Artistro Paint Pens - Glass Christmas Tree Bauble Experiments

The lovely Marc gave me a box of Artistro acrylic paint pens for Christmas, I’d been pondering upon them for ages, wondering if they were any good, well, the time has come to stop wondering ……….. and actually find out!

I decided to try something really simple to start with, to wit a clear, glass Christmas bauble. 

You have to shake the pen (cap on) and then prime it by pumping the nib until the paint starts to flow to get them going.

The pens were really easy to use, the colours came out the same as on the box and the paint covered well. The fact that you can bake painted ceramics and glass in the oven (155 – 180 degrees C) was what really attracted me  to the pens as past experiments with Sharpie pens just haven’t worked.  When baked the colours on the bauble stayed true. However, finished items are not suitable to put in a dishwasher.

Unfortunately, I over egged my first effort by going over it, once baked, with a black pen and baking again, then I went and added red, flat backed pearls that were just too big and everything looked crude and clumsy.

My next effort was more delicate,  but still lacking something ……

……. I am not sure about the now smaller flat backed pearls. they still seem too obvious/in your face, I am now wondering about using some red Ranger Enamel Accents for the berries instead?  Perhaps small painted snowflakes or some white faux glitter snow actually in the bauble, or even much thinner black outlining might perk it up?

Lots more experimenting to be done then. I also need to check that I haven’t smudged or rubbed off any of the paint before baking …………  but so far I really like the pens, I just need more time to play with them ………

Mini Mason Jar Christmas Tree Ornament

I saw this idea using mini mason jars as a Christmas tree ornaments during an end to end crafting video watching session on You Tube with Marc way back in October last year but it’s taken me this long to have the time and patience to try it out.

The YouTube video put a deer and fir tree inside a mini mason jar, but since I have a whole box of wooden houses (from a children’s wooden town playset) I thought I would try getting one inside a 39p Home Bargains jar (usually found in the wedding section). It was a tight fit through the opening and once in I needed to use a long plier type tool to get it out again, but yes it worked!

Once the fit had been established I made the ground/base using a little air drying paper clay, which when I make these jars again ……….

……… I would sprinkle with a fine translucent glitter and allow to dry before  gluing it into what would now be the bottom of the jar.

I then went round the windows and doors of the house with a white acrylic pen, but again when I make more of these ornaments I think I will draw the windows and doors on tiny scraps of paper to add just a little more detail and perhaps dimension.

I added a couple of layers of Aleene’s glitter snow to the roof, but think I may have been better off giving the roof a quick whizz with some white paint beforehand to stop the red from bleeding or showing through.  The final touch was a sprinkling of ultra fine translucent glitter on the now snowy roof.

Using huge globs of glue to stick in position I could then secure the house in the jar, quickly followed by the tiny tree, cutting and leaving just enough of the tree’s metal “trunk” to stick into the snow, with again, an awful lot of thick PVA glue to keep it in position.

The snowmen, as you can imagine, were tiny, made using Fimo (and baked) with black wire arms (added before baking). The eyes, noses and buttons were added once “cooked” using a fine, black permanent pen.  The scarves are made using scraps of red, cotton knitting thread.

The snowman was then stuck in the bottle with copious amounts of glue, which fortunately dries clear.  I thought it then best to leave the jar open to allow the glue to dry properly for a day or two.

I experimented using a white acrylic paint pen to add snow to the front of the jar, I think it works (???).

Then decided to go the whole hog and decorate the lid as well! 

A red gingham ribbon creates the hanger, threaded through the handle, but I am not too sure about that either, should it just be a simple silver thread or does handle need a charm or two to bring it altogether?  Time to play again I guess.

However, on the whole I am really chuffed with these little tranklements, which look pretty good from all angles, so perfect to be hung.  They also weren’t half a fiddle-farty as I had anticipated, well, except for the snowmen but there again I have fiddled with far worse!

I think I will definitely make a few more of these in the next week or so, with minor adjustments, to give as fairing gifts for Christmas 2022, just so long as Home Bargains still carry them as stock, fingers crossed!

Catching “One Below” While I Can

Woo hoo, I managed to fit a cheeky trip to Wolverhampton in before Christmas and my main port of call was the One Below shop in the Mander Centre, knowing that I won’t be anywhere near another One Below until goodness only knows when and when any trace of Christmas will be long gone. 

I was like a woman possessed as I wanted to stock up while I could because, unbelievably,  I still have a few festive crafty ideas whirling around in my head.

I started with a couple of LED flash slap bands for Iris and Bertie …….

…… a little something to amuse them on our “midnight walks” on the days they came to me before the BIG day.

I bought a few packs of extra large jingle bells. It’s been a while since I used bells for small fairing gifts and at £1 a pack it would be rude not too. I have ordered some small box dies from China, no hurry for them to arrive, which I thought the bells might fit well in.  I also found the tag (above) in a charity shop for 50p which I bought as food/inspiration for another idea.

I used most of the small reindeer treat bags I got on my first trip to One Below, so I stocked up again, but this time with the Santa design ones.  I sort of have a little buyers remorse for not buying a few of the matching snowman bags as well, but hey ho ……. there’s enough here for a few bits and pieces.

These bubble moulded stickers are an awful lot bigger than I usually use, but I am thinking extra large wooden tags?????

The candy stripe pipe cleaners were a bit of an impulse buy, but could come in very useful when inspiration strikes ……. reindeer antlers?

I also popped three packs of these do it yourself crackers in my basket, chosen because the pattern doesn’t necessarily say Christmas and could be used for birthdays instead perhaps?  A pack of 6 was £1, coming with hats, jokes and ties.  Something I am sure Iris and Bertie would love to help me fill.

Once again no considered purchases were made in Wolverhampton’s Poundland.  Prices on almost everything have soared and things no longer seem to be such good  value.  I had been desperate to find their tin, light up houses for £3 but when compared with the houses I eventually bought in M & S for just £4, with lights and a pack of teabags there was no comparison in quality. 

So, as you can see I am pretty well stocked up for 2022 crafting ……. now to make the time!

Little Girl With Balloon Card

This card measures 5.5ins square and is made using a linen effect, hand cut blank as it’s base.

The wooden girl embellishment on this card is a massive blast from the past. About thirteen years ago (at least), I used to buy most of my card embellishments from a shop/company called Mad About Cards, when back in 2010, everything was about £1 a pack and such good quality.  I can’t find them now, so I guess they no longer trade (???), so when I spotted a bulk pack of these B-Krafty girls, I just had to have them for old times sake.

With my nieces birthday coming up I decided to make my first card in an absolute age.

I started off by colouring the plain side of a patterned wooden frame ( pack from Poundland) with a Sharpie pen.

I then made a background for the frame using scraps of gingham paper and a tiny bit of faux stitching using a black fine liner pen, creating a topper for the centre of the card.

I hand cut the card blank and then added a centre panel using the same green gingham paper mat and layered on silver mirror card.

With the topper in position on the front of the card I was then able to add a tiny ribbon to the girls hair, and recolour the balloon to draw it out a little more.  The final touch was to add a layer of Ranger Glossy Accents to the frame again to make it pop more, et voila.

I guess, in 13 years my style hasn’t really changed that much! http://itsallfiddlefart.blogspot.com/2010_08_11_archive.html.  but  after making very few cards these days it seemed natural to go simply back to where I feel most comfortable.

Finding these embellishments again took me on a very weird and wonderful path, where I eventually I found Sarah, who bought the last of the remaining B-Krafty and Create and Celebrations embellishments when the couple who owned them retired, there is now the possibility of my being able to buy some of my most favourite embellishments from the very beginnings of my crafter and blogger career ………. I am really excited, fingers crossed.

Wooden Block Snowmen

Note to self, even if the charity shops are giving them away for free, I DO NOT need any more wooden building blocks, Jenga pieces or dominoes (unless, in the case of the dominoes, they are unusually large!) ……… I really have more than enough!

These snowmen started off as a said charity shop bag of bricks, nine in total measuring 4cms square for just 50p, I could not buy them, because of their decent size and good quality finished wood!

I started off by painting the blocks with a white, Wilko sample pot emulsion, intending on only making snowmen head tree decorations like I had seen on Pinterest ……..

…… but then I got to wondering if I could make a whole snowman by stacking three blocks together.

There was only one way to find out!  I put them together everso slightly out of kilter to make them look a little less formal and hopefully give them character.

I was most worried about how to make the scarves would look right, so added them first, once the glue on the blocks had set.  I glued them round the top of the second cube, hiding any sins with a small, white plastic snowflake (of which I really need to order more).

The rest just came together really easily, various sizes of black, flat back gems for the eyes, mouth and buttons plus an already made orange Fimo nose.

The top hats came from an order from China, which I decorated with a tiny holly punch and equally tiny, red, flat back pearl berries.

The rakes were an after thought, using some pieces from a Jack Straws game bought from The Works during one of their sales because I thought they could be uses as interesting  embellishments.  Three snowmen made for a total of, I guess, 70p each at the very most.

Thank You Paula – Guest Crafters Iris and Bertie

What can I say, but a MAHOOOOOOSIVE “Thank You” to Paula, one of the wonderful friends I’ve made through Fiddle Fart.  She sends me lots of crafty bits and pieces throughout the year, all of which I am always thrilled with, but she topped absolutely everything this Christmas for Iris, Bertie and I ………………

…… with a parcel arriving right at the start of the holidays when I had Iris and Bertie for a couple of days with a sleepover in between to give mum and dad a chance to get a few important things done, as well as getting a few extra zzzzzzz’s in while they could!

Inside said parcel was a set of the much sought after Hobbycraft, ceramic house tealight holders. They sold out instantly online every time they restocked and that was way back in September/October ………. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was, as Marc and I had both been desperate to get our mitts on some.  Sorry Marc!

Also in the parcel was a set of permanent pens, so it goes without saying that two little people were instantly totally absorbed and occupied ………..

………. also giving Nanny at least an hour of peace and quiet too ……

……. and the end results were magical, with Bertie insisting that we put a tealight in them all for the rest of the day, even taking his to bed (with a battery operated candle this time) to gaze at lovingly.

And the other house? Well, it would have been rude for Nanny not to crash the party too. 

The next day I gave all three house at least four coats of clear, gloss varnish, which made the colours pop, sorry no photos.  I also wrote our names and date when painted on the bottom for the little ones to take into their future.

All three were carefully wrapped up and proudly taken home.  I can’t tell you what a brilliant present this was for all of us ………….. Thank you so much Paula, it was a truly inspired gift, that made memories of a wonderful Christmas time spent together, each lost in our own world ………… Thank you. so much.