Happy Easter From Me and My Guest Crafter …… My Brother Stephen …….

I had wanted to used a delicate, bare, twiggy branch from which to hang the Decopatch/Poundland eggs I made the other week …… but when I actually went into the garden to look for something suitable there was nothing branchy or twiggy to be found….. but it still looks very pretty ….

….. And here is what is now becoming a very regular and much loved feature on Fiddle Fart,  the gift that my brother Stephen brought home for my mum from his care unit …….

….. some handmade chocolate eggs ….. some decorated with hundreds and thousand sprinkles ……

…… all very beautifully packaged,  the best Easter gift anyone could wish for.  A huge THANK YOU to all Stephen’s carers for all the thought and hard work they put into it and to those who helped put it all together for him,  because we know that all he probably did towards it was watch sitting at the table and hum!

HAPPY EASTER!

Guest Crafter - The Lovely Denise’s And Her Wedding Mice

Following on from yesterday’s bracelets …….

….. during our “Crafty Wedding Evenings” chez moi, we have been wondering what to make for the gentlemen as a small favours for Tom and The Lovely Laura’s much anticipated wedding …… then the Equally Lovely Denise had a brainwave ……. crocheted mice that can been used as noticeboard pins!

She bought the pattern from etsy
http://www.etsy.com/listing/101505812/rainbow-mouse-pattern?ref=complementary_listings_text_link

The equally Lovely Denise then ordered a ball of every colour wool, which are all so beautiful, it’s been hard for her to choose which to use first!

The idea is a no brainer as we reckon that when the ladies see the mice sitting next to the gentlemen’s place cards they will go all ohhhhh and ahhhhhh and will want one too, and the gentlemen …..  being gentlemen, will then offer them to their “ladies” as random acts of wedding kindness!!!!!  What are we like?

Click on all rainbow mice pictures (except for my two) for links to etsy shop.

Elizabeth Shaw Mints – Funny Favours

Woooo hooo ……  I’ve finally made this Easter’s version of the world famous Elizabeth Shaw mint favours!!!!

By now I am probably teaching my grandma to suck eggs, but just in case…….  I used my Stampin’ Up 1 3/8 circle  and scallop punches to make the front and back of the mints.

….. and used rabbit stickers from WholePort for the centres (back and front) plus a bit of faux stitching and few dots, using a black fine liner pen to embellish.

A bit of double sided tape to put them all together …. et voila …..
….. pop into a pretzel bag (see link below) and tie with a ribbon …… simples!!!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-x-2-x-8-CLEAR-Cello-Cakepop-Lolly-Pretzel-Bags-/400431417558?pt=Uk_Crafts_Cake_Decorating_MJ&hash=item5d3b9288d6

Another Easter Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut, white linen effect card
This card is a bit of a smorgasbord of materials that shouldn’t really go together, but in a quirky way do!!!
I used three rabbit stickers from a sheet I got from WholePort, some punched flowers and a scrap of printed card (from Kanban, Stone Wall, CRD8002)

Once I worked out that if I cut off the tops of the rabbits heads and turned them upside down they would make passable paws, and then stuck them on the “wall”,  the rest all seemed to come together ….. !!!

http://www.wholeport.com/item/99e_three-color-rabbits-diy-gift-packing-seal-sticker-30pcs-lot.html

An Easter Bunny Card And A FiddleFart Disaster!!!

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut, white linen effect card blank

I apologise profusely because I just haven’t done anything of an Easter nature this year. I did think (briefly) about making a few Easter penny bags etc. for work,  but I just couldn’t bear the thought of traipsing round the shops looking for bits ….. perhaps next year I’ll get my act together…..

I found these stickers amongst all the other goodies in one of my parcels from WholePort and thought I had better use them, while bunnies were current  …….. hence the very quick Easter card above.

http://www.wholeport.com/item/99e_three-color-rabbits-diy-gift-packing-seal-sticker-30pcs-lot.html

And now for this car crash disaster of a tag ….. it looks more like a cat, what was I thinking of?  However, if I was inspired enough to have another go it wouldn’t take much fine tweaking to improve it …. the basic idea is there!!  It won’t go to waste though, as I plan to use it as a “prop” for the the Monkey’s Easter morning post!!!!

Seasonally Confused ……

I just couldn’t resist the temptation …….

Oh my life, what is going on with the weather?… It’s Easter in less than a weeks time! Wonder if it will last or if there is even more on the way ?????

What A Difference A Few Days Make …….

This is a picture (taken last week), of the tree I stand under every morning while I wait for my lift to work….. each day I marvel at it’s subtle changes ….. and recently spotted a nest right at the top after I heard the birds calling to each other as the day slowly began and before the gradually building traffic started to drown them out. 

.... And this is how the tree looked on Friday morning as I waited and the unseasonal March snow madness began to take hold …

…… what a difference a few days make ..... you'd think I'd taken the picture in black and white, but it is in colour ................ winter has gone on for too long now ..... I need colour!!

Guest Crafter–The Equally Lovely Denise And Her Wedding Bracelets

Wedding preparations still continue to gather pace and after consultation with the Bride, the Lovely Laura,  Denise (Laura’s mum) and I said that “we” would make some glass beaded bracelets for wedding favours for the ladies …..

……  say “we” loosely as it was Laura's mum who did all the hard work stringing all the beads, which we had both collected over the years, I just admired her handy work!!I admit to keeping this one aside for myself ….just look at those cute bugs!  It’s in a child’s size at the moment  but I aim to make it a bit bigger for me using a few extra beads.

Denise managed to use a lot of the lampwork beads I got from WholePort in the bracelets ……

…. and seeing how beautifully they have come out I am glad I kept one string back to use with the other beads that were left over, as I have been inspired to make a few for myself to wear in the coming spring/summer months when I just want to surround myself with colour after this prolonged dull winter…..

The next thing for the “Crafty Wedding Crafters” to work out is what to put each bracelet in ….. I have an idea …. which will probably mean getting my dusty and very under used Silhouette machine out of retirement!

Objects Of GREAT Desire

I love this furniture and accessories from a German company called Kare Design, I just love the colours, patterns and the quirkiness …..

….. which has inspired me to eventually revamp the rather “past the sell by date” furniture etc. in my craft room  in a similar way,  only using Decopatch papers …….

….. when I have the time …….!!!!

I don’t have a clue how much any of this stuff costs …. but I reckon I couldn’t even afford a tea towel from their range, but it’s lovely to just look and dream!

http://www.kare-design.com/en/shop29997/home/

Packed Lunch Gift Bag

Another very quick idea and so simple, so I apologise beforehand as I am probably teaching grandma to suck eggs ……. but it’s keeping the blog posts flowing …….

This really was a real rush job, as I needed to gift wrap a jar containing 50p’s as a present for my friends son very quickly, so another apology for the tag not being perfectly centred!!!!

I used a brown paper lunch bag that I have had for years, so long that I just cannot remember where I originally got them, but I found these on e-bay …. however, I have not used this seller so if you make a purchase you do so at your own risk.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25-BROWN-PAPER-PACKED-LUNCH-SANDWICH-BAGS-/230770207017?pt=UK_Packaging_Materials&hash=item35baf9e929

I have simply folded the top of the bag over a couple of times and then punched a hole through the layers, roughly in the centre to thread through the tag string, knotting it at the back …… simples!

With a little more time, effort and artistic flair there is no end to the ways you could embellish this sort of packaging.

Candy Rainbows

My friend Josie sent me this picture and link with Tom and Laura’s “rainbow” wedding in mind ……
http://catchmyparty.com/photos/525090 – it’s an idea I have seen before and I just love ….

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2012/03/st-patricks-day-rainbows/

They are made using American sweets/candy called Twizzlers ….

….  I checked out to see if they are available over here, and yes they are …. from Amazon, Ebay and other online shops specialising in American products, with prices varying from £1.19 a pack to £1.99+,  so making them for every wedding guest would be rather prohibitive ….. but nevertheless it’s such a lovely idea ….. it’s one to keep on the back burner! 

I may also try and find a few packs when I am in Las Vegas to bring back because when I did a Google search on them there were lots of other lovely ideas I would also like to try out.

http://www.icandystore.co.uk/twizzlers-rainbow-fruit-twists-53g-403-p.asp

http://www.cybercandy.co.uk/store/Hersheys-Twizzlers-Rainbow---American-03453201.html

Tom And Laura’s Wedding Place Settings

Well…Tom and Laura’s Crafty Wedding Dream Team of Denise, Sarah, Emily, Daisy, Lucy and me can’t rest on our laurels for too long as we now have all the place settings to do …..

….. measuring 7.5cms x 5cms and mirroring the wedding invitations I am hoping that they won’t take too long to make …. and then they will be off to the Lovely Laura to work her magic ….. as she has the most gorgeous handwriting.

The tables will also be liberally sprinkled with more punched flowers with a few “diamonds” added for even more sparkle …. it’s going to look sooooo beautiful!

A Very Special Cushion

This is a cushion made by the “Artist to the Stars” John Lee Bird depicting Marc and his partner …. it is so special and unique …. and I am quite envious!

Marc has several pictures (not shown in this post)  by John around his flat and I love them all. Some look deceptively simple …..

…… but in others the detail is breath-taking.

….. and I feel very honoured, because it’s not everyone’s Monkey (Darrell) who included in a work of art!

http://www.johnleebird.com/

Volunteer Of The Day Tags

This is a set of 6 tags I made my sister Jan for one of her many volunteering events.  They measure approximately 10cms x 5cms and are made using a Kraft effect card.

I know there’s not a lot to these tags, but it is managing to keep the daily posts coming …..

I know didn’t make the task easy for myself (as per usual),  I know I could have downloaded a free tag template from the internet, but I used an old Ikea tag to draw around instead as the size is just perfect for so many projects. I made a sheet of text in Publisher in 2peas typo font, size 24. When the sheet was printed I put the Ikea tag over the top, praying that it was central, drew round it, and cut out the tags.

I used my Cropodile to set the eyelets.  My Cropodile is my most under used  tool, I am afraid I am rather heavy handed with it and usually end up with misshapen and squashed eyelets, but on this occasion I was extremely gentle and woo hooo hoo hoo, got perfect settings for once.

2peas font available free from this site: http://www.fontpalace.com/font-details/2Peas+Typo/