Robotime - Sam's Study - My First Shelving Unit

Well, there goes three hours of my life .......

...... the very piece of shelving - Cabinet 1 of my Sam's Study completed!  I think you may just be able to pick it out  (or at least the turquoise door) from in amongst the picture of the completed project. Let's just say I didn't find it easy! 

I decided it might be best to tackle each part in the exact order in which they appear in the instruction manual ...... despite other things looking easier.

So, I got stuck by instruction number 3, I think it took me an hour of trying this and that, with nothing any making sense, before realising the picture was actually showing the back view, rather than the front, which I was convinced it was, then it sort of came together!  

Oh my goodness, all the tiny drawer handles are soooooooooooooo fiddly, especially for my poor fat sausage fingers!  Hopefully, as I get into the swing of things it will all get easier (????)  However, the first thing I really need to do before I tackle anything else is to swap the glue containers that came with the pack for my, older than the hills, precision glue bottles, there is no way I can work with the stubby ends of what is provided!  Then I am going to collect myself, gilding my lions very carefully (??) for Cabinet 2 ........ wish me luck!

Two Small, Gingham and Polka Dot Easter Bunny Cards

The cards measure 10cms x 7cms and are pre-scored from Papermill Direct (pack of 50 with envelopes £10) https://www.papermilldirect.co.uk/card-blanks/7-x-5-white-plain-card-blanks. This sounds a bit expensive to me so I wonder if I got them on special offer?

Two very simple gift cards today, to me they are the sort of size you  pop with an Easter egg or Easter gift.

As you can see I got the self adhesive, felt bunnies from Hobbycraft in a sale, I can't remember when, but at least they are now all used up, so owe me nothing, working out at approx 12.5p each.

The wooden, glitter sentiments were also from Hobbycraft a while back. I have had a look on their website, but can't see any more, however it's early days for Easter Crafting so perhaps they haven't set them out yet.  However, they did have a couple of other things I quite fancied of an Easter type nature, but I think I will wait until I go in store to see them in real life before I consider making a purchase.

I put all the bits and pieces together, opting for a mix of polka dot and gingham papers in spring like colours ........

...... before putting the designs together, all very plain and simple, giving the binnies a pair of goggly eyes, adding a couple of bubble adhesive flowers and a little faux stitching and groups of three dots using a black fine liner pen.

When I got to the second card  I was well into the swing of things, adding corners and a couple of punched leaves.  I just love the combination of turquoise and yellow ...... after months and months in a Christmas coloured cocoon it's sooooooo nice to emerge into a world of fresh colours!

Robotime - DIY House - Sam's Study

I have a new project/challenge, a present from Tom and Laura for my birthday a couple of weeks ago.  Tom had bought Laura the Greenhouse for Christmas .......

........ and as soon as I saw it I wanted it ..... but preferably one that was already put together!

 Well, my enthusiasm led to them buying me Sam's Study for my birthday!

Bertie was with me when I opened it .........

Oh my life, all those little bits, he was in seventh heaven, wanting me to get it all out and make it there and then ...... errrrr no!

I am in no way a model maker, this will be a project needing total silence before I even go through the box with all it's hundreds and thousands of bits and dare look at the instructions.

I mean, is it me, or are there really that many pieces in one book?

I am hoping to make my adventure a weekly post either on a Tuesday or possibly Thursday for a while , (quite a while), depending on what other ideas I have in the mix during the week.

I am a little daunted by the prospect of all the detail and tininess of the project, but I think  I am up for the challenge, well, it would be rude not to give it a whirl, and keep at it, as it is such a lovely gift, that it soooooooo  me ....... but I know now, it ain't going to be easy!!!!

Easter Bunny Card

This card measures 6ins x 6ins and uses a pre-scored, manufactured card blank from Hobbycraft.

I'll be honest, I am not sure about this card, I think perhaps there's a bit too much going on and would look better with the central bunny scene simply backed on a plain white blank, I may change it yet, but it was the card that help start getting my mojo back, so it's not all be bad!

The bunnies came in a pack of 6 from The Works and cost a much considered £1, as I am really trying to keep to a minimal crafty budget this year and as such I am determined that each and every one will get used before Easter is out.  They have such cute, whimsical faces!

Most of the papers came from this Works design paper pad which I already had, which contains some really spring/Easter like designs.

I started off with a bit of mat and layering, setting the scene .......

........ adding a few more features and faux stitching using a black fine liner pen round the edges as I went along.

Then I added the bunny, giving him a posh new ribbon and googly eyes, but I don't think they suit him (??!!), I think he looks far cuter and less knowing left as he was, so a lesson learnt for next time I guess.

........ And the sentiment sticker, from a pack from Express Yourself .......

 ...... is also a little too brash and non pastel for my liking, it sticks out too much.  So it's an alright sort of card, but as most of my old teachers would to say " Could do better" ....... but, as I said at the beginning, at least it kick started the old mojo!

Elizabeth Shaw Mints Easter Favours 2020

I will be going to Lake Luguno over the Easter holiday with two friends from my Girls High School days (Flybe permitting!) and although luggage will at a premium I wanted to take something small with me to celebrate Easter as a thank you for them inviting me along. I can't tell you how excited I am!

Well, Easter wouldn't be Easter crafting wise without just a few Elizabeth Shaw mint favours would it, but as I am trying desperately to have a minimal/no spending crafty 2020 I really had to delve deeply to find any suitable Easter embellishments from the few that I have.   

I can't remember where I had these blown stickers from (possibly Home Bargains) but on finding them I was pretty determined to use them rather than buy anything new.

I used my faithful old scalloped edge and plain Stampin' Up punches to cut the shapes and then put them together with the circle/scalloped edge stickers, plus a couple of random egg ones I also found in the middle, before doodling round them using a black fine liner pen and sandwiching the mints between two of the decorated sides with a little double sided tape. I am so chuffed with how they turned out, they really look Eastery!

I also found the last two of these gold organza bags I had which were just big enough to hold five mints in each, perfect!

I simply added a large, blown, textured, self adhesive chick sticker and flower to give them an Easter feel ....... and that's about it.

I now need to go through the few Easter stickers I have left and come up with some more ideas on how to use them  ..... I'll be honest, they are not that exciting, so if inspiration fails to call I know that Bertie's nursery class with snatch my hands off anyway!

Thank You Marc ........ Just What I Wanted!

Marc sent me two wonderful foodie hampers for Christmas, one was a pretty cardboard one with a magnetic fastening which is now safely put away, housing all my Christmas lights.  The other one was this rather lovely wicker one, which was just what I wanted ...........  

Having just a lounge/diner to work in, it really doesn't take much to make it look like a bomb has hit it and if I start something and don't finish it before I go off on the nursery/school run I don't really like coming home (knackered) to the "mess", but putting everything back before I leave just creates more work and less time to actually craft, if you see what I mean.  So more often than not I don't tend to craft on "work" days ....... but this is hamper is perfect.  I simply put everything I was using away in it ........

...... and put it to the side of my work table for the next day.  After I have finished a project I can then take everything back to my cupboards/drawers in one go to put back (usually at the weekend). Yes, I have used plastic boxes before, but they look too practical and workman like ..... this is decorative and doesn't rub up my sensibilities like a plastic box does ..... I know ....... I can be a bit strange at times!  

Seaside Bucket and Spade Gift Cards

Iris and Bertie are off to Ladrum Bay in Devon for Easter, it's Bertie's most favourite place in all the whole wide world and I decided to make them a little card each to put their ice-cream money in.

The cards measure 10cms x 7cms and are pre-scored from Papermill Direct (pack of 50 with envelopes, but don't quote me!)  I don't usually gravitate to making this shape or even size of card, but on this occasion they lent themselves perfectly to the Jolees stickers that I must have had for a million years, they are real blast from the past as I started off my card making "career" using them or similar, until they got stupidly expensive online, but hey ho, I have finally used them!

I created the background creating a basic beach scene.  I tore strips of the blue papers to give a ragged white line effect that  looked like waves, which I then accentuated with a white gel pen.

The sentiment was hand written to make it more personal, but if I were to do something similar again, I might perhaps be tempted to use my Dymo label maker.  Goodness knows where the metallic effect seaside embellishments originally came from, another pack of something I have had forever, but when I dug them out they were in perfect proportion to the buckets.  I just love the crab!

The little boats in the distance were from Paperchase, again, in perfect proportion for the scene.  A few doodled seagulls here and there and clusters of three dots, using a black fine liner pen complete the design. Now to find two crisp £5 notes to put in with them! 

An Idea For Clear Christmas Baubles

Aghhhhhhhhh, my apologies for bringing you such a stupidly simple project, my mojo is still very much somewhere else at the moment and I find myself only able to come up with the most basic of ideas ....... but I am still valiantly trying to find it and keep the blog going ......  so for today may I present to you my first festive baubles of 2020 ....... I have to be honest, the pictures don't really do the actual baubles justice, they really are an awful lot prettier and ethereal in real life than they look here, in the pictures the wire seems to come to the fore which is such a pity.

I had seen this sort of idea on Pinterest a while ago, a clear bauble with a wire of beads inside, I loved how pretty and delicate they looked, but I could never find the right wire to use .......

....... until I spotted this 5m wired bead garland in my local Salvation Army shop for just £1.50, it was a no brainer, I could finally put the idea into action and it really didn't need any mojo!

I already had a box of medium sized, iridescent, clear baubles from Paperchase from a good few years ago, just waiting for a suitable project.

I simply cut an 80cm length of wire  from the garland and curled it roughly round my fingers to give it a little shape .........

....... before gently feeding it into the bauble, hoping that it would not only distribute itself fairly evenly inside the bauble, but also, being wire, continue to hold it's chosen shape ....... it worked!!

 I can't tell you how chuffed I was ....... simple things!

I have kept a four baubles and about another 160cm of wire aside, just in case inspiration strikes again!

Vintage Christmas Bauble Charity Shop Finds.

With all my festive charity shop mooching I saw this glass basket for a number of weeks priced at £3, a bit too much for me (cheapskate!) but when it was reduced to £1.50 it was a no brainer, perfect for my grapes!!!

I also picked up a few vintage, glass tree baubles for about £1, I think, in the Oxfam shop in Malvern.  They are so delicate and took me right back to my childhood Christmas's in the 60's!!

I just left them as they were in the basket for the holiday, but this year (Christmas 2020) I am hoping to find a few more to go with them and then either hopefully stumble upon a small bare branch Christmas/Easter tree ....... or cobble together a few twigs, paint them white and then hang said baubles on it as a centrepiece for my dining table.   We shall see ........

I also found me a really long, black wool and cashmere coat for just £10 in Worcester, it's wonderful and perfect for cold, wet the nursery/school runs!

The maker/designers label, for some reason had been cut out, but my sister-in-law, who only ever buys posh and very expensive, took one look at it and said now that's one very, very, very expensive coat!! 

Iris's Stickman Family

Just before Christmas Iris had to make a stick man as part of her family "Cool Time" (homework), she was really looking forward to doing it but wanted Nanny specifically to help her, she being, in her mind, the lady what has got all the exciting stuff with which to do it!

Well, as you can see one stick man rapidly became a whole family and I will admit to cheating a bit, because we were really meant to go out and gather sticks for the project, but after all the rain we'd had they were really quite sodden and therefore not all that receptive to being glued and embellishmentised...... so I got some Christmas twigs from Wilko instead  ....... Lord forgive me!

However, said gluing still didn't turn out to be as easy a planned with such small, uneven areas to work on, so in the end I opted to use my glue gun, with Iris telling me exactly where she wanted me to blob it and then, after allowing the glue to cool a little, she popped on whatever embellishments she had chosen, rifled from my drawers.

The eyes were first stuck on to a small piece of cardboard as they were impossible to attach to such a narrow piece of twig. The tiny moustache, tie and dickie bow on the gentlemen were stickers from Paperchase, something I seem to have had forever. I also particularly like the way everyone, except Dad, has a strategically place leaf (The Works) to cover their erm, dignity .........

....... and Mum has an acorn cup for a handbag!

I thought that was it until Madam decided she wanted to make a scene for them to stand in ...... so an Amazon box was rescued from the bin and some air dry foam clay put at the back of it to hold a small copse of trees. Iris was in full creative flow now, as was the glue, with more bits and pieces filtched from my drawers to create the very wonderful woodland floor and snowy background.  The acorns have been sat  sitting in a box for two/three years now, collected during a weekend in Dawlish, but I knew one day they would come in useful!

My favourite part has to be the little wooden plaque on which Iris has written "family". A totally priceless and whimsical cold and wet winters afternoon that you can never repeat, but where memories were made. I expect she got a star for her efforts, but just doing it together was worth much, much more ..........