Patchwork Birthday Card

This card measures 4.5ins x 4.5ins and uses a hand cut, white linen effect card blank.

The card uses papers from my Craftwork Cards Country Charms mini pad and a white Craftwork cards silver foiled birthday sentiment.

When making a card like this I like to put the patchwork together on a piece of scrap card and then trim the edges, I am always wary of gluing directly on to a card blank just in case it goes a bit squiffy.

Once trimmed, the square was mat and layered on a white and then silver foil card and then centred on a card blank.

Once in place I faux stitched the patchwork squares using a black fine liner pen and added the sentiment.  The final touches came from the small wooden butterfly embellishments, but I think the card works equally well with or without them.

Bird Silhouette Domino Tag/Decoration.

This project uses a 7cm x 3.5cms children's picture domino as it’s base and was very much a FiddleFart experiment.

I covered the picture side of the domino with a scrap of handwriting print paper. The bird is a metal embellishment from my trip of a lifetime to Michael's in Las Vegas.  I had to trim the leaves and branch the tiniest, tiniest bit to make it fit across the domino.   By flooding the area with two separate thick layers of gel, so much no touching restraint required, I hoped that the bird would blend in and look embedded in the gloss, a bit like an old tile. Once the gel had hardened I covered the sides with gold (though it looks silver in the pictures)  Inkssentials Memory Foil (possibly no longer available in UK)  and smoothed down with a crease mouse.

I screwed a tiny gold eye hook in the top of the “domino”, using a black jewellery wire and  a large silver bead to make the hanger.  When it was “finished”, there was something missing, but I knew whatever I added had be subtle and not detract from the less is more, peace of the bird ……. (hark at me), in the end I used three very small, cream, gold edged nail art studs I bought online, which were just perfect. 

Framed Jewelled Christmas Tree Christmas Ornament

Following on from yesterday I decided that the jewelled Christmas tree was a little to heavy and clunky looking for a card, but decided to make them a more permanent Christmas decoration by putting it in a box frame.

I decided to try it in a deep box frame from The Range, I’ve had a couple in my cupboard for quite a while, but they still have them in stock. At £1.49 each, they cost less than most shop bought cards.

The frames measure 10.6 x 10.6 cms. As there was a ugly sticker on the back, that I couldn’t remove I decided to keep with the theme and cover it with a scrap of snowflake printed paper and add a message (talk about being ready for Christmas early!).

I will give a couple of these instead of cards to special people as a lasting memory of Christmas that can continue to be used in years to come, but will be also keeping a couple for myself for my own festive shelves this year.  When I am next in The Range I will also get a few more to put away, as I am sure I will have a couple more similar ideas in the coming months.

Jewelled Christmas Tree Card

This card measures 4.5ins x 4.5ins and uses a hand cut, white linen effect card blank as its base.  The jewelled Christmas Trees were a bit of an experiment, the original idea was to make gift tags of them.

I used a few of the wooden Ikea tree shaped tags I found in a charity shop and featured a few weeks ago, covering them with a variety of papers and colouring one with a green Sharpie pen, but with hindsight I needn’t have bothered because once covered with the jewels nothing really showed underneath.

Covering them was a right fiddle fart, almost making my eyes to permanently cross! When the glue was dry I went over the trees a couple more times, filling in the gaps using a variety of small flat backed gems and tiny nail art gems and studs. Once happy I covered the tree with a layer of Aleene’s Pendant Gel to “embed” the jewels.

The trees sat on my work table for a couple of days while I decided what to do with them, then I thought I would see how they would look on a card. 

I kept things as simple as possible, no backing or no faux stitching etc. the only thing I added was a large, square, flat backed gem under the tree.  I have to admit I am not quite sure about it ……perhaps it’s a little too heavy?  I have another five left to play with, so I can think a little longer.

Microscope Slide Christmas Tree Decoration

Marc set me me off on the microscope slide trail in the early days of our friendship, now over 5 years strong.  However, as you know from our many experiments during that time we have had mixed results with them.  Last time we got together just before Christmas I got sooooooooo frustrated and impatient you wouldn’t believe, I think Marc got scared!!!!!  But I won’t be beaten……

My frustration has always been wanting to do something that was double sided and finding a delicate, unobtrusive way of fixing a loop of some kind to hang extra twiddly bits from the bottom and a thread/or wire to hang the finished decoration at the top, until now, all my efforts, in my eyes, have just looked too clunky!

However, while searching through the jewellery making listings on e-bay I finally found what I was looking for, spring bail pendant findings! So yesterday, I sat down and tried all over again …….

I decided, to achieve an easy two sided effect I needed to leave some of the microscope slide clear, in this case the sky.  I made a tree template and was originally going to use the green side of the paper, but when I saw the patterned side I thought I would try it instead.  I cut out two trees and stuck them together, with a tiny scrap of brown sandwiched in the middle for the trunk.

I did the same with the glittered paper on the bottom and then added tiny, silver stars to completed the double sided look. 

However, that’s when my awful, awful, impatience kicked in ……. I used a tiny amount of Aleene’s Pendant Gel to hold the stars in place, but instead of waiting for it to dry I sealed the two microscope slides together with 6mm adhesive, silver metal tape while it was still wet! Marc would have slapped my hand so hard and told me off something rotten ……..  however, I will justify my actions by saying ….. that it was just an experiment piece!!!! An experiment when I really wanted to see if the spring bails worked!

And this was the moment when I dared glue them, one at the bottom and one at the top with a tiny, tiny amount of E6000 glue.

I will admit to scrapping off the excess, very carefully with a pin, while the glue was still setting, but I knew if I let it “cure” and then  tried to remove it, disaster would undoubtedly happen, but after that, I left the slide well alone to dry unhindered and unpoked, occupying myself with something else instead.

I managed to leave the slide alone for about four hours when the glue and bails were well and truly stuck, then gingerly added a drop of coordinating beads from a charity shop bracelet I featured a week or so ago to the bottom and another bead on some teal jewellery wire to make a hanger for the top!

Success at last ….. after 4/5 years of trying so hard, I have finally made the microscope slide I have always aspired to!

However:- sealing the slides together before the stars had dried WAS a big no no ….. but as an experiment I discovered that I had used far too much pendant gel anyway …… so when I made another one, almost straight away, the lessons learned paid off.  This time when gluing the stars I used the tiniest spot of pva glue ever, I mean really tiny, gently laying the star on top, with no pressing down, because that would have squeezed glue around the star causing smudging around it, this way the microscope glass remained clean. 

A steep learning curve, but so worth it …… I can now steam ahead and make a huge pile of slides for Christmas 2017 using many variations, knowing that I have finally got the basic technique right!

Little Wooden Boat On The Sea – Domino Decoration/Gift Tag

There’s been a lot of experimenting with domino tags going on at The Towers this past week or so. This project uses a children’s picture domino as the base which measures 7cms x 3.5cms.

I created background using small, blue paper scraps, tearing the bits on the sea to expose the core to look like waves, with dusting of translucent micro glitter added. The sun was made using a small circle punch.  The wooden boat I have had forever, bought in bulk and used in so many projects. I have used a black, fine liner pen round the edges knowing it would bleed slightly when covered by a  layer of Aleene’s pendant gel. Aleene’s Pendant Gel is best left for at least 24 hours to ensure it’s properly set.

One the gel was hardened/set I covered the sides of the domino with adhesive silver Inkssentials Memory Foil (not sure if this is available in UK any more) which I smoothed with a crease mouse.

I screwed a tiny silver eye hook in the top and bottom of the “domino”. In the top one I fastened blue jewellery wire with a matching blue bead to make the hanger and on the bottom added a seashell charm, a pearl and faceted blue bead.

Christmas Robin Birdhouse Card

This card measure 5ins x 5ins and uses a hand cut, rib effect Kraft card blank.

I am still working my way through the packet of birdhouse embellishments I got from The Works (6 for £1)

I decided to see how the birdhouse and bird would work with a Christmas theme, starting by turning the white bird into a robin with a brown and red felt pen.

I mat and layered the background, using a scrap of rib effect Kraft card, a small holly print paper and a  plain red card.

I put a scrap of red, behind the heart to add colour to the birdhouse. I also coloured the eaves of the house red and then covered that with a layer of translucent micro glitter, gluing a small, red nail art stud in the centre.  And finally, a Fiddle Fart card wouldn’t be a Fiddle Fart card without a bit of faux stitching ……

Christmas House Domino Decoration.

Following on from yesterday, be warned, I am now addicted to making these decorations (providing the tape I have ordered is suitable), so I hope you don’t get too bored of seeing them.

I covered both sides of a child’s picture domino (7cm x 3.5cms) with a handwriting print paper, putting a small strip of white glitter paper along the bottom for snow. Then I pieced together the house using tiny scraps of paper, doodling the details with a black fine liner pen. I knew the ink would bleed a little when the Aleene’s gel was applied to the completed design, but I thought that it would add to the handmade look of the decoration.

A tiny yellow gem has been used for the door knob and silver stars put in the sky. With a layer of gel applied, they really shouldn’t be handled for at least 24 hours.

Once the gel was set the sides were then covered with an adhesive silver Inkssentials Memory Foil (possibly no longer available in UK)  and smoothed down with a crease mouse.

I screwed a tiny silver eye hook in the top and bottom of the “domino”. In the top one I used red jewellery wire and a facetted bead to make the hanger and on the bottom added a snowflake charm, however, a key could also be easily added and a perhaps even a bead. 

Two Posts Today

Heads Up To The Works ……….

The Works have sets of wooden drawers for £15 each or 2 for £22

They measure 35.5cm x 35.5cm, which is very generous, but the depth isn’t given.  I haven’t seen one in the flesh, but I am thinking, with 25 drawers they would make a brilliant Advent Calendar. I was also thinking that three would fit very nicely and look quite good along the top of the drawer unit in my guest room, filled with various craft bits and pieces.   http://www.theworks.co.uk/p/craft-sets/2-x-25-drawer-cabinets/kit05902

This cabinet box has potential too, especially if stood upright. It has 10 compartments that could stage various Christmas scenes, I already have several Christmas bits and pieces that are too big for my usual projects but would be perfect for this.  It measures 15 x 20.5 x 3cm and at £2.50, it’s worth an experiment or two??? http://www.theworks.co.uk/p/craft-storage/wooden-compartment-box/5052089193185

And …. they don’t have this in the Evesham branch but who could resist ordering this little wooden suitcase for just £1.00? It measures 10 x 8 x 4cm. I am thinking it would make a very cute holiday memory box …… with a zig zag scrapbook book attached to the inside and the outside possibly decorated with shells, stickers and photos from the holiday. Again for £1 it’s worth a pop. http://www.theworks.co.uk/p/craft-storage/mini-wooden-suitcase/5052089192812

I use The Works an awful lot now that I have moved to Evesham, if the shop doesn’t have something I want in stock I just order it online and then collect it a couple of days later, so no P & P. When I collect anything, I usually get a discount on buts and pieces I might happen to buy at the same time.  I have a loyalty card where reward points are added whenever I spend anything, so I get a little discount here and there when I claim those points, so it’s win win all round.  ………and now they have a Craft Club, so joining it is a no brainer too. It’s worth a look.

Christmas Tree Domino Decorations.

For this and several following posts poor Iris has had to sacrifice one of her boxes of picture dominoes …….. and my ability to make something and then leave it well alone until it is really set has been sorely tested.

The dominoes each measure 7cms x 3.5cms

For this project I decided to decorate both sides of the dominoes identically with scraps of a handwriting print paper, a strip of white glitter paper (snow) along the bottom ………

…followed by Christmas trees using scraps of green and brown papers ………. adding tiny silver stars and yellow/gold flat back gems. I decided to empathise the trees and domino edges using a black, fine liner pen, knowing that it would run slightly when covered with gel, which I thought would add to the handmade feel.

I covered the completed scene with Aleene’s Jewellery Pendant Gel, and that was where my patience was well truly tested, as I knew from past experience that I shouldn’t touch them for at least 24 hours, no matter how tempted.

I like using Aleene's because of the economical size of the bottle and the fact that the pendant gel is quite thick and not too prone to running. As I was running low and anticipated that I would use more in the next few months, I tried to buy another couple of bottles, but to no avail, I can’t find it anywhere in UK, not even on Amazon, where I think I originally bought this bottle. Instead I have ordered Ranger Glossy Accents. I used to use Anita’s 3D gloss an awful lot, but when they changed the bottle to a smaller tube type container I never quite managed to master the application and so became disenchanted with the product.

When I was absolutely sure the gel was set and hardened, I turned the domino over and repeated the gel application again. However, if I was making tags, I would just  leave the back blank so that a greeting could be added.With both sides of the decoration set, I then used adhesive silver Inkssentials Memory Foil (tape) to cover the sides, burnishing them with my crease mouse, so it was smooth.  Sadly, wanting more tape for future projects, again I cannot find it anywhere in the UK! I am not sure, but I wonder if it has been discontinued?  It took me several hours and texts to Marc before finally finding something similar on e-bay which is 6mm wide, I am just hoping it will be OK, so fingers very tightly crossed.

I screwed a tiny, silver eye hook in the top and bottom of the domino. On the top I used black jewellery wire and bead to make a hanger, and on the bottom I added either a silver snowflake charm or cluster of beads.

I think when I make these again for presents, I may not add the black outlines, as I think it would give the tags/decorations a subtler, softer look, I also think that less is more, I need keep to using just one dangling snowflake and ditch the cluster of beads as they look heavy and add too much fiddle fart, so that the simplicity is lost.