A week or so ago I nipped into the Salvation Army charity shop in Evesham and found these Christmas cello bags (below). It took me a bit to work out exactly what as they were just bundled in a nondescript basket on a table......
...... but as soon as I did, at just £1 for 300 bags, 100 of each size, they were a no brainer.
Then as soon as I got home I immediately regretted not buying another pack plus a set of twelve small boxes that they also had, which, after I had thought about it, could have been used to house dioramas. I reckoned I had missed the boat seeing them again so put it down as coulda, woulda, shoulda!
However, when I went back about two weeks later they had a £1 table and I had another mooch and found the very same boxes ....... needless to say I got two sets.
They are actually ring boxes and as I suspected really sturdy. I am not sure if I can use the foam insert but I already have a couple of ideas for dioramas for next Christmas. They are small enough to hang on a tree, but first I need to work out a way so that they will hang evenly on a tree branch, then if I manage that, I can to put a scene inside, but keeping the lid, so when the box is opened what lies within will come as a surprise, if that make sense?
Also on the table were these sturdy (must be the word of the day) flat bottomed, party/lunch bags in a rainbow of colours for another £1 for 24, another no brainer ..........
...... as were packs of 100 11ins x 5ins cello bags, as you can never have enough cello bags! And there' was more .........
........ 20 wooden reindeer tags (£1) ..... I can see them now coloured brown, with a large, red flat backed gem nose, glittery antlers and a googly eye, perhaps even a collar with a bell, probably not a project for this year, but you never know. if I get five minutes. I got two packs as I thought Bertie's nursery class might make good use of the other.
And finally, the most intriguing of all, a nail art set again for just £1. I don't do nails so I don't really have a clue what I have here, but I looked at it with a crafter's eye and then added an extra one to my haul for Marc.
I have paid £1 for just a wheel dispenser of nail art gems in Poundland many times before which contained a lot less gems. Here there are twelve different colours and I reckon there's at least 100 of each, which makes the pack well worth £1 for the gems alone. There were also what looked like five double headed embossing tools, all with different sized ball ends (if you'll pardon the expression!) which I am sure will also come in useful for scoring and embossing ........
........ plus a pack of fifteen brushes ..... I'm not sure their exact purposes, but I can already see me brushing glitter away from projects using the fuller ones. They will all get used, I am sure, at one time or the other, even if it's just for gluing tiny areas.
And it still goes on ..... there were thirty rolls of very thin metallic tape, all different colours. They will probably be a nightmare to use but I am already thinking of using them for outlining/underlining cards, toppers, tags etc.?
The four triangular sponges will always useful, but there was also a pack of five round sponges with a holder, these, after some research, are used for applying tiny stencils to nails, so again could/will be useful on certain projects. For just £1 for this lot, it would have been rude not too!
On the same day I also visited The Vale Wildlife Charity shop, although I have more than enough bits and pieces to deck my various festive shelves, I am always on the lookout for retro/vintage pieces. There is no age to the above, however I couldn't resist it for 50p. I thought it might hold a tealight but is solid and reasonably new. I also found something "hideous" for Marc to make him laugh, but I can't show you that until after Christmas so as not to spoil the pleasure for him when he unwraps it!!!
I really like this shop as it sells things at really decent prices, there is nothing I hate more than finding something from Primark marked up at double the original price. It's always busy and at the prices they sell for you don't have to stand there asking yourself if you really need something for 50p or £1.
I have had some really cracking stuff, including my sunburst mirrors in my spare bedroom ..... and if something doesn't work on my shelves /walls etc. I simply donate it back.
