Rustic Gingerbread Bowl Using IOD Ginger And Spice - Curtesy of Made By Marley - Part One

*NB: This is not my idea at all, I copied it entirely from a YouTube video from a wonderfully talented lady called Lel, whose work Marc introduced me to the last time I was with him, at the very end of November 2023.

I really, really hope this link works  for you so that you can see how she put together her bowl and why Marc and I were spellbound.

Made by Marley New 2023 IOD Ginger and Spice Mould 

On my side, this is going to be a two part post because of all the drying I’ve had to wait for and at the end of the post I am no wiser than you whether mine turns out well or not!

The bowl I used cost me £1.50 from my favourite Evesham charity shop, it’s quite a lot smaller than Lel’s, but I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself.  Before I started I decided to give the bowl two coats of Gesso, inside and out, just to give paint and the air dry clay something to grip on to.

Marc gave me the IOD Ginger and Spice mould as an early Christmas present, I dusted it with cornflour first to stop the Crayola Model Magic air dry clay I was using from sticking to it.

For around the bowl rim I used the mould above from Temu (£2.68),  sticking all the small sections (straight from the mould, while it was pliable)  using Hard As Nails, as I believe from Marc, it’s what Lel uses.

I then stuck down all the gingerbread shapes, (straight from the mould so I could shape them to the bowl), again fixing with Hard As Nails

It seemed a bit more “crowded” compared to Lel’s bowl, but I was feeling pretty confident at this stage ……..

……… I also added a few more shapes using other moulds I had to help fill in the spaces.

When I was happy with what I’d done I gave the whole bowl a coat of white acrylic paint, but I’m not sure why ……..

…… before putting it on the bottom shelf of my dryer, among all my other washing to dry!

After 12 hours or so and a few cracks, it was time to start painting ………. 

...... which  is currently ongoing and the part I am most nervous of ………… all I’ll say at this point is …. I wished I’d watched the video again before starting this bit, instead of rushing headlong into it ………….. to be continued!

https://www.madebymarley.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/madebymarleycrafts

https://www.youtube.com/c/madebymarley

Feeling Very Despondant ...... But Not Totally Out!

What can I say, where do I start?  …..... As you can see, I've “lost” all my pictures (on both blogs) from as far back as I dare to look and to make matters worse, I'd also lost all the pictures in posts that were already scheduled for the next week or so, I'm utterly bereft …… years and years of work gone, without a clue as to how to put it right and let’s be honest, you can't have a craft blog without pictures!

AGHHHHHHHH ……………. and that’s putting it mildly! 

What do I do? Accept this huge lost (hoping that I can find a possible solution in the near future) ......

 …… and then try to start afresh with a brand new blog, because I just can't bear to see old FiddleFart with all of her pictures missing. 

So, on January 29th I plan to start afresh with "What A Load Of Old Fiddle Fart", until then I'll leave you with three scheduled posts that I was able to salvage, tomorow (16th January) and then Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd January.

This has done little for my mojo as you can imagine, let's see how things go, but if I encounter any more problems of this nature again I know I just won't have the technical knowledge, will or energy to find the time to repeat the exercise and sadly that would be it!

On with the new ........ 

https://whataloadofoldfiddlefart.blogspot.com/

Heads Up To Poundland …… Easter Rabbits

Easter seems to be a long way away, but the rabbits in this picture posted on the Poundland Appreciation Page on Facebook piqued my interest …..

I am really hoping they are made either of wood or some sort of ceramic, as  they could possibly have a lot of potential to be changed round completely with paint, collage, moulds etc. however, on looking at the picture more closely I suspect they may be fabric, but perhaps that could also be painted or patched? I need to see them in real life first, before I consider making a purchase.

Rejigged Mirror

This mirror re-jig was a bit of an experiment as it’s been replaced in the hall by my insect mirror.  I think it’s an original 1970’s wall mirror that cost me about £4 a few years ago, so it owes me nothing. I simply resprayed it as the paintwork was in a sorry state when I bought it.

I’d watched how you could use Iron Orchid transfers on glass with Marc back in the summer and when I saw rolls of  adhesive window stickers on Temu for just £1.78 I thought it might be worth a play, although I knew the results would not be as stunning.

The roll, when it arrived, measured 23.6ins wide by 11.8ins, so more than enough to go along the bottom of the mirror.

I simply fussy cut along the top of the design and carefully placed it on the mirror, using a craft stick to get rid of any bubbles or creases, which was surprisingly easy. 

However, as I suspected, unlike the Iron Orchid transfers, the design was not completely transparent, you could see, everso slightly, where the design ended and the unadorned mirror began.

But, undeterred I decided to cut out a few butterflies and a bee to help fill in some of the space above the design.

This was so easy, but if I were to repeat the exercise, I think I would cut even closer to the edge.

It looked pretty OK on the wall, but you know me, I just had to fiddle fart some more. I then sprayed painted some small cabochon flowers the same colour as the mirror ………

…… and stuck them using E6000, in the middle of the four flowers and at strategic points around the frame.

I think it worked.

The sticker sheets definitely have potential.  If I had wanted to put the mirror on the wall horizontally, I could have easily completely covered the whole of the mirror to give it a frosted effect, but perhaps the contrast works just as well. It might also work by applying the design to the glass, over a simple framed landscape ……….  or even ….. round a plain, square/rectangular vase ……… and what about a plain white box, tiles, coasters even, Hmmmmm, plenty of ideas to play with now I think about it, happy days!

Diamond Angels

Before Christmas I had a mahoooosive sort out of my craft cupboards and drawers, because I found that having so much “stuff” that I knew I probably wouldn’t  use, really weighed me down, so I donated a lot to school and with the burden lifted, I didn’t give it much of a second thought, but then ……. one of the staff called me over to say she’d got something to show me ……..

OMG!  The angels I would have done something really boring with (Hobbycraft stock Christmas 2023) were being transformed with the jewels I’d also sent in!  I tell you what, I almost wanted them all back, this was such a game changing idea!  Large 3D diamond dots? 

They were being made, before school, by children who find coming into school difficult, the teacher said that they became so absorbed in what they were doing that they were able to put their anxiety on hold, while their sense of achievement soared knowing they were making something really beautiful.

I am hoping I get a chance to photograph them again, once they are all completed.

I tell you what, if I see any of these paper mache angels again, I will have to buy just a couple, because really need to make a few for myself, they are inspired!

Upcycled, Faux Ceramic Mirror

I’ve had this mirror in my shower room for a few years now, but it wasn’t really doing anything for me, it was dull, uninspiring and just plain boring!

I think it may have been originally gold in colour before I bought it, but it was tarnished and I’d already spray painted it silver …… but it still didn’t really work where I’d put it, soooooooooo ………

I took it apart ……..

…….. painted it white and then roughly patched it, leaving white gaps, with part of a sheet of the decopatch paper below, (Ref C6290 – blue and white floral ceramic pattern paper) using Matt Modge Podge to glue it down.

It didn’t take that long.  I wanted it to look like a broken blue and white patterned plate cobbled together again to make something new, if that makes sense?

Then followed about 7/8 coats, perhaps more, using Wickes quick drying, clear, glossy varnish, in place of my beloved Wilko varnish ……….

………I’d say the results were as good as Wilkos.

I am really, really pleased with how it’s turned out ……..it was tempting to add a cabouchon flower or two or a few scattered pearls, but I resisted, telling myself, less is more.

However, I do wonder how a little crackle glaze might look?

Making Memories And Random Acts Of Christmas Kindness …

The run up to Christmas, as to be expected, was hectic and busy and in the end I just ran out of time to post everything, so before I launch into my 2024 crafting posts, I thought I’d go back a week or so to the things I did with Iris and Bertie on the way home from school, before school broke up …….

At the very the start of December we again decorated one of the bare trees on the school drive  …….

…… using a few peg decorations I made back in 2022, plus others from last year and then a few more gathered this year from the 10 for £1 baskets in the local charity shops.

Hopefully, memories were made for Iris and Bertie to take into their futures and share, who knows, with their own children and maybe even grandchildren.

Then, in the weeks leading up to the end of term, they dropped off various Christmas tranklements that I’d made and had leftover over the years to randomly drop off on peoples doorsteps along the way.

They both made me really smile as they tried to dodge being caught on the various ring doorbells looking like characters out of a Mission Impossible film, bless them!

And then, on the last day, I realised that this was indeed a memory to save and cherish, as it will be probably be the last time we will do it again at Christmas, because in September Iris will be moving up to “big school”, when school run duties could be quite different, me not being able to collect two children at the same time and no doubt Iris will want to be a more independent and grown up.   

I know they have to grow up, but I’m not sure I’m quite ready yet …… so I am going to ensure that all the school runs from January, right to the end of July are as happy and magical as I can, every second  with these two, as they continue to grow, is sooooooooooo precious, I can’t afford to waste any of it.