Christmas Log Cabin Christmas Tree Decoration

Just a heads up ......... I think for the month of November, at least, I will only be posting once a week, on a Monday. After almost eleven months of crafting and posting, an awful lot of it of a festive type nature,  I am almost totally Christmased out and as I've got lots going on during that month, it seems a good time to try and catch my breath ............. 

Christmas stash busting ……….

I think I need to get into houses at the moment as a way of trying to use up the mountain of Hobbycraft fairy doors I purchased a couple of years back (pack of 4 for £1). I was excited when the doors first arrived, but at that time I just couldn’t make them work for the ideas I had in mind.

However, two years on and I have tried again with these Christmas cabins, with two different size craft sticks and a pile of small MDF squares to use up.  I ordered the squares from China, again a while back, but they were so small that, until now, I didn’t have a clue what to do with them.

I started by getting all the various parts of the cabin put together, six sticks glued together for the main body……….

……. then two for the roof, reasoning that it would be a lot easier to cut two sticks than when all eight were stuck together, if that makes sense?

I put a scrap of yellow paper behind the doors and frames to give the impression that there was a light on behind them.

While the glue was still a bit tacky I added the door and windows which helped to keep the sticks together while they dried.

This was swiftly followed by the shaped sticks and roof, which were shorter and narrower than the others. I also cut the ends of the smaller sticks to make a canopy for over the door.  It was fiddly to get them in position as first, but using E-7000 I knew I would get a secure fix.  I also added two sticks directly stuck together to add a foundation to the cabin.  It was then time to let everything settle before all the fiddle fart.

The wooden snowmen and Christmas trees were duly coloured and varnished.  I put a scrap of black paper at the back of the snowman so you couldn’t see through the holes but didn’t bother with the tree.

Then came all the fiddle fart:- two holly sprig punchies on the door with three, tiny, red flat back pearls for the berries, a red pearl for the door handle, tiny green Fimo nail art Christmas trees in the windows and a wooden heart coloured red at the top of the roof  ……….

……. followed by the snowman and wooden Christmas tree ……..

……… then the Tulip Slick snow ……………

…….. and finally a little Ranger Glossy Accents to help make things pop and look more “professional”.  The Tulip Slick really takes a while to dry, so all the cabins had to then be carefully put aside and forgotten about for another 24 hours. I am currently looking for a quicker alternative to the Tulip.

When the cabin fronts were completely dry it was the turn of the back, nothing fancy, just a small flat bail to hang the decoration from and more Slick, followed by another 24 hour wait.

Looking at the “finished” cabins in the pictures now, I think I will add a little ultra fine translucent glitter to the snow and then varnish the backs, perhaps adding a few streaks of subtle colour underneath to add to the wood effect, before packaging them all up.

I’ve only made 6 of these cabins (of late I’ve been trying to make at least 20 of everything to really try and use as much stash up as possible) however, I fully intend to return to the idea in the New Year, to finally use up all the fairy doors (I did buy rather a lot), as well as the small squares.

Now ……. I am wondering if there’s any way to cover up the Merry Christmas on the door to make a Halloween House or Easter cottage ………hmmmmmmmm

Festive Heads Up – Home Bargains Sleigh Bells Festive Stickers.

I know I am supposed to be being very careful with my crafty budget, but, I just couldn’t say no to these Sleigh Bells festive stickers from Home Bargains!

They were only 79p per pack but contain a humungous 45 (5 of each design) card on foam stickers. It would have been rude not too. Other more grown up designs are also available, they just didn’t call to me like these did.

Just thinking back to my last card making marathon of a week or so ago to make small cards for all the littlies I hear reading in school etc., these will be perfect, I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, for next years ones ……… aghhhh, what am I like?

It might also be something occupy me at the very start of the year, when my mind is usually completely blank, but I want to keep my hand in.

All they need is a little glitter,  a few flat back gems, googly eyes and a good dose of Ranger Glossy Accents to transform them into something special ……. but thinking so far ahead?  I may have really lost the plot this time!

Snowman Snowball Christmas Tree Ornament.

Two more hanging ornaments today, made using part of the weird and wonderful potpourri I bought for £1.50 a few weeks back from my favourite Evesham charity shop? 

The snowman snowball used the largest of the seed pods (I wouldn’t mind finding a few more of these to be honest) and the rabbit, the last of the middle sized ones.

I started by giving the pods two coats, inside and out, of a Wilko white emulsion test pot.

When everything was thoroughly dry I  used my electric hobby drill to make a hole for a screw eye hook in the top of the pods.

I then used Hobbycraft white, Superlight Air Drying Clay in the bottom of the shell/pod for the snow.

Adding the bristle brush Christmas tree was a right fiddle fart trying to get it to sit at the right height and angle to fit just behind the snowman so that it showed, but I got there in the end.  The tree was held in place with good dollop of E-7000 just in case the clay shrinks over time.

The snowman came in packs of two from Hobbycraft several years ago now (I bought them in bulk as they were so cute and a really usable size), this one, I see, needs a spot of orange paint to the side of his nose where the original paint has chipped slightly.

The finishing touches came by adding several layers of DecoArt Snow Writer round the edges for added dimension and texture  ……

……… followed by a generous sprinkling of ultra fine, translucent glitter to add the Christmas magic.

The little Victorian rabbit, goodness knows where she came from, was made in exactly the same way ……..

…… again secured with a good measure of E-7000.

Like I said in my last “snowball” post I am now on the charity shop prowl for other tiny, wintery/Christmas figures to put in other similar receptacles as I’ve really loved making these one of a kind pieces.  Happy days

Wooden Reindeer Tags

Christmas Stash Busting ………

I’ve finally used up all the small MDF antlers I found on eBay last year but which didn’t work with the idea I originally had in mind.  I put them together with some small (35mm x 55mm) basic wooden tags (The Works, a couple of years ago now) and 35mm MDF discs also from eBay.

I started by gluing the MDF discs and antlers together using E-7000.

I coloured the face and antlers with two different shades of brown pen on the front and just the darker pen on the back, before giving the front a generous coat of Ranger Glossy Accents.

When everything had dried thoroughly I could then add the face, two googly eyes, a large, red, flat back pearl nose, two ears (Kraft paper) and a fringe (brown paper).  I can’t tell you what a nightmare cutting the ears to the right size and shape was, it took one morning when I had to walk away from them in the end, followed by another morning when I finally got them right! Aghhhhhh

While everything was drying once again, I simply covered the wooden tags with small scraps of gingham paper on both sides.

I used a couple of adhesive foam pads, plus a little E7000 for good measure so that the reindeer head stood slightly proud of the tag before edging the back and front with tiny faux stitching using a black fine liner pen.

The final touches came from some tiny, nail art snowflakes with an equally tiny flat back silver gem in the middle to help fill in some of the empty space and then a small red bow (The Works) under the chins! All that was needed then was a short length of thin, silver cord to tie or hang the tag.

I have never been so glad to get a project finished, the ears, I can’t tell you!