An inkling Of An Idea For A Christmas Village Wreath

Following on from Monday's wreath ........... when I’d all but finished Marc’s wreath I remembered that I’d got some houses in a little wooden village that I hadn’t used, doh …….. and that set off an inkling of an idea ……….

https://www.marthastewart.com/1095678/it-makes-village

I’d always liked the idea of a snowy village type wreath like the one above by Martha Stewart ………. what if I used the little wooden buildings on something like that?

Then, I also remembered the wooden wreaths they’d had reduced (from £6 to £3) for a couple of months now in The Works that I’d picked up, pondered and then put down again on several occasions ….. they would be perfect for the idea that was manifesting in my brain, but had I left it too late, after all this time had they finally gone?  My heart leapt when I saw they still had them and promptly bought two (perhaps I should have even bought a couple more?)

The next hurdle was whether I could prize (with my best kitchen knife) the pieces of wood that made up the bow off the main body of the wreath …….. I could!

Soooooooo, my idea is to cover the embossed design with a textured white paint and then add little ledges all the way round, made from wooden dominoes and then use the various wooden buildings I have to create little scenes, a bit like the ones I made last year as tree decorations …………. that’s the theory, I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as it is in my head, but we shall see.

Boo Brew – Hot Chocolate Drinks For Halloween 2021

It’s been years since I have made any Boo Brew  favours, but this year I decided to make some for Iris and Bertie to give to their teachers as fairing gifts at the end of their first half term.

They are not as fancy as the Boo Brews of yore, but I hope they will still hit the spot.

I thought that I really ought to try and use up some of the Halloween origami papers I bought a year or so ago from Amazon.

I cut the  different papers into 7ins x 7ins squares and spray glued them onto green card to make the insert feel a little more substantial.  I then typed and printed out the Boo Brew poem, also on a light weight card and after trimming them to fit, stuck them in the middle of the spooky paper 

The stirring sticks came from B M Bargains costing £1 for 5 really cute lollies.

I also added a sachet of hot chocolate (4 for £1 Home Bargains), two chocolate coins (Home Bargains  79p for a net), a chocolate spider (B M Bargains pack of 10 for £1) and a plastic  snake left over from Halloween several moons ago.

I used my, wouldn’t be without, vacuum sealer (while also wearing plastic gloves) to make up the little cellophane bags of mini marshmallows.

Not an awful lot to them really, but I know Iris and Bertie will be so excited to delivered them personally when the time to be little spooks comes around.  Needless to say there’s also one put aside for each of them plus a few more for them to give out when they go trick or treating round some of the flats in my block, when we have our sleepover party.  Happy days!

Wooden Toy Christmas Wreath

First of all need to say a HUGE thank you to my friend Anne who back in May sent me a wonderful parcel containing all her, as she called them, “defunct” wooden Christmas tree decorations after seeing the wooden toy wreath I made for Christmas 2020. 

Marc, bless him, has converted the original wreath ever since. What’s he like? However, although I promised I’d make him one, finding enough wooden toy decorations to do so was going to take quite some time to collect, until Anne gave me a helping hand.

Then after Marc and I had been nattering about me getting started, a wonderous parcel arrived curtesy of Amazon week from Marc, further geeeeeing me along.

I’d already got the base ready on my craft table, having glued two cardboard rings together, so create solid base to work on, followed by giving it a couple of coats of white paint.

I used a glue gun to fix all the pieces to the cardboard frame and each other because ordinary glue, even E9000 would have just been too slow, the little blighters have a tendency to slide and drop of without using something that sets almost instantly.

It took me about three hours to get the base completely covered …………

….. and that’s when the real fiddle farting began, adding layers upon layer, plus even smaller embellishments, including holly berries to the sprigs of holly, characters holding Christmas baubles, gingerbread men and a few skulls, because both Marc and I have a thing about skulls (and taking in The Nightmare Before Christmas) among other tiny things.

Marc was keen on lots of sparkle, but here I was more reserved, just giving the trees a layer or two of ultra fine, translucent glitter.

Then when I just couldn’t add any more, it was time to pick off all the threads left from the glue gun glue ……. aghhhhhh, I still don’t think I’ve got them all!

Marc is so excited about it, I text him pictures as the whole thing took shape ……….. I know it will be soooooooo treasured and looked at with loving eyes.  It’s a total one off, there’ll never ever be another one like it, a bit like Marc!!!!!

…… and it'll look much better on the cottage door than my very plain front door.  I do have another box of small decorations left, but I think it might take me until this time next year to gird my loins to do it all again, it was pretty intensive going!

http://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.com/2021_05_18_archive.html

https://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.com/2020_03_09_archive.html

Anne’s blog :- https://itsanalienlife.blogspot.com/

Guest Crafters – Iris And Bertie ……. Again

It was Lu’s birthday the other week and as per usual Iris and Bertie were tasked with making a card each for her, with Nanny’s craft drawers at their disposal ……

Let’s just say they took it all very, very seriously, making sure, in no uncertain terms, that she knew exactly how old she was this year, bless them!

I reckon Iris spent well over an hour and a half on her card, she was so engrossed.

Bertie too was very engaged, asking me straight away if I still had any “of those rainbow stickers left” (B M Bargains - £1). That boy just loves a bit of glitter and sparkle! I think he must ask for those stickers almost every time he crafts!

As Lu would say “Those two could make a glass eye cry”.  Needless to say the cards were very much loved, too lovely to put away in a drawer unseen after the event, so Lu has found frames for them and they are now on display in her office come spare bedroom ……. I have to say, they would make me glow whenever I saw them ……. they are utterly priceless and straight from the heart.

Jenga/Tumbling Block Snowmen Christmas Tree Decorations

I really must stop myself from snapping up these tumbling block games whenever I see them in a charity shop, but marked up at just 50p for 57 blocks what’s a crafter do when she just sees their potential?

They do vary in size, I have some really small ones, but goodness only knows where they are at the moment ………..

On the left is my original snowman, made at the start of the year, after I found a Jenga game in a bag of freebies outside a house during lockdown. It’s slightly wider than the ones I am using at present BUT the beauty of all other makes of blocks/bricks is that they don’t have any wording impressed on their sides that needs covering up, so win, win!

I simply paint them in a rather slap dash way with ordinary, left over, white emulsion paint. 

When dry I add the scarves.  I think I prefer this stitched effect ribbon to my original gingham one, however, due to its extra weight and stiffness it was a devil to glue, and you know how impatient I am, so after a few experiments I went for tiny applications of glue gun glue to stick it to the back and front.

I have used slightly larger, black flat gems on the mouths, but I think they still look alright and remain in proportion.  The noses are small triangles of scrap orange paper with a touch of Ranger Glossy Accents on them for extra dimension and shine.  I then put a small screw eye hook in the top of the brick so that the snowman can be hung.

These would make brilliant gift tags, as well as tree decorations, but I am thinking about putting them in a cellophane bag with a small anonymous Christmas greeting and leaving them in random places whenever I am out and about in December ……. I know Iris and Bertie would be thrilled to find something like this and I am sure they would also help me “plant” a few too. We shall see………..

Wooden Haunted Hallows–Halloween Sign From The Range

Following on from last week Lu also found me this wooden, laser cut Halloween sign from The Range (£1.49 – which I believe they have now all sold out online)……..

………. and despite my slight disappointment in the end overall effect of my wooden wreath, it would be rude not to try something with said sign.

I decided I wouldn’t use any 3D effect paint on it, only Ranger Enamel Accents on the ghost and the stars because I knew it would give me a smooth effect rather than a lumpy bumpy one. …………..

I coloured everything bar the ghost and stars with Sharpie pens and then outlined it all with a black biro to make sure that no ink bleed into any of the colour.

I then, very trepidatiously added what I thought was just a little ultra fine, translucent glitter to highlight the lettering and images, aghhhhh, I still I used too much and I ended up with a crusty rather than subtle, magical dusting effect …..

……. so out came the Ranger Glossy Accents to try and put it right.

It didn’t look too bad, but after last week, although sorely tempted, I made a  concerted effort not to meddle and started to add various sized stars, spiders, eyes for the bats and three white dots here and there.

On the back of the sign I added little spiders webs which is when I knew it was time to stop!

I have to say I am pretty pleased with the finished effect.

Sometimes you work so up close to a project that you only see the tiny little things rather than the whole picture.

I think I may give this sign to my lovely neighbour Kata to put on her front door to match mine.  Our upstairs neighbour complained about our decorating at Easter and Christmas last year, and believe me, it was subtle …… just a few window stickers on the front and entrance doors and a little something on the top of the mail boxes …….

I won’t ever do it again, however, he can’t say anything about what we put on our own front doors …… which sort of tempts me to put a wreath solely made from mint humbugs on my door this year to see if he takes the hint!  Dare I?

Guest Crafters – Iris and Bertie ……

I guess my enthusiasm for autumn and Halloween has got to Iris and Bertie ……..

……. consider my fruit bowl and craft drawers raided ……..

……… bless their little cotton socks!

Autumn and Halloween Charity Shop Finds for My 2021 Festive Shelves

Well, it’s that time of year when my thoughts are drawn towards Halloween, with my autumnal wreath already on the front door. It was after my daughter Lu remarked on what a weird year it’s been and with the nights already drawing in, it’s going to feel like a very long autumn and winter, so she was going to embrace the season(s) and decorate appropriately in order to lift her spirits, lots of pumpkin scented candles and a simple lit swatch that she made using fabric leaves from The Works (£1 for a pack of 50, if you can find them), among other things, anything to feel cosy and warm.

So I have started to change things about on my shelves much earlier than usual to reflect this too, but far more over the top than Lu, using all the new bits and pieces I have found mostly (unless otherwise stated) in my favourite charity shop, Vale Wildlife, in Evesham over the past month or so.

This little wooden house (Sue Ryder, Evesham) I have since found out is a German smoker, you evidently put an incense cone in it and the smoke comes out of the chimney, I’m not sure if I would dare do that, but it caught my quirky eye for about £2.  Look at the cute snail! There is a door which came off but I have put it in a safe place. From my research these things don’t come cheap, so I think once I’ve had the pleasure of it on my shelf until I decorate for Christmas, it will probably find it’s way on to eBay.

This large glass friendship ball (£1.50) also fits my autumn colour scheme, placed inside in a hinged, metal framed glass box (set of 2 from Ikea a couple of years ago) which I know Marc lusts after.

As for this terracotta witch (above), she must have been waiting for me to drop on by and at 50p, well, it would have been rude not to pick her up!

The very kitsch 50s/60s Japanese pixie was found in a charity shop in Winchester.  She cost me £2.99.  I’ve put her on eBay, but while she’s not catching anyone’s eye I might as well enjoy her in the meantime, and if she doesn’t go ……. I will love her!

I have to be honest, the silver skull (80p) is going in Marc’s sack of festive tut after Halloween, but again, at the moment it suits my decorative purpose. The tree candelabra again from Vale Wildlife was £1.50 …….. it’s soooooooo perfectly spooky, all it needs is a face …… I now need to find three creatures or something to perch on the empty branches!

Originally I dismissed this Tongue of Toad corked pot after I picked it up, then a couple of weeks later I remembered it, certain that if I went back it would have been long gone, but unbelievably it was still there and still only £1.  It’s got to be pretty unique, I can’t find another anywhere online, the only clue I have is an embossed leaf mark on the bottom ……. so I have yet to identify it.  

This white skull pot set me back another 80p, there’s no age to it, in fact they have them in Poundstretcher (and Amazon) at the moment selling as a “Dead Hot Chilli Planter” for around £10, but the Poundstretcher ones are definitely cheaper. However, stuck on top of a Poundland mercury glass candlestick (£1) and planted with an Echeveria (???) it’s pretty spooky!

Now to my two favourite purchase so far this season, first this vintage, Godinger, silver plated, set of mouse cheese picks set in a crystal encrusted cheese shaped base for £2.99 in a charity shop (I forget the name) in Christchurch last week. Can you believe I actually stood there ermming and ahhhing whether to buy it or not?  There are eight mouse picks all with crystal eyes. All the pieces need a good polish, but these, again, were not cheap to buy when new so I know I got a bargain.  I am thinking I might use it for Iris and Bertie’s Halloween sleepover party to skewer their cheese, grapes etc. and then try my luck on eBay as at the moment I would really like to go back to Iceland again and every penny counts …..

And now finally …….. I’ll be honest, I am not built like a gazelle, so let alone can leap like one, but when I saw this “monstrosity” (in Vale Wildlife) I did a pretty good impression, how Halloween is this candelabra with it’s orange beading?  Not to everyone's taste, perhaps not even mine, but for the occassion and at only £3.50 it was mine, and yes, I do sit by it’s candlelight of an evening.  Poundland do some red bleeding candles that I am hoping to get my mits on before I and B’s sleepover which would really make it come alive!  It’s so awful it’s awesome …… and I have no taste!

Goodness only knows what else I will find in the coming weeks leading up to Halloween, but I am making memories and keeping myself amused as the leaves begin to fall, conkers drop and as I said at the beginning, the nights draw in.