Little Easter Bunny Egg Cup Favours

This is an idea I found on Pinterest that I thought I could run with and the reason why I am currently scouring the local Evesham Charity shops for old egg cups.

The clear chicken cups cost me 50p each, which, to be honest, is the most I am prepared to pay in a charity shop, but if I can’t find enough in time for Easter I have the white ones as a back up found in Home Bargains for 79p each.

The green Easter grass was bought online along with another bag of yellow. The Works (just this once) let me down. On their website they had the grass at £2 for a 50g bag, however it said “assorted”, I thought I had selected the green, but when it arrived I found two big bags of pink instead. When I phoned to complain I was pointed to the bumf right at the bottom of the description which said “Colours and designs may vary, only one supplied”  - needless to say it was duly returned and bought elsewhere, because when I want a certain something I don’t want to go into a lottery for the colour!

The pack of five mini Lindt bunnies came from Iceland and cost £2.

I started by putting three small Lindt eggs in the bottom of each cup, over which I placed a small wad of the grass ……..

…….. then added two, self adhesive foam pads on the bottom of the rabbits to ensure that they stayed in place when all packaged up and transported etc.

I then dotted tiny flower beads around the bunny, using B-7000 for a secure fix.

The beads came from a card of 12 elasticated bracelet  found in my favourite Evesham charity shop for just £1.50, well, it would have been rude not to!

I coloured the small, wooden tags (from The Works a while ago, not sure if they are still available) with a yellow Sharpie pen, adding faux stitching to both sides using a black biro as I didn’t want any ink bleeding into the wood.  The metal Easter tag came from a job lot of crafty of bits and pieces a while back and cost me just 20p for a pack of 10.

I put two clusters of three flower beads on the tags to Easter them up a bit more.

When everything was dry I was then able to put them into a cello bag to help protect them with the tag tied with a ribbon, in a bow.

A really simple idea, no great shapes costing, including everything, about £1.10 to put together.  A little festive tranclement for all the cook ladies at I & B’s school.

Guest Crafter Paula With Nigel’s Brilliant Highland Ensemble.

A little while ago, on my other blog, I posted a story about Nigel being infatuated by a full Highland ensemble in the window of the charity shop on the corner of our road ……..

Well, once published, to be honest, I didn’t give it too much thought until Nigel received a package in the post ……

It was from a very much loved follower and friend of both blogs and myself) Paula and what she had sent had me so touched and blown away you’ll never know…….

It was the most exquisite monkey sized Highland outfit you’ve ever seen, the detail was breath-taking.

The kilt is a work of art, made from a length of wide tartan ribbon.  I just wouldn’t have known where to start, sewing being my crafting arch nemesis. Just looking at it brings a tear to my eye.

The scale is perfect, not only on the outfit but on Nigel too. The ribbons on the spates/socks are tiny.

As for the jacket and laced vest ……….. they were absolutely gorgeous. Small PG Tips monkeys like Nigel are such a strange shape to dress, so this is pure mastery.

The whole outfit is a true treasure and though tempting to put it somewhere special to keep safe, it will be worn often, whatever the occassion ……. it’s got to be a must for The Coronation!

Finding outfits for Nigel used to be easy, but since Build-A-Bear stopped producing the Small Frys range it’s got a lot harder, and I wont pay the silly money they are asking on eBay, perhaps I should get knitting again, but first Bertie is growing out of his last rainbow jumper and badgering me for another one, there’s no rest for the wicked!

Thank you Paula …….. you’ll never know how much this wonderful gift means to me ………. and Nigel!

Rustic Christmas Tree Decorations

It didn’t take me that long to get into Christmas 2023 started, but with all the bits and bobs I got in the January sales, I thought it best I got using them!

There’s little fairings are no great shakes, but they are a really different take for my usually fiddle farty Christmas bits.

The natural, wood slices came from Hobbycraft and cost £3.50 for a 280g box.

 https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/natural-wooden-slices-250g/6355591000.html

The very small slices were also from Hobbycraft, but I can’t find a link to them, sorry.

I simply stacked them into a very basic, graduated Christmas tree shape and then glued them together with wood glue, which I’d forgotten how good it was for such projects (doh) when my usual PVA sort of failed me.

I put a tiny screw eye hook in the small slices to go on top of each tree, so they could be hung and then another small slice on a middle sized slice as the base …….

…….. before putting everything together, simples!

The temptation now, for me, is to embellish them ……..

…… but I know they need to left exactly as they are, all raw and rustic. 

I got 7 trees from one box of slices, with at least 15 or so leftover, so I guess, all in all, they cost me no more that 60p to put together. I love them!

Jewelled, Heart Shaped Wreath

I’ve made another jewelled wreath, and might possibly like this just a touch more than the one I currently have on my front door, so perhaps I might do a little swap round!

The MDF wreath base  came from https://www.everycraftsabargain.co.uk/MDF-Heart-Wreath and for just £1.50 for a large and small one it would have been rude not too!

The large one measures approx. 10ins at its longest by approx. 9.5 ins at its widest.  The large ones I shall use for wreaths and the smaller ones, similarly decorated but in a shadow box frame(?).  They also have a round set for the same price, which I also availed myself of with other ideas/occasions in mind.

I started off by painting both sides of the heart with some spare emulsion paint, just in case any of the wreath showed when finished.  As per usual I placed the biggest flowers, i.e the roses on the base first ………

…… filling in the rest gradually.  The jewels, as I said before, come from bracelets bought on eBay.  The “shop” (https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/mypensionfund66) I have found gives me a decent discount, which works out a lot cheaper than any charity shop bits and pieces I can pick up, although I am always on the look out for any sort of flowers, which at present are few and far between. 

It means I can get a couple or three wreaths done without scrabbling about for bits, with a few left over to start another.  I have looked into broken bags of jewellery on eBay, but they are often quite expensive and you can’t guarantee what you get and I am quite specific in my needs, but hey ho, I am always up for suggestions.  Once I have the wreath covered, I let it dry overnight and then go round it again filling in the gaps and adding a top layer using smaller, single flowers etc.   In all I reckon it takes me around 2 hours to complete one wreath, over two sessions.

I have to remove all the loops etc. from each piece so that they lie flat on the base with pliers, but since they aren’t top end items this isn’t too a hard job. I then use B-7000 glue for a really secure fix.

I used a staple gun to put two staples in the back to then fasten a cobbled wire hanger.

I am not pretending these are cheap to make, I would say they might cost anything between £12 and £15+ but that’s including everything, wreath, glue, paint, extra bits from charity shops etc. but the finished result is a total one off. I am hoping to make at least 10 over the next few months which will then be used as presents for very special people.  I am also thinking of a Christmas one or two, but need to use something other than flowers ………

I often see this type of bracelet with lots of pieces (above) in charity shops, I am wondering if I could make some sort of circular, star burst mirror or wreath using them?   Hmmmmmmmm

Me thinks 2023 might turn out to be the year of the fiddle fart wreath!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/mypensionfund66

Charity Shop Treasure – Dutch Tulip Vase

With the tulips now out in the shops, I can finally use/show off my Dutch style tulip vase!

I knew exactly what it was when I spotted it across the shop so pounced, as it’s something I’ve always wanted. Two ladies who saw it in my sweaty little hands cast an envious glance at it, but weren’t sure what it was, until I told them.

I think I paid £1.99 for it.  It’s was made by Bakker (a Dutch company in the 1980’s and would cost me about £45 on etsy right now.  Bargaintastic!

Simple Small Easter Bunny Cards

These cards measure 4ins x 4ins square and used white pre-scored, smooth card blanks from The Range. (Pack of 50 - £3.99)

The intention was to make a card for each of the children in the class I listen to read every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon.

The self adhesive rabbits came from Home Bargains, which I believe were 79p for a pack of 8.  The wooden fences cost me an unbelievable 20p for a pack of ten a little while ago from a seller online.

There’s no real great shakes to the cards.  I started with a 3.75cm square of blue paper to which I added a background of green, small patterned paper, adding faux stitching round the edges and a greeting using with a black fine liner pen.

The squares were then stuck to the card blank, followed by the fence, glued on with E-7000 for a really safe and secure fix and then the bunny.

To add a little springtime colour I put small, Fimo clay, nail art flowers on the fence and grass and three small, yellow, punched butterflies to complete the look along with a few clusters of three dots to subtly fill in the empty spaces.

I’ve made ten so far, another twenty to go!  These will be put in a named envelope with a chocolate bunny attached, to celebrate the end of the spring term.  The school terms really seems to be racing away with us this year!