Sticky Beaking For Di – Craft Stuff Finally Sorted To the Eighth Degree!!

It’s done, eight months after moving in my craft stuff is now sorted and has a permanent home, without looking, I hope, too intrusive (if that’s the word?)

It took forever, sometimes I just had to close the door and walk away after I had had enough of the sorting, in all it took me three days, with breaks, as I got frustrated.

But it’s all done, and everything has a place, and more importantly, I now know where everything is!

There are several large, easy to access, under bed boxes, under the bed (where else) for paper, card, tools (silhouette, laminator, sealer etc.) and Christmas embellishments, papers etc..

The rest is all in contained in the drawers and boxes on the shelves, but leaving the two large, top shelves in the main unit for guests to put their bits when they stay. It’s reassuring to know that I kept all the right bits when I downsized my craft room, there was nothing set aside as no longer needed.  I do have a couple of boxes under the bed that are still empty and if I had anticipated this, perhaps, I might have kept a few more of my patterned papers and a few more stickers …… but hey!

Would I change anything now it’s all done?  Well, the situation was a little different when I was first buying the furniture and I needed to get the room basically furnished at least.  With hindsight, which is a wonderful thing, I wish I had investigated more having a floor to ceiling cupboard/wardrobe made/fitted with a set of four drawers to the side, along the same lines of my bedroom, or failing that, had the shelves made to reach the bottom of the drawer unit, so it looked more or less like one unit, but again hey, I have too much time on my hands to over think things, but, perhaps in time, I could extend the shelves?????

My bedroom cupboards are now strictly toy free zones, with toys now relocated to the hall cupboard. I still have a couple of empty, high up, out of ‘baby’ reach shelves for when I bulk buy loo rolls, washing powder, and other cleaning products etc. when they are on offer.

  

I have also really sorted out the six drawers in my crafting table in the lounge, as they too were getting on my nerves as they were tightly crammed with stuff I didn’t really need on a daily basis.

And, a top tip from Marc for staying tidy between crafting sessions ……… collect and put everything you need for your current project(s) in a large box  and then at the end of your session tidy everything back into it, so that it’s all still there and ready for the next day etc.  The idea works, the flat is small so it doesn’t take a lot to turn it into a bomb site, and there is no way I can relax on the settee with a messy corner staring at me.

Little Birdhouse Card – Mark 2

This card measure 5ins x 5ins and uses a hand cut, white linen effect card blank.

Following on from yesterday, I decided to see how the birdhouse card would look on a simple mat and layered background, using paper from my Craftwork Cards Country Charm mini paper pad, a white linen effect card and silver mirror card.

The wooden birdhouse tags came from The Works (current stock) they would married up with some little wooden bird embellishment.

Again, I put a scrap of red, spotty paper behind the heart to give the birdhouse a bit of colour, picking red from the background paper. 

I used a brown pen to colour the eaves of the birdhouse, stuck on the bird (giving him an eye), and then added 3 layered, punched flowers with yellow flat back gem centres, before finally doing some faux stitching with a fine, black liner pen. Sorted.

Little Birdhouse Card

This card measure 5ins x 5ins and uses a hand cut, white linen effect card blank.

The wooden birdhouse tags came from The Works (current stock) and I wondered if they would marry up with some little wooden bird embellishments that I have had forever.  I was thrilled when the proportions were perfect!

I put a scrap of red, spotty paper behind the heart to give the birdhouse a little colour, stuck on the bird and then added punched leaves and flowers with tiny pearl centres

…… but, it looked a little bland, so I carefully added turquoise to the eaves, an extra flower on the bottom and a little faux stitching and sets of three dots here and there with a black fine liner pen, which all bought the card together.

Patchwork Christmas Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a ribbed Kraft hand cut card blank.

Putting the patchwork of a a patchwork card together was a little more fiddly than I first anticipated, but I got it together in the end. I arranged and glued scrap pieces of Christmas patterned paper onto a square of white card, measuring approximately 4.5ins x 4.5ins and then layered that on a hologram type mirror card, before finally positioning it onto the card blank.

I then made a layered strip to go across the card using a length of Kraft card and paper that matched those already used on the card.

I originally added a silver Craftwork Cards sentiment to the  plain and scalloped circle layered backing (using various sized punches), but when I looked at it, it just didn’t look right, so I replaced it with a gold one, which looked much better, especially against the yellow/gold flat backed gems etc.

Beaded Charity Shop Bargains –Total £3.50 Spent

My favourite Charity Shop in Evesham always has a brilliant array of interesting necklaces and bracelets, and what I particularly like is the way they make up bundles of colour matching bracelets for between £1/£1.50 each and this week, when all spread out, I came back home with some very useful goodies.

It was the bracelet of facetted grey, aurora borealis beads that first caught my eye in the top bundle (£1)

There must be at least a hundred glass beads on it, all with a loop, which makes using them as a “dangly bit” on a project, perhaps a fringe on the bottom of a tag, so much easier.

 

I also noticed the bracelet of irregular blue gemstones and immediately thought of Marc, as they are just the sort of thing he uses in his jewellery/key ring making. In just these two pieces I felt I had had my monies worth. I think the bracelet with the abalone rectangular links will also be useful to Marc, but I think the dolphin and wooden bangle will put in my next bag to go to the charity shop nearest me. 

The other bundle of bracelets (£1) also provided much useful fruit, all the beads on three of them are glass in various sizes. On the green bracelet, they are already put together in small drops of three/four beads, all I need to do is take them off the chain. The same can be done with the blue bracelet which also includes a few metal charms and a toggle fastener. I have already started some Christmas decorations/tags using children's wooden picture dominoes pieces and the drops are (hopefully) going to be perfect for them.  I think the bangles will be donated back to the shop.

The above necklace, well it’s “stunning”, once upon a time I would have worn it, but now, perhaps not, but I am keeping it whole for a while at least, just in case, but if not, I can already see in rearranged and set in a rectangular memory frame I already have.

And now for my Mystery Buy of the Week, (again from the same shop), all suggestions welcome. They all have a pin and fastener on the back.  There was nothing on the packaging to say what they were, but one possibility that came to mind was that they could be candle pins, to go round and decorate a large or several pillar candles???? Anyway for 50p ….. I could have some very posh candles if I wanted!

And finally …… this “stunning bracelet was from Oxfam, for 50p. When taken apart the clear glass pieces are going towards an oval jewelled mirror I am planning to make for my nephew and his girlfriend to put in their new house.  The old mirror hung in my in-laws lounge for as long as I can remember, I thought by bejewelling it, it would breathe new life into something from his Granddads house without looking old fashioned and out of place.

Not a bad collection for just £3.50, in between going to the dentist and a coffee!

Does Anyone Know ………?

I love this stamp ………..

…… does anyone know who makes it and where I could get it from?

Patchwork Little Wooden Bees Birthday Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut blank in a ribbed effect Kraft card.

I couldn’t resist these little wooden bees that I found on e-bay and straight away thought they would marry up really well with papers from CraftWork Cards Country Charms 6” x 6” paper pad.

The printed sentiment tags used came from The Works
I started off doing the mat and layering using a contrasting grey/green paper and silver mirror card.

I hadn’t originally planned using the tags, but when I spotted them in my box and started to experiment, they went really well, filling some of the empty space subtly.

The honeycomb pattern of the paper was almost made for the bees, the proportions perfect!

The final touches came from a little faux stitching using a black fine liner pen round the edges of the contrasting matting, and the bows, made using the rustic style string that came with the tags which were glued over the eyelets of the tags.

Bees http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351558743264_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=620582947636&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Less Is More – Snowman In The Snow Christmas Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and uses a hand cut, Kraft card blank as its base.

After seeing how well my less is more house in the snow Christmas card came out the other day, I wondered if the idea would work with any of the other small Christmas embellishments I had, so I tried it with a resin snowman …….

…… it worked! Just a strip of torn white card with a trails of translucent micro glitter over the top plus a scattering of tiny silver stars.  The foam backed sentiment came from a Dovecrafts North Pole sentiment pack, much easier and less stressful than handwriting it!

Ikea Tjena Storage Boxes – My Craft Storage Taking Shape

My Ikea Tjena storage boxes for my craft stuff has finally arrived, with Christmas and various other commitments in the New Year I had to put ordering them on hold,  although they have been much planned and measured for.

And loathe and very embarrassed to say this .......but,  I have finally become truly and seriously anal in a decorative nature sort of way …….. …….. as said boxes match the Next bed linen in the room perfectly!!!  I can’t believe I’ve just admitted as to how sad I have become, however, there is method in my madness (yes, I am going to justify my anality), as all my craft stuff is going to be stored in what is my guest room, (a lot going under the bed) and I increasingly turn into Hyacinth Bucket (Bouquet), I don’t want my guests waking up to gaze upon shelves stacked high with used takeaway boxes!

I have put one of each size box together to give me an idea of how they will look, what will fit in them and where they will go, and I am dead chuffed.  However, before I start sorting it all out,  I need to do a little painting to cover up a few patches here and there ….. and then the task I am not really relishing, sorting all those embellishments, stickers etc. into the right box.I know it is likely to become an almighty mess before I finally rein it all in, but in the end it will be a million times better than having to go into my narrow hall cupboard to find the bits and pieces I need to craft with, which has been really getting on my nerves of late. Happy Days!