No Completed Crafts Today …….. But Ideas In The Pipeline

As you read this I will be enjoying the pleasures of Bournemouth and Poole’s bracing sea air, café society and the very finest of charity shop shopping!  Our stay was all part of a “Gift Experience” given by my sister in law for Christmas 2019, but we all know what happened shortly after that Christmas ……. but 20 months on and several bookings and cancellations later, we’ve finally been able to use it!

However it’s also been another disruption to my efforts to get crafting and posting again  ……. so rather than no post at all I thought I’d share some ideas that I haven’t quite pulled off yet.

I’m really into tins at the moment after seeing some lovely ideas at a craft fayre at the Wedgewood Visitors Centre in Stoke on Trent where we went for afternoon tea recently.  I just wish I’d taken more pictures, as is always the case when looking at new ideas.

But look at the price?  However, I soon found that old tins, no matter how small command a quite a high price, so still inspired I went on the search of new ones ……….

….. and found these 20ml rectangular tins, with hinged tops that measure 60mm x 47mm and cost me £4.25 plus 73p P & P from eBay, which I can spray if I want.

I’ve only had a little play with them so far.  The front backing paper is a little pale for my liking at the moment.  Lining the tin with scraps of paper was an awful lot easier than I had anticipated. I quite like the inside with a textured painted background using Aleene’s True Snow, but I need to lay it on much thicker.  The tree, which I think I will add baubles to (flat backed gems etc.) is set in air drying clay, which needs to be a less deep/thick and then painted again with Aleene’s.

On the blank side I think I will use small letter squares to spell out Merry Christmas or “Oh Christmas tree”. I might also put a small bail on the back so it can be hung up as a tree decoration, however I think I have a basic idea to develop further here.

I also looked at small cigar tins winning these on eBay for £1 for 10 plus £3.80 P & P, so roughly 50p each.  They measure 10cm square and are much deeper at 2cms than I first thought, but opens up more possibilities for contents.

Again I have done very little with them so far, but with Halloween in mind  I did try spraying them black ……….

Which worked out pretty well. When dry I tried to rough the tin up a bit getting perhaps not quite the effect I was looking for, it looks a bit scratchy rather than weathered, but it’ll do.

I think I am going to put a haunted house in the bottom section, changing around the laser cut embellishments on another house I made earlier to fit, with a large skeleton in the top, with trick or treat in a jumbled array of various letters (?). On the front I may put something like “open if you dare”.  Again it’s a nugget of an idea.

So, that’s where I am at at the moment, a little frustrated in getting started, but at the moment, while the opportunities are there I think I should really be out and about and not stuck indoors at the crafting table or computer!