Does Anyone Know ………?

I love this stamp ………..

…… does anyone know who makes it and where I could get it from?

Patchwork Little Wooden Bees Birthday Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut blank in a ribbed effect Kraft card.

I couldn’t resist these little wooden bees that I found on e-bay and straight away thought they would marry up really well with papers from CraftWork Cards Country Charms 6” x 6” paper pad.

The printed sentiment tags used came from The Works
I started off doing the mat and layering using a contrasting grey/green paper and silver mirror card.

I hadn’t originally planned using the tags, but when I spotted them in my box and started to experiment, they went really well, filling some of the empty space subtly.

The honeycomb pattern of the paper was almost made for the bees, the proportions perfect!

The final touches came from a little faux stitching using a black fine liner pen round the edges of the contrasting matting, and the bows, made using the rustic style string that came with the tags which were glued over the eyelets of the tags.

Bees http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351558743264_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=620582947636&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Less Is More – Snowman In The Snow Christmas Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and uses a hand cut, Kraft card blank as its base.

After seeing how well my less is more house in the snow Christmas card came out the other day, I wondered if the idea would work with any of the other small Christmas embellishments I had, so I tried it with a resin snowman …….

…… it worked! Just a strip of torn white card with a trails of translucent micro glitter over the top plus a scattering of tiny silver stars.  The foam backed sentiment came from a Dovecrafts North Pole sentiment pack, much easier and less stressful than handwriting it!

Ikea Tjena Storage Boxes – My Craft Storage Taking Shape

My Ikea Tjena storage boxes for my craft stuff has finally arrived, with Christmas and various other commitments in the New Year I had to put ordering them on hold,  although they have been much planned and measured for.

And loathe and very embarrassed to say this .......but,  I have finally become truly and seriously anal in a decorative nature sort of way …….. …….. as said boxes match the Next bed linen in the room perfectly!!!  I can’t believe I’ve just admitted as to how sad I have become, however, there is method in my madness (yes, I am going to justify my anality), as all my craft stuff is going to be stored in what is my guest room, (a lot going under the bed) and I increasingly turn into Hyacinth Bucket (Bouquet), I don’t want my guests waking up to gaze upon shelves stacked high with used takeaway boxes!

I have put one of each size box together to give me an idea of how they will look, what will fit in them and where they will go, and I am dead chuffed.  However, before I start sorting it all out,  I need to do a little painting to cover up a few patches here and there ….. and then the task I am not really relishing, sorting all those embellishments, stickers etc. into the right box.I know it is likely to become an almighty mess before I finally rein it all in, but in the end it will be a million times better than having to go into my narrow hall cupboard to find the bits and pieces I need to craft with, which has been really getting on my nerves of late. Happy Days!

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.
And ……. 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.

I 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.The 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

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!!!
The card measures 5ins x 5ins and uses a hand cut, Kraft card blank as a base.

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!

House embellishments came from e-bay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Box-of-45-Assorted-Mini-Wooden-HOUSES-Shapes-Craft-Embellishments-/322355461063?hash=item4b0de1fbc7:g:Q6oAAOSwEzxYS93D

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.Originally 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 houses came from e-bay :- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Box-of-45-Assorted-Mini-Wooden-HOUSES-Shapes-Craft-Embellishments-/322355461063

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.

The small Kilner type jar came from Home Bargains for just 59p.

….. 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!

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!

So 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!

https://uk.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=Easter%20Jars&rs=typed&term_meta[]=Easter%7Ctyped&term_meta[]=Jars%7Ctyped

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.

I 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.

I 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.

I 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.

http://lovemoomoos.weebly.com/

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186422-d7986194-Reviews-Moo_Moos_Cafe_Bar-Evesham_Worcestershire_England.html

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  …….

….. and ended up looking like this …….

Ian designed everything, from the colours of the stand walls …..

…… to the posters and art work on the walls, the signage, the flooring …….

……. the lighting, the drapes ………

……. every single stick of furniture that had to be hired ….. even down to the mahooooooosive chandelier in the piano bar.

….. 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!

Ian also designed the Willy Wonka and Western Areas that I never got a chance to see in their finished stage.

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/