My Bespoke Bath Panel!!

I know that this isn’t to everyone’s taste, but I wanted my “new” bathroom to be special, girlie and me! I am, by habit, a shower girl, partly because the bathroom was looking decidedly tatty and not convivial to taking long baths ….. but I know a long soak would help me to relax more ….. and so I thought, if I had a bathroom that was more “romantic”,  I would use it more and therefore be more relaxed ……

So with the plain white tiles, floor tiles, basin and loo are on  order, (I am keeping the bath), my part was to “fiddlefart” the MDF bath panel ready for the big push.

It took a while for me to work out the size patchwork square needed to be, maths not being my forte.  In the end they worked out to be 4.75 inches by 4.75 inches, made from 12” x 12” sheets of my favourite papers of all time, My Mind’s Eye, Stella and Rose.  The floor tiles  are  a light grey and all the patterns I selected have a grey element in them.

The gluing, using PVA took me about 3/4 of an hour to complete and I was so thrilled that there wasn’t a wrinkle in sight and everything fitted together beautifully, nothing was out of kilter, which is very unusual for me!

Then followed coat after coat of quick drying, clear satin finish varnish (Wilkos), I forget how many coats, but as the panel is going into a damp environment I didn’t want to risk it going soggy, so my reasoning was the more coats the better.

And then, before the final few coats of varnish,  can you believe, I went round each patch with a black pen putting in faux stitching to add a little definition ….. I just couldn’t resist it!

So that’s the main panel done, next weekend will be spent doing exactly the same thing but for the much smaller end panel. I think/hope it’s going to look OK …. but only time will tell!

No Crafts Today …… How Did I Get To Be 56?

I decided that after the success of my bijoux soirees during the past year that it would be rude not to have another one on my birthday!!!

I must be totally mad as it came slap bang in the middle of what had been and will be a very busy six weeks or so house wise …….

……. but hey …. you are only young once!!

I decided to have a theme ….. Pirates and Princesses, which everyone totally embraced ….

….. I was only intending on wearing a tiara and a few beads, but when I got wind of much covert whisperings and e-bay bidding, I realised that I would have to up my game and became a pirate princess galley slave….. a sort of Piratical Cinderella!!!

The Poundshop came up trumps with a range of both pirate and princess tableware, and I filled the room with candlelight for a pirate and princess ambiance, using bits and pieces that I had squirrelled away ….. like my faithful seagull!  I also made everyone a pirate cup of treasure containing all sorts of tut from skull lollies to chocolate coins and glow sticks.

Everyone bought a “crap” pound present, which were then all put in a pirate swag sack for everyone to take an erm….. hilarious “lucky dip” from during the proceedings.  We feasted on hot pork or beef baps with stuffing and gravy and sauces ….. hearty pirate finger food, which I think some of the daintier princesses struggled with!!!!

And then to top it all my friends Steph and Becks had arranged a Princess cake!!!!! It was a wonderful night filled with so much loud, raucous laughter I am surprised the neighbours didn’t come round to complain ….. and I felt very blessed in a Hello Magazine way that I have such a wonderful band of friends who are soooo rude, and funny and soooooo very special!

I can’t thank them enough …. and as Adam, the young man in the blue shirt would say ……  “You guys are hilarious”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And my next soiree? ….. Everyone loved their pirate outfits so much they want to keep on wearing them …… so I am thinking along a fusion Pirates Meet The Easter Bunny theme!!!!!!

Christmas 2014 - Blue Gingham Christmas Tags

These tags measure approximately 10cm x 5cm and are made using a navy blue gingham card from Payper Box.

I love gingham, so shabby chic …… and the way I think I am going, Christmas 2014 is going to be a shabby chic affair, if I dare plan that far ahead?!!!

I’ve hand cut the tags, using pinking shears to trim the bottom, then used scraps of similar style paper to punch out the scalloped edged hearts and background.  The plastic snow flakes are from a garland found in a charity shop a while back, with a blue flat backed gem in the centre. The whole design is then tied together with a ample sufficiency of faux stitching in black fine liner pen.

I have set a silver eyelet for the thread, which always makes a tag look that extra bit professional. I am thrilled with the result, however if I were to change anything, and I probably will, I think the tags would look better with either a plain red or red and white butchers twine, and that’s easy to fix.

My Jewelled Bathroom Mirror

My bathroom mirror is finally done and ready to hang (when the bathroom is finished in mid February)  ……. all I can say is a mahooooosive hip, hip, hurray because it was a bit of a “b” to do!!!!! ….

The mirror itself may have been a bargain at £6 because it was solid and had a good bit of weight to it, but  then I had second thoughts about the gold edges and patterned frame that first attracted me to it, mainly because of the white and silver colour theme of the planned bathroom, and so in the end it got sprayed white to create a blank canvas  …… doh !!!!!!

The frame also was slightly curved and made up of too many small bevels, so I had to create a bottom layer made up of big, plainer jewels to form a base on to which to build the next layer, but despite this it still proved to be a little fiddly with a lot of gems having to be set at a jaunty angle.

However on the positive side, the layers have added a very interesting depth of what lurks beneath!

I also found I had to order a few bits and pieces from E-bay, despite my determined intention to be more economical by using all the stuff I had left from my other mirrors, but I was really was using the “dregs” and it was hard to create just a very basic symetary which I like my mirrors to have. I had used the metal flowers (above) on mirrors before, but was not too keen on the colours, but this time round I found that they could be transformed by using  Promarker pens on them!  I only wished I’d tried dipping them in my Melting Pot into clear Utee to see how they would have turned out.  The flowers were on a buy two get one free offer which was an added bonus.

I was also amazed by how many of the card making embellishments I managed to rustle up from my drawers (if you’ll pardon the expression), were transformed when used on a completely different media,  especially now that I have broken my golden rule of not mixing metals and plastics, it became a case of anything goes.  I know these mirrors are not everyone’s cup of tea  ….  but they are very me!

I also saved quite a bit of money by using Pound Land Hard as Nail glue, instead of the more expensive E6000, it does dry white …. but on the white frame it didn’t really matter.

I think it will be a while before I make another large mirror …… they really are a labour of love …. but I have so many people asking for one, I expect I will relent at some time. 

The only thing I have left, that I really want to do, is to decorate a hand mirror for my boudoir dressing table ….. now that would look sooooooo romantic however, they are a bit expensive on E-bay and often come in sets ……. and I can’t ever recall seeing one in a charity shop, but I am now a woman on a mission wanting to spend no more than £3!!!!!!!

Wonderful, Wonderful Times With Marc–Ranger Melting Pot And Whole Port Mould.

Like all of Marc's and my Melting Pot experiments during my in October, we just didn’t know what to expect, especially this last one.  I had asked for this mould in my last parcel from WholePort  ……. http://www.wholeport.com/item/b1s_fondant-and-gum-paste-silicone-resin-clay-molds-baking-molds-cake-decorating.html

…… thinking I could use it with Fimo, but at the last minute I put it in my suitcase thinking we could also try using UTEE in it.

We started by using a adding white pigment to the clear UTEE and then adding a bit of green, but after adding two lots of green it still looked too pale and as Marc and I were tiring, so we thought what the heck, we’re only playing, lets just use it as it is!

You’ll notice, I didn’t pour too carefully! All we had to do then was wait for it all to cool and set, which doesn’t take long at all. I wasn’t impressed when the bits came out of the mould, my dodgy pouring didn’t help I know, but I don’t think the mould liked the hot UTEE too much, as it seemed to expand a little round the edges, so it must have done at the bottom as well, as a result the  impressions were not as sharp as I would have liked, (but it was meant for fondant paste after all), the pale and pasty colour also failed to impress!!

However, Marc is not one to give up lightly and knows so much more about finishing and finishing products than I do …. perfect pearls are a mystery to me!!! But, he got out his Copper Cosmic Shimmer and rubbed and buffed like there was tomorrow, to startling results,  which reminded me of ancient artefacts.  What I would have binned, Marc brought to life!

I am not sure what I am going to do with these new “treasures” yet, but I did do this doodle while we were admiring the bits and pieces we had produced ….. I am thinking of using a small box frame, and inside the branch and a heart pendant I have got somewhere hanging from it …… so now I need to find that heart and once more as you to watch this space!!!!

http://www.wholeport.com/?gclid=CJbD877Jw7oCFe7HtAod6mYAEA

Wonderful, Wonderful Times With Marc – Pictures of Notting Hill and Battersea

I like to take lots of photographs ……

….. but I know I am pants at the art of photography ……

I don’t have a fancy camera ……

…..my  poor, simple brain cannot cope with anything more technical than pushing a button and the occasional zoom in and out ……

…… but I do like capturing things that take my fancy or inspire me …..

….. and these are just a few of the pictures……

……… I took when I was out and about in Notting Hill and Battersea……

…….. giving Marc a bit of piece and quiet from my incessant Brummie accent!!!

This final picture has a touch of the Derek Acorah’s about it,  as I took it only because of the name of the road/street ….. I don’t have a clue why …… only a spooky sort of feeling that the name has meant/means something to me somewhere in my deep and distant consciousness…… if only I knew what …..!!  Queue the spooky music!!!

Wax Seal Gift Wrap

Following on from my experiments with faux wax seals made using my Ranger Melting pot …….. I just wanted to see how one would look on a parcel …….. this was my first hasty attempt.
I attached the seal, over the knotted string using a glue gun.  The small tag is made with a punch and is written in “my best handwriting”  Perhaps next time I think I should try a lighter coloured string as a contract ……. but overall it don’t look too bad.

The Start Of Another Bejewelled Mirror

I got up, had a shower and then meant to “do” the lounge, but I got waylaid …. by my boudoir bathroom mirror ….. and four hours later I am still in my dressing gown ….. with a mirror about half way done ….. and a messy lounge still screaming to be vacuumed!!!  The mirror sucked me in I am afraid as opposed to me sucking up with the vacuum …. if you pardon the expression!

This is the stage of a bejewelled mirror that I hate, the stage where it looks like pants and I want to give up!  I started by working in the corners, using the same bits, and then move on the the middle of each side, so that when you look at the mirror initially there is a sort of symmetry to it …. and then when that is done, I just go for it, filling in the gaps, using the plainer embellishments to build up the first layer, and then adding the fancier bits on top of them.

I am really surprised to see how far I managed to get with what only looked like a small pile of leftover bits and pieces, I don’t think I need to go to Primark to look for bits to disassemble after all …… I also remembered these glittered adhesive shapes from Michael’s that my friend Dianne in Florida sent me that are just perfect for the more fiddle farty top layer.

When I made my first mirror I was very wary of mixing different materials … I wanted it all to be metal and glass gems ….. but now so long as it is pretty and/or sparkly I know it will look OK.

I don’t however have quite enough stuff  to finish the whole of the mirror, so I have ordered these metal flowers  and acrylic gems from E-bay to complete it hopefully. I will then use small pearl and gold beads to fill in any small gaps in the final stages.

I now need to let what I have done so far to set properly, while waiting for these pieces to arrive …. and perhaps get some cleaning done too!