Santa Tags For Iris’s Sweetie Bags.

Well, you can’t give a sweetie bag without a tag, can you?

I have to admit that I am not that keen on the wooden Santa’s, but as they were only 50p for a bag of about ten (I think) they owe me nothing.  Perhaps a little white or translucent glitter on their beards, hat and coat trimming could juzzz them up, and the parcel could be coloured in carefully with a Sharpie pen, but, on this occasion, time was of the essence!

The tags were cut from a scrap of Kraft card, I just added some snow and a dimensional snowflake sticker (Lidl 99p pack of 30 assorted sizes) and a bit of doodling, using a white gel pen and a black fine liner. I then got a little unnecessary and added a few tiny clear flat back gems on the doodled snowflakes!

Next it was Iris’s turn to put her name on the back of them, with slightly cakey fingers, bless her.

Then, I can’t believe it, I was so wrapped up in the moment I completely forgot to take any pictures of the finished sweetie bags, doh!

…… so, you’ll have to use your imaginations when I say that I simply tied the tag to the top of the bag and then tied a Christmas green bow over it to hid the thread.

A Few More Elizabeth Shaw Mint Favours For Iris’s Sweetie Bags

We wanted Iris to take a small Christmas fairing into nursery to say thank you to the staff, so it seemed a perfect excuse for me to experiment with some of Christmas stickers I have bought this year but not yet used on a few more Elizabeth Shaw Mint favours.

I decided to use a mixture of red, white and silver card as the backing for the stickers.  The chipboard stickers above came from The Range, sorry I don’t know the manufacturer. I have found from past experience that a black Sharpie pen is perfect when trying to doodle on silver or gold mirror card, it doesn’t smudge.  I have used a white gel pen for some of the faux stitching.

I went a bit glittery with these reindeer heads from Hobbycraft, (which I believe are now out of stock), on a burgundy and white spotty background, edged with a little faux sticking using a black fine liner pen.

And then, my favourites, using chipboard reindeer heads, again from Hobbycraft (and again sadly sold out). If I were going to fiddle fart even more on these, I might have used a red flat back gem on the nose and some tiny black domed stickers over the eyes, for extra dimension.  However, I have set a few stickers aside to use on a few cards later on, when I have more time.

Also, If I make Elizabeth Shaw Mint favours again next year (as I surely will), I think I will start putting a small, matching ribbon loop between the mint and the card base so that they can be hung on a tree or branch, that way they can be seen for a while before the eating of.

Marc & Rick's Worcester Cottage Garden

I don’t think I will write much today, I will just let Marc and Rick’s Worcester Cottage Garden do the talking ……

All the pictures were taken yesterday morning (16th November 2016).  I have never taken pictures of the garden so late in the year.  Usually I have done it in the summer, when everything is so green and vibrant.

But in the midst of winter it takes on a completely different and mature look, the vibrant glossy summer colours now faded to faded terracottas and muted greens.

When I marvel at how everything looks so right, Marc will just pass it off and say that it was just thrown together just like that, but I don’t believe it, they such an eye, design and art having always been their career.

It’s also finding the pieces and then leaving them to weather naturally.

I would be too impatient ……..

……. everything would be too precisely positioned……..

……. and the natural look I crave would be completely lost. It is an art.

Every time I look I see something I haven’t seen before.  It’s so unbelievably peaceful, it looks so effortless, and it’s such a constant source of inspiration ....... it’s Marc and Rick!

Happy Days ……..

I am at the cottage in Worcester with Marc for a few days ….. and look what he gave me for Christmas ……

I may have to hop everywhere, and going to the loo has its difficulties, but …….      I am a mermaid!!!

Christmas Scene In Large Wooden Lantern

I wanted to put a little Christmas magic in the bedroom where Iris sleeps when she stays over, something she and Bertie will have Christmas memories of when they are grown up.  When I was a child we always had a nativity stable made from an old Bank’s beer crate, it was something that was always there and I can still vividly remember now.

The large, wooden garden lantern was something I had searched for ages to find to go in my open fireplace back in Wolverhampton and though I didn’t bring a lot, I was determined that it would come with me to Evesham, but when I first moved in it didn’t seem to fit in anywhere and it nearly went to live with Marc, along with a couple more boxes of bits that didn’t fit in either.

But eventually, after giving it several coats of white paint  it lived on my lounge window sill for a while, and then it moved again on top of the drawers in the spare room, it was then I hit upon putting a Christmas scene in it.  Firstly I have a confession to make, for this year and this year only, the snow was made using a white vest, suitably draped on the bottom of the lantern, next year, I will make sure I get a more suitable piece of proper sparkly fleecy material!

Santa came from BM Bargains, I forget how much he cost, but his beard and hat trim are “real”, which was just perfect for the effect I wanted.

The two white brush trees came from Clas Ohlson and cost £2.99 each http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Tabletop-Christmas-Tree/44-2129  I had originally put them on my festive shelves, but no matter how much I fiddled with them I couldn’t seem to get them looking straight, but in the lantern it didn’t matter, all that mattered was that they were in proportion with Santa.

Two sets of Poundshop battery operated lights were all that were then needed to complete the whole effect. It’s finished for the time being, but what I am looking for now are a couple of little animals, perhaps a robin, rabbit or squirrel, to add a little more colour and interest, in proportion to Santa and the trees, so my eyes are on constantly alert!