Tiny Gingerbread Men In A Bottle Christmas Decoration.

I am not sure if I am going to make many bottle tree decorations this year as I was pretty bottled before Christmas which is probably why this one was left unfinished in the cupboard (until now), after I ran out of time and/or steam on the bottle front.

The gingerbread men are absolutely tiny and are actually sugar cake decorations, part of a dispenser of sugar strands and red, green and white balls  I found in Home Bargains for less than about 80p.

I simply wrapped a red cotton thread round the neck of the bottle and hid the knot with a very small, paper poinsettia embellishment.  The thread is red and white butchers twine which goes with the theme as does, I think, the attached silver jingle bell.

As I say, at the moment I feel a little bottled out, however should I see any other inspiring tiny bits on my mooching expeditions that would fit, I wouldn’t rule out the idea out entirely.

Valentine Sweetie Bags With Ladybird Tags.

Today an idea for using the chocolate ladybirds I found in Home Bargains and a couple of mini packets of Lovehearts.
I used layered scalloped edge and plain circle punches to create the tags.
I used red gingham paper and ribbon for a red Valentine theme, however, by changing the ribbon to a bright green I thought the ladybird chocolates could also be used for Easter bags, the Lovehearts being swopped for a  few small foil wrapped eggs.
The tags took a matter of minutes to put together.

A bit of faux stitching and few dots using a black fine liner pen here and there finish off the tag and make it pop.I haven’t priced them up to the exact penny, but I reckon taking all items used into consideration, including the cello bag, these favours would cost approximately 45p to make and could easily be sold for between £1 and £1.50.

Wooden Heart Ladybird Gift Tags.

Today four tags using the smaller, spotty hearts from the hanging Aldi Christmas decoration (reduced from £3.99 to £1.99) I bought solely to take apart.I have followed on from yesterdays house tags, the ladybirds and keys were the right proportion to the wooden hearts. 

The keys hang from a fancy jump ring taken from a charity shop necklace bargain and I have used a wooden red bead to bring it all together.  There’s really not a lot to them.  Whenever I make anything I always have a sort of story in my head that links all the parts used together and makes sense, to me (at least).  It started with the idea of making a gift tag to put on a New Home present …. sent with love - the heart …… new home – the key …… and the ladybird – well somewhere in my head there’s a nursery rhyme that starts “Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home” ….. be honest, the rest of the rhyme is rather macabre ….. but, that’s the way my mind linked everything on this project.

I have used all the parts from the Christmas decoration, except for four small hearts that have a metal heart in the centre, the ladybirds just didn’t gel with them, so I need to come up with another idea to justify my buying a “bargain”

Sticky-Beaking The Progress In My Guest Room.

Well, the much planned for compartment shelving has been finished in my Guest Room, it took two and a half days and I am so chuffed with the end result, it cost some of my kids inheritance, but I think they were worth it. They are built to last and I reckon it would take an earthquake to move them!

I was aiming for a loose/layered/informal bohemian feel (I do like to work to a theme as you have probably noticed), but my initial choice of Ikea units/bed has a more structured contemporary feel, as does the new shelving, so it’s all down to how I accessorise the room, however I have to say I am now moving towards a 60’s/70’s glass and kitsch look  ……..

……. but whatever,  it will take time to achieve and undoubtedly lots of happy charity shop mooching for treasures, wooooooo hoooooo hoooooo!

The wall of drawers and other new shelving was primarily created for the storage of my craft stuff.  I intend to leave the top larger drawer in the main unit empty for guests to put their stuff in when they stay. They will also have the use of both bedside units, plus two hooks on the back of the door and the knobs on the mirror to hang their things on.

I have already started filling the drawers of the smaller unit; stamps/inks in one, punches in another and label makers and ribbons in the bottom one.

The aim is to move all my crafty bits and pieces from the unit in the hall cupboard to the guest room to then make room for Iris and Bertie’s toys, plus bulky household supplies, like washing powder etc. when bought on offer in bulk.

After quite a bit of calculating, I will also be ordering an assortment of boxes from Ikea’s Tjena range in light blue for the shelves above to house embellishments, 6” x 6” papers, etc. While under the bed I have already have  large plastic boxes for A4 card, mirror card etc.  I hope it will all flow.  Since restarting blogging I have been going backwards and forwards for stuff from the hall cupboard to craft with and it has proved to be cramped up nightmare. Once everything has been moved and a lot of sorting and labelling done, putting my hands on materials will be a lot easier, without having to take everything out every time time I need something.. I was very, very spoilt to have a craft room in Wolverhampton, I have to admit to hankering over it a little  …… but in the coming months hopefully my new system will work.

The only eyesore in the room now is the mirror! It still needs a little more stripping of the chalk paint I used which created a hideous mess. The original colour was cream, and I have now decided to forget about using any other fancy colours on it, it will be simply glossed white ……. to show off all the twiddly fiddly things I plan to put on it.  With hindsight I should have put off buying it until the room was finished, but there again, hindsight is a wonderful thing!

Riverside Towers Now Has A Tiled Kitchen Area!

I have to be honest, the kitchen area doesn’t really look all that different now it has been tiled, it just looks “properly” finished off and will hopefully be more practical to keep clean rather than when it was just painted.

The cupboards are a very glossy pale cream colour so I went for a simple, off white, textured tile as a contrast.  The work took a little longer than expected as I went and chose small 10cm x 10cm tiles!

So, that’s the kitchen done although I think a new built-in cooker and hob are on the cards for later this year, I just need a bit of advice before taking the plunge as I want to change the hob from gas to electric. I have never had gas before and it frightens me! It’s at times like this when I miss Ade who had helped me so much over the past four years getting The Castle ready to sell, he was so dependable and would tell me exactly what I needed to do or get in a language I understood!

Once tiled and back to normal I blitzed the cupboards again, paring everything down, questioning all the contents and how often I actually use them,  I mean, how many mugs does a woman living on her own actually need?

The flat was exactly six years old when I bought it, the kitchen cupboards should see me out ……. but if ever I had money too squander recklessly I would consider replacing them, especially for cupboards that went right to the ceiling, the gap is such a waste of storage potential and would, without said gap alleviate the need to climb up on high to clean the top. ……. but that’s me just being spoilt and picky!

A Double Festive Decoration Disaster.

Bum ….. my tiny toadstool fairy houses in a bottle never got as far as being given as fairing gifts or sold this Christmas,  instead they are languishing in a box!

The reason for my angst? When I made them, I never thought about baking the fimo in the bottle first before adding the toadstool……..
……. I just assumed it would be alright, but unfortunately the E900 didn’t like the uncooked fimo and so never set ……..
…… and eventually the little toadstool houses began to topple over!

I knew I couldn’t waste them because due to their size I paid a little more for them than I normally would and all the work I had already put in them, so by hook or by crook I have to rescue them. Then sods law, the E900 I had used to glue the cork in place had set, so very careful extraction using a crafters knife was needed to get them out.  In the end I decided to just work with three bottles until I found away to put them right.  The toadstools were duly removed and they will need a little remedial help with a Sharpie pen just to recolour the doors and green detail.All was well, I put the bottles in the oven at a low temperature, when I took them out, they seemed OK, but me being me, decided to turn up the oven and bake them a little longer to be doubly sure ……. and forgot about them, resulting in very burnt bottoms! Aghhhhhhhhh

Thank goodness I only did three. But all is not lost, I hope, if I can find some tiny plastic insects/spiders or even a silver charm or two I may be able to turn them into Halloween bottles, but finding the insects/spiders might take time, so if anyone else has any other bright ideas?

New Home Gift Tag

This New Home gift tag is what I came up with using the wooden house element of the Aldi Christmas decoration (below) I showed you the other day.

I have to confess that in this instance I used the plain side after I “cocked up” the painted roof side when I used a black fine liner pen to write New Home, it wasn’t centred properly and the black ink didn’t sit well on the painted surface, however I have since covered up my mistakes with a white corrector pen so the tag is now fit to go.

First, the brown gingham ribbon had to go!  I faux stitched around all the edges, window and door of the house to add definition and give it the “cute factor”

“New Home” was written using a white gel pen.  To make sure the writing was pretty much centred I wrote it backwards, starting with the W.  I find if you deliberately write unevenly it covers up a myriad of sins, if I tried to write perfectly straight the end result would just look pants.The wooden ladybirds were already on my desk from another project so it was a fortuitous coincidence that their proportions were just right for this project and the red colour was followed through with red wooden bead on the rustic effect string. The finishing touch was the key, added, to be honest, to make use of the hole, which I had forgotten would be there when I bought the decoration, as all the pieces were linked.

I would use this tag instead, perhaps of giving a card, something to hang up in the early days afer moving.  It would also look good, I think, on a plain red or kraft gift wrapped parcel, tied to a coordinating ribbon.

I have 8 small hearts left from the decorations now, I think I will keep to the idea of using keys in the bottom hole (key to my heart?) and the red beads, whether I use ladybirds (love bugs?) on them remains to be seen …..

Ornate Beaded Heart Shaped Gift Tags

Following yesterdays post, this is one of the  ideas I came up with combining parts from the charity shop necklace and Aldi hanging Christmas decoration I showed you yesterday.
……. and yes, I did it, I have started to break up the necklace, sadly the oval chain links were soldered/welded, so I can’t use them individually which is a pity.

I faux stitched round the silver heart with a white gel pen (memo to self, I need to get a couple of new ones as they are on their last legs). I replaced the original rustic string for a longer length, so that the tag has a little extra wiggle room when attaching to a parcel. 

Once the string was threaded through I attached a silver and copper heart from the necklace using  a couple of “salvaged” jump rings, my crafting nemesis (as I never seem able to open and close them cleanly, much to Marc’s bemusement) Once the hearts were in place, I threaded an original wooden bead onto the string, and tying a knot over the top of it to keep the hearts in place.

The trouble with using pieces that originally hung together is that they also have a hole at the bottom (which I had forgotten in my excitement on finding a bargain), however, in this case I was able to use the hole productively by attaching another jump ring and a drop of beads through it. 

The final touch was adding faux stitching using a black fine liner pen to edge the back of the tag.

Now ……. what to do with the other wooden pieces of the decoration?

A Charity Shop Find & An Aldi Bargain.

Marc has taught me well when looking at jewellery in Charity Shops, he can spot a piece that can be disassembled into a million pieces in a nano second, which, if bought individually or in packs from the jewellery section of, for example Hobbycraft, would cost an absolute fortune

So he would have been so proud of me as I scooped up this long boho style necklace for just £1, it is made up of so many components and had many, many possibilities.  I have counted 14 large, brass puffy hearts, 26 small silver hearts, and 35 amber coloured bead drops, plus over 100 large silver links.  I wouldn’t have been able to afford to buy this little lot in one go, so I am well chuffed.

However, I am not in any rush to take it apart just yet as I think it will look quite nice just hanging and adorning my spare bedroom for the moment.

I have had my beady eye on these wooden decorations in Aldi since before Christmas, again with the idea of disassembling, but at £3.99 I was being mean, but when they reduced them last week to £1.99, well, it would have been rude not to have bought them, and when I opened up the pack, I got a surprise, as I thought it was all one piece when actually it was four, so that works out at 50p per piece.  Again, I couldn’t buy all the wooden shapes for £3.99 let alone £1.99, and I haven’t counted all the wooden beads, gold jingle bells and ribbon also included.

However, a bargain is only a bargain when I actually use it, it’s not a bargain when bought and then put in the back of a cupboard, so initially I am thinking that the large hearts could be made into gift tags, possibly married with a few silver hearts from the necklace (if I can bear to break it up …..), and the houses, I am thinking along the lines of Home Sweet Home …….give me five minutes and I will see what I can come up with.

Valentines Day Ladybird Matchbox

I was a little disappointed to find that only one chocolate ladybird fit comfortably in this The Works matchbox.  Two would have looked cute, but the top would have bulged and that wouldn’t look very professional, so I may just pad the box out with a little red tissue paper to make the ladybird look all cosy. I will look, but doubt if I will find any other suitable wrapped sweet that would maybe go with it, unless a small packet of Lovehearts would fit?

The box is lined with a heart patterned paper and then I  have simply mat and layered the top and bottom using scraps from a Nordic style Christmas Paper and silver foil, with co-coordinating scraps down the sides.

The leaf and sentiment circle are punched, and the “With Love” handwritten and edged by me using a black fine liner pen.

I thought putting the wooden ladybirds on the top would be a hint as to what lies within, and when the chocolate is eaten you still have a little box for treasures or buttons etc.