Christmas Bauble Card(s) ….. Dabbling and Doodling With Ideas For The Coming Year Maybe?

While I was in London visiting Marc, he nagged me something rotten about  “doodling” more and his partner Rick told me that I should work on more card ideas that used my own writing ….. so what’s a poor girl like me gonna do?

Well, I listened, because they both really do know what they are talking about and when I got home I doodled a bit and then I did a bit of writing ….. formulating a couple of ideas ……  

The first idea/doodle (above) was very rough and only took a couple of minutes ….. but even before I finished the last dab of ProMarker,  the next progression was in my head …..
….. what if I doodled it all again, more carefully but added the baubles separately to add dimension?

That’s as far I have got with the bauble idea, there is still a bit to go with it, it  needs a few tiny stars in the branches, and something else … I just don’t know what yet  …. but before I finished it properly,  I took off again on a different tangent while my brain was whirring …. this time thinking about Rick saying I should write more on my cards …..

….. Again it’s very, very rough …… but a germ of an idea is now firmly in my head …. with all the festive preparations to get on with, it isn’t really the best of times to have a brainwave…. but hopefully over the holiday,  I’ll have the time to work on it some more ….. I want to go back to the real basics and have a go at card making with just a blank card, a pen, a notebook containing jotted down phrases, sayings, lines from poems or lyrics etc. that catch my fancy and a few very simple embellishments!  Think of all the money I could save …. watch this space!

Very Simple Holly Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins

This card took me about ten minutes to make.  I decided to keep things really simple and write sentiment myself, adding a little bit of doodling round the edges.  I then mat and layered it on silver mirror and white card, before finally putting it in the centre of a card blank that I had covered in a holly design paper,  using foam pads for extra dimension  . 

The final touches were made by adding three small red flat backed gems to each sprig of holly,  along with a sprinkling of extra fine Hunkydory Diamond Sprinkles, and two PaperCellar silver glitter self adhesive corners.

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Nadine says ………….. I use VELCRO® to attach my roman blind to hang from a fabric covered batten,  sew on to the fabric blind and stick to the batten.

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Suzanne sent this Top VELCRO® Tip 

I use a little tv table in the evenings for crafting and I use a VELCRO® a plastic tub (the ones the washing tabs come in) on the side of it to put all my scraps (and choccie wrappers) in,  this frees up a little bit of working space.

Suzanne’s blog can be found at …….. http://suzannescards.blogspot.co.uk/

National VELCRO® Month …. Top Fiddle Fart Tips

Caroline has sent me her Top VELCRO®Top Tip 24

With 3 young boys, the TV Remote keeps going AWOL. So we stuck a piece of VELCRO® on the back of the remote and another piece on the side of our coffee table, and voila,  no more lost remote

Check out Caroline’s blog ……. www.lacetopdesigns.com

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Two top VELCRO® tips of a curtain type nature from the “Two Louise’s” who both posted their tips in the chat box …..

Top Tip 1 - Louise: I use VELCRO® to 'hang' net curtains and to make blackout blinds more effective as I can seal all 4 sides directly to the window pane and windowsill.

Top Tip 2 – Louise (lonidan):- It must be a "Louise" trait because I have VELCRO®’ed my blackout curtain linings to the main curtain. Much too lazy to sew!!

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A lovely, lovely (and very educational) Top Tip from Vicky today, she says ……..

“Me and my daughter used stick-on velcro (only the "hooky" part - not the "furry" part!) to make 

labels that she could attach to her model of a plant cell made from felt.  The labels can be taken off and stuck back on to help memorise the parts of the cell.  I have attached a picture. 

Hope this helps you in your Velcro quest” 

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Three BRILLIANT VELCRO® Top Tips from Lorraine today

Top Tip No. 1 - I know that ring top curtains have taken over in a big way now, but a few years back swags and tails were the height of fashion and I used VELCRO® on the top of the swags and on the pole so it was easy to adjust the folds without all the complicated sewing and you could easily take them down for washing.  Best of all it didn’t matter how much they got twitched when pulling the curtain they stayed rock steady!

Not a useful tip............. but, we all know fashion comes around again, so be ready with the VELCRO®, swags WILL return!!!

Top Tip No. 2 - We all have those cupboards that open too easily, that little people like to explore.  A small strip of VELCRO®on the frame and on the door sometimes is enough to discourage them ransacking your wool stash and if not, the noise of the VELCRO® parting is a good warning they are up to no good!  Now, I am not talking about cupboards containing dangerous products,  as they should always have the correct baby proof locks on them but cupboards where they are ok to investigate but under supervision.

Top Tip No. 3 - VELCRO® dots are great for sticking different fabric flowers on to the front your favourite flip flops.  You can change the colour to match your swimsuit/outfit on holiday while taking up a very small amount of space in your suitcase!

Hope these tips can be added to your total.

Thank you Lorraine so much for taking the time to send me your tips …. your name, if I am lucky enough to be in the top three top VELCRO® tippers will definitely be there with all the other tippers in my teapot of fortuitous fate!

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Doda’s Top VELCRO® Tip is ……….

A piece of Velcro on a little handmade pin cushion and the reciprocating bit on your sewing machine is a handy way to keep your pins just where you need them.

Doda’s blog:-     http://tonicstudios.blogspot.co.uk/

My Christmas Wish Star To Support Scope”Keep Us Close” Campaign

I had the following e-mail from Jo Tilley-Riley from Scope asking if I would support and publicise their “Keep Us Close” Campaign

“There are more than half a million families in the UK with a disabled child. For parents it’s a daily challenge to give them the support they need. But the current lack of services near their home makes it much harder than it needs to be. More than six in ten families can’t get the services they need in their local area and are fighting tough long battles to find them elsewhere. The Keep Us Close campaign puts pressure on the Government to require local authorities to provide services closer to home. There is a nice video that explains the campaign here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=INjII66pruA#!

Scope will be setting up a Christmas tree in Parliament that we want to decorate with ‘wish stars’. These can be created electronically, or made the old fashioned way and decorated by hand.

If you’d be interested in supporting the campaign, you might like to make a wish star, blog about it and then send it in the post to Scope for them to hang on their tree.

The link to the Christmas Wish is here: www.scope.org.uk/wish”

I don’t have to tell you that this is a cause very close to my heart, my mum is almost 80 and still cares for my very disabled brother at home and she has had to fight tooth and nail for every bit of help that she has ever needed for him, and unfortunately still has to continue to fight for …..

My brother is 50 today …… he doesn’t know it’s his birthday, only that he will have been given a lot of extra kisses and cuddles ….. and extra squidgy cake with squirty cream  ….. so if you want to help others like my mum …. visit the website and send your wish …… just like me!

http://act.scope.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1677&ea.campaign.id=17275&ea.tracking.id=wish_star_url

xx THANK YOU xx 

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Samantha’s Top Tip ……..

Just thought I’d let you know what I VELCRO® use for, as well as crafting I’m also a professional Face Painter and use VELCRO® to keep my paints still in the A4 document holders I use to store them.  It also stops little fingers from lifting the paints (yep people do pinch paints) as I can hear it crunch when they lift them. I’ve attached a pic so you can see kit set up.

https://www.facebook.com/tinksthings#          http://www.tinksfaces.co.uk/

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I’ve had these magnet test tubes for single stem artificial flowers ages, but they had a small magnet attached so I couldn’t put them on my computer as I had hoped as magnets really really bad for computers,

…. but I got to thinking that I could attach them now using the VELCRO® Stick On from my VELCRO® pack of goodies!

Once the flowers are in you shouldn’t be able to see the VELCRO® strips, and perhaps …… with Advent almost upon us I should find some festive foliage to put in them to add a little festive spirit to my desk and office!!!!!!!  Ho, Ho, Ho!

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Barbara’s Top Tip …..

I use VELCRO® in my big scrapbook where I store tags I have made so that I can take them out and display them and then put them back for easy reference and they stay nice and clean and flat.

Barbara’s blogs:

http://barbarascraftroom.blogspot.co.uk/          http://tagtuesday.blogspot.co.uk/

Two Wooden Christmas Tags

The base of these tags have been made using children’s wooden dominoes with the holes being made using a PowerCraft hobby drill.

The Christmas trees and Santa’s on these tags were prised off pegs from a Christmas card hanger set from a poundshop. It was cheaper to buy them in this way, than to buy a packet of wooden tree embellishments from a “proper” craft shop.  I got about 20 trees and Santa's, plus the pegs they came off  which can also be used for something else, bargaintastic!

A few scraps of paper, flat backed gems and a handwritten sentiment and they are done and dusted!  Ho, Ho, Ho indeed!

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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?

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Lynne Says ………Ooo I have a  VELCRO® 'Top Tip' , in fact I have a few, but here's one for the moment ...I have used a cheap plastic storage basket and put 2 strips of the hook side self adhesive VELCRO® on the bottom. It sticks to the carpet in the boot of the car making it ideal for keeping de-icer, scraper etc. in one place and not rolling all over the place. I hope that makes sense!

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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
http://cutitstampitstickit.blogspot.co.uk/    http://lindylousmeetingplace.blogspot.co.uk/

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Sometimes I like to give someone a very small package containing an equally small gift as, what my Mother In Law used to call a “fairing gift”….. something like a charm, a single sweet, or a tiny embellishment, that sort of thing…

…. 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!

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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  …..

….. but now with a whole bundle of  VELCRO® goodies at my disposal I have been able to rectify the problem …. and now have a whole plethora of notebooks conveniently situated in my work area, for my convenience …..

….. and maximum idea jotting!!!

Nationa VELCRO® Month–Top Fiddle Fart Tips No.9

Ladies and Gentleman …..  may I present my Snowman Container for storing mini marshmallows for snowman soup ….

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).

Et voila ….. a very daft idea for the children when they are helping you to make Snowman Soup during the festive season!  Ho, ho, ho!!