The Design and Technology girls at school are just about to begin a new project where they will be designing and sewing a fleece hat (I hope to be making one too …. so watch this space…) 
I shall be giving them the pack of Snag Free Sew On VELCRO® from my goodie box because some of the girls want to make a whole range of interchangeable embellishments for their hat to give them lots of different looks, how brilliant is that?
Linda said ……. I haveVELCRO® 'd my bow maker to my desk. It stops it moving about but I can still take it off and use in other rooms. Linda x
…. And for that purpose I have a box full of tiny papier mache boxes that I usually colour and decorate with Promaker pens.
Bundling up several of these boxes together has always been is a complete nightmare in the past, as they always seem to come askew, but by using a VELCRO® Super Slim Stick On it’s a piece of cake. with the extra bonus of the self adhesive pads being so so slim you can’t see them and once the string has been taken off the boxes they still stay together and all the tiny contents are relatively safe.
A tiny parcel done and dusted!
When I am creating in my craft room a new idea will often pop into my head while I am already working on a project …. and I can never find a notebook to write them down ….. 
This idea was put together very much on the hoof …. you may have noticed that I have become somewhat manic trying to come up with ideas on how to use VELCRO® … and so this snowman was put together very quickly while the creative juices were flowing! What I have done is VERY basic but now the idea is in my head it wouldn’t take much to titivate it to give it to a more refined and professional finish!
I have taken two 100ml plastic jars found in a Poundshop …. (6 for £1) 
…..and to stick the snowman’s head to his body I have used two strips of “Stick On” VELCRO® on either side of the jar lid and bottom (I had wanted to put it in the middle but the bottom of the jar was concave and so too deep for the VELCRO® to reach the jar lid).
…. but it seemed sad that it should be kept in its box, in a drawer, never to see the light of day for years and years, so I decided to frame it. I was mindful however, that one day, I in turn, would probably wish to pass it on (in its original box of course) and therefore needed to secure it within the frame using the least number of materials possible in order that its condition was not harmed or its possible value affected.
So I decided to use two adhesive VELCRO® ‘Stick On’ circles (one on the ribbon and one on the medal itself) to hold it in place, and they seem to have done the trick.
I have also framed a couple of other treasures recently (not using VELCRO® this time), which are now gracing the shelves of my dining room which I am slowly “doing up” ….. for when I am ready to apply to be on ‘Come Dine With Me’ !!!!
The peacock brooch was from Marc, which I strongly suspect is from Butler and Wilson, The tree, also a brooch, was from my mum last Christmas and is from Pia ….. and the Eiffel Tower was one bought back from Paris by The Duke from our very trip abroad together to celebrate not having to help pay any more towards Tom and Lucy's university fees etc.….. he loved Paris soooooo much he couldn’t stop thinking about it when we got back …. so about a fortnight later we went back to do it all again! What was he like?
All I’ve done is match the snowman up with scraps of matching paper, then added silver glitter corners with a couple of flat backed gems. When speed is of the essence at Christmas I shall bang out a dozen of these cards …. then they will be done and dusted!
I made this book of spells as a very elaborate trick or treat box a few years back …. 
….. and because the skellybob hand was quite heavy I needed a light but secure and substantial fastener ….
So it was a case of ….. bring on the VELCRO®! On this occasion I glued the VELCRO®, but if I was to do a similar project again I would now use the self adhesive STICK ON variety.
VELCRO®fabulous!
…. and you can see that he has used VELCRO® adhesive dots for the fastener.
VELCRO®TASTIC!
And on my head I will also be wearing my Primark Christmas pudding hat £3, what a bargain!!
Ho, Ho, Ho!!
But at almost the same time as it’s arrival came my box of VELCRO® magic, and then it was a no brainer …..
….. I attached a strip of VELCRO® to the notebook and another to the pen top … simples!
Cheryl W suggests …….
And finally a heads up to this gorgeous tiny Christmas baby socks from Primark …. these are size 0 – 2.5 (early days) and cost £1.50 for three pairs. Last year you might remember that I filled Christmas baby socks (below), not half as pretty as these, filling them with sweets with sweets and they vanished as soon as I put them out. You could also buy three sets (24) to make a gorgeous Advent washing line!
This years socks will be put across our fireplace on a piece of pretty string and attached with miniature pegs …. photos to follow in December.
These very large and sparkly cabochons were amongst my treasures from Marc, The picture doesn’t do their sparkliness and colour any justice at all, and though they look like glass they are actually plastic!
The oval ones screamed Christmas bauble to me and the above card was my first effort …. but I didn’t like the positioning of the baubles, the gold foiling on the Craftwork Card sentiment or the colour of the card ….
So I went back to the drawing board and came up with this. It measures 19.5cms x 8cms and is made using a lustre effect card. I have swopped the gold foil sentiment with a silver one, added a clear square flat backed gem to the top of each bauble and then drew the thread with a silver gel pen, a few silver stars finish off the whole effect. I was so chuffed when it was done and it took me no more than ten minutes to do.
Marc is such an inspiration not only creatively but also as a person. I was very, very spoilt, my suitcase was bulging when I left, and I was very pampered with lovely food, the most gorgeous bedroom and the company of three beautiful Bassett Hounds. ….. I can safely say that Lottie and I bonded!
Unfortunately, for Marc, he soon discovered I have a propensity for tea leafing things, not deliberately with the intention to steal …. I just sort of aquire things by picking them up … for example:- on the underground I discovered that I was wearing his partner Rick's specs and in the morning after going out for a meal I found Marc’s VERY expensive pin in my rucksack!!!! He also found that I also liked to make little piles of “stuff” all around the flat …. a bit like a establishing my territory! I must have been a nightmare guest!
We talked constantly …. about everything, but crafting was always lurking there in the background.
The first thing we “played” with was Marc’s A3 Foil It machine, he’d had it for quite a while but this was the first time he had used it …..
All I can say is OMG, OMG, OMG .......
I always thought foiling was soooooo complicated, but all you have to do is print whatever it is you want to foil, e.g a card verse, on a copier or laser jet printer and then pass it through the Foil It machine with a piece of special foil over it (just like a laminator) and then Bob’s your Aunt Fanny!!
The foils come in all sorts of colours and finishes and I was unashamedly hooked …. already thinking about my son’s wedding invitations …And now I have a confession to make to Marc after he offered to lend this wondrous machine to me, I knew that if he did he would never get it back ….. so as soon as I got home, before I had even unpacked, I was online buying the smaller A4 version, (because I thought I would be able to take it to work on the bus and use it on certificates and stuff!!!) I have so many ideas …… and Marc was well and truly the hero of the day re: my mojo!!
Marc also showered me with a huge box of wooden embellishments from a company Crafty-Emblies who he has been raving about for ages, they are stunning, and I think you will be seeing a lot of them in the coming months. It’s really worth having a look at their website at the range of really unusual embellishments and boxes and you wont believe the prices! 
I love the large mdf folder above so much. Amongst all the goodies was a wooden train with twenty five carriages ….. Marc had an Advent train in mind when he ordered it … I don’t think I have enough time to do it for this year but I can see it becoming a labour of love for next year.
….. and he showed me his mahoooosive collection of beads and showed me how to make the pins …. oh my life they are stunning!
This is a box Marc made covering it first with microbeads …. 
…and then adding other beads and 3D paint liners.
My pictures just do not do it justice …. and the work involved ….. wow!
And as for this cross!
