Beer Mat/Coaster Calendar

I hope I am not teaching my granny to suck eggs, but I have put a tutorial together for making a calendar using a beer mat.  I know when I first started crafting and didn’t have much of a clue, I would have loved something like this to follow.

You will need a beer mat, a covering paper, a couple of magnets/magnet strip, a calendar tab, mini bulldog clips (not essential, but look cute), glue, and some embellishments like stickers and oddments of ribbon.

 

First, cover both sides of the beer mat, any thickish paper paper will do.  I have used DCWV self adhesive paper.  But because it is self adhesive it’s quick and I don’t have to use any glue.

Take your calendar tab (Anita’s do packs of 6 for 99p from most craft shops at this time of year) and make a little backing for it, to add a bit of colour, glue together and trim to fit covered beer mat.

I have decided not to glue my backed calendar tab down, but hold it together with mini bulldogs clips (these were from e-bay, but are  available in most craft and stationary shops and they don’t cost a lot for a pack).  By not sticking it down I can use the base again next year if I want.

Turn the mat over and stick on the magnets, I’ve used magnetic strip from HobbyCraft, they also sell A4 sheets of magnetic foam and packs of small magnets, all are equally suitable.  Use a strong glue to fix them with.

Next is all the lovely twiddly fiddly stuff.  I’ve used a scrap of Anita’s self adhesive ribbon  (99p a pack from craft shops, in lots of different designs)  along the bottom and some butterfly stickers (a bargain 60p at pack from an indoor market) and some flat backed gems. 

 

As a finishing touch I have done faux stitching round the edges with a black gel pen.

Simples! I’ll be making quite a few of these as stocking fillers.



Oh my life, I have found my perfect gingerbread man on this site:- http://www.fancyflours.com/site/4200-HS-WGM-1.html - he's 1.5 ins wide x 2ins tall - BUT - he comes from USA, costs $19 (about £12.22) plus p & p and is currently out of stock!  So in the words of The Apprentice - FiddleFarts search to find her perfect gingerbread man continues .....

Santa’s Plate

I’ve just used an old white tea plate and some ceramic painter pens to make this plate for putting Santa’s mince pies on, on Christmas Eve. The pens are very easy to use.

They cost about £3.00 each from HobbyCraft.

The design was baked in the oven at 160c /325f for 40 minutes.

Ho Ho Ho Christmas Card

This will make me sound REALLY sad – but I made this card during the Easter holidays, but I didn’t dare to post it until a more appropriate time!

On a Snowy Saturday Morning ……

I’ve been trying to get a picture of a solitary bird in a tree ever since the trees shed their leaves in the autumn, but every picture has just been pants, I didn’t think my camera was up to the task. Then yesterday morning, when I looked out into the garden I was greeted with this ………

I wish I knew how to use programmes like Photoshop as I am sure I could do all sorts of wonderful things with it.

But for now I have just cropped a little cluster of birds from the picture and await further inspiration.

Little Princess Beans

I love pink Smarties, but they only seem to be around at certain times of the year, like Christmas.

I’ve put them in small jars (IKEA – Rajtan, 4 for £1.99) and embellished them using a variety of punches for the front, back and lid, gems, self adhesive ribbon and Princess stickers from Accessorize (£1.75p per pack).

I’ve decorated the front and the back of the jars, using a different sticker on each one.

Jigsaw Pushpins and Fridge Magnets

I apologise for the pictures, they are a bit dark, but hope you get the gist of what I have made.

The jigsaw pieces I have used are beautiful and came from my sister. I’ve had them for a while and as I was filtching through my drawers inspiration struck.  I’ve glued a plain pushpin on the back and then added one of my expensive, very sparkly, flat back gems to the front.

 

Pushpins made, I thought I’d make a few fridge magnets in exactly the same way.

Quickutz Silhouette Gift Box

This is one of my favourite boxes, downloadable with subscription from Quickutz Silhouette.

It couldn’t be easier to put together and it looks quite classy when finished. 

I love that the slider band keep it all together. I have made several of these for small presents with a couple of lacy hankies inside.

I’ve decorated the slider with a K & Company Grand Adhesions 3D sticker. They usually cost £4.99, way out of my price zone, but I got these for half price in the summer in a garden centre sale!

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.