Fiddle Fart Future Updates

I am going to try and put a Fiddle Fart update on here on the 1st of every month ....... just to post any projects that I have completed, heads up to crafty things in the poundshops that catch my eye, and anything I may happen to gave got up to ..............

……. They all said "Hallo" and felt awkward and unhappy suddenly, because it was sort of a goodbye they were saying, and they didn't want to think about it. So they stood around and waited for someone else to speak, and they nudged each other, and said "Go on"……… A.A. Milne

It’s a bit of a sad day today, because I have decided to put  “Fiddle Fart” out to pasture! It will still be here, hanging in the ether, but after 5 years and almost 2,000 posts, I think I have done my bit in the blogging world. However, I still hope to post occasionally, whenever I feel the urge to “create”, to keep a record of that idea, so on the first of every month I think I will do a bit of a catch up...... as I have plans in the pipeline, like taking Tom's 30 year old wooden Galt bike and decopatching it for Iris for Christmas.

My life has changed so much in the past four years, and especially in the last 4 months, since leaving work, to be in Evesham for part of the week  to help look after Little Iris, which has left me with little time to craft, other than the odd family birthday card ........and ..... there's another baby on the way!!!!!

As you know, I plan to move to Evesham permanently, fingers crossed, by the later part of 2016, and in an effort to be sorted and ready for that move, I have been spending most of my spare time sorting out my loft. This is a deliberately slow process as it is proving to be a valuable source of income (to help towards moving costs etc.), so I am e-baying an awful lot of the stuff I am finding up there, and in the process giving up the time where I would have once been crafting and blogging. At the moment, the pennies this activity is bringing in is “sadly” more important!  I have to be sensible and practical.  If I leave it until I move, it would probably all just get dumped in a mad rush, this way, I can do it with careful thought, especially, as I am rapidly finding, almost everything has a value to someone!

I am also doing the same with my craftroom, slowly, surely and considered. I will keep all the tools and equipment and basic materials, but I am looking very carefully at all the embellishments etc. I have and questioning my need for them in the future. I have given myself about  6 months to get this all done…… and that is why I have to let “Fiddle Fart” go........

I shall, however, continue writing “Mum’s Monkeys” …. I owe those fellas so much, keeping me on my toes and making me see the funny, whimsical and poignant side of life, even on my “down” days. Whatever they get up to, they lift my spirits, no matter what, and they are a reflection of my life! However, I think that the number of posts may also have to change too, to take in the considerations of above. 

So ..... can I take this opportunity to thank everyone who has called by on a Monday and Friday and also those who occasionally drop in via Google, in particular:-  Pharmacy Michelle, Cheryl W, Tilly, Dianne, Di, Carol, Roni, Silvia, Mrs P, Pamela, JC2711, Krafty Karen, Susan, Marc and not forgetting Anonymous, for leaving so many comments, and I promise each and every one has been very much appreciated and never taken for granted.I will also always pop by and post a little something whenever I’ve been to London or Worcester to spend time with Marc, as our times together always send me on a mahooooosive roller coaster ride of creativity ……

…….. And that is the one thing that I will never be able to thank “Fiddle Fart” enough for, in bringing Marc and me together, the most special person I have ever known, we are true soul mates, and without “Fiddle Fart” there is no way on God’s Green Earth  we’d have ever found each other …….. and that’s one hell of a wonderful legacy for any blog to leave!!!!!

24 Days Of Books – Iris’s Alternative Advent Calendar

I’ve seen this idea several times now on the internet and thought what a wonderful idea it would be for Iris, who already loves books …….

So I’ve been nipping in to the charity shops of Wolverhampton and Evesham looking for books with a Christmas story or a wintery, snowy tale featuring penguins, stars, polar bears etc., so her little brain isn’t entirely swamped by all things Christmas, but hope to find a nice copy of the “Night before Christmas” for Christmas Eve.

When I have gathered a pile of 24 books, I will wrap them all up separately in different papers, attaching a big number tag on each, so that we can have fun searching for the right story for the right day in December. If I have time, I would like to embellish each tag to make them just that little bit more special ….. but that all depends on how the time goes.

After Christmas, the books and tags can be put away for the following year and hopefully many more Christmas’s to come. I would love think that perhaps the tradition will continue until Iris has her own children, but we will see! 

…….. As I write this, one idea leads to another, I am thinking that perhaps I should find a sturdy wooden box and decorate it suitably to keep the books safe from year to year …… hmmmmmmm

Random Lettered Men's Birthday Card

This card is A5 in size and is made using a white linen effect, hand cut card blank.

This card is a bit of a dogs breakfast because I needed to make it in a hurry and it looks like I have thrown everything at it!  I know I could have just gone out and bought one, but I am being very tight at the moment and why spend a stupid amount on quite a plain an ordinary shop bought one, when I have a room full of bits to make one ….. so, in the end my meanness made me find the time!!!

I used a plain blue paper for the background and simply edged it with faux stitching using a white gel pen.  The self adhesive letters are just a random selection from my box of alphabets, quickly assembled in the hope that I could fit them across the card when backed on the Papermania text printed paper, it was a squeeze, but I managed it without too much fiddle fart!

Once the letters were placed, the “empty space” annoyed me ….. stars were an obvious choice, but large metallic ones looked flat and lacked texture, so in the end I plumped for some wooden stars from Paperchase, and then added the small metallic stars after, which I think worked.

With a little more time, I think I could have done it a little better, some of the letter colours are a little bland and sort of blend into the background …… I think I could have possibly gone round them with a black fine liner pen to make them stand out a little more ……. but as I said, time was of the essence!