Heads Up – Christmas Crafts Hit The Works

My local Works have started stocking some of their Christmas craft range, so it would be rude not to have a mooch even though it seemed pretty much same old. What I also noticed was that the value for money isn’t as good as it used to be. I am pretty sure there used to be more, possibly 10, reindeer head embellishments in a pack than just 5 for £1, because I’ve used so many of them in the past, I really don’t think I would have paid that much for 5 (????).  Packets now seem to contain fewer embellishments for £1 or have sneaked up to £1.50, so I can see myself cutting back.

However, it was the small, wooden sledges that caught my imagination …….

They are only small, but how cute are they?  I am thinking a small chocolate figure of Santa on the front, perhaps with a bottle brush Christmas tree and then something like a Ferreo Rocher on the back, a pile of chocolate coins or some small wrapped chocolate squares (I think M & S do them) …… I just need to sort out proportions. I am thinking once dressed they would make really cute place settings on a Christmas table.

Halloween Pumpkin Pin Badges

Today, a bit of an experiment in making pumpkin pin badges.

I have just discovered that it’s cheaper to buy MDF circles as Wargame figure bases, rather than as basic crafting shapes for my various pin badges. I managed to find 30 x 35mm circle bases for £3.00 with free P & P, so just 10p each and they are not so thick as one I have used before, at 2mm, so even better, I am thrilled!

I started off by covering one side of the discs, with the last of my bottle of Ranger Enamel Accents, Cheese Puff, I now need to get some more, but it’s pretty card to find!

When the enamel was dry I drew the faces on using a Staedtler black permanent pen and an Aiye silver, chrome marker (Amazon)

Although this isn’t my usual whimsical style I can’t believe how adding the chrome ink really took the design to a new level. It looks as if the colours have been added to a metal base, rather than the other way around, an effect that was difficult to capture on camera, especially as such close up shots take no prisoners.

I did toy with the idea of adding a few extra tiny, silver stars, but that seemed a bit like overkill, so in the end I left them off?????

I edged the back with a fine, permanent black pen and then added the word “boo” and a doodles web, before adding the brooch back.

I also made display cards to pin the badges to.

Using more chrome marker on black card.

I sort of like them, but I’m not exactly 100% with them, if you know what I mean, they are just a tad out of my comfort zone, re: the style and texture, they are also quite masculine (?) but certainly an idea to continue to play with.

Acorn Baby Walnut Cradles

This is the idea I have been trying to work out, as a way of using up some of the not so perfect walnut shell halves I bought in a 1kg bag from eBay of a few weeks ago.

There’s not a lot to them, but I think, now they are sitting on my desk, there’s room for improvement.

I used  irregular walnut shell halves, a natural, wooden bead and some very small acorn cups, collected by Iris and Bertie last autumn, so they (the cup not Iris and Bertie) have had plenty of time to dry out.

I started by drilling a hole at each end of the shell, aligned as equally as I could, so that the cradle would balanced when hung.

I then added a gold or silver cord through the holes, with the knots on the inside, so as not to show.  I did add some glue to hold the knots in place, but then decided it wasn’t really necessary.

Then with a generous dollop of glue gun glue in the bottom, I placed the baby in the shell, the cotton bud stem giving me some leeway to bend the head into position.

To make the babies I glued an acorn  cup and a wooden bead together and then added two tiny 2mm black flat back gems for the eyes. I used gems instead of drawing the eyes as I didn’t want to run the risk of the ink bleeding into the unvarnished wood or getting odd sized, wonky eyes.

I then rammed a trimmed off cotton bud into the bead holes and wrapped the stem with a bit of cotton wool pad to form a sort of body to help provide a base to hold the “baby” in place inside the walnut shell, if you know what I mean.  It also provided the air drying clay cover with something to lie on and stop the possibility of it sinking into the shell when dried out.

Using white Hobbycraft Superlight Air Drying clay (£1 for a 30g packet, lots of other colours available), I fashioned a cover big enough to go across and just over the sides of the cradle, a bit like putting the pastry top on a pie.  I am really enjoying working with this clay, despite it’s odd chewing gum type texture. It really does dry super quick to a good solid finish.  I am just wondering if it could be lightly coloured perhaps or even drawn on????   I have since ordered quite a few more packets, as I can see me using it time after time in the run up to this Christmas and beyond.

Once I was happy with the cover positioning, I added  a little mock stitching across the top fold and the sides using a pin, which I know I need to fine tune.

The final touch came from two, tiny, holly hole punchies (Hobbycraft, £1, a year or so ago) with three, tiny 2mm red, pearl gems for the berries, to add a little extra colour and texture.

I think they work,  but now these have been photographed they are destined to have the covers removed and done again. While I was playing with ideas for decoration, the clay became quite grey and battered looking, however, it shouldn’t take too long to put right.  I also wonder, if I make any more, should I perhaps put a “pillow” behind the babies head?

And this (below) is my disaster ………. I was thinking  about making an Autumnal cradle, colouring the clay with felt pen, then kneading it in and using the leaf scatter confetti I got from The Range ………

…… but where I was after a whimsical, soft, natural look, I ended up with brash and over the top.  It’s all too much, so I am off to the drawing board again to try using small punched leaves and softer colours instead ……..

Heads Up to The Range’s New Autumn Products ………OMG!

I know I have been championing The Works for a few years now, but I think I said the other week that with their new stuff filtering in for Christmas, I have been a bit disappointed by the quality, number of pieces per pack and the value for money of some (not all) of the crafty bits and pieces, so I have been very restrained with what I have bought.

However, I nipped over to The Range (a short bus ride away) and just couldn’t believe their new range of Autumn craft products and their prices.  OMG, what I didn’t spend in The Works, I certainly spent in The Range!!!!

Where do I start?  Well, it has to be with the Wooden People Family, can you believe 8 pieces, in three sizes for just £1?  That’s impossible! I can’t even buy them that cheap from China, certainly not in these sizes.  I paid £3.89 for 20 male/female shapes but they were tiny at 35mm.  Needless to say I bought quite a few packs.   I did look online, but they are currently out of stock, but I have set up a notification for when they are back.

I am thinking fairies and/or angels, pairing them up with these wooden butterflies for wings, that had been reduced to 70p for quite a substantial pack of assorted sizes.

I have also been looking at a few acorn ideas on Pinterest, however finding whole acorns with cups while out scavenging isn’t always that easy, so these are perfect as a complete item for just £1.29 for 12.

Charity Shop Bonanza

I guess I was just in the right place, at the right time, when these treasures were being put out in a charity shop, which admittedly has a bit of a reputation in town for being “a bit too expensive”,  but occassionally yields up some bargains.

These small dies from the Tattered Lace, Forest Pines range were just 20p each, they are brand new and unopened.  Now, I don’t do a great deal of die cutting, but these delicate designs are really up my street, especially the Bare Trees at the front. I can already half see a very less is more Christmas card in my minds eye. I took just the designs I thought I would use, but I reckon the whole Forest Pines collection was there.

The nesting circles and squares from the same range were marked at 50p each, well it would be rude not too!

These three Joanna Sheen Signature Dies were also 20p each.  It was the pumpkin one I saw first, followed by the birds and poppy.  The birds are again perfect for a very less is more card, perhaps with a tiny stocking hung underneath?

The thing that had my heart racing though was this pack of paper, which is my most favourite Christmas design of all time. The pack had a Create and Craft band around it, but for the life of me I just can’t remember the name of the design or maker (all suggestions gratefully received). Around the time when it first came out I just couldn’t afford it, we’re talking back in 2007 at least, but I did find a digi kit (Little Joys by Zoe Pearn, now also long since retired) that I have used so many times over the years and spookily enough had thought about looking at again for this Christmas. Because all the items for sale were so current and in pristine condition, I wonder if this design has been resurrected more recently on Create and Craft, however, I just can’t reference it anywhere.  I paid £3 for 24 A4 assorted papers, glitter, velum and embossed.  I just want to stroke them at the moment.

This pack of 80, 15cm x 15cm glossy, Raymond Briggs Snowman papers was not originally cheap judging by the quality (again, I think probably from Create and Craft), but for which I paid just £2.  These are probably destined to be used on some very simple Christmas cards for the class of children I listen to reading on Wednesdays and Thursdays in school.

A finally, a lot less glamourous, something I hivered and hovered over for a short while,  25 sheets of black, adhesive vinyl for £2, time to get my Silhouette or Scan and Cut out in an effort to master cutting sentiments and alphabets me thinks.

I am guessing that this was part of one persons craft collection, as there were no duplicates and appeared to be whole collections from Create and Craft, including the Muppets, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tom and Jerry, dies, papers etc. and mostly unopened and so unused.  I am very grateful to them, I spent £10 in total, buying things I might never have otherwise, due to their individual cost ……. but the snowman papers, well they are priceless! 

Very Simple Snoopy Mini Canvas

This was Lu’s “birthday card” from me this year ……….. it’s very basic, but it’s something she can keep on her shelf as she loves Snoopy, rather than more as like put in the bin after the event.

It’s just simple a Poundland mini easel (I’m not sure if it was £1 or 50p), a black mini canvas (50p) and a Snoopy badge (£1) bought from a lovely independent shop in Leamington Spa.

I simply stuck them altogether using B-7000 glue for a really secure fix. 

Jobs a gud un!!!

Wooden Snowman Pin Badges

Following on from yesterday’s Christmas pudding pin badges, today we have snowman ones, something else I can’t believe I haven’t done before.

I started by covering one side of 35mm mdf circles (eBay) with Dovecrafts white, 3D Enamel Effects with a light sprinkling of ultra fine, translucent glitter ……..

However, I have to say I wasn’t 100% happy with the results when the Enamel Effects was dry, a little too lumpy and bumpy for my taste perhaps ……..

….. so I added a layer of Ranger Glossy Accents on top for a smoother, glossier finish.

I had made the noses ahead of time using orange Fimo.

The eyes and mouths were made using two different sizes of black, dome, flat back gems (eBay), all glued on with B-7000 glue for a really secure fix.

When all the faces were dry I added a little faux stitching around the edge of the back using a fine tipped, permanent black pen and a brooch fitting.

I then made little display cards for the pin badges before putting them in small cello bags.

I made 20 of these badges in total, not sure where they are destined for just yet, but Iris and Bertie will certainly be getting one for their coats starting on 1st December.