Pumpkin Pin Badges

Following on from yesterday, I re-did the pumpkin badges, even managing to save the original ones by scrapping off the Crackle Accents and sanding down the fabric paint a little, before painting them with a Wilko orange coloured tester pot instead.

When the two coats of paint were dry, I added just plain old Ranger Glossy Accents and then drew on the lines and faces when it was dry, using a fine tipped, black permanent pen.

On the back I doodled a quick outlined pumpkin before adding the brooch pin using B-7000 glue for a really secure fix.  These will do, I think I’ll save the Crackle Accents for when I have more time to experiment, although I think the problem was I am sometimes just a little too heavy handed with products!

Pumpkin Pin Badges ……… A Humungous Disaster!

Ok, so this idea seemed to start off pretty well ……..

I’d bought some MDF pumpkin shapes off eBay with the intension of making a few Halloween pin badges.

I drew the lines on the pumpkin shape lines first using a black Sharpie pen and then filled between them (in two goes), using an orange Trimits fabric paint, trying to get a reasonably bumpy, pumpkin type texture.

When all sections of the paint were dry, I used green enamel accents on the stalks and again waited for that to dry thoroughly too ……

……. before going over the lines again and drawing on the faces, looking good and this is where I really wished I’d just used ordinary Glossy Accents ……..

…… but reached for the Ranger Crackle Accents instead in the hope of giving the pumpkins a vintage feel ………..

…….. but this is what I got! The Accents was even coming away from the badge! What did I do wrong? Was I too heavy handed with the Accents? I am soooooooooooooooooooo disappointed, but I will work it out, starting with brushing on the Accents instead of “blobbing” it on ………… we shall see.

Small Anniversary Easel Favour

Can you believe it’s been 9 years since Tom and Laura got married?  In some ways it seems like its been forever and in others just yesterday, so while they were celebrating, Lu and I were away with Iris and Bertie in Dawlish ………

………. and this is the little fairing I left behind for them.

There’s no real great shakes to the idea, I just took a small, white, easel place holder from Home Bargains (pack of 4 for 99p Wedding Section) and stuck a Moomins pin badge, bought especially for the purpose from an independent shop in Leamington Spa (£1) on it using a foam pad, so that it could be removed and worn at a later date, if wanted.

Roughly working out where the badge was going to go and using a fine tipped, white acrylic pen, I added the writing to the chalk board, before gluing on the small, silver nail art hearts (eBay) and a few clusters of three dots here and there ……..

……. and Bob’s your uncle,  done and dusted!

Snowman Diorama Christmas Tree Ornament – Altered Tins

Some of my ideas are done and dusted in a couple of days (allowing for drying) while others linger, as was the case with these altered diorama tins.

They started off as below, bought from eBay with a single bid of £1.80 plus P & P, so they cost me 58p each, which isn’t too bad, considering the price of tins at the moment.  I took a gamble on their depth, so was well chuffed when they arrived.

The first thing I did was stick a small pendant bail on the back of each tin before I spray painted them. 

I sprayed them with a white paint first to ensure all the print was completely covered and then red to give them a true Christmassy flavour.

Any little bits missed by the paint was covered using a red Sharpie pen.

When the outsides were dry, I cut a template and then used scraps of small print, Christmas design paper on the inside, saving paper on the one side where the snow was going to be.

I added faux stitching, using a black fine liner pen around all the edges.

I used Hobbycraft, white, Superlight Air Drying Clay (£1 for a 30g pack) for the snow.  It’s a weird constancy, a bit like chewing gum, but for this and my other tin and walnut projects it’s perfect as it dries overnight.

I prepared the wooden houses beforehand, (The Works, 20 pack for £1) ……

…… sticking tiny scraps of paper on the back over the windows and hearts, then painting them white, before adding snowy details using white Americana Writer and a little doodled outlining.

I put a bead on the back of the houses to add a little dimension, before gluing them in the snow/tin using B-7000 glue.

I took off the wooden base off the bristle brush trees and cut the bristles flat at the back, so that they would lie flat once glued into the back of the tin.  I also added glue to the exposed metal wire of the tree before sinking it in the snow.

This was followed by the tiny Fimo snowman, again made in advance, for this and other ideas.

When all the bits and pieces had dried, I added some more white Americana Writer to the clay for extra texture, as well as to hide any gaps to the sides due to any shrinkage of the clay, followed by a light dusting of ultra fine translucent glitter.

While the one side was drying, I used my trusty old Dymo label maker to punch out all the wording on a blue tape, which I then mat and layered very finely on silver mirror card.  

I then added various small confetti snowflakes here and there, some with tiny silver flat back domes in the centre.

Next, the front of the tins, the metal tag I wanted to use was a little bit too wide, but fitted much better after I carefully trimmed off the outer edge.

Then the fiddle fart of various size and textured snowflakes, a few tiny silver, flat backed domes and of course a scattering of three dot clusters made using a white Posca pen.

……. plus a silver thread cord  through the attached bail so the whole thing can be hung on a Christmas tree.

So that’s another set of tins done and dusted ………

…… and I’m really chuffed with how they came out.

Heads Up – Christmas Crafts Hit The Works

My local Works have started stocking some of their Christmas craft range, so it would be rude not to have a mooch even though it seemed pretty much same old. What I also noticed was that the value for money isn’t as good as it used to be. I am pretty sure there used to be more, possibly 10, reindeer head embellishments in a pack than just 5 for £1, because I’ve used so many of them in the past, I really don’t think I would have paid that much for 5 (????).  Packets now seem to contain fewer embellishments for £1 or have sneaked up to £1.50, so I can see myself cutting back.

However, it was the small, wooden sledges that caught my imagination …….

They are only small, but how cute are they?  I am thinking a small chocolate figure of Santa on the front, perhaps with a bottle brush Christmas tree and then something like a Ferreo Rocher on the back, a pile of chocolate coins or some small wrapped chocolate squares (I think M & S do them) …… I just need to sort out proportions. I am thinking once dressed they would make really cute place settings on a Christmas table.

Halloween Pumpkin Pin Badges

Today, a bit of an experiment in making pumpkin pin badges.

I have just discovered that it’s cheaper to buy MDF circles as Wargame figure bases, rather than as basic crafting shapes for my various pin badges. I managed to find 30 x 35mm circle bases for £3.00 with free P & P, so just 10p each and they are not so thick as one I have used before, at 2mm, so even better, I am thrilled!

I started off by covering one side of the discs, with the last of my bottle of Ranger Enamel Accents, Cheese Puff, I now need to get some more, but it’s pretty card to find!

When the enamel was dry I drew the faces on using a Staedtler black permanent pen and an Aiye silver, chrome marker (Amazon)

Although this isn’t my usual whimsical style I can’t believe how adding the chrome ink really took the design to a new level. It looks as if the colours have been added to a metal base, rather than the other way around, an effect that was difficult to capture on camera, especially as such close up shots take no prisoners.

I did toy with the idea of adding a few extra tiny, silver stars, but that seemed a bit like overkill, so in the end I left them off?????

I edged the back with a fine, permanent black pen and then added the word “boo” and a doodles web, before adding the brooch back.

I also made display cards to pin the badges to.

Using more chrome marker on black card.

I sort of like them, but I’m not exactly 100% with them, if you know what I mean, they are just a tad out of my comfort zone, re: the style and texture, they are also quite masculine (?) but certainly an idea to continue to play with.