Having A Shuffty Around And An Object Of Desire …..

Bored,  one lunch time, my mate Luci and I took the opportunity to go for a wander and visit the new luxury “Footballers” Show Home just up the drive from where we work, near the Wolves training ground …..

….. never have I seen so many en-suite facilities ….. or wet rooms, and concluded that when making decisions of a £730,000 commitment type nature it would have been very remiss of me not to try out one of the aforementioned wet rooms for its spaciousness, suitability of purpose, comfort and visibility!

Oh … and to check out what a woman living in a house such as this would have hanging in her walk-in wardrobe ……. all pretty beige and short I am afraid …… OH MY LIFE!!!

However, it is heartening to know, that amongst all the excess I do have the taste to become a “potential” Footballer’s Wife, because hanging in one of the guest rooms was exactly the same (Homebase) chandelier that I have in my newly fashioned boudoir!!!!!

The house was very lovely, but all the marble floors, glass wet room panels and shiny surfaces just spelt out housework to me …. something I prefer to be a stranger too …..

But my one “object of desire” was the light fitting coming down from the galleried landing ……. which I don’t think was from Homebase (but I could be wrong) …. it was stunning …… with the bonus that if/when I hypothetically got bored of it ….. I could easily cut it up and use the thousands of little glass droplets for something crafty instead!!!!!!!

Punched Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a teal coloured card from papermilldirect.co.uk

This card was a bit of an experiment, it started off with whole flower and leaf punch outs and no butterflies,  but it just didn’t come together…. so I halved the flowers and leaves and then layered them round bottom and sides of the card, adding a little doodling and a small clear flat backed gems.

I also ermed and ahhed over adding the Martha Stewart butterflies. punched in Kraft paper …. but in the end went for them as they added a weird sort of contrast that sort of went, if you know what I mean????  The final quirky touch was to have the top butterfly angled in such a way that, when unfolded, it stood proud over the top of the card.  It’s a look I think I would like to experiment more with and incorporates ALL my favourite colours at the moment.

I Don’t Think Van Gogh Need Worry ……

Taaaaa dahhhhhh …….

Oh my life …… last time your saw my “first ever” painting since I was about 14 at secondary school,  it looked like this (below)  ……. and then I wondered what the hell I had started!

When I asked Tom for a large canvas for Christmas  I imagined he would get me something measuring about 3ft x 2ft, not 4ft 9ins x 3ft 2ins!!!!

However, with two weeks of Easter holiday in front of me, I decided that,  after staring at what I started back in February for long enough,  ….. it was about time I tackled it some more …. although I am sure “tackled” is not a very artistic or creative term …..

…. I also decided to take photos along the way of my progress,  for the purposes of prosperity!

I admit that I was a very random in the way I “tackled” it …. flitting about all over the shop with the paint and then outlining and filling in the gaps with a black marker pen as the mood took me, hoping that I was on track with what I had in my head,  although to be honest that was pretty random too!

It was filling in the last few little gaps that seemed to take an age …. and seeing bits I hadn’t outlined or needed just to add an extra flourish or curl  to  ……

I was also mindful that I only had two sets of very small pots of Reeves acrylic paint to do it with, and didn’t want to “almost” finish it and then need to order another set … but having said that …….

…… I can’t believe how far the paint actually went with very little watering down, especially as I didn’t use any of the duller colours like the browns, beiges and mustards.

So there you have it, all done and dusted and now hanging on my dining room wall ready as a conversation piece for when I appear on Come Dine With Me!  Would I do it again ….. ask me this time next year ….. I think I went about the project as a “crafter” rather than an “artiste” if that makes sense ….. and am not really sure if I felt the “ebb and the flow”!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Objects Of Desire

There is a florist up the road from me that always has the most wonderful window displays ….. and when I saw these large bottles/jars with bulbs in …. it was love at first sight ….
However, as I am so rubbish with plants …. they will remain just as they are, as objects of desires.

But, I could have a go at making something similar to this …. who would think that just a little “fluffy” string round the top of a widen rimmed bottle could look so appealing and effective.

….. And the flower on this stubby glass bottle is made from metal, but could so easily made using die cut fabric, card or Tim Holtz Grunge Paper …..

….. and these hanging bottles …… I just adore ….. with a single gerbera, so simple ….. so less is more!

Happy Easter From Me and My Guest Crafter …… My Brother Stephen …….

I had wanted to used a delicate, bare, twiggy branch from which to hang the Decopatch/Poundland eggs I made the other week …… but when I actually went into the garden to look for something suitable there was nothing branchy or twiggy to be found….. but it still looks very pretty ….

….. And here is what is now becoming a very regular and much loved feature on Fiddle Fart,  the gift that my brother Stephen brought home for my mum from his care unit …….

….. some handmade chocolate eggs ….. some decorated with hundreds and thousand sprinkles ……

…… all very beautifully packaged,  the best Easter gift anyone could wish for.  A huge THANK YOU to all Stephen’s carers for all the thought and hard work they put into it and to those who helped put it all together for him,  because we know that all he probably did towards it was watch sitting at the table and hum!

HAPPY EASTER!

Guest Crafter - The Lovely Denise’s And Her Wedding Mice

Following on from yesterday’s bracelets …….

….. during our “Crafty Wedding Evenings” chez moi, we have been wondering what to make for the gentlemen as a small favours for Tom and The Lovely Laura’s much anticipated wedding …… then the Equally Lovely Denise had a brainwave ……. crocheted mice that can been used as noticeboard pins!

She bought the pattern from etsy
http://www.etsy.com/listing/101505812/rainbow-mouse-pattern?ref=complementary_listings_text_link

The equally Lovely Denise then ordered a ball of every colour wool, which are all so beautiful, it’s been hard for her to choose which to use first!

The idea is a no brainer as we reckon that when the ladies see the mice sitting next to the gentlemen’s place cards they will go all ohhhhh and ahhhhhh and will want one too, and the gentlemen …..  being gentlemen, will then offer them to their “ladies” as random acts of wedding kindness!!!!!  What are we like?

Click on all rainbow mice pictures (except for my two) for links to etsy shop.

Elizabeth Shaw Mints – Funny Favours

Woooo hooo ……  I’ve finally made this Easter’s version of the world famous Elizabeth Shaw mint favours!!!!

By now I am probably teaching my grandma to suck eggs, but just in case…….  I used my Stampin’ Up 1 3/8 circle  and scallop punches to make the front and back of the mints.

….. and used rabbit stickers from WholePort for the centres (back and front) plus a bit of faux stitching and few dots, using a black fine liner pen to embellish.

A bit of double sided tape to put them all together …. et voila …..
….. pop into a pretzel bag (see link below) and tie with a ribbon …… simples!!!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-x-2-x-8-CLEAR-Cello-Cakepop-Lolly-Pretzel-Bags-/400431417558?pt=Uk_Crafts_Cake_Decorating_MJ&hash=item5d3b9288d6

Another Easter Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut, white linen effect card
This card is a bit of a smorgasbord of materials that shouldn’t really go together, but in a quirky way do!!!
I used three rabbit stickers from a sheet I got from WholePort, some punched flowers and a scrap of printed card (from Kanban, Stone Wall, CRD8002)

Once I worked out that if I cut off the tops of the rabbits heads and turned them upside down they would make passable paws, and then stuck them on the “wall”,  the rest all seemed to come together ….. !!!

http://www.wholeport.com/item/99e_three-color-rabbits-diy-gift-packing-seal-sticker-30pcs-lot.html

An Easter Bunny Card And A FiddleFart Disaster!!!

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut, white linen effect card blank

I apologise profusely because I just haven’t done anything of an Easter nature this year. I did think (briefly) about making a few Easter penny bags etc. for work,  but I just couldn’t bear the thought of traipsing round the shops looking for bits ….. perhaps next year I’ll get my act together…..

I found these stickers amongst all the other goodies in one of my parcels from WholePort and thought I had better use them, while bunnies were current  …….. hence the very quick Easter card above.

http://www.wholeport.com/item/99e_three-color-rabbits-diy-gift-packing-seal-sticker-30pcs-lot.html

And now for this car crash disaster of a tag ….. it looks more like a cat, what was I thinking of?  However, if I was inspired enough to have another go it wouldn’t take much fine tweaking to improve it …. the basic idea is there!!  It won’t go to waste though, as I plan to use it as a “prop” for the the Monkey’s Easter morning post!!!!

Seasonally Confused ……

I just couldn’t resist the temptation …….

Oh my life, what is going on with the weather?… It’s Easter in less than a weeks time! Wonder if it will last or if there is even more on the way ?????

What A Difference A Few Days Make …….

This is a picture (taken last week), of the tree I stand under every morning while I wait for my lift to work….. each day I marvel at it’s subtle changes ….. and recently spotted a nest right at the top after I heard the birds calling to each other as the day slowly began and before the gradually building traffic started to drown them out. 

.... And this is how the tree looked on Friday morning as I waited and the unseasonal March snow madness began to take hold …

…… what a difference a few days make ..... you'd think I'd taken the picture in black and white, but it is in colour ................ winter has gone on for too long now ..... I need colour!!

Guest Crafter–The Equally Lovely Denise And Her Wedding Bracelets

Wedding preparations still continue to gather pace and after consultation with the Bride, the Lovely Laura,  Denise (Laura’s mum) and I said that “we” would make some glass beaded bracelets for wedding favours for the ladies …..

……  say “we” loosely as it was Laura's mum who did all the hard work stringing all the beads, which we had both collected over the years, I just admired her handy work!!I admit to keeping this one aside for myself ….just look at those cute bugs!  It’s in a child’s size at the moment  but I aim to make it a bit bigger for me using a few extra beads.

Denise managed to use a lot of the lampwork beads I got from WholePort in the bracelets ……

…. and seeing how beautifully they have come out I am glad I kept one string back to use with the other beads that were left over, as I have been inspired to make a few for myself to wear in the coming spring/summer months when I just want to surround myself with colour after this prolonged dull winter…..

The next thing for the “Crafty Wedding Crafters” to work out is what to put each bracelet in ….. I have an idea …. which will probably mean getting my dusty and very under used Silhouette machine out of retirement!