Stampin Up Christmas Decoration/Favour Box

Marc and I LOVE the idea of the Stampin Up matchbox die that my son paid stupid money for a couple of Christmases ago …… but to be honest, we have never perfected putting the inside tray together. When Marc and I were making them for a friends wedding earlier this year the air became quite blue and several ended up binned in our frustration!Then…..  the other night I decided to You Tube it …… why didn’t I just do that at the start of my/our frustrations? Sometimes I can be so stupid I don’t even believe it  myself????

But finally I can put the tray together without swearing and fiddling for far too long! I was so determined this time because I had set my heart on making hanging Christmas tree decorations to put mini Lindtt bears in. So ….. now  there will be no stopping me!

My first attempt at a finished box is admittedly very plain ….. but I think the ideas will flow as I plan to treat the outside panels (above) as very small Christmas cards using some/all of the many, small Christmas embellishments I have had for far too long. 

To make the hanger, I set an eyelet using my Crop-O-Dile in the top of the matchbox die and threading a red ribbon through it.

I also lined the tray with a scrap of card from the box sleeve ……

……. and two Lindtt bears fit perfectly in the box. Dead chuffed. As I said now I can finally put the bones together I can run with designs!

Shopping in HobbyCraft And Other Shops With The Duchess

I am trying to keep to a tight budget ….. but sometimes things just slip into my basket!

Like this tin for keeping an emergency stash of chocolate digestives in, bought for the computer boffin at work as a thank you for always sorting out all my computer glitches  with a smile and a laugh.  When he said that chocolate digestives were the best biscuit in the world, this tin was a no brainer (£2 from HobbyCraft) and I filled it up for him!

Two packs of 12 wooden hearts (HobbyCraft reduced from £3 to £2.25), perfect for covering with Nordic Christmas patterned paper, a lick of varnish and a bow … as a quick Christmas tree fairing.

Still in HobbyCraft …… but this didn’t fall into my basket, priced at £15, I am praying that they will be included in a 3 for 2 offer nearer Christmas, then I might just pounce!

Packs of stickers for £1 each, no immediate plans for them, but I feel a couple of tags or cards are in the making.

Halloween stickers are of a premium this year, especially for someone like me who uses a lot of them for tags and boxes.  Love the spiders, but not so keen on the pack of ghosts that came with them.

The pack of 120 paper chains for £1 to use as an edging to a tag or card or as a band round a Halloween box also seemed like money well spent. The Halloween party bags (20 for £2) will also be useful for a very quick bit of  spooky nonsense …. I plan to fill them with sweets and then add an big orange ribbon and tag, perhaps also featuring a skeleton or two to keep with the theme.

You can’t have enough wiggly eyes at this time of year either and for a pack of this size for just 79p it’s a no brainer …..  from Home Bargains.

And finally …….. they have milk chocolate and butterscotch Elizabeth Shaw mints crisps in B M Bargains, I was reserved, I only got this one box ….. but these are always a staple for my Halloween and Christmas crafts (£1.99)

Silhouette Studio Crashing On Start Up

27th December 2018
I still get the occasional comments on this post, most recently a couple of days ago, unfortunately I solved this problem 4 years ago and it's now hazy in my mind .....  I believe I opted for the Manual Reset Option for Windows to delete the folder com.aspexsoftware.Silhouette_Studio.8.  To do this you do not need to open up Silhouette, - you need to locate your Silhouette Files in your Program Files on your computer (I found mine in Windows (C)) - I then deleted the above and then re-installed the files through via the Silhouette Site where I downloaded them from originally over the years.  I am afraid that is all the help I can give you ..... 

I have just recently been given a Scan n Cut by Marc so I am about to see if I can work out how/if I can transfer all my silhouette files to use on it ...... 

It’s been almost two weeks now since I discovered that I couldn’t open my Sihouette Studio programme.  I know I under use my Silhouette cutter, but it’s always there in the background, well so I thought.

I must have spent two hours a day trying to sort it out installing and uninstalling ……. and exchanging many e-mails with Silhouette  but my need for a quick answer wasn’t helped by the UK & US time difference  ….. but I have to admit I was dogged in my demand for a solution …… and yesterday I finally got it and my problem is now sorted …..  and I thought I would post it here just in case anyone else ever has the same problem…….

“Your comments would indicate there is a library corruption. To resolve this concern, please begin by attempting to Reindex the library by doing the following:

1. Go to the File menu (PC) or Silhouette Studio menu (Mac)
2. Select Preferences > Advanced
3. Select the Reindex My Library option

If continued concerns are met, the library can be reset in one of the following ways:

NOTE: This action will completely remove the entire library, including all user-created content that have been saved into the library and the library structure. You may wish to first back up any user-created images prior to deleting this folder by opening them and saving them as a STUDIO file on the computer or removable memory drive (such as a USB flash drive).

Preferences Option

1. Open the Silhouette Studio® software program
2. Go to the File menu (PC) or Silhouette Studio menu (Mac)
3. Go to Preferences > Advanced
4. Select the Reset Library option
5. Recover the library for download content as directed at http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/faq/solution/249

Manual Reset Option

1. Close the Silhouette Studio® software program
2. Navigate to the following location:

• Mac: Macintosh HD > Library > Application Support > com.aspexsoftware.Silhouette_Studio.8
• Windows XP: C: > Documents and Settings > All Users > Application Data > com.aspexsoftware.Silhouette_Studio.8
• Windows Vista, 7, 8: C: > Program Data > com.aspexsoftware.Silhouette_Studio.8

NOTE: If the above folder cannot be found on Mac, you may press SHIFT + CMD + G which reveals a small window where you can type the name of a folder to locate it. If the above folder cannot be found on Windows XP, go to your Control Panel to select "Files & Folders" to select the View tab and select Show hidden folders. If the above folder cannot be found on a Windows Vista, 7, or 8, go to the Control Panel to search for the term "Hidden Folder" in order to select the option to Show hidden folders.

1. Delete the folder com.aspexsoftware.Silhouette_Studio.8 with all of its sub-content
2. Recover the library for download content as directed at http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/faq/solution/249

Phew!! And thank you Silhouette!

Halloween Trick Or Treat Boxes

These are my Halloween Trick or Treat Boxes for 2014 using my trusty old sizzix box die (656278 Sizzix Bigz XL Box No.3), made using an pearlescent orange card from Payper Box http://www.payperbox.co.uk/
I’ve also used Spellbinders labels for the topper, but I don’t have a clue what number die set they are.

I made the web bands using a border clipart, printing it in strips on A4 purple paper and then cutting each strip to size ….. and I think Dianne in Florida sent me the spiders from Michaels last year, all I had to add were the wiggly eyes and a little doodling on the boxes.

The completed boxes were then filled with an assortment of Scooby Doo candy sticks, voodoo beads, lollipop rings and skull lollies from Poundland (most come in bags of 10 ….if not more, in the case of the skulls).

http://www.ellison.com/product/656278/sizzix-bigz-xl-die-box-3?locale=en-UK

Bargain Charity Shop Find

I saw this Ikea dolls cot in a charity shop window in town a few weeks ago, but at the time I was heavily laden with shopping and there was no way I could get the shopping and bed back home on the bus …… so I left it.

On subsequent passings it was still there, despite the silly £4 price tag, but then I started erming and ahhhing, thinking that it might be a little while yet (at least eighteen months) before Iris would start playing with it …..

But yesterday….. it was still there ….. I really was meant to have it and at an aforementioned £4 what was I thinking about???

The temptation to fiddle-fart it is there, but as it’s in such good condition I think I will just pass it on to Great Granddad Colin to see if he could sand it down and give it a coat of varnish just to freshen it up ….. and then perhaps if Granny Denise sees this she might, just might, crochet a blanket or two…. and I with my limited sewing ability could make a couple of sheets and a pillow.

Halloween Dangling Spiders Card

This card measures 6ins x 6ins and is made using a hand cut plain purple card blank.

Another Halloween card today using five confetti spiders from an assorted pack of confetti sprinkles I found in Wilkos the other week (99p). All I have done is give the spiders a pair of tiny googly eyes each. 

A scattering of tiny silver stars, a handwritten sentiment, some threads to dangle from drawn using a fine black liner pen and a few white dots here and there using a white gel pen finish the whole effect.

Memory Box  - MB98187 WOODLAND BRANCH DIE  Code: MB98187

Halloween Boo Brew

It seems ages since I have made any Boo Brew (a Halloween version of Snowman Soup), but this year I thought I would “resurrect” it!

My first hurdle was the art work ….. I lost all my Halloween digi sets when my computer died a couple of years ago and I chose no to replace them, I didn’t fancy doodling my own, and as I have said before there is a right dearth of Halloween theme stickers in the Pound and cheapie shops this year!  In the end I found this free background sheet on Pinterest, which was perfect

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIoqAp3IInvERk6IVF2i_wxxmk83OrFWAy_roKHTG1mJD31LubToGuHMo1Uf0gP7Gmn770t4KluI33QNKj6TosjHLKZUa5CKTQoBDMax3seCDJpiyKjUtD91iLbhwdjWeHo6wybA9CGLk/s1600/Halloween+Freebie+01.jpg

And then with a bit of jiggery pokery using Publisher I added the Boo Brew poem …. which I have evolved over the years to suit the contents of my packs, which you are free to us as I don’t think anyone can lay any claims to it!!!

This year I have managed to find Halloween mallow poles in B M Bargains (69p for 10) and Witches Broomsticks in Poundland (15 in a pack) to replace the mini marshmallow packs I used to make.  I was always a little iffy about handling loose sweets, even though I always wore plastic gloves, so as these are already singly wrapped they solved my problem.

I decided to use the broomsticks for this years brew as they were the shorter of the two for the 6.25cms x 6.25cm cello bags I was using, although I still had to turn the ends over using double sided tape to make them fit, (but I “think” I have an idea for the poles for another post).

I attached a plastic spider and bat ring to each pole from an assorted Halloween novelty pack I had already bought from Pound World, to add a little something extra.

Also included in the packs is a sachet of hot chocolate (box of five Malteser or Galaxy from Pound World), a suckie skull lolly (pack of at least 12 from Pound World) plus a chocolate lolly and pumpkin chocolates available in most supermarkets at the moment and another two plastic spiders for good measure.

Please note :- *If I was selling this sort of thing at a school fayre etc. I would make sure that they were clearly labelled saying  that they were not suitable for young children under 3 (at least) because of the nature of the contents.

Halloween Hand Painted Spider Glass.

What am I like? ….. I was in a discount shop in Wolverhampton and they had a range of really cute, hand painted Halloween glasses, some stemmed, some tumblers, mostly featuring spiders and they were only £1 ….. it was, to pardon the pun at this time of year a “wicked” price to pay because at craft fairs something similar would have easily been quadruple the price …….. but I resisted buying one ….. because, inspired,  I came home and made my own erm…… “unique” version ……… which was much cruder and lacking in the finesse of the shop version, but there again, I did do mine at 6.30 in the morning, when I should have been getting ready for work, and the mood and the inspiration was compelling me to do it there and then ….. next time I would be much more careful and refined with my pen strokes!

I used a black Marabu Porcelain Painter pen to draw the spiders and the web …. I then had to leave it to dry for 4 hours, so, I left it and went to work and then banged it into an non preheated oven at 170c for 30 minutes when I came home, voila!

And then, me being me, just couldn’t resist adding googly eyes to all the spiders using E6000 glue, which sticks everything.

Plus, some very small, flat backed gems on the web and on some of the dots round the top of the glass!

Like I said, not a lot of finesse and it wasn’t really made to particularly last that long ……. just a bit of fun for when I toast all the ghosts and ghoulies in my life as I sip my hemlock on October 31st!

Safe …. Mini Halloween Pumpkin Lanterns

I don’t know about you but though I love candles, I am very wary of Halloween, candles and children …… but it’s so lovely to create a little awe, wonder and magic for them ….. so I got to thinking ……

………. what if I married some mini pumpkin pots (6 for £1 from some Poundshops and DiscountUK stores) with Poundland battery operated flickering tea lights?

I wasn’t sure if the tea lights would fit or the light would be strong enough to shine through, but they did, on both counts!

….. and looked so cute all lit up. DiscountUK also had packs of skull and Frankenstein pots too.

So for £3 you could have six little decorations that children could safely carry around or have in their rooms without any worry (well, except for perhaps the odd nightmare!)

I was also thinking that you could take the handles off the skull pots, put a tea light in each one and then stack them on top of each other in threes or a six to make a spooky tower of skulls!  Watch this space!!!

Halloween Hanging Bat Card.

This card measures 6ins x 6ins and is made using a hand cut plain purple card blank.

I haven't used this Memory Box branch die before and was thrilled to see how delicate it actually was ….. I can think of so many cards I can make with different things hanging from the branches for all themes and occasions so watch this space.

For this card I used three mulberry paper bats that I’ve had for years and just given them a set of tiny googly eyes each.  A scattering of tiny silver stars and a handwritten sentiment and a few white dots here and there using a white gel pen finish the whole effect.

Memory Box  - MB98187 WOODLAND BRANCH DIE  Code: MB98187

Magic Glowing Lanterns

I’ve seen this idea so many times on Pinterest and wondered if it really worked, and now, having a little granddaughter I want to make sure that there is always something wonderful and magical going on at Nanny Nell's!

I just got a clean,  dry jar and added a string hanger …….

……. then took two glow stick bands and some micro glitter (but I wouldn’t bother with the glitter again as it didn’t seem to add anything to the overall effect).  The idea is to cut the glow stick in half and let the liquid drip into the jar ….

…… not as easy as I thought (!!!!) and then I chose to “paint” the glowy stuff round the inside of the jar. Perhaps it’s a good idea to wear goggles or at least glasses, and I don’t think this is really something that children should do!

The overall glowy effect lasted for about twenty minutes, after that the liquid gathered in the bottom of the jar, but still continued to glow for another hour or so after.  But I only used two small glow sticks (18 wristbands £1 from Discount UK) …. I could have tried more, but this was only my first experiment.

This also got me to thinking of other ways to use glow sticks ….. my next experiment ….. is to see what they look like worked into my twig door wreath, perhaps for Halloween.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Mason-Jar-Glow-Stick-Lanterns
http://chemistry.about.com/od/glowinthedarkprojects/a/Decorative-Glow-Stick-Lanterns.html
http://www.pinterest.com/havingfunathome/glow-stick-ideas/

Another Display?

I don’t do a display for ages and then two come along in the same week!!!

This display is on the opposite wall to the waterfall display …. a contrast to the cold and bleakness of Iceland!!

It was much, much easier to do as well because I found much of the papers/materials were already in the Geography store cupboard, including the sea frieze paper, must fortunate as I did not particularly relish the thought of painting the sea!The trunks of the palms trees were made using strips cut from a corrugated cardboard box, which I then charcoaled and chalked to create the ridges on the trunks. I was also fortunate enough to find some grass patterned border roll from which I was able to cut into palm leaf shapes and fringe to give an element of dimension. I did the same for the ground foliage and a few palm leaves using green copier paper which I crumpled for texture and then drew the leaf veins using a mixture of charcoal and chalks.

There was a temptation to then glue gun some shells on to the plastic doors of the board, but I thought better of it …. as I didn’t want to be on constant call to go over to glue them back on every time one fell off!