Little Snowman In A Bottle Christmas Tree Ornament/Decoration

This is another project Marc and I worked on while I stayed with him a few weeks ago, tiny snowmen in bottles.

Marc was in charge of the bottles (The Works – 6 for £1) ……..

……. wrapping a length of thread round the top, attaching a plastic snowflake charm and then gluing the charm to the bottom, as they had the habit of sticking up/out if left to their own devices.

On the cork Marc glued a silver spacer bead with a screw eye in the middle so that the bottles can be hung from the branches of a Christmas tree etc.

Above is my practice run bottle made at home, the purpose of which was to gauge the size of the snowmen I needed to make to fit in bottles and also to see what “snow” worked best, tiny polystyrene balls or glitter.  In the end I went for the glitter as the balls tended to cling due to static electricity. I can’t remember the type of pen I used for the hat, face and buttons but it bleed, I put this down to not giving the air dough sufficient time to dry out thoroughly.

When I got to Marc’s I made more snowmen who had the tiniest of tiny Fimo noses, aghhhhhhh!

It was then Marc’s idea to give the snowmen arms using legs cut off plastic Halloween spiders, they were perfect and “gave a little” when a few of the snowmen were later carefully inserted into the bottles.

……….then after a day or two of drying came the task of giving adding their tiny eyes, buttons and a scarves using a single strand of red cotton yarn.  Marc has so much patience with “the detail”

I spent a morning colouring in the hats with fine tipped red and green Sharpies and then the snowmen were all bottled up ready for me to add the snow when I got home.

However …….. the red ink from the pens continued to bleed into the snowmen, giving them a slightly pink hue around the gills, I admit to only giving them about three days to dry out ……. bum, I don’t think it was really long enough!  I currently have a month old snowman that I have marked with the same pens to see it will bleed after that length of time.  I know I am being a diva perfectionist, but if I was given one of these bottles, I know the first thing I would notice would be the pink seepage, I cant help it!

So, although Marc’s bottles were perfection, my impatience is questionable. I think I am going to make another set of snowmen, this time either using Fimo, adding a hat in another colour or trying air dough again, but giving it a good couple of weeks to settle before adding any colour.  So watch this space …………

Little Wooden Studded Christmas Trees.

Two very simple Christmas tree decorations today ……….

Made using plain, wooden Christmas trees bought from Hobbycraft last year.  I just coloured them in with two shades of green Sharpie pen on the top and a red one on the bottom.

I then dotted around the top part with white Ranger Enamel Accents and then put a small, silver, flat back gem in the centre of each enamel blob, before adding a eye screw to the top to hang each tree by.  Done and dusted.

The finish by no means perfect I know, but these are destined for Iris and Bertie’s Christmas Tree this year and they certainly wont mind the odd smudge or off centred gem.  If I were going to do them again, I would certainly take more time, but this was just a quick experiment to finally get the trees used up instead of taking space up in my craft drawers.

Flip Flop Birthday Card

This card measures 6ins x 6ins and uses a white, pre-scored blank bought in a bulk pack in one of  Hobbycrafts sales.

No real great shakes here on the creative front, just quick and easy card made for my lovely neighbour Kata who wears nothing other than flip flops on her feet!

I simply covered the front of the card blank with a suitable paper from my docrafts “In Bloom” paper pad, found out two packs of different sized self adhesive, silver glitter alphabet sets and jiggled around with them until they looked pretty balanced in the middle of the card

I added a flat back pearl to each foam flip flop embellishments and then filled in some of the gaps with various sized silver stars and a scattering of three black dots (that weren't really necessary).  One birthday card done and dusted!

Snappy Birthday – Crocodile Birthday Card

This card measures 6ins x 6ins and uses a white, pre scored, manufactured card blank from a bulk pack from Hobbycraft.

Another super easy card today, this one was made for my daughter Lucy’s birthday the other week.

I found the extra large crocodile puffy sticker reduced to just 50p online from Hobbycraft, I loved it so much I added another four to a follow up order as I could see it’s potential, “Snappy Christmas” (?), and especially as I am currently only making quick and simple cards to free up more time for making decorative stuff for Christmas.

I used two papers from the Docrafts In Bloom paper pad, red glitter stickers for the sentiment and then gave Mr Croc two different sized googly eyes for comic value before hiding his original black bow tie with a smaller pre-tied and embellished bow for extra dimension and texture …….. and that’s about it!

Wooden Santa Pin Badge Brooches

My apologies, I have a feeling that I may be posting a few very similar projects in the lead up to Halloween and Christmas, like these badges/brooches and the small craft stick houses, it’s just that I am enjoying playing with the basic idea and when I find other suitable embellishments, I want to go with the flow and if I do have a craft stall at any time in the future it also means I am able to offer a choice of the same idea.

I wasn’t all that keen on these wooden Hobbycraft Santa embellishments (6 for £1) to start off with, but needless to say I have since ordered a few more packs once I realised their potential.

After I had given them a couple of tiny black flat back gem eyes and a shiny red nose, plus a liberal dose of glitter they took on a whole new, cuter look.

I simply stuck the Santas on to a small, painted and covered wooden domino piece  as I have shown before …….

……. making the “ho ho ho” using my trusty old Dymo label maker and a few tiny silver stars ………

…… followed by a generous layer of Ranger Glossy Accents.

…… and finally adding the brooch finding to the back using a really strong epoxy resin glue to make as sure as I can that it won’t easily come off.

I then simply made a little backing card to attach the brooch to before sealing it in half a bookmark sized cello bag to keep it clean and look a little more professional if selling.

Guest Crafter – My Auntie Beth With Her Decoupaged Surf Board

Lockdown has certainly bought out my Aunties creative side in Bude ………

This is the full sized surf board she decoupaged using goodness knows how many designs coloured and cut out from her colouring books and then given several coats of yacht varnish!

It sold, for an undisclosed sum to a holidaymaker from London!  She is now working on smaller versions using body boards.

How Old? 60th Birthday Card

This card measures 6 ins x 6ins and is made using a white, pre-scored card blank from a bulk pack from Hobbycraft.

Yet another quick and simple card, this time made for my brother-in-laws 60th birthday, again  using one of the designs from the  limited edition docrafts Capsule Collection Metallics pack of 36 x 6ins x 6ins  papers that I found in Home Bargains for just £1. It’s my current go to paper pack for most of my cards at the moment

Once the card was covered, I added a random collection of gold and silver letters from some of the various alphabet packs I have, followed by an assortment of different sized gold and silver stars plus a few clusters of three dots here and there made using a black fine liner pen.  Simples!  I have become such a lazy crafter!

Snowmen Christmas Pin Badge Brooch

This idea sprang from the Christmas tree brooches Marc and I made together when I recently stayed with him at the cottage in Worcester and was then further inspired after I ordered quite a few packs of the wooden snowmen embellishments from the, now starting to appear, Hobbycraft 2020 Christmas range (£1 for 6).

Made using very small 4cm x 2cm Christmas dominoes (eBay)  as a base, I painted the back and sides with white emulsion paint ……..

….. and then covered the pictured side with scraps of blue paper, white glitter card and a scattering of tiny silver stars. Please excuse globs of drying glue!

To the snowman I added black flat back gem eyes and buttons and a star on his hat.

After gluing the snowman to the domino I gave everything a good dosing of Ranger Glossy Accents and then waited for it all to dry before sticking a small brooch pin on the back using epoxy resin glue to be sure it wouldn’t come off.

I then attached the completed brooch to a card and then sealed it in a bookmark cello bag to protect it from sticky fingers and for a more professional look should I consider having a stall anywhere in the run up to Christmas (flipping virus allowing)

I reckon the whole thing cost me 41p to make – domino 17p, snowman 16p, half a cello bag 3p and brooch back 5p (from China) …… the scraps, gems and stars I already had,  so if I sold any for around £1.25 that’s a decent profit ……

I reckon you might be seeing quite a few of this design sort of brooch as I experiment with other embellishments I have.  I have already ordered some wooden Santas from Hobbycraft, so watch this space.

Heads Up –The Works Christmas Crafting Stuff

Just a quick heads up today to say that The Works have started to get a few bits of Christmas craft stuff in. I will be watching with interest to see if it’s going to be the “same old, same old” as has been the case in previous years or if they will be adding a few new interesting lines. Online I see there are a few interesting looking 6ins x 6ins paper pads I may be tempted by plus a good selection of dies (although they are not really my thing), time will tell. I just know that if I like something, I need to get it there and then as different shops, depending on their size, don’t always carry the same crafty things as others, it’s also best to stock up on any embellishments that take my fancy as they have been known to disappear completely from shops and online, before I have realised their full potential.

I spent three of my precious pounds on these packs of wooden snowflakes, reindeer and snowmen in their Evesham shop up at The Valley just outside Evesham.

There are twenty five embellishments in a pack, although the reindeer are tiny. I am thinking the snowmen might look cute on a bar type brooch, the reindeer on a card and the snowflakes will always work on all manner of projects.  Happy Days!

Christmas Tree Pin Brooches

These are the little Christmas tree brooches Marc and I put together during my recent visit to the cottage.

I had featured the first one a few of weeks ago ………

…….. after I decided to make a few more in the different colours the trees came in to give as small Advent presents and perhaps sell but first I needed to come up with  a way of presenting them.

http://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.com/2020_07_13_archive.html 

In the end this is what I came up with, no great creative shakes ………

……. just scraps of ivory, linen effect card, two punched holes and some faux stitching round the edges using a black fine liner pen.

…… simple, keeping the handmade feel.

As these won’t be going anywhere for a good few months, in order to keep them pristine I sealed them in bookmark cello bags, getting two bags out of one using my now ancient Elitech vacuum sealer, which again helps make them look more professional if I have a stall at a fayre nearer Christmas.  

Thirtieth Birthday Card

This card measures 6 ins x 6ins and is made using a white, pre-scored card blank from a bulk pack bought from Hobbycraft.

Another very quick card today, made for my nephews 30th Birthday. The background paper used was a bit of a bargain, found in Home Bargains for just £1.  It’s a limited edition docrafts Capsule Collection (Elements – Metallics) containing 36 different 6ins x 6ins metallic papers.  Well, it would have been rude not to make a considered purchase at that price, especially as the designs are all perfect for making really quick cards.

With the card front covered, all I had to do was glitter the wooden letters (from a set from The Works) with silver micro glitter, wait for them to dry and then glue them on to the card with a sprinkling of silver stars.  I am so lazy these days!

I also found these other docraft paper packs, also £1 each, again, it would have been rude not to snaffle them up (I have never ever seen docraft products in Home Bargains before, perhaps they were having a good old clean out during lockdown?).  The wood papers will be good for men’s cards and no doubt a few school homework projects. 

The “In Bloom” pack contains 46 double sided papers.  The flower designs are OK, but it’s the mustard, black, white and pink patterned papers that I really like, being perfect, I thought, for a more contemporary style of Christmas card this year.  My aim is to only make a few cards, the ones I have to post, keeping them really quick and simple to give me more time to concentrate on making little Christmas tree tranklements to give instead of cards, to hopefully come out year after year, rather than end up being in the bin or recycled like the majority of cards.

Let It Snow Snowman Christmas Tree Ornament

This is an idea that just came together beautifully, without too much faff or the need for amendment .……..

………. using small, coloured (also available in plain) craft sticks from Hobbycraft (£1 for 50) and cute little wooden snowmen embellishments, also from Hobbycraft (6 for £1)

I put the house together first, sticking with PVA glue.

I put a plastic snowflake to the roof, plus the sentiment using my trusty old Dymo label maker. Aleene’s Glitter Snow was then used on the edges of the roof and on and around the shelf,  followed by a liberal sprinkling of translucent, ultra fine glitter before being left to dry.

While everything was drying I added tiny black gems to the eyes and buttons of the snowman and added the iridescent polystyrene balls (Poundland) round the bottom once the snowman was fixed in place.  A scattering of three dots, using a white gel pen finish off the design.

I have almost run out of the tiny disc findings which have been so useful and unobtrusive on projects over the years, after searching for hours I couldn’t find any more, but did find these even tinier, flat metal flowers from China to which I have added an equally tiny bail which I think has made an equally effective way of adding a thread by which to hang the decoration.

I used all the red and green sticks from the packet, but have plenty of yellow,  orange, purple and blue ones left over. The yellow ones will work well for spring/Easter and the purple and orange will be perfect for Halloween, I just need to see what Halloween embellishments, I have, if any, to use with them, if not I will just have to wait for Halloween bits and pieces to hit the shops in September.

Having been impressed by the snowmen I have ordered a few more packs as I want to make more of these decorations, plus I can see them on a few other projects I have in mind.  Happy Days!

Charity Shop Shopping

I am finally feeling more human again now that I can get out and mooch the 4/5 charity shops that have now re-opened in Evesham. I never know quite what I am looking for, I just know it when I see it, something I can craft with or kitsch bits of bric a brac that make me smile, that I can put on my shelves for a while and then re-donate when I find something else to replace them, put towards our family sack of Boxing Day Tut at Christmas  ……..  or even flip for a small profit to help with Christmas etc.

This tealight stand cost me all of 80p, it was the autumn leaves and acorns that did it for me, as it would look lovely on my dining table from September onwards, including Halloween (with a few added spiders), especially with orange tea-lights. I just need to find three tealight holders to go with it, which should be pretty easy as every charity shop seems to have  a little pile of them.

When I did my homework I found out that was made for Partylite, who sell online and via party plan ……..

…… and would have probably been quite expensive when new.

On the Facebook Charity Shop Shit page I am on, everyone seems to be collecting these ugly face pots, so when I saw these two for £1.99 each I thought I may as well join in as they would look quirky on my kitchen shelf above the sink.  I don’t think they are Sylvac, which are the more collectable variety, but when I get bored with them I think they are something I could put on eBay.

The vintage treacle glaze gnome and honey pot bear, cost me all of 50p each. There is one gnome on eBay with a current asking price of £14.99 (???) and a couple of bears at around the £5 mark.  I think the bear will go into the Boxing Day tut with a few sweets or an individual jar of honey (like what you get in hotels). I am not sure about the gnome, at the moment I can see him looking over a pot of cactus’s I seriously need to transfer into a larger bowl (when I can find one)  …….

I had looked at this Widdecombe Fair sugar bowl on the shelf, but couldn’t make my mind up about it, but when the lady on the till told me that she couldn’t put my items through as they came to under £1, I grabbed it for 50p to make the money up.  It’s currently my “bits” pot by the sink.  There should be a milk jug to got with it.  Current asking prices on eBay are between £8 – 9.  It may be worth a punt but if it didn’t sell, it again will probably end up in the “tut” bag with sweets or smellies in …… or perhaps even a cactus?

Last, but not least a Scotch and Soda scarf for £1, (no, I had never heard of them either until I looked up the label)  I wasn’t that keen on the fringe, but otherwise I loved the colours that go perfectly with a couple of new tops I have bought (non charity shop).  I think it may be classed as vintage, having a date is handy. Whether it has ever been worn it all that time is doubtful looking at the condition and unbelievably current designs by the same company sell for silly money, probably more than one of my complete outfits ………….

Well, that’s me for today, the last of the big spenders, looking, hopefully, to a day of charity shop mooching in Hereford later this week, a birthday treat of sorts for my daughter who, if it wasn’t for this flipping virus would have been spending it in Euro Disney with Iris and Bertie and all the family …… bum!!!

Second Wedding Anniversary Card

This card measures 6 ins x 6ins and is made using a white, pre-scored card blank from a bulk pack bought from Hobbycraft.

I made this very simple card made for my neighbours Kata and Laci on their second wedding anniversary.  There’s not an awful lot to it, I just covered the front with a tiny blue and white heart print paper and then added the wooden numbers (from The Works) and the sentiment using black tape in my ancient Dymo label maker.

I was going to leave it at that, but then I got all fiddle farty by colouring the numbers and adding a layer of glossy accents to them. I also decided to add the little wooden bird embellishments, as I had used the same, but white, on their first anniversary card, I guess now I need to think of a way of incorporating them on their anniversary card for next year.  Faux stitching round the edges of the card using a black fine liner pen finishes the card off.