A Change In Blogging ….

I only have eight scheduled posts left to blog, but, rather than come to an abrupt and final end, I have decided to post on Fridays only to see how it goes.  I have to be truthful and say that I really don’t have the enthusiasm or fire to craft or blog any more, but by posting on a weekly basis I am hoping that it will afford me the time to see if my momentum does come back.  I started blogging on 20th August 2009, and have written 1,396 posts and not missed one day! (and the same goes for Mums Monkey)  I had been mulling over the thought of stopping on 1st January 2013 anyway, leaving the blog “live” and the ideas floating about in the ether forever, but, I just wasn’t expecting the bite on the bum I received four months ago.

BUT as and when and if the ideas start coming rest assured they will still get posted if somewhat spread apart. 

I hope to continue writing Mums Monkey …. those boys have really kept me sane (!?!?) over the summer, by making me find a funny, quirky or poignant angle on the most ordinary things/occasions in my/their life …. so I hope you will continue to read their adventures …. because their adventures are mine too.

Let’s just see how things pan out ……..

21st Birthday Newspaper Card

This card is A5 in size and is made using white linen effect card …… and was still wet when I took the photos!!!!

The brief for this card was Patrick, 21, Aston Villa, and his cat Bella amongst other things, so I think I ticked a few boxes.

I tried to match the main colours of the Aston Villa strip to other sections of the card …..

……. and work in a message from the cat!

I put very simple decoupage layers on my newspaper cards to add texture and definition and then add a touch of Ranger Glossy Accents to highlight them further.

This is what the “bones” of my A4 sheet of      card look  like after I have printed it,  having already designed it in Publisher and then copied and pasted the sections I want to make the decoupage layers with.

Punched Art Christmas Rockin Robin/Elizabeth Shaw Mint Crip Novelty

I am being very lazy again, using more pictures than words for this post,  but hope you can still get the gist of how I have put this paper punched Christmas robin together …..

These are the two punches I used ….

….. and these are the punched parts I have used to put “Robin” together …… not a lot to him really!

In the top picture I’ve just popped him on a makeshift background to show how he would look on a Christmas card…. but  he would make an excellent embellishment for an Elizabeth Shaw Mint Crisp…. ……… by just adding a matching plain brown circle on the back!

Christmas Parcel Tags–Trying To Be Good!

I know there are going to be some very tempting new Christmas goodies in the shops very soon, but I know I need to resist …. I have got enough crafty bits and pieces to last for the next hundred Christmas’s …. so I really do need to use them up first …. but to be honest I know at some stage, a moment of weakness will envelope me and things will just slip into my basket!

….. And with all these good intentions in my mind ………I’ve made some  gift tags using felt parcels and clear flat backed gems  from Hobbycraft , kraft card and red string from Traidcraft,  all bought several years ago and all  needing to be used up, the parcels in particular.

They took a matter of minutes to make.  I am going to put them on parcels wrapped in my all time favourite brown paper which is always so versatile and so easy to match with ribbons etc..

Bejewelled Lizard Canvas

I’m not a lizardy sort of person, but I found this die cut lizard amongst all my bits and pieces and wondered if I could do something with it of an artistic type nature …

I first glued it on a 5ins x 5ins canvas as the card was too flimsy to support the hundreds of flat backed gems I decided to stick onto it, using Ranger Glossy Accents as a glue.

As I said …. it’s not really my sort of thing so I am not sure what I am going to do with it now its finished!

Cards Using Foil Stickers

Both these cards are made using ribbed effect Kraft card, and part of a text patterned 12 x 12 paper, mat and layered on purple mirror card.

The stickers are raised foil with flat backed gems and cost £1a pack from a funny little discount store I found in Brixham when on holiday last year, needless to say, I bought several packs!

Guest Crafter For The Day …… Ren

This gorgeous little girl is my friend’s daughter Ren. I sent her a bag of crafty bits and pieces after I had a “grande” tidy up day and here she is posting her “Thank You” card for me …… couldn’t you just eat her up?  You will notice she is also wearing a gorgeous bracelet “designed and handcrafted” by herself, made with some of the wooden beads that I’d put in her goodie bag.

And this her card, giving me a mahooooosive run for my money …. the front is beautiful and stunning  enough, each embellishment carefully chosen and placed with so much care ….. but it’s the inside that made me squeal …..

Oh my life …. I love it sooooo much.  It’s now on the window sill in my craft room where I can look at it as I work …. and be inspired!  THANK YOU REN for my card and THANK YOU FOR BEING MY STAR GUEST CRAFTER OF THE DAY!!!

Penguin Christmas Tags

These tags were made using children’s covered wooden dominoes and measure 7.5cm x 3.5cm.

My mum was thrilled when she found me these penguin buttons way back in January, but rather than put them away until near Christmas I made these tags within days of getting them.  They have been waiting a long time to be used, but guess whose Christmas present they will be going on?

Halloween–Mini Printers Tray

I love these little trays, they are the packaging for small wooden embellishments and I have featured projects using them before, and when I had used all I had Sam came to the rescue and sent me a some more, “Thank You” Sam!All I have done is colour the edges and sides with a black ProMarker pen

… and then lined each compartment with paper in Halloween colours in orange, purple and green.
The fun bit is putting all the little embellishments together…..
…. which takes quite a while to gather up
…. and to find a spot for …. but it’s always such fun!

My Stampin’ Up Owl Punch

This little item has been on my object of desire list for quite a while, I have seen so many ideas for using it on Google that this little beauty just had to be mine.

I haven’t seen my mate Lisa, who among many things is a Stampin’ Up demonstrator for months and it was a perfect excuse to get her round for a natter if I ordered it from her (£15.50)

I did this dogs face ever so quickly just to illustrate this post, but you can see just how versatile the basic owl body is, I have seen it used to make ghosts, penguins and reindeer faces … so watch this space. I am sure that after I have copied a couple of ideas I have seen my feeble brain will come up with a few ideas of its own!

Lisa also bought me a sneaky Autumn/Winter catalogue! As you know I am not the most competent stamper, but it’s worth having a look for just for the ideas. Lisa is starting up a couple of Stampin Up’ classes in the Wolverhampton area in the next couple of months and I said I will join in and be a willing pupil.  When I have more information about places and times I will let you know just in case anyone else would be interested but in the mean time there is some information on Lisa’s Stampin’ Up blog.

http://www.stampin-craft-fairies.com/

Halloween Ghostie Lollipops

In the parcel from Dianne in Florida that I featured a couple of weeks ago was this glorious Ghost Sucker (!!!) Wrap Kit … and it was one of the first things I played with.
It took me three attempts to find the perfect lollies to make the perfect ghosts …. mini chuppa chups

I am so pleased with the way they have turned out, the only thing I did changed from the instructions was to secure the ghosts head with a bit of cotton thread first so it would be easier to get the ribbon tied just right. Wooooo woooooo woooooo!!

What’s Caught My Eye In The Shops

Well…..  the Poundshops of Wolverhampton are now bulging with Halloween stuff: a lot I have seen before but these packs of six “Mini Horror Pots” caught my eye, working out at about 18p each.  All they need are a few pumpkin or ghost chocolates popped inside …. or some green and red  jelly beans …. (snot and blood capsules …. sorry!!)

They also had packs of matching Frankenstein and skeleton head pots which I think I will have to go back for … I will kick myself if they’ve all gone as I didn’t keep to my usual Poundshop rule of buying when I see something I like and can use  …. because as I have found in the past, when they’re gone, they are usually gone! I shall be keeping my eyes peeled over the next few weeks  …. while my creative mojo is still flagging at least I can bring you the odd shopping report instead.

Christmas Tree Tags

These three tags each measure approximately 8cms x 4cms and are made using a ribbed Kraft card.

I found these three wood and felt Christmas trees in a box of bits and thought it was about time they were finally used up.
There’s nothing fancy about them, I’ve just used scrap bits of ribbed Kraft card, white glitter paper and a few doodled snow flakes.  I’ve also used some green Traidcraft string to tie them with.

I shall put them on parcels wrapped in my plain brown paper.

Dishcloths Abound

Last year I lost count of the dishcloths I knitted for Christmas … but I am at it again because they were so popular people have asked if I would knit them another one, two, three or four more for this year!

I use UK size 4 knitting needles (6mm or US 10) casting on 37 stitches and working 9 inches in garter stitch (knit every row) and can usually knit one per night. The price of the dish cloth cotton varies considerably, in Wolverhampton it costs about £2.79, but the best price I have found is from B G Payne where the natural coloured yarn costs £1.39 for 100grams and £1.79 for the white.  I can usually get about three cloths from one ball. I have just received my order of ten balls, so that’s my nights sorted for quite a while, but stops me from nibbling, so it can’t be all bad!

http://www.bgpaynecrafts.co.uk/category/9774-dishcloth-cotton.aspx

Jessica’s Sweet Shop …. With Halloween In Mind

There’s a new sweet shop just opened in the Mander Centre, Wolverhampton and it would have be considered most rude of me not to sample some a few a whole pile of it’s delights …. purely as a fact finding crafty mission for Halloween you understand!

These are a few of the many sweets that inspired me …. the jelly filled skulls are an obvious choice … but I was thinking that the red candy cuttings could make passable cut veins …. the liquorice and fondant stripes:- teeth or spines, the green marshmallows:- snot balls, witches warts or some sort of larva and the blue spotty jelly:- poison balls???

The sweets cost 99p for a 100g, not perhaps that economical for bulk Halloween crafting, but for little one offs or fairing gifts, when you only need a few, they are perfect. I must look very suspicious when I go in as I move slowly past all the displays, because in my head I am working out what sweet could be used for what project and for what season …. I would take in a notebook but that would make me look even more shady!  Anyway I have got the sweets now I need to make something with them …. watch this space.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessicas-Sweet-Shop/357654230915404

Halloween House–Favour Box

I have had these small craftwork cards die cut houses for a couple of years, but, to be honest I am not sure if they do them anymore. They are only small, measuring approx. 5.5cms at their highest and 4.5cm deep.

With my mojo flagging Marc suggested that I look to Halloween for inspiration as the Poundshops will be/are now awash with goodies and especially as I had also received some gorgeous Halloween bits and pieces in my parcel from Dianne last week and some a couple of weeks ago from the lovely Lizzie….. and this is what I have come up with ….,

First I took the die cut house and coloured it in roughly with green and orangey brown ProMarker pens ….

…. then added a bit of doodling using a black fine liner pen ….
… before gluing the box together.

I then embellished the house using stickers from this book from Dianne, giving all the bats small googly eyes to really make them stand out and for extra dimension.

When they are in the shops I will put a few chocolate pumpkins in each box I make and then they will be ready to trick or treat with.
http://www.craftworkcards.co.uk/products/whats-new.html