Simple Easter Tin Chicken Wreath–With Special Thanks To Marnie

This Easter wreath is all down to Marnie ………….

……. who left this comment after my wooden Christmas wreath post when I wondered what I could do with the other half of the 25p embroidery hoop I’d used that I’d found in a local charity shop ……..

What a totally inspired idea  ……….

…… you should have seen me leap from my computer to see if I could make it work.  It all hinged on how many painted tin chickens (a present from Marc last time I was at the cottage) I had left ……

I had 13 and 12 would do it if spaced equally round said hoop. My mind was a then all of a whirr.

I decided to give the sides, outside and inside of the hoop two coats of an “elf” green Wilko tester pot first. 

I initially tried glue gunning the chickens to the hoop as they were, but when that didn’t work, I took the bases off some small bottle brush Christmas trees and glued them into the hollow of the chickens, giving a stable base on which to then stick them to the hoop.

When I was then able to join the chickens to the hoop I was pretty thrilled, it sort of had a vintagey look/feel to it and because of that I knew anything I then added to it had to be really simple ……. but it needed something more.

So I started by putting a tiny foliage punchie between the chickens ……..

……. and then equally tiny white daisies with a yellow flay back nail art gem in the middle. I doubled  layered the daisies to add a little extra dimension when fluffed up when dry.

One daisy between the chickens didn’t quite look right so I went round the wreath again adding more where I thought they would fit. 

Part of me wants to add another layer of “something” behind, but before I ruined the simplicity of it I banged a wire loop on the back and got it on my front door double quick ………….

…….. any way, thank you again Marnie for the inspiration xxxx.

Egg Hunt/Chicken - Easter Hanging Decorations Revised

Following on from last week’s “one off” these are my revised Easter Egg Hunt hanging decorations.

I stuck a short, narrow craft stick along the bottom of a small, wooden fence embellishment and then added little green Dovecraft Enamel Effects (The Range £1) along the edge to hopefully look like grass.

I managed to find some MDF laser cut Easter baskets on eBay that were in, more or lets the right proportion to the other embellishments.

To get a clear colour on the eggs, I first went over them with a fine, white Posca pen and then added the acrylic paint colours and a few extra doodliy bits when it was all properly dry.  I also varnished the baskets, which helped secure the paint as well as helping the colours to pop.

I made the sign posts using a small, coloured craft stick, which I trimmed with scissors to roughly the right shape.  I added the writing with a black biro to prevent any ink bleeding into the wood.  The posts themselves are coffee stirrers (from Costa) that I trimmed to the right height.

I added two beads layered together and then stuck them into the hollow of the painted, tin chickens to add extra dimension to the decoration.

Then came all the putting together, first the chicken was glued to a fence post followed by the signpost, added in the same way.

It looked a bit bare round the bottom of the fence, so I added some grass made from scraps of green paper with a few extra doodles to add contrast colour.  I also decided at this point to colour the signpost post brown as it didn’t really show up very well against the fence.

Next followed a scattering of fimo nail art flowers to add a little Easter colour, the baskets and two ladybirds, using a little less than my usual attention to proportion, but I think I’ve got away with it.

On the back I stuck a small jewellery bail to hang the decoration by.

I think they turned out pretty well …….. and there maybe another version brewing …….

Easter Chicken/Egg Hunt Hanging Decoration.

This particular idea is a one off because I only had one each of the sign post and basket stickers I used on it, however I liked the idea so much I am currently thinking about the possibility of making a few more, but using an MDF laser cut basket and my own made up sign post, to embellish it instead, so watch this space ……… 

Marc gave me the painted tin, chicken embellishments, which I absolutely adore, but they need using, rather than just be sat sitting in a drawer and simply lovingly gazed upon!

I started off by gluing a small, narrow craft stick along the bottom of a wooden fence embellishment and adding green Dovecraft 3D Enamel Effects (£1 The Range) along the edge to look like grass.

The chicken was slightly hollow so I layered and stuck a couple of flat wooden beads together into that hollow and then, when dry, glued the whole lot onto a fence post giving a little extra dimension. I used a good, strong wood glue for a secure bond.  I then added the basket and signpost.

The final touch was a small, flat jewellery bail stuck on the back for a thread to hang the decoration from on an Easter twig tree or vase of branches etc.

No great shakes really, the basket and egg hunt sign were foam stickers from long, long ago, their proportions perfect for this idea, but sadly very unlikely to be found again, which is why I am rethinking the idea.

Wooden Snowflake Wreath

I have wanted to make a delicate, snowflake  wreath for ages ........

....... it’s just the inspiration wasn’t there, however when I found a small, 7.5ins wooden embroidery hoop in a local charity shop for just 25p (giving me two frames to make two separate wreaths), I felt I no longer had an excuse not to at least play a little.

I started by taking the inner hoop and painting it white using a Wilko emulsion tester pot.

While the hoop was drying I sorted out all the white wooden snowflakes I had (I have no idea where any of them came from!). I found had three different sizes and shapes.

I only had twelve of the smallest snowflakes, so I decided to space them evenly round the hoop first and then add the largest snowflakes in between them, over the top, again spaced as evenly as I could (I hope that makes sense). It’s a little clearer on the reverse side.

When these were all securely in place, I added the snowflakes I had the most of in the middle of the largest ones ………

…… and then, emboldened by the way it was all shaping up, added another layer of them on the inside.

…….followed by another one on the outside, adding more dimension and width.

The wreath then needed some shine, as although pretty, it was a little flat, so I put a silver confetti snowflake in the middle of all the snowflakes …….

……. with a flat back pearl in the middle and a clear flat back gem in the centre of the original spacer snowflakes.

The final touch was a generous, but I hope, subtle application of Glitter Crystal Diamonds on all snowflake branches ……..

…….. which was a nightmare to capture in a photograph, with glitter it’s always a matter of lighting, in this spring daylight I wondered if I had actually put that much on, however I found it came into it’s own by candlelight, where it does look quite magical and exactly how I envisioned in my head.

Finally on the back I cobbled together a small loop to hang the wreath by, made by using thin, silver jewellery wire.

Now........ what to do with the other half of the embroidery hoop?