Snowman Diorama Christmas Tree Ornament – Altered Tins

Some of my ideas are done and dusted in a couple of days (allowing for drying) while others linger, as was the case with these altered diorama tins.

They started off as below, bought from eBay with a single bid of £1.80 plus P & P, so they cost me 58p each, which isn’t too bad, considering the price of tins at the moment.  I took a gamble on their depth, so was well chuffed when they arrived.

The first thing I did was stick a small pendant bail on the back of each tin before I spray painted them. 

I sprayed them with a white paint first to ensure all the print was completely covered and then red to give them a true Christmassy flavour.

Any little bits missed by the paint was covered using a red Sharpie pen.

When the outsides were dry, I cut a template and then used scraps of small print, Christmas design paper on the inside, saving paper on the one side where the snow was going to be.

I added faux stitching, using a black fine liner pen around all the edges.

I used Hobbycraft, white, Superlight Air Drying Clay (£1 for a 30g pack) for the snow.  It’s a weird constancy, a bit like chewing gum, but for this and my other tin and walnut projects it’s perfect as it dries overnight.

I prepared the wooden houses beforehand, (The Works, 20 pack for £1) ……

…… sticking tiny scraps of paper on the back over the windows and hearts, then painting them white, before adding snowy details using white Americana Writer and a little doodled outlining.

I put a bead on the back of the houses to add a little dimension, before gluing them in the snow/tin using B-7000 glue.

I took off the wooden base off the bristle brush trees and cut the bristles flat at the back, so that they would lie flat once glued into the back of the tin.  I also added glue to the exposed metal wire of the tree before sinking it in the snow.

This was followed by the tiny Fimo snowman, again made in advance, for this and other ideas.

When all the bits and pieces had dried, I added some more white Americana Writer to the clay for extra texture, as well as to hide any gaps to the sides due to any shrinkage of the clay, followed by a light dusting of ultra fine translucent glitter.

While the one side was drying, I used my trusty old Dymo label maker to punch out all the wording on a blue tape, which I then mat and layered very finely on silver mirror card.  

I then added various small confetti snowflakes here and there, some with tiny silver flat back domes in the centre.

Next, the front of the tins, the metal tag I wanted to use was a little bit too wide, but fitted much better after I carefully trimmed off the outer edge.

Then the fiddle fart of various size and textured snowflakes, a few tiny silver, flat backed domes and of course a scattering of three dot clusters made using a white Posca pen.

……. plus a silver thread cord  through the attached bail so the whole thing can be hung on a Christmas tree.

So that’s another set of tins done and dusted ………

…… and I’m really chuffed with how they came out.

Heads Up – Christmas Crafts Hit The Works

My local Works have started stocking some of their Christmas craft range, so it would be rude not to have a mooch even though it seemed pretty much same old. What I also noticed was that the value for money isn’t as good as it used to be. I am pretty sure there used to be more, possibly 10, reindeer head embellishments in a pack than just 5 for £1, because I’ve used so many of them in the past, I really don’t think I would have paid that much for 5 (????).  Packets now seem to contain fewer embellishments for £1 or have sneaked up to £1.50, so I can see myself cutting back.

However, it was the small, wooden sledges that caught my imagination …….

They are only small, but how cute are they?  I am thinking a small chocolate figure of Santa on the front, perhaps with a bottle brush Christmas tree and then something like a Ferreo Rocher on the back, a pile of chocolate coins or some small wrapped chocolate squares (I think M & S do them) …… I just need to sort out proportions. I am thinking once dressed they would make really cute place settings on a Christmas table.

Halloween Pumpkin Pin Badges

Today, a bit of an experiment in making pumpkin pin badges.

I have just discovered that it’s cheaper to buy MDF circles as Wargame figure bases, rather than as basic crafting shapes for my various pin badges. I managed to find 30 x 35mm circle bases for £3.00 with free P & P, so just 10p each and they are not so thick as one I have used before, at 2mm, so even better, I am thrilled!

I started off by covering one side of the discs, with the last of my bottle of Ranger Enamel Accents, Cheese Puff, I now need to get some more, but it’s pretty card to find!

When the enamel was dry I drew the faces on using a Staedtler black permanent pen and an Aiye silver, chrome marker (Amazon)

Although this isn’t my usual whimsical style I can’t believe how adding the chrome ink really took the design to a new level. It looks as if the colours have been added to a metal base, rather than the other way around, an effect that was difficult to capture on camera, especially as such close up shots take no prisoners.

I did toy with the idea of adding a few extra tiny, silver stars, but that seemed a bit like overkill, so in the end I left them off?????

I edged the back with a fine, permanent black pen and then added the word “boo” and a doodles web, before adding the brooch back.

I also made display cards to pin the badges to.

Using more chrome marker on black card.

I sort of like them, but I’m not exactly 100% with them, if you know what I mean, they are just a tad out of my comfort zone, re: the style and texture, they are also quite masculine (?) but certainly an idea to continue to play with.

Acorn Baby Walnut Cradles

This is the idea I have been trying to work out, as a way of using up some of the not so perfect walnut shell halves I bought in a 1kg bag from eBay of a few weeks ago.

There’s not a lot to them, but I think, now they are sitting on my desk, there’s room for improvement.

I used  irregular walnut shell halves, a natural, wooden bead and some very small acorn cups, collected by Iris and Bertie last autumn, so they (the cup not Iris and Bertie) have had plenty of time to dry out.

I started by drilling a hole at each end of the shell, aligned as equally as I could, so that the cradle would balanced when hung.

I then added a gold or silver cord through the holes, with the knots on the inside, so as not to show.  I did add some glue to hold the knots in place, but then decided it wasn’t really necessary.

Then with a generous dollop of glue gun glue in the bottom, I placed the baby in the shell, the cotton bud stem giving me some leeway to bend the head into position.

To make the babies I glued an acorn  cup and a wooden bead together and then added two tiny 2mm black flat back gems for the eyes. I used gems instead of drawing the eyes as I didn’t want to run the risk of the ink bleeding into the unvarnished wood or getting odd sized, wonky eyes.

I then rammed a trimmed off cotton bud into the bead holes and wrapped the stem with a bit of cotton wool pad to form a sort of body to help provide a base to hold the “baby” in place inside the walnut shell, if you know what I mean.  It also provided the air drying clay cover with something to lie on and stop the possibility of it sinking into the shell when dried out.

Using white Hobbycraft Superlight Air Drying clay (£1 for a 30g packet, lots of other colours available), I fashioned a cover big enough to go across and just over the sides of the cradle, a bit like putting the pastry top on a pie.  I am really enjoying working with this clay, despite it’s odd chewing gum type texture. It really does dry super quick to a good solid finish.  I am just wondering if it could be lightly coloured perhaps or even drawn on????   I have since ordered quite a few more packets, as I can see me using it time after time in the run up to this Christmas and beyond.

Once I was happy with the cover positioning, I added  a little mock stitching across the top fold and the sides using a pin, which I know I need to fine tune.

The final touch came from two, tiny, holly hole punchies (Hobbycraft, £1, a year or so ago) with three, tiny 2mm red, pearl gems for the berries, to add a little extra colour and texture.

I think they work,  but now these have been photographed they are destined to have the covers removed and done again. While I was playing with ideas for decoration, the clay became quite grey and battered looking, however, it shouldn’t take too long to put right.  I also wonder, if I make any more, should I perhaps put a “pillow” behind the babies head?

And this (below) is my disaster ………. I was thinking  about making an Autumnal cradle, colouring the clay with felt pen, then kneading it in and using the leaf scatter confetti I got from The Range ………

…… but where I was after a whimsical, soft, natural look, I ended up with brash and over the top.  It’s all too much, so I am off to the drawing board again to try using small punched leaves and softer colours instead ……..