Snowman Chocolate Snowball Jar Favours.

This is what I finally did with the mini mason jar glasses I found in Home Bargains for 39p each.

I made them for Bertie’s nursery autumn fayre.

I started on the lids first ……..

…… using a blue, punched, card circle with a wooden snowflake which I coloured white with a flat back gem in the centre.

 

Next came a small matching tag and sticker to go on the bottom of the jar. The nursery has a wild area that they call “the meadow” where the children are taken to play and for stories etc. which seemed very apt.

The self adhesive snowmen (pack of 6 for 69p from Home Bargains) proved to be a little too tall for the tag I had in mind, but I think I just about got away with trimming the bottom off them to keep the tags more in proportion to the jar. 

A little faux stitching and doodling followed.

The two tags were then tied together with a length of red and white twine and then tied round the neck of the jar.

I filled each jar with one pack (90g) of Cadbury chocolate footballs that I also found in Home Bargains for just 39p, well within sell by date, the usual price is around 99p, so I got me a real festive bargain.

I reckon I put the jars together for just a little over 88p each, including the scraps of paper, twine and snowflakes which isn’t too shabby if you want to sell them for around £1.25 - £1.50.

Beer Bottle Reindeers

This is not my original idea – I found it on Pinterest and thought it was worth a go to add a little Fiddle Fart to an otherwise boring and difficult to wrap present for my son Tom.

They, I admit, look exceedingly shady characters.

The bobble hats were an after thought, using the fingers from gloves with a small pom pom glued on top.  The scarves were made from the wrist and band parts of the same gloves.  I admit they are a bit rough and ready and could have been finished with a lot more finesse, but they’re OK for that initial impact on Christmas morning.

The wooden crate came from B M Bargains and cost £2.99 and just finishes off the present off perfectly.

*Note to self – I know Poundland do a very similar crate in the summer in their barbeque range/summer garden, I really need to buy a couple to put away, which could then be painted/covered/embellished for a similar gift next year.  OMG am I talking about next Christmas already? Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!

My Festive Bedrooms

Marc and I have never been together so close to Christmas before so this year is going to be special and therefore all the more reason to make his room as festive as I can.

If money was no object II would have turned it into a unicorn palace just to see his little face screw up and turn green in horror  ……  but I am afraid as per last year it’s pretty much red and white Scandia.

I’ve changed the bits and pieces on the shelves though and will look back on this post next year as a record of how to do it all again. 

I always find it amazing how just changing the bedding can change the whole look and feel of a room.   All I need to do now is pop a few small presents in the stockings for Marc and then it’ll really be Christmas!

My own bedroom the last room to get titivated and to be honest what was left at the bottom of the decoration box wasn’t the least bit inspiring ……..

I’d been looking in all the shops for some larger Christmas type ornaments, a couple of years back they were everywhere but this year I pretty much drew a blank except for two wooden snowmen from The Range. (£3.49)

Then I went into one of my favourite charity shops and they had exactly what I was looking for ….. lots of ceramic type Santa’s. 

I’ll admit to being a bit anal because I wanted the shelves on either side of the bed to be more or less the identical, so finding Santa’s in pairs was more than I could have hoped for!

The large Santa candle lights were only £2 each and still had the Woolworth (????)  label on them.

I’ve put the smaller Santas are on the shelves in my kitchen area. They came to a total of £2.50.  It’s all rather kitsch but I hope in a tasteful sort of way.

So far I have resisted putting fairy lights over/round the beds (but there’s still time), however as the bedrooms are at the front of the flat I have put a curtain of stars in each of the windows in the hope of bringing just a little festivity to the rather characterless frontage …… perhaps my other neighbours will follow suit and jolly it along too, you never know.

Christmas Fairings For Bertie’s Nursery

These are what I put together for all the staff at Bertie’s Nursery as little Christmas fairing gifts as my mother-in–law Sheila used to say.

The little acetate boxes came from The Works, they were a bit of a fiddle to put together but there again I just get very impatient with boring tasks!

I alternated mint crisp chocolates with chocolate coins to add a little extra colour and then glued a matching ribbon with a large, self adhesive, gold glitter dot in the middle onto the box handle.

On each end of the box I put a Craftwork Card sentiment matted onto a scallop punched circle.

Not a lot of crafting to them I know, it feels a bit like cheating!

Soooooo Marc

I keep on seeing this sign in Poundland and it always makes me think of Marc! So far I have resisted making a considered purchase mainly because it is a bit on the big side ……. and goodness knows where Marc would put it ….. but if I do see it again ….. hmmmmm, you never know!

And if I did …….. it could do with a bit of fiddle farting ……. all that gold affect needs to be replaced with a ton of gold glitter. I dare say a few flat back gems here and there and a sparkly ribbon with a few jewels to hang it by wouldn’t go amiss either! Hmmmmmm indeed again!

However …….. I did buy this picture frame for Marc as a funny fairing gift (£1 from Poundstetcher). I always try to find him something with a crown for Christmas and this is soooooooooo Marc, I can hear him squealing now!  I did wonder about tarting it up with a few gems, but I’m not too sure, perhaps it’s enough as it is, but will let Marc decide for himself.

Christmas 2018 Tree Decorations For Iris And Bettie

This post is not for the faint hearted!!!!! I forgot to take a picture of the unadorned decorations below before I started Fiddle Farting with them. I am pretty sure that they came from Poundland (this year) and I have to admit that when I got them out again to work on them I did think “strueth what on earth was I thinking”. Cast crudely in resin, they are rather clunky and lacking in any finesse, with a  very clumsy scattering of gold glitter.  These are true sow’s ears, with little chance of ever  becoming silk purses.!!!

However, as I’d originally bought the decorations with the idea of putting the little expressions of love I use with Iris and Bertie in the middle, I thought I had better try to salvage something from them.

Iris’s is a pretty common and popular sentiment, just with the bit about the deep blue sea tagged on to the end.  Bertie’s is just pure Bertie. I was teasing him one day saying that I only loved him a teeny weeny weeny bit when he got all aggrieved declaring “No ….. a big much bit!” and it stuck.

I did the printing in DanielleFancyFont using Publisher. I then filled or covered some of the holes, gaps, lumps and bumps with a green and purple flat back gems, finally adding a narrow red ribbon to hang them by.

Not my finest hour I know  ……. laughs out loud! It’s the sentiment that counts and, for Bertie especially, you just can’t have too much glitter or sparkle.  It’s also given me a few ideas on how to repeat the exercise, only much more tastefully for next year perhaps!

Christmas Elf Covered Lollipops

These are the Christmas Elf covered lollipops I made for Bertie’s Nursery Fayre.  The pompoms didn’t stick properly so in the end I removed them all, which was properly for the best as they could have been seen as a choking hazard.

I started by cutting some white card oblongs and scoring them in order to cover the chocolate lollies I had bought (I don’t like boiled lollies for littlies).

After scoring I added the “Naughty or Nice” sentiment and some faux stitching, before adding a layered circle made using a scalloped edge and plain circle punches.

The self adhesive, felt elf came in a pack of 6 for 69p from Home Bargains.

The elf was then stuck over the circle on the cover.

I was going to secure the cover with a ribbon threaded through the card, as I have in the past, but the elf’s feet got in the way and the whole effect looked messy, so in the end I settled for a mini staple in the two bottom corners.

I could have embellished and fiddle farted a little bit more, but then I thought that once given the lollies would be eaten and the rest would probably end up in the bin, so best save any extra embellishment and my time for a more “keepable” project.

Christmas Advent Drawers – Finally Finished

As promised yesterday …… the great unveil ……..

I was a bit wary of colouring the drawer dividers in blue, wondering if it would look too much and worrying that my Sharpie pen might run out half way through ……

……… but I think it’s worked.

I covered the sides and top with scraps of blue papers with a touch of red here and there, going round them with faux stitching.

I glittered sixteen wooden snowflakes, putting a smaller, plastic ones in the middle. Eight snowflakes were then equally spaced down each side of the drawers, along with a scattering of small gold stars.

I did the same to the top, but without the snowflakes, which would give the opportunity to balance something else on if you fancied.

This Advent calendar isn’t probably not going anywhere until next year, but before it is bubble wrapped and safely put away I think I will give the top, sides and dividers a couple of  coats of varnish just to seal them a little bit more.

I have another two sets of drawers in the cupboard waiting to be done, so I think my Advent Drawer Tuesday posts are set to continue in 2019.