Catching “One Below” While I Can

Woo hoo, I managed to fit a cheeky trip to Wolverhampton in before Christmas and my main port of call was the One Below shop in the Mander Centre, knowing that I won’t be anywhere near another One Below until goodness only knows when and when any trace of Christmas will be long gone. 

I was like a woman possessed as I wanted to stock up while I could because, unbelievably,  I still have a few festive crafty ideas whirling around in my head.

I started with a couple of LED flash slap bands for Iris and Bertie …….

…… a little something to amuse them on our “midnight walks” on the days they came to me before the BIG day.

I bought a few packs of extra large jingle bells. It’s been a while since I used bells for small fairing gifts and at £1 a pack it would be rude not too. I have ordered some small box dies from China, no hurry for them to arrive, which I thought the bells might fit well in.  I also found the tag (above) in a charity shop for 50p which I bought as food/inspiration for another idea.

I used most of the small reindeer treat bags I got on my first trip to One Below, so I stocked up again, but this time with the Santa design ones.  I sort of have a little buyers remorse for not buying a few of the matching snowman bags as well, but hey ho ……. there’s enough here for a few bits and pieces.

These bubble moulded stickers are an awful lot bigger than I usually use, but I am thinking extra large wooden tags?????

The candy stripe pipe cleaners were a bit of an impulse buy, but could come in very useful when inspiration strikes ……. reindeer antlers?

I also popped three packs of these do it yourself crackers in my basket, chosen because the pattern doesn’t necessarily say Christmas and could be used for birthdays instead perhaps?  A pack of 6 was £1, coming with hats, jokes and ties.  Something I am sure Iris and Bertie would love to help me fill.

Once again no considered purchases were made in Wolverhampton’s Poundland.  Prices on almost everything have soared and things no longer seem to be such good  value.  I had been desperate to find their tin, light up houses for £3 but when compared with the houses I eventually bought in M & S for just £4, with lights and a pack of teabags there was no comparison in quality. 

So, as you can see I am pretty well stocked up for 2022 crafting ……. now to make the time!

Little Girl With Balloon Card

This card measures 5.5ins square and is made using a linen effect, hand cut blank as it’s base.

The wooden girl embellishment on this card is a massive blast from the past. About thirteen years ago (at least), I used to buy most of my card embellishments from a shop/company called Mad About Cards, when back in 2010, everything was about £1 a pack and such good quality.  I can’t find them now, so I guess they no longer trade (???), so when I spotted a bulk pack of these B-Krafty girls, I just had to have them for old times sake.

With my nieces birthday coming up I decided to make my first card in an absolute age.

I started off by colouring the plain side of a patterned wooden frame ( pack from Poundland) with a Sharpie pen.

I then made a background for the frame using scraps of gingham paper and a tiny bit of faux stitching using a black fine liner pen, creating a topper for the centre of the card.

I hand cut the card blank and then added a centre panel using the same green gingham paper mat and layered on silver mirror card.

With the topper in position on the front of the card I was then able to add a tiny ribbon to the girls hair, and recolour the balloon to draw it out a little more.  The final touch was to add a layer of Ranger Glossy Accents to the frame again to make it pop more, et voila.

I guess, in 13 years my style hasn’t really changed that much! http://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.com/2010_08_11_archive.html.  but  after making very few cards these days it seemed natural to go simply back to where I feel most comfortable.

Finding these embellishments again took me on a very weird and wonderful path, where I eventually I found Sarah, who bought the last of the remaining B-Krafty and Create and Celebrations embellishments when the couple who owned them retired, there is now the possibility of my being able to buy some of my most favourite embellishments from the very beginnings of my crafter and blogger career ………. I am really excited, fingers crossed.

Wooden Block Snowmen

Note to self, even if the charity shops are giving them away for free, I DO NOT need any more wooden building blocks, Jenga pieces or dominoes (unless, in the case of the dominoes, they are unusually large!) ……… I really have more than enough!

These snowmen started off as a said charity shop bag of bricks, nine in total measuring 4cms square for just 50p, I could not buy them, because of their decent size and good quality finished wood!

I started off by painting the blocks with a white, Wilko sample pot emulsion, intending on only making snowmen head tree decorations like I had seen on Pinterest ……..

…… but then I got to wondering if I could make a whole snowman by stacking three blocks together.

There was only one way to find out!  I put them together everso slightly out of kilter to make them look a little less formal and hopefully give them character.

I was most worried about how to make the scarves would look right, so added them first, once the glue on the blocks had set.  I glued them round the top of the second cube, hiding any sins with a small, white plastic snowflake (of which I really need to order more).

The rest just came together really easily, various sizes of black, flat back gems for the eyes, mouth and buttons plus an already made orange Fimo nose.

The top hats came from an order from China, which I decorated with a tiny holly punch and equally tiny, red, flat back pearl berries.

The rakes were an after thought, using some pieces from a Jack Straws game bought from The Works during one of their sales because I thought they could be uses as interesting  embellishments.  Three snowmen made for a total of, I guess, 70p each at the very most.

Thank You Paula – Guest Crafters Iris and Bertie

What can I say, but a MAHOOOOOOSIVE “Thank You” to Paula, one of the wonderful friends I’ve made through Fiddle Fart.  She sends me lots of crafty bits and pieces throughout the year, all of which I am always thrilled with, but she topped absolutely everything this Christmas for Iris, Bertie and I ………………

…… with a parcel arriving right at the start of the holidays when I had Iris and Bertie for a couple of days with a sleepover in between to give mum and dad a chance to get a few important things done, as well as getting a few extra zzzzzzz’s in while they could!

Inside said parcel was a set of the much sought after Hobbycraft, ceramic house tealight holders. They sold out instantly online every time they restocked and that was way back in September/October ………. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was, as Marc and I had both been desperate to get our mitts on some.  Sorry Marc!

Also in the parcel was a set of permanent pens, so it goes without saying that two little people were instantly totally absorbed and occupied ………..

………. also giving Nanny at least an hour of peace and quiet too ……

……. and the end results were magical, with Bertie insisting that we put a tealight in them all for the rest of the day, even taking his to bed (with a battery operated candle this time) to gaze at lovingly.

And the other house? Well, it would have been rude for Nanny not to crash the party too. 

The next day I gave all three house at least four coats of clear, gloss varnish, which made the colours pop, sorry no photos.  I also wrote our names and date when painted on the bottom for the little ones to take into their future.

All three were carefully wrapped up and proudly taken home.  I can’t tell you what a brilliant present this was for all of us ………….. Thank you so much Paula, it was a truly inspired gift, that made memories of a wonderful Christmas time spent together, each lost in our own world ………… Thank you. so much.

Memory Glass Snowman Christmas Tree Decorations

I couldn’t wait to try out the snowman stickers I got from One Below (£1 per pack) just before Christmas, to try and see if I could make some memory glass Christmas tree decorations ………

I think they worked ……… and I have to admit they were pretty simple.

I started by sticking  a single snowman in the middle of a 2” x 2” Ranger Memory Glass square.  Yes, I could still see/pick out the clear edging round the sticker, but I found that I could disguise it a little by adding clusters of three white dots using a white acrylic pen on those edges, besides as adding a layer of snow at the bottom of the glass.

When I was sure the paint had dried I put another glass square on top and stuck them together using very narrow, self adhesive, silver aluminium foil tape round the edges.  It didn’t have to be perfect as I was going to cover the foil after.

To make the hanger, I cut a tiny jewellery pendant bail (below) in half and glued it in the middle of the square, on the foil tape with E6000 glue to get a really secure fix.

When the glue was dry I applied two layers of white Ranger Enamel Accents over the foil, on the front and back of the glass ………

…….. which also helped to cover and further secure the bail.

This are my first trail run with this idea,  I think if I get a really small, sharp pair of scissors, I could cut around the snowmen stickers a little more, bearing in mind that these pictures are really close up and have no mercy, hanging on a Christmas tree I think the edging won’t really show that much.

I am chuffed that I succeeded in making a clear Christmas tree decoration that works from both sides. I think I can tweak the idea a little more, perhaps with some tiny, clear, flat backed gems amongst the falling snow or a sprinkling of glitter on the enamel accents, or even an extra bail at the bottom to add a small snowflake charm ……… so many ideas ………. oh, for the time to try them out!

Wood Slice Reindeer Brooch/Badges

Sorry, sorry, sorry…….. but I’ve started Christmas crafting for 2022 already! I just never got everything that I wanted to do done in 2021, which I am putting down to eBaying. I realise after a few weeks off  how much time it was taking up, I am going to continue with it as I love a good, once a week, mooch, but only intend on listing a couple of things per week, so my non school run days aren't broken up by trips to the post office.

So, today I have some wood slice reindeer brooch/badges for your delectation, but there’s not an awful lot to them.

I’ve had a few packets of these small wood slices from a craft shop in Llandudno for quite a while now (£1 for about 12) and they needed using up.

I started by using E6000 glue to stick on the wooden, laser cut antlers that I got from eBay.

Then painted a circle in the middle of each wood slice with a brown emulsion tester pot from Wilko.

This was followed by adding two googly eyes and a very large 12mm flat back red pearl nose with three white acrylic paint dots  ………

……. and three tiny coloured stars on each antler.

…….. and finally, a brooch fitting on the back, glued again with E6000 glue for maximum hold.  Et voila.

I road tested one brooch on my coat in the weeks leading to Christmas and it stood up really well to the wear and tear, but, I now intend to make Christmas tree decorations or parcel charms/tags with all the other wood slices I have left over, by simply adding a tiny screw eye hook between the antlers. I didn’t varnish the wood slices originally, I did try, but the results didn’t look great.  I am also not certain what would happen to the paint if the brooch got wet, so perhaps they’re only really suitable for indoor wear?  They are a novelty, but with hindsight not that practical with all the if’s and but  and I always want my bits and pieces to be fit for the purpose.

However…… to make a a few more similar brooches I have some wooden laser cut circles that I can easily use in place of the wood slices, which in turn would allow any paint used to be varnished.  I would also like to experiment with adding ears and perhaps a fringe, so watch this space …………..

Here'a To Another Year of Crafting and Blogging .........

 Wishing everyone ........

................... a very Happy Christmas