Monkey and Darrell’s Christmas Cards

As if I don’t have enough to do …. I now  make Christmas cards for Monkey and Darrell! I really am loosing the festive plot!

The card came from PaperBox at NEC HobbyCrafts last Christmas. When I got it home I wasn’t too keen, but for this project it’s proved to be perfect and now I wish I’d got a lot more (sod’s law!). I’ve got two cards from one sheet of A4 so I think that makes them A6 in size.

These are the bits and pieces I’ve used.  I’ve put Hero Arts Hologram micro glitter on the snow in the picture and a little on the trees too. To the centre of each punched snowflake I’ve added a silver nailhead from:-http://www.rhinestonesonline.co.uk/ as a change from my usual flat backed gems.

Ah, don’t they look so cute!

Fine Tip Glue Applicators – By Anne Peak

Sonya asked in the “ChatBox” what glue we are all using to stick clear gems.  I use a DIY PVA,  bought from hardware stall at a local market – it’s more economical  to buy a large bottle and then decant it – and as it not a “craft” glue, I always imagine its a bit stronger !

But the one gluing  tool I couldn’t be without is this – Anne Peak’s Fine Tip Glue Applicator – they are BRILLIANT!

I have two on my desk and just couldn’t craft without them. They apply a 1/2mm line or dot of glue, which means you can really work in fine detail and mean you don’t get great big blobs of glue on you work.  The bottles cost £3.25 each – but will last forever.

You  need to buy a few specially coated pins that fit in the nozzle and stop it getting bunged up.  These cost 25p each, and I tend to get a few at a time as spares.

For more details got to http://www.finetip.co.uk/ – and no, I am not on commission!

Snowman Soup Mug

Just a bit of fun ….. using my ceramic painting pens.

I’m no great shakes when it comes to drawing snowmen, but it’ll be ok on Christmas Eve!

Altered Desk Calendar

I’ve made this desk calendar for me, altering it was a little unnecessary, but I am having a lot of fun experimenting with Modge Podge and covering things with different types of paper etc..

The calendar cost 99p and was from a funny Pound type shop called Hardy’s in Telford

It was just painted black when I got it, but I’ve covered it with oddments of Cosmo Cricket paper that I got from QVC.

Covering it was fiddly, but it was a useful exercise.

I know it’s nothing special, just a bit of fiddle fart, that will look OK on my desk at work.

Hershey’s Kisses Mouse

I love Google images, it’s where I always go for inspiration or to double check an idea. Goodness knows what words I put into the search when I found this mouse!   Try Googling Hershey’s Kiss Mouse and see what you get.

It’s made by sticking two Hershey’s Kisses together. Hershey’s are an American brand of sweet but are not that easy to find here, but now and again Wolverhampton comes up trumps and occasionally you can find - “the hard to find”

All I’ve used are two circles of pink card to make the ears and have just scribbled round the edges, googly eyes, a pink flat backed gem for a nose and some waxed string (because it doesn’t flop) with a bow for the tail.  I have used the tiniest amount of PVA glue to keep them all in place.

I’ve stuck it on a very small kraft box, I thought I would make a few and put cracker type mottos in them  with a tiny weeny gift, like a  pair of earrings or a pencil sharpener etc. and have them instead of crackers at one of our festive meals.

Fairydoodler’s Friday Freebie Challenge

Click on picture to find out more about Fairydoodlers Friday Freebie Challenge

My “Nightmare” Work Desk!

I thought I would give you a laugh today …… I admit, I must be a nightmare to work with during the Festive Season ….. my “less is more” mantra goes out of the window ….. and my colleagues are faced with this ……

I have so many lights plugged into my computer ports, it’s a wonder the thing  doesn’t explode!

Here you see my festive mugs, a jar of chocolate money (that needs topping up ..), for mid typing nibbles and a little bottle of bubbles for when I fancy a spontaneous Yuletide flurry!

I have collection of light up festive pens for taking seasonal minutes, a jewel encrusted computer mouse, calculator and scissors, plus a proper Christmas mouse stuck to my phone (the sticker says “I love answering my phone in a foreign accent” 

It really is  a wonder that I haven’t been given my cards ….. especially considering what you can’t see includes an inflatable Christmas tree and turkey and a singing and dancing snowman! 

However, despite all this around me …….. I remain professional and supremely efficient at all times!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

Christmas Pudding Mints

I wish I could say this was my idea, but it’s not …it came from a brilliant crafter, who has an equally brilliant blog - http://flourgirlcrafts.blogspot.com/search/label/Mints.  Never would I have thought of Christmas puddings when making decorated Elizabeth Shaw mints with my Stampin’Up punches.  So thank you Karen for such an inspired idea.

 

The scalloped and plain circle punches are available from lisa@craftfairies.com.

My Festive Phone

Since it’s December I’ve decided to change the charms on my phone ….!!  How sad am I?

I’ve used phone charm lariats from Hobbycraft to attach them.  The jingle bells are from a pack of small bells from Paperchase, wonder how long it will take for them to get on my nerves?

The snowman was from a pack of small Christmas tree decorations.  They cost far too much in Wolverhampton’s House of Fraser but I have been eyeing them up for ages and finally my patience was rewarded when they were reduced to half price ……

And my phone will keep lovely and warm in it’s new sock!  I didn’t make, it was a present from the PE Lady at work (not to be mistaken for the PE Lady’s Mum).  I love it!  She gave me the pattern, so if I have any requests I’ll add it to a post.

Marc’s Baubles

I have such lovely, lovely followers and sometimes their kindness takes my breath away.

I came home a couple of Fridays ago to find a large  parcel sat sitting on my kitchen table and when I opened it, it was filled of the most wondrous collection of jingle bells, beads and baubles!

I’d mentioned in a post that I love clear baubles, but they are hard to find and then Marc goes and sends me so many that I was totally overwhelmed ….. I now hope that today he will be thrilled to see what I have done with them.

I’ve simply stuck some jewelled Paper Cellar stickers, that I got in a sale a couple of years ago at 70% off, onto each bauble and then put poured either Twinklets Diamond Dust or small clear gems into them.  I am so pleased with the results.

I intend (if I can bear to give them away) to put each bauble into an organza bag and give them, instead of a card this year to special people, as I have said before, cards are soon forgotten, but these will hopefully be around for many Christmas’s to come …….

Thank you Marc, your baubles have made me one very happy lady!

Hug Mug Pattern - Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge 2010

 
I've entered this is the Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/

Materials

1 ball of double knitting yarn, 7 buttons, 1 plain button,  1 pr. 4 mm (UK 8) knitting needles.

Measurements: 23 x 8cm (9 x 3 1/4 ins)

Cast on 7sts

Knit 2 rows

Continue in garter stitch

Inc 1st at each end of next and every alt row until 19 sts on needle.

Proceed in garter stitch and block pattern as follows;

Row 1: knit

Row 2: K3, P6, K to end

Rows 3 – 8: rep rows 1 and 2 three times

Rows 9 – 11: knit

Row 12: knit to last 9 sts, P6, K3

Row 13 – 18: rep rows 11 and 12, 3 times

Rows 19 – 20: knit

Rep rows 1 – 20 twice, then rep rows 1 – 10 once

Continue in GS and shape button hole end:

Dec 1st at each end of next and every alt row until 11sts on needle.

Next row: to make button hole, K2tog, K3, yrn, K2tog, knit to last 2 sts, K2tog

Next row: knit, knitting into yrn of previous row

Continue to dec as before until 7 sts remain

Knit 2 rows

Cast off.

To make up:   Work in all ends neatly.  Sew the buttons into the squares, Sew plain button on to the end of the mug hug to correspond with the button hole at the other end.

Old Crock Recycled Cake Stand - Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge

I've entered this is the Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/

Someone told me that making cake stands from old mismatched plates was “very on trend” at the moment, so I did a bit of research on Google and got some brilliant results, so naturally I wanted to have a go myself.

 

It was therefore very fortuitous that my mum was throwing out some of her old plates, and had three mismatched blue and white plates, in three different sizes, just waiting to go to the Charity Shop, so I pleaded that I was a charity case!

Plates in hand, I needed two small glasses, so I popped into my local charity shop and couldn’t believe my luck when I found two matching pairs, priced at 10p a glass.  (I got both sets, so that I have a spare pair to make another stand later on).  The final item  I needed some strong glue for sticking ceramics and glass which I found on the market.

I was a bit dubious that it would all stick together, but it did and I am thrilled with the results.  If the idea worked, this was going to be a present, but I don’t think I can let it go! So it looks like me spending a bit of my half term holiday looking for some more plates in the charity shops of Wolverhampton.

In total this stand only cost me £1.70! Bargaintastic.  I was thinking that if I did a stall at a fayre, this would make a lovely display stand for some of my bits and pieces.  I can see this idea getting a bit addictive!!!

Coaster/Beer Mat Desk Calendar - Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge

Aggghhhh this drove me nuts to make!

I've entered this is the Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/
I’ve seen these calendars on lots of blogs that I thought I would have a go, but I just looked at pictures of the finished products, not the instructions …. as a result  I sort of made it up as I went along with just a basic idea of construction in my head!

My mistake was using and covering beer mats ….. they proved to be far too heavy, especially when embellished.  In the end I made about 8 stands before I could got the measurements right so that the thing would stand up!  (The sides measure 11cm x 11cm and the base 11cm x 5cm, and I also added a couple of strips of black card to the base to strengthen it)

I covered each mat with DCWV self adhesive papers and then embellished with various punched flowers and butterflies etc.

 

The calendar pages are from an Anita’s calendar tab that I took apart and backed on silver card.

The whole thing is kept together using two 1in book rings.

Now I have been through the agony of making the first one, any more I make should be a breeze!

But I will just use a strong card for the pages ….. not beer mats!