Just Chatting …….. A Couple of Charity Shop Finds ……..

When I saw this thing (below) on the charity shop shelf I admit I dismissed it at first, but then did a double take, was it what I thought it was?

It was only a flipping walnut shell mould, something I’d researched a few times in the past as a substitute for the real thing when crafting, so at 40p it was worth a bit of a punt.

I think it’s a chocolate mould for making solid walnut shaped sweets?  The moulds are a little smaller than the real walnut shells I have used during the year, I think there would only be room for a single snowman in one.

It’s made of hard plastic, so I wasn’t sure how much give there would be when trying to remove Fimo from it, so the best thing to do was to give it a try. I think I could have gone a bit thinner on the Fimo, but it did release pretty well and the baked resultant shapes turned out OK too, but, to be honest, they don’t really have any of the charm of the real thing, so I think it will probably get re-donated in the next month or so unless I have a unbelievable brainwave or anyone reading this would like it?

In another shop I saw these two characters that took me aback a bit as they looked awfully familiar ……..

They are the snowmen I distributed singly for my Festive RAK last year and have started to leave around town again this year, so how two got together I just can’t guess.  However, I decided to leave them where they were, but still had a good rootle in the basket to see what else was in there.

….. and found these two beautiful vintage angels that I absolutely love, plus a ceramic Santa candle holder that I’m not so sure about, but for just 75p the lot, it would have been rude not to, happy days!

Small Valentine Favours

This is just a very quick and simple idea I put together for all the children in Bertie’s class who I listen to read on a Wednesday and Thursday.  As there are so many little ones with grandparents far away in different countries, I thought I could be a sort of makeshift Granny to them for just one day. 

I started off by creating the cards using my ancient copy of Publisher 2003, OMG, I am so rusty at it now! The text boxes measure 9cm long by 7cm across with a 2pt dash border. The font used is Ink Free in 24pt.  It was so frustrating trying to get the spacing centred after so long without practice, so I’ve kept file safe for other projects, perhaps Easter?

Once enough sheets were printed off, they needed to be cut, no my favourite choice of activity.

The chocolate hearts were 99p for a net of 14 from Home Bargains.

I stuck these down in the middle of each card with a trimmed down, double sided, adhesive, foam pad …..

……. and that’s it, simples.

I put each card in a small cello bag to protect the foil on the chocolate and keep the cards clean when put in book bags etc. Happy Days!

Very Simple Mini Mason Jar Valentine Favours

This idea is no great shakes, it’s just something simple for Iris to put together, with love, for all her classroom staff.

The mini mason jars come from the wedding and/or household section of Home Bargains, costing 39p each.

They are filled with Haribo Heart Throbs, also from Home Bargains, 99p for a bag.

We took the original paper tag off it's elastic thread and replaced it with a punched heart, which Iris then personalised using a white Posca pen.

As I said, simples!

The Most Precious Birthday Present Ever, Ever, Ever

Hold on to your hankies, this is going to be emotional, I’m filling up already …………

A week or so before my birthday old Berts told me that if I went into his bedroom I wasn’t to look in his “library” under his bed. He’s got one of those bunk beds with a space underneath, where he asked for shelves and display boxes so he could have a library and somewhere to display his treasures, bless him. Then he said that all he could tell me was that he’d “done” something with empty toilet rolls, that was secret!

So, when I went round for my birthday there was a box on the table which his Dad told him to give me. At this point Mum and Dad didn’t have a clue what was inside either because apart from him asking for a “big box” as he wanted to do something for Nanny, that was all they knew. He sat down beside him with his little embarrassed but very proud look on his face …….. and then, from then on, it was hard to hold back the tears ………..

All on his own he’d obviously been round his bedroom collecting things that he knew I would like/love or find useful, and it all came from his heart.  There was an envelope of loose tea and a box (that he’d cut the side off for easy access) of his very finest tea bags …….. tea is another story for next week perhaps!

The aforementioned toilet rolls were for putting a few tea bags in, if/when I was out and about …… huge sniffs here, as his tea bags are so precious to him (as I said, a story for next week), this was his “invention” …….. sniff, sniff!

As my birthday fell on the Chinese New Year and he would know, there was a wooden brick that we’d made together last year. He’s fascinated by China, goodness only knows how or why. There was also a box of chalk, he thought there was a blue one in there as well, so I could draw.  I told him that when he and Iris came round next  we could draw with them in my car parking space just to annoy the miserable man upstairs, which Iris found absolutely hilarious!

Bertie knows I LOVE a notebook but apologised as although it says 72 pages on the cover, there are only 71 as the front one had come loose.  How are you bearing up, so far?

Then, because Nanny is never without chocolate ……. there were chocolate coins and a Freddo left over from his Christmas box ………

……. and finally, from his pocketmoney box, two pound coins to buy myself something! How on earth do you keep it together at this stage? Next time we are in town together I will make sure I’ve got them with me in an envelope to let him see my excitement, in The Works most probably, choosing something that I really want to spend it on.

Bert’s is six (seven in April) with such a kind heart and old mans head, goodness only knows what he’ll be when he grows.  This is the most precious present I have ever had in my life because it’s totally innocent, unbelievably thought out and packed with love straight from his little heart …….. now,  I need to find another tissue.

Jewelled Valentines Door Wreath

I can’t believe how quickly this project came together ………

It started off with a MDF wreath that I gave two coats of white emulsion paint just in case any of the wood was visible after it had been covered in jewels.  My apologies as I don’t have a clue where the heart originally came from as I’ve had it for years.

I only had one or two bits let over from similar projects, the roses and few other plastic flowers, however, I managed to gather a few bracelets and necklaces from various local charity shops, which I then broke up. The Lucite flower beads and small plastic roses were found on eBay.  The swallows came from a necklace found in amongst a bag of broken bits, I was well chuffed at their discovery.  The bee charms and brooch I found while looking for something else!

I played around with the bits at first to make sure I had enough to cover the heart before getting stuck in with the B-7000 glue.  I had to spend a little time cutting all the loops from the back of the bracelet jewel clusters where the elastic passed through, to ensure that each piece lay flat on the heart base.

It only took me an hour to cover the heart, my quickest one ever, which then had to be left unfiddle farted with overnight for the glue to really set in.

When morning came I really expected to spend another hour filling in the gaps, but no, it was fine, all I added was the cherub at the top, cutting the loop off first.

All that was left to do was paint the back white to make it all look properly finished off ……..

……… and put in two staples on the back to thread a piece of thread through to then hang the heart on my front door. Eh voila, my seasonal February/Valentine wreath is done!

Finding suitable necklaces, bracelets and the occasional earring in a charity shop isn’t that easy these days, especially when they’re often not all that cheap either, £2 is my top limit and for that I want at least 8 – 12+ good bits to break up

I always start by placing the roses first, as they always seem to “set the tone” on any of my wreaths and mirrors. I originally got them from Poundland where they used to sell bracelets with nine on. I have bought so many, but like so many good things, they are no longer stocked.  I have used the very last ones on this heart. I have looked them up on eBay, but they are now selling for £9.99 a pop, so if I ever see anything similar on my travels, trust me I will pounce!

However, as I am really in the mood to make a few more wreaths and mirrors for presents etc. I have found a seller on eBay who sells just the other sort of jewelled elasticated bracelets I’m also looking for ………..

………. who, when I put a bundle together on my watch list, offered them at a discounted price of  £1.50 each (where they would normally ask around £1.99 plus in most charity shops), so I think this will be my main source of jewellery, supplemented with whatever I find when I am out and about.  The seller says he has thousands, so is now looking out for ones made up of single flowers, roses and daisies in particular, that I can again use to split up. Happy days!

Cabinet Of Curiosities Part 2

I am sooooooooo cross with myself you wouldn’t believe, I got so into my cabinet project that I forgot to take any pictures along the way, in particular the papering process, I kept meaning to do it and then got completely absorbed, what am I like?

However, after I posted last week I continued to add the tea/coffee stain inside and out until the cabinet was quite dark and almost unrecognisable from the clean and shiny one I started out with, it smelt quite lovely too!

I was ready to paper the sides, back and door, but when the first four doors were covered, they looked so drab I didn’t think they would entice anyone, especially little ones to look any further, so I decided to opt for some more colourful paper instead …… but then went over them agan with the tea/coffee mix as I still wanted the cabinet to look as if it had some age to it. 

Next followed layer upon layer of Wilko, quick drying, clear, glossy varnish, including the inside of the doors. I know a satin varnish would have been more subtle but I like shiny! Varnishing the doors was a fiddle and I know I need to do quite a bit of sanding around the edges where a varnish has strayed causing some to stick when opening and closing. I did whizz round the insides with the varnish too, but as it’s not going to show, it was only a quick flick.

Off and on the varnishing took me three days until I was really happy and this is the stage I am at now.  I need to spend some time sanding now before I can start to embellish.

I did originally stain the knobs in the tea/coffee mix, but then I thought I would go all out for gold instead, to add a sort of faded splendour to the cabinet, which I may also use on some of the embellishments I am planning to put on the sides of the cabinet and fronts of the doors …….. we shall see……….