Little Bird Easter Decoration

Sometimes things just don’t come together, which is why “the bones” (below) of this decoration lingered in my unfinished pot for a couple of months.

I started it when I was in the middle of doing all my Christmas and Halloween house tranklements using small, coloured craft sticks (Hobbycraft £1 pack of 50) and was wondering what to do the colours I had left over……. once started I soon realised it didn’t look right, the green shelf served no purpose with the one bird stuck up against the wall, but I couldn’t for the life of me think how to fix it, so I left it, going back to it whenever I saw it alone and forlorn in the drawer.

I know I have a real thing about proportion and nothing sat well with the two birds and house and I never really considered adding another bird as I thought it would look too much, but as I became more and more desperate I tried it and low and behold because they were all on different levels and layers it worked, doh ……..

But then …… what to do with all that “empty space”? It still needed something else, I thought flowers, but resisted paper as I thought it might be too easily torn, sometimes I think I over think things! However in the absence of anything else, I again tried it. I think they work OK with a tiny 4mm button in the middle.  A 3mm button might be a little better, so I have a few on order from eBay for the decorations I now plan to make.

The final touch were the four, tiny yellow, nail art roses stuck around the side of the shelf.  Finally happy, I now plan to put together another ten or so which, fingers crossed, will be given as fairing gifts to Iris and Bertie’s teaching staff at Easter, if the schools are back by then!

Fine Tip Glue Applicators – Similar, If Not The Same As The Original Anne Peak Bottles.

I had an e-mail out of the blue from a gentlemen, formerly from Manchester, now living in Arizona, USA, who had found me through a post I had written in way back in 2012 http://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.com/2010/12/fine-tip-glue-applicators-by-anne-peak.html praising Anne Peak’s Fine Tip Glue Applicator. He too was a fan but sadly they are no longer available and was asking if I had found/used anything that could compare.

Sadly, at first, I was unable to help him, I too am clinging on to my last four bottles for grim death as nothing I have tried comes anywhere close to the originals. All my treated pins that came with them are all bent and misshapen, but I can’t let them go, in fact in the good old days Anne even sold the spare pins as well, of which I bought many.

However, my curiosity piqued I decided to do a bit of Googling myself, just in case and that’s when I found these …………

…….. http://www.worldofmyownminiatures.co.uk/finetipglueapplicator.html, apart from the design on the bottles they look identical, even down to the distinctive pin.  They have the same capacity 30mls and cost £3.35 each plus P & P.

I got in contact and subsequently ordered four for me and four to send to Ernie in the USA.  I will let you know how I get on with them when they arrive, but I thought it might be worth a heads up to others who might feel the same about these bottles.  World of Miniatures tell me that they don’t have an endless supply and when they are gone, they are gone and that they can supply small orders but not large numbers.  I think with care, my four new bottles will last for as long as I craft and the pins, in particular, will be soooooooo carefully looked after.

NB: Ernie had a copy of the original instructions, the bottles should be kept upside down, so that’s something else I will seriously take to heart.  Happy days!

Easter Bunny Tags –Tree Decorations

I don’t know why, but Easter with all it’s bunnies, chicks, eggs and the odd carrot or two, plus the generally pastel palette of colours doesn’t inspire me that much ………

…… however, with a tub of assorted wooden shapes that I seem to have had forever I really need to get them all used up, so perhaps this will be the year that they are finally off my hands!

I started off with the wooden 5.5 x 3.5 x 0.2cm tags (below) from The Works……

….. which I covered with scraps of blue and green patterned paper, adding faux stitching round the edges of the front and back using a black, fine liner pen.

I’m sorry I don’t have a clue where I got the painted wooden rabbits with their cute fluffy tails from, I’ve had them for that long, perhaps Paperchase, a shop now sadly gone from our High Streets, but I could be wrong …..

….. I stuck a large and small one to the front of each tag, with a punched yellow sun to fill the empty space and add colour.

Because I couldn’t really access the tag hole any more I stuck a silver, spring bail over the hole for a thin ribbon to be added at a later stage.

I am not sure yet whether what I have made will actually be used as gift tags, I always like the idea of an Easter tree made from twigs with little Eastery fairings hanging from them, so for good measure I’ve added a little wooden ladybird (The Works 30 for £1, I think) on the back for a bit of added interest and colour should I decide to hang them instead.

Guest Crafter–Once Again, My Auntie Beth

My Auntie Beth in Bude was given a old/new surf board to decoupage at the start of the year  ………

It took an awful lot of elbow grease and flash to get it clean and remove all the varnish.

…….. but it was all worth it in the end.

I believe that this one is destined to become a coffee table, with the edition of four short hair pin legs, I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4X-Hairpin-Table-Legs-10mm-Steel-Furniture-Legs-Length-10cm-86cm-For-Table-Bench-/293548755443

A Wonderful Gift From Karen – My Very Own Knitted Nativity

Sometimes when the blogging gets tough something happens completely out of the blue that gives you such a boost and pick me up that you wonder what you’d been finding so hard ………

…….. which is exactly what happened to me a couple of weeks ago when I was contacted by Karen a lovely, lovely, long term follower of both Fiddle Fart and Mums Monkey. She’d recently moved to the sea after years of longing and had something Nigel and Nigel might like, since her family had all grown up and she no longer had a place to display it at Christmas ……… only a knitted Nativity!

She remembered every Christmas reading  posts of Nigel gazing longingly at the Nativity scene in Motorworld, back in Wolverhampton each year and how ever since we’d moved he’s been constantly looking for that same awe and wonder factor in Evesham but without much success ………and she wondered whether I/we might like hers.  Well, it would have been rude not to have said a mahooooooosive YES PLEASE wouldn’t it?

Let’s just say a huge box arrived last week, that not only contained the nativity, but also a wooden stable with a mercury glass star, a background scene and two knitted carol singer mice and a knitting pattern to go with them plus a card and note that told the story of each and every piece ……… I hope you can read them despite my wonky photos as I really want Karen to tell the stories herself.

What can I say, except that it was emotional. Iris and Bertie were with me as I opened the box and their little faces were a picture, with Bertie proclaiming that we could make a play with them!

After reading each beautiful story I felt humbled and honoured that Karen had felt I was the one had she trusted with so many memories and in turn start new ones of my own. I have never meant THANK YOU so much in my life.

The Nativity and mice have now been safely put away until December 1st when the Nativity will be set out on my lounge window sill to sit in front of, in my minds eye, the window which will be painted like a starry sky.  The mice will go into the guest bedroom, under a bristle brush Christmas tree for Iris and Bertie to look at and play with very carefully after I have told them the story behind them.

As for the stable, I have left that out as I think I might be able to start it’s new journey at Easter, minus the star  ……..

…….. as I can see my Sylvanian Families Chocolate Rabbit family (£3, brand new from a charity shop in Weymouth) taking up residence for the holidays, a splash of bunting, a sprinkling of mini eggs, some Fimo carrots and a few daffodils and we’ll be away ………. so watch this space!

I can’t believe how thoughtful and kind Karen has been to me (and Nigel),  I won’t let her down ………. and wait until I tell Marc, he loves all things of a knitted type nature, he’s going to be sooooooooooooooooooooooo jealous.

XXXXX THANK YOU SO MUCH KAREN XXXXX

Simple Birthday Card Using Bright Wooden Letters and Punched Flowers

This card uses a 5ins x 5ins pre-cut, pre-scored, white card blank from a bulk pack from Hobbycraft.

Another card that’s no great shakes but at least I am crafting! I simply covered the front of the card with a lime green, wiggly lined origami paper (The Works) before adding the brightly coloured wooden letters (also from The Works) ...........

....... followed by the hand punched daisies in two sizes and layered so that they can be fluffed up, to bring it all together.  In the centre of each flower I added a clear, flat backed gem.

The wooden ladybirds (The Works, pack of 30 for £1.50) were an after thought, perhaps a bit of an overkill, however, it’s an idea that I think I can carry over to Easter. 

Although I have a lot of these coloured wooden letters, I need to come up with some other celebratory words to use on cards because “Happy Birthday” does use quite a few duplicate letters, I don’t want to be left with a pot of odd letters like K and Q that will be hard to place on future projects.

2020 Christmas Cards

This is a long overdue post, my apologies, home schooling is taking it’s toll, but nether the less, a belated humungous thank you to everyone who was kind enough to send me one of their beautiful 2020 Christmas cards, all of which took pride of place on my “special card shelf”,  which I thought would bring to you today.

I will admit, that in 2020 I was and still continue to be, very lazy with my cards, every one I tackle seems to lack a certain enthusiasm and spark, I am just hoping that having talented people’s work so close at hand will rub off on me.  How can I fail to smile at Christine’s card (above) ……..

I love Maisie’s too, especially as it is completely hand  painted, I don’t think I could ever be that brave but it will be put in my cupboard next to my paint box as a salient reminder to have a flipping go and not dismiss everything creative that scares me!

I also need to look at my dies again with fresh eyes, my Big Shot is sooooooo under used.  I think it has a lot to do with my current set up, it’s often simply too much trouble to get all the paraphernalia out for just one or two die cuts.  I have my new sofa bed in the lounge ready to move into my spare room, I am just waiting for the bed currently in there to be moved by my niece, but lockdowns haven’t helped  the situation any ………

…….. but seeing these cards from Krafty Karen(above) and Valery Ann (below)  which were both much admired and so clever, perhaps, when things are back to ‘normal’ and I have a  part time craft room, my Big Shot and dies can have their own space where they can be left out to inspire …..

…… and I will no longer have that same old, same old excuse.

I also don’t stamp enough and there’s no excuse as I love my small Tim Holtz stamping platform which prints perfectly almost every time after years of frustration trying to do it “by hand” ……….

……. something else that needs to be left out and on view when my room is sorted me thinks!

Yes, I have much to take inspiration from, as well as kicking my lazy bum when thinking about Christmas 2021.

A special thank you too for this beautiful handsewn brooch, I am so sorry but in my excitement to get it put on my coat I completely forgot to note which card it came with, how BAD is that?  I think it may have been from Krafty Karen (?),  but just to say that I love it and it will be a treasure that will come out year after year.  XXX THANK YOU XXX  

It’s a little to early to think too much about this Christmas, however the craft stick nativity tree decorations I sent this year seemed to go down really well, although their depth meant that they had to be sent as a large letter. So this year I want to continue with the Christmas tree decoration theme, Monkeys included, but whatever two ideas I come up with will need to be flat enough to go as an ordinary letter to help save on postage …….. I am thinking craft sticks, with a painted, stamped or even die cut snowman, ……. hmmmmm, we shall see.