Saturday, 11 February 2017

Less Is More – Little Wooden House In The Snow Christmas Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and uses a hand cut, Kraft card blank as its base.
Kraft House in the Snow Christmas CardAnd ……. following on from yesterday …….. I am finally happy with my Little House in the Snow card, in the end producing something very less is more.
The only colour I have used comes from a tiny scrap of red paper glued on the back of the house over the heart with some yellow behind the windows.
Start of a cardI decided to give up on all the mat and layering, instead just adding a strip of ripped edged, white card, placed approximately across the middle of the card blank, adding trails of translucent micro glitter across the snow once the house was in position, followed then by a scattering of tiny silver stars in the sky.Mini Wooden House Embellishment. House in the snow Christmas CardThe sentiment, again, was handwritten using a fine liner pen but this time mat and layered to define it a little more.
It may have taken a fair bit of fiddle farting, but I got there in the end

Friday, 10 February 2017

Little Wooden House Christmas Card - Mark 2

Following on from yesterday’s card …….. I put my thoughts together, and this is what “occurred”, I really am not sure, OK, I will be honest, this hasn’t worked at all!!!
House in the snow Christmas CardThe card measures 5ins x 5ins and uses a hand cut, Kraft card blank as a base.
house in the snow Christmas Card 2 Adding the colour, despite being done very carefully, just looks crude and “unprofessional”, it hasn’t worked, the card doesn’t need it. However, I think adding a trail of translucent glitter through the snow has worked ……. The sentiment was handwritten using a fine liner pen which  I think also works, but, could be presented a little better, by mat and layering ………. so it’s back to the drawing board yet again!

Thursday, 9 February 2017

Little Wooden House In The Snow Christmas Card

Well ……. goodness only knows where the original post for this card has disappeared to, and I really can’t face writing it all over again, so hopefully a couple of pictures will tell the story for me.  The card measures 4ins x 4ins and uses a white linen effect, hand cut card blank as its base.Little House Christmas CardOriginally I wasn’t 100% happy with this card and my intention was to experiment using Kraft card instead and perhaps adding colour and glitter.
wooden house embellishments in trayWooden houses came from e-bay :- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Box-of-45-Assorted-Mini-Wooden-HOUSES-Shapes-Craft-Embellishments-/322355461063

Wednesday, 8 February 2017

Experimenting With The Idea Of Easter Jars–Not One Of My Best!!!!!

I think I really need to experiment a little more with this idea, inspired by some Easter jar ideas I have seen on Pinterest, what I have done just doesn’t seem to quite come together for me.
Easter Jargummy carrots in a jar
The small Kilner type jar came from Home Bargains for just 59p.
The Works Flock Easter Rabbitsco op gummy carrots
….. and I thought the pack of flock rabbits from The Works (£1) would come in useful in the run up to Easter, either for this project or something else …… and as for the gummy carrots, (£1 from the Co-Op), well, they’re confectionery, so wouldn't go to waste!
Easter sweet jarEaster Bunny Jar
The idea was to layer the sweets inside the jar, attractively, which is where I failed disastrously!  I put Cadburys mini eggs at  the bottom, then a layer of coiled, dark green, raspberry flavour laces (for the grass), but I think Poundland may sell a lighter green, apple flavour lace.  However, I couldn't find a chocolate rabbit that fit, (too big or too small) so that’s where a flock one came in handy, sat sitting, among the gummy carrots ……. but, it looks a mess, the poor, panicking rabbit’s eyes says it all, he is definitely not happy being stuck in a jar!
gummy carrots in a jarSo I sat him on top of the jar instead, held in place with a foam pad, but I think, when/if I have another go, he should be glued there instead.  I also need to cut a green paper/faux grass circle to stick on the jar lid too, and the ribbon, well I think that should be much thicker and probably green.  So, all in all, I have got it all wrong ……. so it’s back to the drawing board, with a few other ideas ……….. but,  at least I got to eat the sweets as I wrote this post, as they were in very grave danger of going stale!

Tuesday, 7 February 2017

Covered Satsuma Box

I have finally taken the plunge and put together a few bits and pieces to take up to the café where Iris and I like to “lunch” on a Wednesday.  It was the very first place in Evesham that I went for a coffee and have been a regular ever since, with the owner Josi becoming a lovely friend.
Covered Satsuma CrateI ate quite a few satsumas over Christmas and kept a couple of the boxes, “just in case” and decided to tart this one up for my goodies, the crate matching the style of Josi’s Café Moo Moos.
Decorated Christmas Satsuma CrafteI was in a bit of a hurry, so it was a bit of a slap and dash covering, but it looks cheerful and a little more professional than the Tupperware box I was originally going to use.
Covered Wooden satsuma boxI put my blog name on the front, but decided not to put any contact details on in the first instance and wait and see if there is any feedback. I would like to be able to top the box up through the seasons in my own good time, leaving it at that for the time being with no pressure.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186422-d7986194-Reviews-Moo_Moos_Cafe_Bar-Evesham_Worcestershire_England.html

Monday, 6 February 2017

January Furniture Show 2017 – Pictures of Ian Christopher’s Work

You may remember that I beat myself up a week or so ago because I was too busy/knackered to take many pictures of the hospitality areas I worked on with Ian Christopher  and his team at the January Furniture Show 2017 at the NEC in Birmingham, well I now have some “official” pictures from Ian. 
The first few are of the Speak Easy VIP Area which it all started as below, empty  …….
NEC 2NEC 1
….. and ended up looking like this …….
6093_(23)SE 7
Ian designed everything, from the colours of the stand walls …..
SE2SE3
…… to the posters and art work on the walls, the signage, the flooring …….
SE4SE6
……. the lighting, the drapes ………
PB4PB2
……. every single stick of furniture that had to be hired ….. even down to the mahooooooosive chandelier in the piano bar.
PB5PB1
….. Ian’s plans were drawn to show exactly where everything had to go, for me the thought of it all makes my head spin.  All I had to do was “stage” the props, and wire some gerbera and as I have said, that totally knackered me out!
6093_(12)6093_(11)
6093_(13)ww3
Ian also designed the Willy Wonka and Western Areas that I never got a chance to see in their finished stage.
west 1west
It really is a whole new world ……. If I had had the room, I would have been very tempted to smuggle out a cactus or two to put in my communal garden, and then wait for the flat’s management company to pass judgement (as they certainly didn’t like my bird station), and I would have loved to see Iris’s face if I had put two of the Willy Wonka ice-cream cones at either side of the end of the bed in my guest room, but not even my humongous shoplifting bag, as Marc calls, it could have covered them in my attempt to look inconspicuous and innocent.  http://www.furniturepresentations.com/

Sunday, 5 February 2017

Red Snowflake Tags

Wooden red snowflake tags with pearlsTo make these snowflake tags I have used scraps of corrugated Kraft card, small wooden tags (The Works), red snowflake embellishments, pearl flat backed gems, Butchers red and white twine and wooden beads.
10 Wooden Tags - The WorksRed Snowflake Tag
The finished tags measure approximately 3ins x 2.ins.
I cut out the tags using the corrugated Kraft card, then attached smaller wooden tags to them using red and white Butchers twine and a wooden bead
Red snowflake tagsRed Snowflake Wooden Tag
The wooden red snowflakes were Christmas parcel tags from Sainsburys.  They were glued to the wooden tag using PVA glue, and then the tag was edged with faux stitching using a red gel pen.
Red snowflake tag, globs of glueMy choice of flat backed pearls was governed by the fact that, unbelievably, I have run out of small clear flat backed gems, but work well nonetheless, perhaps making the tag look a little posher.  I also needed to add the pearls to cover the hole used for string it originally had threaded through. Please excuse gluey globs!!
Red snowflake tag with pearl embellishmentThese tags would look good on a parcel wrapped in a plain kraft paper, or a on a plain red paper with matching string or ribbon.
What I do with all my stuff I make ……..????
Susan asked what I will be doing with all the things I make, especially now that I don’t work and no longer have the staffroom table to display my wares.  Well Susan, the café I like to take Iris on a Wednesday for her scrambled egg on toast is hoping to diversify and have a little crafty section as a side line, so I am going to take a small selection of bits to see how they go, but I really don’t want to start making “en masse”.  I was also asked before Christmas if I would like a stall at a craft fayre, sadly, I had to decline as I had absolutely nothing to sell, so all the Christmas stuff I will be making in the coming months, cards, tags etc. will be put away just in case it I am asked again.
I shall also be going backwards and forwards to nursery from April onwards to collect Iris when Laura returns to work, so I will be keeping my ears open for any other opportunities, but again, I have no desire to make dozens of the same thing.  I use a lot of my stuff myself, and I give quite a bit away too like a box of birthday cards as a present.  As a “retired” lady I don’t want the hassle of making stuff to order or in bulk, I get bored easily these days, so making ten of anything would really be enough for me.  I suppose it’s the making I like, working to a tight budget, followed by the blogging and sharing ……. selling isn’t that much of a priority at the moment.   

Saturday, 4 February 2017

Wooden Snowflake Kraft Tags

To make these snowflake tags I have used scraps of corrugated and plain Kraft card, wooden snowflake embellishments, Dovecraft North Pole sentiment toppers, clear flat back gems, rustic style string, and wooden beads.
Wooden snowflake tags..The finished tags measure approximately 4ins x 2.5ins.
Kraft Card TagsWooden Snowflake embellishmentsDovecrafts North Pole VChristmas Sentiment Toppers
First I cut out the tags, the corrugated card one slightly bigger than the plain Kraft one. I punched a matching hole through them both and then joined them together with a length of rustic string and a wooden bead.
Kraft Tag with wooden beadKraft Tag.Corrugated Card Tag
I faux stitched the top tag with a white gel pen.
Snowflake Kraft Tags.Wooden Snowflake Tags with clear flat back gems
The wooden snowflakes were then added using PVA glue, followed by a clear flat backed gem in the centre, a scattering of white dots here and there to bring the design together.  I also faux stitched the back of the completed tag with white gel pen to follow through the detail.
Christmas Snowflake tagsThese tags would look good on a parcel wrapped in a plain kraft paper, or a on a plain red or blue paper with matching string or ribbon.