely, and I can see how it might take on new angles …. Tom says he already has visions of coming home every night and finding Iris covered in paint, Decopatch or some sort of dressing up affair  …. perhaps I could go down the “Crafting with Iris” line!!!!!!!

……. I still plan to craft at the weekend when I am at home in W-ton, but when I am in Evesham it could be a way of  taking my crafting back to real basics as I won’t be surrounded by my mountain of materials and tools.  Initially I plan to take a supply of white card, mirror card, and a few embellishments, and basic tools with me and see where that leads me ……. perhaps planning projects ahead for the evenings at the weekend or exploring the delights of Evesham for inspiration and a source of new materials.

I hope that Evesham, being a “touristy” sort of a place, could provide a source outlets for me to perhaps expand and sell more of what I make, which is something I know I don’t do enough of, maybe playgroups, gift shops, craft markets etc.  

So there you go ….. a lot to think about, but hopefully if I take things very slowly it will prove to be the right move and the start of a whole new life!

Lucy’s Birthday Card 2014

This card is A5 in size.

We were on holiday in Greece for Lucy’s 30th Birthday and this is the card I made for her, which I squirrelled away in my suitcase. Nothing fancy and very, very simple, but setting the mood and holiday theme. Believe me, Lucy wouldn’t  have thanked me if I had plastered 30 all over it!

The letters are self adhesive and from my huge collection of alphabets   …. and the embellishments, well sometimes you just can’t beat a pack of 3D stickers (UK Discounts 2 for £1) to make a very quick but effective card!

Leaving Card

This card is A5 in size and is made using a hand cut, white linen effect blank

It’s another year …… and as with last year I am really going to make a concerted effort to use up a lot of the stuff that I have had for far too long, and needs to be used up, like these assorted self adhesive letters and the paper flowers that came from the days when Lakeland used to have a craft department!

There’s a whole lot of mat and layering going on here on silver mirror card

…… plus a liberal smattering of faux stitching.

Twig Christmas Tree

This is the “Christmas Tree” I put together on the spur of the moment for my “festive” landing.

The branches used to belong to a small, shaped box tree that we had at the front of the house which seemed to die very slowly, no matter what we did to it, and to be honest in the end I just left it abandoned in its pot for months at the bottom of the garden until I had a final tidy up in the autumn, but something made me keep what was left of the, by then bleached branches, all be it in the garage shoved into a piece of oasis.

But about a week before Christmas, I saw some packs of twelve small gold/silver vintage style baubles, reduced from £12 to £2.80 in House of Fraser, and  I got to thinking about the branches again, deciding to spray them with an off white coloured paint and while the paint was still wet, sprinkled it all over with diamond dust micro glitter.

When dry, I arranged them as best as I could into a Christmas tree shape, putting them back into the oasis, placed in an off white pot, with ornamental blue glass chippings (Ikea) sprinkled over the oasis to hid it.

It took two packs of the vintage baubles and a box of twenty tiny, clear baubles I got in a HobbyCraft sale a few years back to cover it, before adding a string of Poundshop battery operated LED lights ….. which I realised I should have put on before the baubles!!!! The lights look blue in the picture, but they are actually white.

If I say so myself,  it did look very pretty, delicate and ethereal sitting on my landing windowsill ….. and has now been put away very carefully to come out for next year as well. 

New Year’s Favour Using Tim Holtz Matchbox Die

New Years Eve is an occasion that I as a crafter I feel I neglect greatly, all those parties and celebrations are such an opportunity to get all creative yet I do very little for it …… so in 2015 I am hoping to try and come up with a few more ideas, to even up the score for other occasions.

For this idea I used one of the die cut Tim Holtz matchboxes Marc sent me …..

….. and made a false bottom for it, using some of the New Year rub-ons Marc and I found in Home Bargains in the summer, which I think only cost us 29p, and embellished it with a bit of doodling and star confetti.

I then threaded some alphabet beads to spell ‘Happy New Year’, to go in the box, hiding the end of the cord under the false bottom, which I also lifted slightly using three layers of foam tape.

I decorated the matchbox sleeve with scraps of star patterned paper and an assortment of stars, and that’s it really. 

This idea could be adapted for so many other occasions, using the beads to say all manner of things.  I can’t wait for Marc’s visit, as I know we will be bouncing other ideas, left right and centre ……. I already have one for someone who had just passed their driving test!

I know I keep harping on about matchboxes and I think they are going to feature quite a lot in the coming months  because they just inspire me so much and you know how much I love tiny things, but if you don’t have a die, there are plenty of templates available for free on the internet,

http://www.ruthannzaroff.com/mirkwooddesigns/matchbox.htm

http://kellbellestudio.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/altered-matchbox-template.html

http://blog.swap-bot.com/rachels-matchbox-template/

They are also pretty easy to create using a score board ………  or you can buy blank ones from various craft suppliers, like Baker Ross

http://www.bakerross.co.uk/craft-matchboxes-1?gclid=CjwKEAiAw56lBRCs29jB9uOvkygSJADnD3-6Jhm1Gbg2kThMsY1CfjzygXpvrRBcKyZGpGv-9Si7lBoCd_7w_wcB

An Office Get Well Card

This card is A5 in size using a handcut white linen effect blank.

This card was brilliant for using all the random letters I have in my box of alphabets letters.

I originally matted all the words on a contrasting colour ……..
…… but it didn’t just didn’t look right, but adding the purple background made it pop!

Birthday Matchboxes Using Tim Holtz matchbox Die

I am having a glorious time looking through my embellishment boxes looking for anything that could “work” in a matchbox!

For this idea I have used some of the Tim Holtz matchboxes Marc cut out for me and a pack of birthday cake embellishments from Paper Cellar that I must have bought at least five years ago, I think they have gone unused for so long because, for me, they were just a bit too deep to put on a card I put the sleeves of the matchboxes together first, using scraps of paper, sentiment circles from CraftWork Cards, my scallop edged circle punch and silver peel-off corners, plus a bit of faux stitching.

Inside the box was simple, matching it to the box sleeve I simply cut a base for the bottom, fiddle farted with it a bit and then added the cake embellishment in the middle.

So, at last, another pack of my old embellishments are finally used up ….. goodness knows how many more packs I have to go!!

I am always on the look out for matchbox dies and templates as I know I will be featuring them a lot of the coming months  ……. and I found this one below …….

https://www.theglitterpot.co.uk/products/Sizzix_Movers_Shapers_XL_Box_Match/40020/0

…… which made me realise how out of touch I am with new and not so new box dies …. I could be tempted, but in my being out of touch, I couldn’t believe how expensive some have now become!

Iris’s Improvised Ball Pool

Iris did have a very lovely inflatable ball pool, but it was strongly suspected that Jupiter the cat may have given it a slow puncture with one of his paws, and so the ball pool was no more! But over Christmas, with so many boxes around Laura hit upon the idea of making a new pool, by cutting the front off a shallow box.  I then took over, and securely taped all the corner flaps down on the inside of the box, and then going round the outside and cut edges for good measure.

If Andy had been there I know he would have found some of that foam, pipe lagging stuff to go round the top edges too.  We then put a soft touch blanket to line the inside and cover the sides and a support pillow to fill one corner and two sides to support Iris ……et voila, a new, improvised ball pool!

*Only to be used under strict supervision.

POSTS EVER OTHER DAY ……

Just to give you the heads up that Fiddle Fart posts will be every other day for a little while …… but with perhaps the odd, occasional extra post thrown in here and there. My life is about to take another turn …. let’s just say, that on Tuesday (yesterday) I handed in my notice at work ….. and I feel ten ton lighter and look a million times younger already,  though still prone to slight exaggeration! 

Pendant Tray Monkey Keyrings

I have been experimenting with the inch pendant trays and keyrings that I treated myself to just before Christmas. 

They came from Etsy via China and cost me £13.72 for 50 antique effect silver trays which work out at roughly 27p each.  I had bought them initially with the intention of making Christmas Tree decorations and key chains.

With that in mind I will be going through all my stacks take-away boxes looking for suitable embellishments etc. that will fit into a one inch square, and these four Dress It Up monkey buttons (sent to me from Dianne my special friend in Florida) were just perfect. 

I cut an inch square of paper, faux stitched it round the edges and glued it into the bottom of a tray.  I then cut the shank off the button and glued it in the prepared tray, using E6000 glue, which is really strong and I know once cured will not budge. 

When the button was set in position and a silver peel-off added to two of the corners, I added “Aleene’s Jewelry Pendant Gel”, to the pendant. This was the first time I have used this product and was curious to see if it was an equal substitute to Glossy Accents or Anita’s 3D Clear Gloss Finish, I have used previously, which indeed it proved to be, setting in approx 4 – 5 hours, however to give the pendant a deep and full look I added a second layer, as one looked a little flat. I also painted a little on the monkeys face to give it glossy, slightly enamelled look.

I am really pleased with the results,  I might have to wait an extra two or three weeks when I order from various companies in China, but as I have learnt from past experience if I buy in bulk, I end up paying at least half of what I would pay in UK for the same thing.