HAPPY EASTER

Heads Up – Easter Bunny Shaped Eggs At Poundstretcher

I know it’s a bit late but I spotted these cute Easter Bunny shaped containers in Poundstretcher a while ago, but at £2 a pack I was being mean, especially as I’d already got Easter pretty sorted.

However, when I saw there was a 50% sale on everything in the Evesham store, meaning that these were now £1 a pack, it was a bit of a no brainer, as they are so cute.

They split in two so that you can put a few little bits and pieces inside ……..

All they need is perhaps a bow below their ears or under their chin, a pom pom on their tails or even a little fixing to hang them from and Bugs would then be your bunny! They certainly have potential,  You know I think I might nip back for a couple more packs as I am already thinking Easter fairings for the lunchtime supervisors at school next year …….. but then again, I can also see that perhaps these bunnies are not just for Easter? Hmmmmmmm.

I’m not sure how long this 50% sale is on for, I understand it’s also on at a number of other Poundstretchers across the country, so if it’s still on when I go up to town next, although I’m no Mrs Hinch, I might just stock up on some extra cleaning products etc. especially the way prices seem to be going up almost every week.

Bertie’s Birthday Frame ……… A Chinese Montage

Every birthday I make Bertie a shadow frame reflecting one of his many growing interests, this year it’s got a Chinese theme to it. He has a library under his bunk style bed where he has an “artefact” shelf where he puts his collection of Chinese bits and pieces, a willow pattern plate, a cup with a geisha girl in the bottom etc. He’s a “funny” boy!

I still have a few of the Poundland frames I got for 25p in one of their Christmas sales a few years back, so it’s quite nice that all his frames match.

I started with cutting a background from an A4 sheet of red corrugated card and proceeded to decorate it.

The handmade printed paper, two fabric patches, label  and peel offs came from a big pack of bits and pieces I found in a local charity shop for just £1.50.  The patches were still priced at £1.50 each, so I knew I had a bargain in just them alone.

The small, puffy, plastic stickers came from a pack from Paperchase quite a while ago now, but I always knew that they would come in useful one day.

When I was happy with how it all looked I was ready to put it all in the frame ………..

…….. which I also decorated, in the corners, with other gold peel-offs from my bargain pack.

While I was at it,  I used the opportunity to repair one of the frames I made for his birthday a couple of years ago as it was looking a little worse for wear, however it took all my powers of persuasion to get Bertie to let me have them for just a couple of days as he said he loved it so much he didn’t want to be without it!  What is he like?

I took out a few pieces of the real popcorn, changed the background from white to navy with a few red confetti stars and clusters of three white dots and then added another two layers of white 3D effect paint to make popcorn in the pot stand out a little more.  His Lordship was suitably impressed, I think!

Little Duck In Wellies Easter Decorations.

These little tranklements were an extra Easter craft idea …………

……. made after I found these super cute, wooden ducks in wellies embellishments in The Works, a pack of 20 for just £1.

I started by colouring them with white and yellow Ranger Enamel Accents, adding their beaks and eyes when they were dry.

I used either a wooden easel (sourced from China) or wooden sign (Amazon) to put them on, giving them a couple of coats of clear, satin, quick dry varnish (Wilko) before sticking anything on them, to ensure that any acrylic pen I used later wouldn’t bleed into the wood.

I did the writing first to make sure that it would be more or less centred before adding the ducks.  Having varnished the boards beforehand it also meant that if I made any mistakes I could easily wipe the pen off without ruining any of the black paint.

With the ducks glued into position I was then able to do all the fiddle fart.

First by adding a little green Dovecrafts 3D Enamel Effects round the edges and on the easel shelf, followed by the tiny Fimo nail art flowers ……..

…… and then the stems and leaves using a light green acrylic pen plus white dot clusters here and there using a fine tipped Posca Pen.

I was nervous of adding the wings and lines on the wellies using a fine tipped black Sharpie pen, my efforts are far from perfect I know, but they will do!

My apologies for the quality of the photos on this post, I think I got a bit of grease on the lens of my camera.

A Third Adventure With Resin–Christmas Tree Tags

Woooo hoooo I’m almost  there, but not quite …….. however my new silicon trays arrived within in a week of ordering and not the two months Amazon first stated, so I am able to crack on with my learning!

This is the exact “look” I’ve had in my head along on my resin journey ……. I am so thrilled, I can’t tell you. The snow flakes are nail art embellishments from eBay.

I just need to fine tune and sort out the bubbles that formed under the glitter card I put in ……. (above)

I managed to minimise any small bubbles by using my heat gun on each new level of resin ……..but as these trays aren’t clear I wasn’t able to see any bubbles gathering underneath after I put the card in …….

…….. but from what I have gathered, I need to use a white glue on both sides of the card to seal it and then make sure it is again glued very carefully on to the “cured” hardened, resin, really taking my time, before adding the next resin layer to seal it in, if that makes sense.  So, another day added to the process to make sure everything is right. This a slow process, but hopefully worth it in the end.

As I post this, I have another set of tags on the go with these modifications, fingers crossed. I think they will also use all the resin I have left, so the results will go to decide if I buy more to continue my journey ………. so, watch this space!

Black and White Snowman Tags

After making my first set of black and white snowman tags I wanted to make some more,  so I ordered some more wooden black tags from China via eBay, which cost me £3.84 for 25.

They were a bit smaller than I had imagined, not big enough to write anything on the front, but I still thought I could make them work.

I started by giving the tags two coats of clear varnish on both sides to prevent any pen bleeding into the wood.  When the varnish was dry I painted a small layer of snow along the bottom of the tags using a Wilko white tester pot (£1.50)

Then came the bit I like best, all the fiddling and twiddling, adding the snowmen and snowflake stickers I stocked up on, when I realised their crafty potential, from One Below, before Christmas.

I used a fine, white Posca pen to add the faux stitching and doodles.

I also gave the back the same treatment, but leaving space for a message/greeting. The red and white butchers twine just gives an extra pop of colour.

I am hoping that by making wooden tags instead of using card, these will become little keepsakes over the years, they certainly wouldn’t look out of place hung on a Christmas tree.

I have about another pack and a half of snowmen and snowflakes left from my stash, luckily I have another quite similar idea for how use finally use them all up, so watch this space……….

Very Simple, Any Occassion Sort Of Card

This card measures approx. 5ins x 5ins and uses an ivory linen effect, hand cut blank as its base.

I can’t remember when I last made a card…….. and the reason I have really gone back to basics, as it just doesn’t come naturally any more!

To be honest it’s just just lots and lots of mat and layering, corrugated kraft card on red, silver, ivory and then red again!

The embellishment is a real blast from the past, going right back to my early days of crafting and blogging.

More Adventures With Resin

Following on from last weeks first foray into resin,  I immediately had another go while it was all fresh in my blood …….

Again, I learned a lot ……….

……… i.e far too many bubbles this time around, but that was all my fault as I kept on fiddling with the flowers, stars and skeleton embellishments which were so light they kept floating up in the runny resin and I kept poking them down. This is why I think it’s important to allow the bottom layer of resin to set a little before adding the bits.

However, all was not lost as I’ve decided to have a go at making a little pile of the Christmas Tree and Christmas lights ones to use as parcel charms on this years presents, so three silicon trays have been duly bought from Amazon. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B096ZPX3XL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Unfortunately, I will have to wait a while to use them as they are coming from China, but I suppose that gives me time to practice on a smaller scale to perfect my art!

I think I could get away with a few bubbles in the tree ones as it could look like snow. I put a small scrap of white, glitter card behind the tree to create the simple scene, but as I said, I need to let the resin set a little before adding the stars to help achieve a more symmetrical arrangement, or is that being too anal?

I am hoping that the new moulds will be a tiny bit deeper than the original one used above, as a couple of the bulbs didn’t lie as flat as I wanted,  resulting in a couple of bump on the back, not that anyone else would probably notice, except me. I don’t think it really matters where the stars end up in this charm, but perhaps a few more or variety of sizes might look better?

Anyway, I think I may be hooked and no doubt on the constant look out for things to set in resin for the next little while.  Happy days!

Altered Birthday Tin

This is an idea I have put together to hopefully make a whole pile of similar altered tins to squirrel away until I need them for birthdays.  I craft almost every day, but I never seem to have a card ready when I need one!

The 60mm x 47mm x 12ml metal tins came from eBay.

I started by lining the inside of the tin with an appropriate, small patterned print paper, using a template I made for a similar project.

When the glue was dry I was then able to add a little faux stitching using a black biro round the edges.

I handwrote the greeting on a white wooden heart (The Works) using a black, fine tipped, permanent pen.  I also mat and layered a birthday cake button on a scrap of pink, patterned paper and then again on silver mirror card.

On the back of the above I stuck two flat, round, wooden beads together to make a sort of base, so that the embellishments could stand slightly proud of the top and bottom of the tin to give a little extra dimension.  I need to look into perhaps finding some small, springy bases to add extra movement or even making some.

When everything was sorted I was able to stick both embellishments on either side of the open tin.

It, however, looked a little lacklustre so out came some tiny silver stars which I just scattered here and there ……..

……… which finally brought out the birthday sparkle.

On the outside of the tin I added an embossed tin, birthday greeting embellishment ………

……… along with a couple of wooden bees and a few tiny nail art flowers (of which I need to order a few more).

I used a green acrylic paint pen to do the leaves.  Voila!