Bless His Little Cotton Socks

When lockdown is over this little fella can have whatever he blooming likes for his first breakfast with Nanny ……. bless him!

   …….. and the next day the story continued …………

Simple Snow Christmas Card

This card measures 6ins x 6ins and uses a pre-scored blank from a bulk Hobbycraft pack.

I have so many packs/sets of alphabets that really need to be used up so one of my continuing themes in my Christmas crafts this year is going to be cards with a festive word or phrase as it’s main feature in an attempt to use some of them up.

This is my first effort, I covered the whole front of a 6inx x 6ins card blank with a Christmas patterned paper from huge origami paper pad from The Works. The wooden letters were also from The Works, painted white and the finished off with a layer good layer Ranger Glossy Accents to give extra dimension.

The snowflake stickers originally came from Aldi and are so versatile, they have a glittery, textured finish which helps them stand out and for good measure I added a clear, flat black gem to all the centres.

It’s a pretty basic design, it’s also a little bit different and I think it works.

Popsicle Stick–Peg Doll - Nativity Scene.

I found this idea (below) online http://artwifeneedsalife.blogspot.com/2011/12/adventures-in-christmas-ornaments.html

………. and then fiddle-farted with it to suit the bits and pieces that I already had in my craft drawers.

The stable took a total of 9 small craft sticks and two thinner ones on the back to help keep the whole thing together.

I wish I could remember where I originally bought the crafts sticks from because they are such a  brilliant size, measuring 2.5ins x x .5ins.  I’ve had them for quite a while and they would have only cost me a £1 or so for the pack. 

It’s taken me quite a while to get round to using them, but now I have realised their potential, naturally I wanted more, but since we’re in lockdown it meant spending a long time pouring online until I was able to track them down on Amazon, this time they were considerably more expensive, £7.89 for 100, and I can see me wanting more! 

Using one for a shelf was a genius idea, thank you ArtWife and opens up so many other possibilities.

The little peg people came from China (eBay) last year, costing £3.99 inc. P & P  for 40 figures, 20 male and 20 female which was a bargain, considering I have paid £1 for six from The Works.

Coming up with Baby Jesus was my own idea ……….

……. using a 5mm, natural wooden bead, stuck on the end of a cut down cotton bud and then carefully wrapped in a scrap of paper tissue.

…… with an added layer of PVA glue to stop it unfurling. While the tissue was slightly damp I was able shape it round the baby’s face with a pin.

I was in two minds whether to colour the figures and or add some colour to the stable, but in the end decided to just leave it au naturel, the hollow star just finishes the whole effect.

In order to hang them on the Christmas tree I have added a small silver bail to the back and will add thread later.

I have made nine of this pared down version, but now curiosity is getting the better of me and I think I need to make a few more now with some element of colour.

Christmas Scene Decoration With Tiny House And Snowman

In the beginning I thought  that I would only ever make three of these tiny Christmas scene decorations ……….

……. because to start of with it was all about the tiny snowman, originally bought on eBay from China about two years ago, he was in almost perfect proportion to the little wooden house and Christmas trees, but I only had three of them.

I then wasted far too much time when I could have actually been crafting trying to find some more, but when I did, in the US for just under two dollars for two, the postage made my eyes water, between £22 and £34 …… I don’t think so!!!

I had almost resigned to just using the three, because without the snowman the scene just didn’t have the same ahhhhh factor, but then I thought, I wonder if I have the patience to make my own using some of the Air Dough I had. I admit I was sceptical……..

….. but I did it !  I am so proud!!  How sad is that? Made of five tiny decreasing balls of dough, the tiniest being the pom pom on the hats, I had a feeling I had done it, but the proof of the pudding was adding the details using ultra fine tipped pens, OMG it worked, and once the snowmen had a face, they had a character. 

The final touch to them was two equally tiny scraps of brown jewellery wire for the arms.  I can’t believe it.  My goodness they are weeny!

Once I knew I had the snowmen in the bag,  I was prepared to invest my time in putting the scenes together. First the base made by gluing two wooden dominoes together and then painting the top and sides with a couple of coats of white match pot paint from Wilko

The small wooden houses came from a toy wooden village set Marc bought me from a carboot for just 10p!  There were forty assorted items in the box, which should keep me going for ages, as and when more inspiration strikes. (I have since seen smaller similar sets in Poundstretcher)

I accentuated the windows and doors of the houses with a white gel pen, put a small nail tack on the roof for the chimney. This was tricky, which meant on quite a few occasions I used a piece of masking tape to cover over any damage, before applying several coats of white paint to the roof to ensure that the red colour didn’t bleed through to the snowy texture applied in two/three layers using Aleene’s white glitter snow.

The little trees came from Baker Ross and are again in perfect proportion to the house.  When the bases were dry  I applied two/three layers of Aleene’s snow effect  I made two holes to hold the bottom bit of wire of the trees in place, adding an extra dollop of PVA glue around the bottom for good measure.

I was then ready to glue the house in position and touch up any bits of  snow I had missed.

The final touch was adding the snowman, I can’t tell you how thrilled I am with the result.  These will be fairing gifts for family and friends instead of a Christmas card ……. that’s it I can bear to part with them …….. or perhaps they would make a very cute place setting at the festive table?

Just For Laughs ……. A Truly Awful Charity Shop Purchase

As I am struggling with my mojo through lockdown I thought I would just give you a laugh with one of my most awful charity shop finds ………

I am not sure if it’s a candlestick (and one of a pair) or a bud vase ……… but as it cost me no more than 50p it will remain ever thus a mystery, as I certainly won’t be taking it for valuation to The Antiques Roadshow!

It’s sat sitting on one of the shelves in my lounge, I can’t wait for Marc to come and stay,  go mooching along them and then pick it up ……

……. I can hear him laughing now, but if he dare question my exquisite taste, I shall put on my best poker face on and tell him that it’s one of my most favourite pieces of all time!!!

Christmas Past And Future ……..

Sorry this post contains the C word ……. in June!!!!

I don’t know how, but I was very remiss after Christmas this year  when I didn’t post the handcrafted cards I received, which has been, over the years, something of a Fiddle Fart tradition.

So, when I found them all safely put away while having yet another tidy up during this flipping lockdown, I thought, well,  better late than ever.

Roll of drums and with a huge thank you to Mrs A, Tilly, Denise, Di, Maisie, Michelle …….

….. and Karen, whose card, I am afraid, I had taken apart as I want to frame the beautiful cross stitched robin so it’ll continue to make me smile for many, I hope, Christmases to come …… only I can’t get out to look for one, bum!

Which got me thinking about this coming Christmas ……… I have an idea for The Monkeys, I just need to organise a photo session, but that’s about it as I have a spooky feeling that this year is going to be a different kind of Christmas especially if this retched virus is still around. Can you imagine Christmas shopping if we still have to adhere to social distance rules and have to queue outside for goodness knows how long, if we even have any shops left by then!  Sadly, I, along with many others,  will probably be doing most of my shopping online, doesn’t bring that Christmas tingly sort of feeling with it and will be yet another blow to the small, independent shops.

It also means that I need to come up with some sort of flat and lightweight Christmas decorations (to keep postage down) in place of cards, something to keep, like Karen’s cross stitch, that can come out year after year …….. guess I’ll be spending an awful lot of time on Pinterest looking for inspiration.

George Floyd Memorial

I wanted to share a post with you today written by my friend, follower and fellow blogger in the US, Cheryl (https://paperpanacea.blogspot.com/) Many of you will have read Cheryl’s lovely comments which she leaves on Fiddle Fart almost every day. 

We exchange the occasional e-mail, but when I heard about the awful death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, my thoughts went straight to Cheryl as I knew she must have be very near to events ……. I’ll let her words and pictures tell the rest of the story ……… https://paperpanacea.blogspot.com/2020/06/

Home Sweet Home Fridge Magnet

The principle of some ideas I find on Pinterest look deceptively easy, but this wasn’t one of them, it really had me cursing!

I needed to trim some of these 2.5in craft sticks down to help accommodate the roof …… aghhhhh!  My craft knives couldn’t hack it, neither could my posh silicon knife or bacon scissors, in the end it took a small pair of scissors and a little gentle bending power and even then it was touch and go. This was then followed by a little bit of sanding as the edges that were left were rough ........

……. the glue smudges also left a lot to be desired!

However, the fiddle fart was a doddle, from the little wooden bee embellishments to the layered doodled door and windows and faux stitching, using a black fine liner pen.

On the back I simply added a piece of self adhesive magnetic strip so that it can live on my fridge.

Now, although this is unlikely to be a project I return to, it did spawn a pretty simple Christmas idea ……. but more of that for another day, as I am just waiting for some wooden stars from ebay to finish it/them off.  Watch this space ........

Trick Or Treat Halloween Card

This card measures 6ins x 6ins and uses a pre-scored blank from a Hobbycraft card pack.

I know it’s far toooooooooo early, but this card was a series of happy accidents that I have to admit to being quite chuffed with because when I started playing with the idea of a metal embossed skull I had no idea where I was going with it.

As you know I very much like a Day of The Dead skull, I am just rubbish at drawing them, this, in my opinion, is a poor effort but I decided instead of relegating it straight to the bin, I would stick with it and colour it using a variety of fine and ultra fine Sharpie pens.

Yuk, yuk, yukity, yuk, yuk, I really, really didn’t like it, but when I turned it over I found that I did!

But what to do with it?  I originally thought shrine, but had no suitable frames for it and didn’t want to make one, so I then thought card.  So, I covered a card blank with a purple and black, spider and web Halloween paper and simply plonked the skull in the middle, that didn’t work.  Then I thought, hmmmmm what about “Trick or Treat” to the side using silvery glitter letters, in two different sizes? It worked!

This quickly followed by the addition of some purple/fuchsia stars and a scattering of three white dots here and there, made using a white gel pen.  Woo hoo hoo I even felt a tiny bit of my mojo coming back, but there again, I do love the doing Halloween stuff, perhaps even more than Christmas sometimes, I think it is the colours.

I now need to put the card somewhere safe, as I might use it to hold Iris and Bertie’s invitation to Nanny’s annual Halloween party and sleepover.

The Return Of The Mojo

I don’t know how or exactly when it happened but it looks, touch wood, like my mojo has returned, perhaps not for making cards but definitely for making tranklements of a Christmas type persuasion that I hope to post in the coming weeks.

I think just looking at the mess my flat is now in is testament to my racing mind, where one idea spawns another in quick succession, which is also why I have so many half finished projects on the dining room table at the moment, but it feels good after all these barren months.

The mess has further confirmed my need to reorganise my spare bedroom into a craftroom with guest facilities.  The bed has already been bagsed by my niece Emily, who is in the process of buying her first house, and once this flipping lockdown is over, it will be quickly spirited away. 

The sofa bed I originally had my beady eye on is sadly no more, I read the companies reviews and I have thought better of it.  Argos also had one I really, really fancied, but it was 5cms too wide, which was gutting, so at the moment it looks like a grey two seater from Wayfair, who I have dealt with before and cannot fault. I can’t say grey would ideally be my colour of choice, however it does go with pretty much everything and can easily be hidden under a throw and some choice cushions.  I just need to be patient now, put up with the mess and pray that lockdown doesn’t go on for too much longer!

Bertie Does Warhammer

This is one of my very favourite lockdown pictures of Bertie ………

…….. totally absorbed in painting the Warhammer tank he’d chosen all by himself to then paint along side his dad, being a big boy!

I really need to get some pictures of the tiny figures Tom paints, I think my Sam’s Study is tiny enough, but Tom’s figures are in a completely different league of tininess!

A Visit To The Oxfam Superstore in Oxford

A while back, as a belated birthday treat Lu booked us a weekend in Oxford with the Oxfam Superstore as part of our itinerary.

Would it be awful to say we were a little disappointed?

It was beautifully set out, organised, clean and tidy, but it did nothing for us, perhaps it was the atmosphere which was so totally different from the usual high street shop we’re used to.

I'll be honest, you can’t beat the feeling of excitement as you have a really good mooch along a cluttered shelf of tut or through that mysterious box of bits on the floor, looking for that goodness knows what, that gives you a charity shop rush! I found the children’s section particularly disappointing, just the wrong day perhaps, but to be honest the charity shops of Evesham have more to offer.  Iris is developing quite an individual style, so I had hoped I might find an colourful tutu skirt, or something sequined, embroidered or multicoloured.

I was however taken by these two teapots, they were quite cute and dinky and at £3.99 each not a bad buy, but I have more than enough various sized pots in my Royal Doulton Minden collection,  so they remained where they were for another moocher to fizzle over!

I also rather liked this set of drawers, I can’t remember the price, but it must have been really reasonable for me to take a picture, perhaps £30?  It was heavy, solid and built to last, unlike the flat packs you buy from Ikea, if I have the space, it would have been a no brainer.

I quite liked this jug to, but alas again have no place to put it.

I did however make one considered purchase for 99p, something I had seen and really wanted a similar one in a posh shop while on my travels, but had balked at the price at something like £12, so I grabbed this one straight away and have been using it ever since.  I am afraid Lu left empty handed.

I think we both decided then that our very favourite rummage day out from now on has got to be the Flea Market at the County Showground in Malvern, with every stall being an absolute treasure trove of tut. Lu tends to look for cocktail bits and pieces for her kitchen shelf, whereas I like to look for religious kitsch, retro mirrors and vases in the shape of hands  ………

Lu is very good at talking herself out of something, she really fell in love with an Orville the Duck money box as it bought back memories of childhood and it being so crap it made her laugh, but despite much errring and ahhhing her purse remained resolutely unzipped and she has regretted it ever since!  When this flipping lockdown is over and we can go out and mooch in safety once again, I have promised myself that if we see another one, it will be hers, no arguments!!!!