Sharpie Pen–Birthday Plate

The original idea for this plate comes from Pinterest https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/210332245070608988/

This plate, originally from Ikea measures 19.5cms in diameter, so I would think I would probably describe it as a large tea plate.

There’s not a great deal to it really, I started off by drawing the basic design on the plate with a black Sharpie pen ……..

……. and then gradually filling it in with all the other Sharpie colours I have, adding random doodles and and spots as well as filling in the candles.

Before baking in the oven I let the plate dry thoroughly about 48 hours to make sure it was really dry, then I baked it slowly in the oven at 130c for two hours after reading several articles on the net on the best ways preserve/secure the ink from the rigours of washing up - http://www.destinationdecoration.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-sharpie-mugs/

Post Note: I had to experiment with the baking time and temperature of this plate after the ink failed to adhere on a previous plate.  I increased the temperature between 180/200 in an electric oven, baking for about two hours. The ink set ……. but the colours faded considerably, as the picture below illustrates.

Me thinks more experimentation needed …… perhaps a high temperature but a lot less time? I won’t let this beat me!

Pink Popsicle/Lolly Stick Sugar Plum Fairy Christmas Tree Decoration

Following from my first lolly stick ballerina, this is my second attempt, turning the ballerina into a fairy.

I think I may have gone a little over the top with her embellishment, but I doubt if a certain little madam will notice!

I have used three pink cake cases for her skirt, and added an self adhesive strip of iridescent gems for the extra bling factor.
I made a small slit using a craft knife in the centre of the cake cases to put the fairy’s body through.

I wrapped wool round the top for hair, wool and also used it to wooden beads onto for arms and hands, plus a feather butterfly for her wings, (Home Bargains – 6 assorted colours for 99p, and excellent quality), with added gems to match her dress.

When the butterfly was glued onto the back of the stick it hid and safely secured the arms.  If I was being really anal, it wouldn’t take much to hid the slightly ugly centre of the butterfly with a scrap of matching paper etc.

I used tiny gems on her slippers and top with a small gem flower in her hair.

If making these Sugar Plum fairies to decorate a Christmas tree it would be easy to just thread a loop through her hair to hang her from.

Halloween Snake Trick Or Treat Plaque

This is what happens when an Easter Egg Hunt plaque goes terribly wrong!

It started with a sorry tale of my trying to remove a sticky price tag and ending up removing almost all of the front instead! 

The plaque measures approximately 13cms x 6cms. It only cost 69p, but I couldn’t just throw it away ….. so thinking about how much fun I had had making my Halloween snake and spider door wreath, I thought I might as well try to use the snakes and a few skeleton hands I still had left it …… my brain sometimes makes some very weird connections!

I removed the ribbon and covered the front with a scrap of orange paper, adding the hands and snakes in intertwined layers using a glue gun and deciding not to remove any threads from the glue for added effect.

I then glued on small, red, flat back gems for the snakes eyes, a few tiny gold stars on the orange paper in between the wigglies, and a few smudges of green Sharpie pen on the fingers.

To be honest, I didn’t know where I was going with the plaque, but it was at this stage that I decided to add a handwritten Trick or Treat on three ripped scraps of black card using a white gel pen.

…… and then the idea of “hiding” sweets amongst the snakes and hands as a dare for little fingers to try and fish them out hit me, all the more creepy in a dimly lit room!  Nearer the time I will get some more chocolate coins, as I only had one to try as the idea came to me, oh and a boiled sweet!

I need to attach a ribbon to hang the plaque from, or a strong magnet, but that can wait till Halloween too. 

Now, what can I do with about 30 neon coloured skeletons …….. bunting?

The Twelve Frames Of Christmas – Festive Patchwork Box Frame Decorations - No. 2

This is the second patchwork Christmas Shadow Box Frame I have made to “deck” my festive hallway this Christmas …… just another ten to go!

For this undertaking I plan to use the Ikea Ribba box frames (£3.50) I already have hanging in my hall by just swopping the centre panels for the month of December.

On this one I mostly used some of the wooden embellishments that I already had and then added an assortment of flat backed gems, googly eyes and a little Ranger Glossy Accents here and there to add the over the top look you can only get away with at Christmas.

I think I can get away with using a few repeat embellishments in several of the frames. When I have completed the back log of frames for January until April I will only have one frame to do each month, and then hopefully new ways and products for filling the squares will come to me, I reckon I will get more detailed, and then want to do the first few again!

Popsicle Stick Ballerina

This is not my original idea, I found it and then pinned it on my Inspiration Board on Pinterest  https://www.instagram.com/p/BAOW-BBMZop/ 

Iris loves watching ballet dancing, funny thing and so when I saw this idea for a little Popsicle stick ballerina on Pinterest I knew I had to make her one. The body of the ballerina is made from a plain lolly stick.

The hair was a bit fiddly to get to cover up the end of the stick, but I finally got there.  I glued down the end strands at the back with PVA glue, as it dries clear and tends to hold fast.

I then drew on the face, top and shoes with a pink Sharpie pen and black fine liner pen. 

The skirt is made from three pink cake cases, one on top of each other and folded in half.  I made a small slit in the centre of the fold  with a craft knife, to push the stick through.  I then added a little blob of glue to the stick and each layer to help keep them in place.

I then wondered about adding arms to add movement when Iris twirled the ballerina, this was not part of the original idea I found.  I found some wooden beads and knotted them at each end of a short piece of wool (left over from the hair) and glued it down at the back with PVA glue.

I then got all anal ……  deciding to glue a small scrap of card, coloured the same as the dress top, on the back, to hide the wool, but which also secured it a little more from coming off.

The finishing touches were a flat back flower gem on the ballerina’s hair and tiny gems on her décolletage and slippers. I could gone totally overboard by adding more gems to her dress, but decided to stop there, to gauge madams reaction first.

But,  I am now thinking …….. Christmas fairies, made in the same way but using white cake cases instead, with silver wings, and a lot more bling?

Sharpie Pen - Snowman Christmas Plate

The original inspiration idea for this Christmas Plate came from Pinterest - https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/332984966186944740/

I haven’t painted a Christmas plate for a couple of years, but I thought that having one or two squirrelled away might be useful “if” I have a craft stall later on in the year, and if not, I could always give them as presents.

I found the dinner sized plate in Poundland, I loved the ribbed edge, thinking that it would add an extra texture to the finished design.  I used Sharpie pens to paint it, and was going to measure the stripes round the edge, but soon gave the idea up, if this was to be hand painted, a few wobbles and uneven spaces here and there wouldn’t do it any harm.

I drew the stripes in red as a rough guide and then gradually filled them in, colouring them in randomly round the plate so as not to smudge areas that might still be a bit wet.

I then added the snow border in the slope of the plate, this was fiddly, and if I am being critical, it may have looked better in a paler blue colour.

With that done, I then added black spots round  the edge of the plate in the areas that I had left blank.

I was nervous about doing the face, but I knew I had a short amount of time to rub out the pen if things didn’t look right, fortunately it only took three attempts to do the nose and two for the mouth before I was happy.

The final touch was, after some thought, to colour the white snow, pale blue.

After a little research on using Sharpie pens on plates etc. to help set/secure the ink, I baked it very slowly at 130c for two hours, keeping a careful eye on it.  That being said I wouldn’t trust the plate in a dishwasher, but would wash it very gently by hand, but being a Christmas plate I wouldn’t anticipate it getting very heavily caked in food, I am thinking mainly biscuits or mince pies?

Post Note; I made several plates at the same time - one plate I was planning to use on a regular basis but on the very first wash the pen came off without too much effort - I thought 130o didn't sound very hot.  I am now going to use this plate to experiment with at various increasing temperatures until the pattern "hopefully" stay puts, and then I will revise any future posts.

Pink Bunny Fridge Magnet

I made this bunny for this Easter ……… but just didn’t have the time to get “him” posted.

I used five mini/half sized, plain lolly/craft sticks from The Works, (£1) and coloured them in pink using a Sharpie pen.

I used a square of white card to act as a base for the bunny’s head.

I am a bit of a messy worker, especially when I am experimenting, but am also anal enough to cover up said messy work, as I did after adding ears to the bunny. 

I also like to colour any of the lolly sticks showing on the back to match the front. I then added a square of self adhesive magnetic tape so that he could sit on my fridge door.

To make the face I used two googly eyes, an upside down puffy heart sticker for his nose and two, small, punched circles for his cheeks, adding extra details with a black fine liner pen, used lightly to minimise any ink bleeding into the wood.

I then decided then to go the whole hog by adding Ranger Glossy Accents to accentuate the pink on his ears and cheeks. 

HAPPY EASTER

Wishing you all a very happy Easter …….. I think I am ready …… with many thanks to the pound shops of Wolverhampton on my last visit.

Iris and Bertie, Laura, Tom and Lucy will all round for full and robust Easter Lunch, when donning bunny ears and tails will be compulsory for everyone.  Then, if the weather is good, there will be an Easter Egg Hunt in the garden, and some egg and spoon racing.  I hope this will become a new family tradition, laying down happy memories for years to come for Iris and Bertie as well as us grown ups.

HAPPY EASTER WITH MUCH LOVE

Easter Chick Lolly Stick Fridge Magnet

For this Easter Chick fridge magnet I used five mini/half sized, plain lolly/craft sticks found in The Works, (£1).

I used a square of yellow card to act as a base for the chicks body and then coloured the sticks in with a yellow Sharpie pen.

I then cut out two feet, two wings and crown of feathers from scraps of orange card, sticking them on the back, with part to show from the front and then hid all the gunge and edges with another yellow square. I also added a square of self adhesive magnetic tape so he would stick to my fridge door.

For the face I used two googly eyes and a diamond shape of orange card to make the beak, with eyebrows made lightly with a black Sharpie pen

…….. all done and suitably dusted.

Easter Bunny in a Jar

This is what I put in Lucy’s room to greet her at the start of her Easter stay at The Towers ………

…… a bunny in a jar!  The mason style jar came from Home Bargains 79p and the mini chocolate bunny was from a pack (of 6???) from Aldi - £1.49.

The grass was in a bag of other Easter crafty bits and pieces, and there was just enough to swirl round the bottom of the jar, with an added sprinkling of punched white flowers to give it a little more interest.  I did buy some mini cream eggs to go round the bunny, but didn’t use them in the end because they made the jar look overcrowded.

The butterfly, stuck on with an adhesive foam pad, came from a pack of 6 assorted colours (99p) also from Home Bargains.  I must go and get another pack before they disappear after Easter as they were of a very good, sturdy quality and would be excellent for projects needing wings or on gift tags etc.

I must also start pinning some more “Gifts in a Jar” ideas from the many on Pinterest, as they are always good for small, fairing gifts, as well as inexpensive items to fill a craft stall later on in the year.