The Twelve Frames Of Christmas – Festive Patchwork Box Frame Decorations

When I am browsing, looking for ideas, I love to look at how people, particularly in the U.S seem to decorate the whole of their home at Christmas.  Now, my flat is pretty small and I reckon I could just about manage it too …… and I am thinking about starting in my L shaped hall.

At the moment it has twelve Ikea Ribba box frames on two of the walls containing insect brooches, but I have only used masking tape to hold the backgrounds in place ……. they could be very easily replaced temporarily, if only for the month of December.

So, that is what I am planning to do……. making twelve festive patchworks, using Christmas papers and embellishments, and making good use of the giant square punch I got for £1 at the recent HobbyCraft Show at the NEC.

One a month should be easy, but as we are now in April I may have to double up on some months.

With a plan in my head, I gathered all the bits and pieces together and set them out roughly, but knowing that I would probably make changes as I went along.

Each square measures 1.5ins and was mat and layered on silver card, with faux stitching round the edges.  These squares were then arranged on a larger square that would fit within the mount that comes with the frame.

The next bit was to glue the twelve chosen embellishments and then fiddle fart some more by adding lots of flat backed gems, eyes, stars etc..

It was easy to get carried away, but at Christmas, less is more really doesn’t count.

Usually, I am quite particular about things fitting within the squares and being in proportion to each other, but I’ve let those ideas blow in the wind, I want the frames to look really homemade and not over overthought.

The frames also stand perfectly on a shelf, so I might consider buying a few extra (£3.50) to make up and give as presents to people, like my sister in law, who would really appreciate a decoration that is a little bit different.

Well, that’s one done, only eleven more to go!

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/decoration/frames-pictures/ribba-frame-white-art-00078032/

Halloween Lolly Pop Stick Spider Fridge Magnet – Incy Wincy Spider

This is not my original idea, I found it and then pinned it on my Inspiration Board on Pinterest http://makingofamom.com/craft-stick-spider-craft/ ….. and then made a few minor alterations.

I have never used lolly pop sticks in my crafting before, but they kept cropping up during my Pinterest browsing, something I always do in bed for about half an hour before turning off the light …. so finally I decided to get me a few packs to play with, and this spider was the first thing I decided to make.

I coloured the sticks using a black Sharpie pen.  Positioning the sticks to get an evenly spaced, convincing spider leg combo was a bit tricky, but in the end I got there, securing them with a “tacky” PVA glue.

I can’t believe that I didn’t have any black card to use for the spiders body, but this corrugated card turned out to be a much better substitute, because it added some texture.  I punched it with a large, scallop edged circle punch and then again coloured it with a black Sharpie.

More dollops of glue ensued, plus two pieces of self adhesive magnet strip.

The final touch was the googly eyes, it was tempting to add a couple of fangs too, but I resisted.

Although originally with Halloween in mind ….. I think Mr Spider can go on my fridge and be Incy Wincy Spider for now.

Bertie’s First Birthday Card – Old MacDonald’s Farm Card

I think this must count as the most cheatiest card ever!

The birthday card I had originally planned for Bertie’s first birthday turned out to be totally pants, time was running perilously close, so what’s a girl to do but raid her sticker box ……. and this pack of farm stickers answered my prayers!  I just took them out of the packet, left them on the card backing exactly as they were and just did a bit of emergency mat and layering on patterned and silver card!  Bertie, bless him, will never know, that all the animals etc. were not the result of many hours strategic and very careful placing by his Nanny, who was really hoofing it.

The card base was hand cut from an A4 sheet of white linen effect card and measures 21cms x 13cms.

Halloween Door Wreath

Oh my life, Halloween in April?  Have I finally totally lost the plot, in more ways than one? 

Well, there is method in my madness.  I can’t say my Easter Wreath was the easiest of projects, but I had the other half of the ring left, and if I didn’t use it quickly, it would have just languished in the box under the bed and more likely as not got all damaged and grubby until I chucked it out ……. but I had an inkling of an idea ………

……. as I had a huge bag of plastic spiders and snakes after making a spider and snake hunt for Iris last Halloween and I swear they have been breeding since then!

First I wrapped the ring with wide, purple ribbon, followed by a narrower orange one, and then finally with some spiders web ribbon that I got from Micheals in Las Vegas four years ago, sometimes it just takes a while to finally use those craft bits and pieces that you swooned over years ago!

It was then in the lap of the gods as to how the rest would come together, especially after my experience with the flowers on my Easter wreath, but this simply  made itself.  I started with the spiders, gluing them with a glue gun, followed by the snakes .

I then used green flat backed gems to add some extra colour, as it looked a bit too orange and purple, plus few gold stars. Seeing that it was turning out pretty well, it gave me the confidence to fiddle fart even more by adding googly eyes to the spiders, giving them more character and tiny flat back gems for the snakes eyes.

In my haste to get this post done, yes, there are blobs of glue all over the shop, and when its all dry, a few of the glue stick strand can be removed.

I think it could also take a few larger silver stars to fill some of the large gaps,  but at the moment I can’t remember where on earth I have put them.

…… and then at Halloween (in …. owwwww 6 months time!), I reckon I will be able to wrap a set of small battery operated lights around the wreath, concealing the battery box at the back, to give it an extra spooky look.

Can’t believe I am saying this now …… but I am looking for some more wreath bases as the ideas just keep on coming! 

My Easter Door Wreath

Oh my life, I finally finished my Easter Door Wreath, aghhhhhh ……….

…… I’ll make no apologises for all the wet glue that’s still visible in the pictures, I’ll have you know that I was up at 8 o’clock on Thursday morning getting it done, I was so sick of it!

And am I pleased?  Well. yes I am, I am pretty chuffed with myself, I am so glad Marc wasn’t with me while I was doing it though, as he would have been tutting as only Marc can tut, and remarking on how impatient I am, he, Marc the Prince of Patience!

I used a glue gun to attach all the flowers and leaves, as it dries almost instantly, I wouldn’t have been able to cope with flowers and leaves sliding everywhere! There are a few stands of glue here and there, but these are easy to pick off, and anyway, I can always say it’s strands of spiders web.

I used a tacky PVA glue to stick the gem centres, I can’t remember what they are actually called, but they look like little jelly sweets and came in tubes …… I got them from HobbyCrafts Show many moons ago, they were quite the thing at the time, but it has taken me until now to use them.  I did try using flat back gems but they looked too shiny and sort of tacky.

I am frustrated at my lack of crafting this past two weeks, something seems to have been happening every single day, however I have reserved Sunday, no matter what, to get back on track. Laura goes back to work on this Wednesday and I will have Iris and Bertie on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.  I am hoping that Fridays will be my housework day, leaving me the rest of the week to do at least some crafting ………… 

An Easter Wreath Experiment

Oh my goodness, how did I ever find time to work, or am I just showing my age and slowing down.  When I think of everything I had to to do when I worked …… and what I actually “have” to do now …… oh well!

This is where I left off crafting last week and I haven’t progressed any further, however, I thought I would show you what I had done so far on the wreath I want to put on my Easter door.

The wreath, has been a huge learning curve as I have never made one before, I thought it would be sooooooooo easy, but at every turn I have met with something that has hindered my progress.

The polystyrene ring came from Hobbycraft, and was my first stumbling block as it was rounded on both sides.  I tried to cover it “bare” with punched flowers, but it just didn’t look right, the flowers didn’t lie like I wanted them to.  In the end, in sheer frustration I sliced the ring in half using my best carving knife, and then covered it in purple ribbon left over from Tom and Laura’s wedding unbelievably some four years ago.  I now realise that I what really should have done was buy the set of two cardboard rings that I ummmed and ahhhed about at the much maligned HobbyCraft Show at the NEC! Flat circles, are, for me, definitely the way to go when making any future wreaths.The flowers still didn’t lie exactly as I wanted, but I decided I was in too far to start fiddle farting again, but I still couldn’t help doing a bit of this and that, with punched leaf sprays and flower centres before really fully committing.

I decided to keep things really simple and only add one punched centre to each large flower, at the start I went overboard with fancy centres, but it was too much.

So, this is as far as I have got after a week ……….

Perhaps I am over critical when working on something that is totally new to me ……. but ….. I wish ….. I had gone for more spring and pastel type colours, to me the wreath is too strong and hot, where for Easter, I think it should have been light, cool and dainty, if that makes sense?

I now need to add more leaf sprays and gem centres to the flowers and then, hopefully, it will be completed by my next post.

Not Enough Time ……..A Charity Shop Treasure ……. And A Bathroom Quandary!

Before I went off to the NEC and spent few days in Wolverhampton I made sure I had enough posts scheduled to cover my time away, plus an extra day or two to cover me while I got back into routine, however on my return said routine went askew as Laura hasn’t been well, and when you get a call for an extra pair of hands, your craft table just has to be abandoned mid flow…….

So, for a while, while I try to catch up with everything, I think I will only be able to post every other day for a while, I’ve done it in the past and it’s worked well. It’s lovely when I can post every day, but it’s a huge commitment, so if I am not here every day, don’t panic, I just need to do some housework!

However, to fill today  …… last Monday I had to go to the doctors and dentist in quick succession, but still had time to nip into one charity shop and found 50p bargain!  It’s a beautifully put together, old fashioned hoe which I needed desperately …….

 

I don’t have a garden of my own, but the communal strip at the back of the flat has a fence and below that a bank running down to the river, in the nine months I’ve been here it hasn’t been touched, until my next door neighbour and I blitzed the nettles that had grown so tall they blocked our view considerably.  Well, the nettles and weeds are growing back again, and I want to keep on top of them, which is why I had been looking for a hoe.

It’s a bit like something out of Harry Potter, the handle is made from a branch, but it appears to have been used so much over the years that it’s worn smooth and the top has become rounded, for just 50p it’s a treasure.

And finally……. my recent trip to Ikea has reignited my “fantasy” of having a Moroccan style en-suite shower and/or main bathroom.  These tiles were in an Ikea kitchen display ……. it was love at first sight ……..

……. the shower cubicle in my shower room would look so beautiful done like this …….. I don’t suppose it would hurt to just get a teensy weensy quote would it ???????

Happy Mother’s Day …….. With Guest Crafter Iris Roo

Yesterday I spent the morning helping Iris put her Mother’s Day present together.

Tom had bought a children’s DIY decorative plaque from Morrisons ……

…… and had fully expected to having plenty of time to help Iris colour and embellish it ……

….. ………. but sadly over the past couple of days Laura has been struck down by a rather nasty tummy bug and so on Friday we all went off to the Cotswold Wildlife Park to help give mum some much needed peace, quiet and rest which was then followed by an impromptu sleepover with Nanny for Iris.

 

And, it was easier to pop it in Iris’s overnight bag, along with pyjamas, spare clothes, Elmo and Binky The Rabbit, to do with Nanny, freeing up Daddy to concentrate on Master Bertie and a poorly mummy.

I think the girl done good ……. especially as Nanny got out a few extra bits and pieces like micro glitter, which was duly executed like young Dawn Bibby!xxxx Wishing everyone a wonderful Mother’s Day, hoping you all get spoilt, just a little bit xxxx