Halloween Pumpkin Microscope Decoration.

I am still continuing to experiment with microscope slides, this Halloween themed one turned out really well, one of my best so far.

I stuck the four pumpkin stickers (from a Halloween pack from Flying Tiger) onto a glass, goodness only knows why, because I meant to stick them on the paper, but hey ho, it still worked out ok!

I sandwiched the hanger finding between two scraps of patterned paper and then put everything between the two microscope slides.

Then as an experiment I sealed the sides and went round the edges with black Ranger Enamel Accents, without being sure whether it would work out or not .......

……. it did!  I was so chuffed.

My main problem with making anything with microscope slides has always been the hanger, but this was so easy, the finish around the hanger is seamless.  

The enamel took a while to set, so I had to exert a great deal of patience before adding a few little dots here and there using a fine, permanent black pen and a scattering of tiny, gold, nail accessory stars on the outside of the glass.

The back was then crying out to be embellished, on this occasion, because the decoration was already sealed I wrote/drew on the glass with a fine permanent black pen, but if/when I repeat the exercise I will do it on the inside paper first.

I will definitely make a few more of these for Nanny’s Annual Halloween Sleepover, though being made from glass they will be have to be looked at very carefully by Iris and Bertie under strict supervision.  I am now wondering if I can buy plastic stripes of roughly the same size as the slides to make something similar that they could take home without me worrying?  The answer is yes, 250 for £9.41 from Amazon  – I am thinking about it …… shame I can’t get just £5 worth!

It's also sods law, I think I can make this idea work, but I am down to my last twenty or so of the flat disc pendant findings.  I bought them in bulk quite a few years ago but cannot find any more  anywhere on eBay. It's all about the flatness, using them between two slides with no bulk or gap to fill, however, I do have some very thin, metal star embellishments that I think I can do a work round by adding a small silver spring bail to them, fingers crossed.

I also see that Dovecraft have a range of Enamel Effects for around £1.50 a bottle, half the price of Enamel Accents so I think I might give these a go too, I can see the green and purple working for Halloween and perhaps the blue and white for Christmas? All an awful lot cheaper than the soldering iron and kit I was considering ................. 

Snowman – Let It Snow - Christmas Tree Decoration

Isn’t it funny how some ideas just come together ……..

This Christmas tree decoration idea started with a picture (below) on Pinterest.  https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/81487074495686801/

It was the top hat that did it after I had bought 50 of the little blighters from Amazon after they randomly appeared on my feed, I thought snowmen straight away, but I got them purely on a whim.

With the picture in my head I started to wonder I could put two different sized wooden, children’s domino pieces, that I already had, together to create a sort of shelf on which to put a little snowman in order to make a Christmas scene tree decoration.

They did, so I immediately painted them with white emulsion Match Pot paint to cover up the pictures, however if I make anything like this again I think I will leave them to leave a part of their history with them.

When the paint was dry, I faux stitched round the painted side (the back) with a black biro, leaving the rest blank, thinking that I may sign and date the decorations when I give them as Advent fairing gifts in place of a Christmas card.

On the unpainted side I glued a piece of subtle snowy paper, again faux stitching round the edges and then I glued on the “shelf”, it was getting exciting, as I knew exactly where I was going with the idea.

The next step was to make the snowman using air dry dough, trying to get them in proportion to the top hat.  The noses are made using tiny pieces of Fimo. I made a small hole in the middle of their faces so that said noses would have a firm anchor once glued into position. 

The eyes and buttons are black flat back gems, the scarves a narrow strip of red felt, the arms are real twigs (pushed into the dough with a dab of PVA before the dough dried through) plus a tiny sprig of holly was made using a punch and three equally tiny red gems.

When the dominos were finally dry, I was able to add the “Let it Snow” using blue tape in my Dymo label maker and a few snowflake sequins to create the background.

Then the exciting part, putting the snowmen in place, to see if the whole thing would look like it had done in my head ….. it did, I was so chuffed.

Again, there was a bit of a waiting game for the snowmen to dry in position ……

……… before building up several layers of Aleene’s Glitter Snow and adding some tiny, iridescent polystyrene balls (Poundland) to look like snowballs.

The last thing was to fix a tiny, silver screw eye into the top decoration to put the hanging thread through. 

Voila ……… I have made ten so far, but think after counting on my fingers I need to make at least another ten.  My stash of wooden dominoes pieces had gone down rapidly, so as soon as the charity shops open again I am on a mission to find some more.  I have looked in to buying ready cut rectangles but toy dominoes work out an awful lot cheaper, how daft is that?

Heads Up – Small Craft Sticks –The Works

Lockdown has an awful lot to answer for ……

A while back I paid a stupid amount (around £7) for 100 two and a half inch craft sticks from Amazon to make a job lot of the nativity Christmas tree decorations above. I just couldn’t remember where I had got the original ones from and as the Amazon ones were the only ones of the same size I could find online I reluctantly parted with my money.

Another two months down the line, with non essential shops beginning to open in Evesham and what do I find in The Works, the flipping sticks, £1 for 120 of the little blighters!  Needless to say I did stock up ………. but boy did I cuss!

Christmas Tree Inchie Brooch

My apologies this little brooch was a nightmare to photo.

I love inchies and was wondering if, using a 1 inch MDF square as a base, I could combine the idea with a Christmas brooch.  I took small scraps of paper to create a background, shaded them around the edges with a pale taupe pen and then added some faux stitching using a black fine liner pen, before adding some tiny stars in the sky.

The glittered Christmas tree was from a pack of 6 or 8, I can’t remember where from, but they are a perfect size for the square.  Once glued in place I applied two liberal coats of Ranger Glossy Accents to the whole thing.

The last thing to do was attach the brooch pin using super glue to make sure it didn’t come off when wearing.  If I am honest, I don’t think the pictures do the finished item justice.  It looks a little dull in the light.

I think I will make a few more inchies, but explore whether I can make some sort of Christmas tree decoration with one or two.  As it is, it would get lost on a tree but perhaps if I could layer it on a bigger square, or encase it in some sort of box frame????  ………. hmmmmmmm

Very Simple Christmas Lights Card

This card measures 6ins x 6ins and uses a pre-scored blank card from a bulk pack from Hobbycraft.

My humblest apologies, I know this card is truly basic, but it was the paper what made me done it!  It’s a Helz Cuppleditch design from her Christmas Village 6” x 6” pad.  I adore it and really didn’t want to do that much to it, as must be clearly obvious, it also fits nicely in with my quick and easy Christmas card theme for this year.

I simply covered the whole front of a card blank with the design and then mat and layered the silver glittered, wooden embellishment (Hobbycraft)  on black and then silver card, before adding a scattering of small, clear, flat backed gems. Simples. 

I also quite like the idea of black as the main colour of a Christmas card for a change, I picked up a couple of paper pads using that theme last year from Poundland and ( I think) The Range so I have no excuse not to continue with it. 

Experimental Microscope Slide Christmas Tree Decoration

There are some ideas that, if I don’t master, they still continue to “worry” at me until I can’t bear it any longer and I have to have another bash at them and microscope slide decorations are one of those ideas I just can’t let go of, I still feel the need to master them, so my apologies if you see quite a few of them appearing over the coming weeks/months.

I got my Ranger Melting Pot out to try faux soldering again after watching a couple of demos on YouTube.

I decided, as this was just an experiment, to keep things basic.  I took two scraps of a subtle snow print paper, putting them back to back between two microscope slides.

I then gently dragged each edge, one at a time in the melted embossing powder from the bottom of the pan towards the top.  The results were encouraging.

I decorated both sides of the sealed microscope slide with textured, glittery, white snowflake stickers (from Lidl). 

However, it’s always been the fixing for the hanging thread that I have had the main problem with, nothing I have tried up till now has looked aesthetically pleasing or been that durable, this time I tried 6mm ribbon clasps. Again, sadly I am not 100% with the results.  The size 6mm is brilliant, but because they are primarily meant to be used on ribbon/leather etc. they have teeth, and I can see them, aghhh …… and on top of that they take a little effort to pinch them closed and that risks, after all that fiddle fart cracking the glass or the faux soldering, so yet again I need to think of something else that give me the “professional” look I am after.

Because the melted embossing powder sets almost as soon as it leaves the pan it is almost impossible to embed a fixing into it, which would seem to be the simplest idea.  Gluing a fixing on top of the faux soldering is haphazard, looks messy and is not that secure. 

Of course I could just go round the edges with narrow, self adhesive, aluminium tape but once again I have the problem of securing a fixing along the top because I like the back to look as neat as the front.  I know this is just me being super fussy, but if you have any other ideas they would be very gratefully received as it’s driving me mad!

Cactus Christmas Tree Decoration.

I did have quite a collection of cactus erasers ………

……. bought on a wonderful long weekend visit to London to stay with Marc ………

…….. where we did a copious amount of charity shop shopping and mooching in Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith.

These erasers have been one of Bertie’s favourite things to play with when he comes to visit……

……… so when he finds that they have been commandeered for Nanny’s crafting he ain’t going to be a happy bunny ……. ooooops!!!

I started off by taking the eraser apart and covering the plant part with green glitter

Colouring the pot with a red Sharpie pen ……..

…… and the gluing a red, flat back star to the cactus flower, before putting it all back together again to dry. 

However, after a little trial and error I found it was better to cut roughly 1/4 off the pot, using a sharp knife, so that it was lay flat against the back of the decoration.

I then made a shelf base for it using two children’s wooden dominoes.

…… which I covered with scraps of red check paper, colouring the sides with a red Sharpie pen and adding faux stitching around the edges using a black, fine liner pen.

When the “shelf” was dry, I glued down the cactus ……..

………. adding the sentiment using my old faithful Dymo label maker to the background with a two clear flat back stars either side and finally a small disc bail on the back to hang it from the branches of a Christmas tree. 

I think one or two of these had better go in Bertie’s box of Nanny’s Christmas memory decorations that I always give to Iris and Bertie on the 1st December each year ……

……… to make up for missing ones when he asks to play with the cactus's next!