Time To Start Crafting Again...

Hi Honeys,

Well, that's it.  A whole evening spent making up little treat bags for tiny humans to collect tomorrow.  It was a lot of fun, as it always is.  I love Halloween.🎃 

Now though, it's time to start thinking about the next holiday period, and to that end it's time to get out my air dry clay, my cookie cutters and get crafting again.😊

A couple of years ago, I used some air dry clay, cookie cutters and some acrylic paints and had the most fun making little tree ornaments to put inside Christmas cards.  

Well, now that all of the work for Halloween is over, it's time to start crafting again for the holidays.  So, now it's time to take out those cookie cutters again🎅🎄

Making these little tree ornaments is a perfect, fun craft for tiny humans.  The air dry clay is rolled out, the cookie cutters are used to make the shapes needed, and then a pencil is used to make a little hole for the ribbon to be threaded through.

They are then left overnight (it might take a little longer, depending on how thickly/thinly the clay shapes have been cut) then even more fun!  The tree ornaments can then be decorated.  They can be painted, or left as they are, and lastly, pretty ribbons can be chosen to thread them with.💖  

 As you can see honeys, my favourites are the little angels👼 I collect angels, they're all around our home, sitting on shelves, on bookcases, and they always make me smile.😊

The little bells are painted silver, just like the angels wings, while the Christmas trees and the buttons on the cute little gingerbread men are painted using a sparkly, glittery paint. 

 

Of course there are other preparations for the holidays too.  Getting my much loved brother-in-law's room ready for his visit and of course planning and meal prepping his favourite dinners for him too💖 We only get to see him once every year because he lives so far away so his visits mean such a lot to us.  

We also have a lot of holiday baking to do too, of course, which I adore doing, but it's spending an hour or two making tiny tree decorations to hide inside Christmas cards that I so look forward to.💖

Are you making a start on your holiday preparations honeys?  What's your favourite part of holiday prep?  So many hugs dear ones and thank you for keeping me company.  Till next time, hugs always xx 

How A Tiny Set Of LED Lights Can Help Keep Little Ones Safe When Trick Or Treating🎃

Disclaimer:  I haven't been paid to recommend any products of stores, just sharing a fun little DIY project that could help keep tiny humans safe, by making sure they are visible to cars etc while they're out trick or treating.🎃

Hi Honeys,

I'm playing catch up with Blogtober again.😊 I'm sorry honeys, the weather is playing havoc with me😒  Enough moans though, there's catching up to do.😊 

I thought since Halloween is only a few days away, I'd share a little DIY project I first posted a few years ago.  It's such an easy, takes-no-time-at-all project and just helps keep tiny humans visible while they're out trick or treating.  Important, now that the dark nights are with us again, but also fun to have a little treat bag that doubles as a lantern too..   

Are you missing the daylight honeys?  The worst part of winter for me is the almost constant (it feels that way to me anyway) darkness.  During winter, here on the west coast of Scotland it can be completely dark until after 9am and then, with the snap of fingers, be midnight dark again before 4pm.  

It's beyond draining.  Is it any wonder that every year I have a countdown to spring?😊🌺 There are one hundred and forty three days to go honeys, just in case you wondered😊🌻

What we need for our project...

On to our project then.  All you'll need is a set of the battery powered led lights you'll find in places like supermarkets or pound (or Dollar) stores like Poundland or Dollar Tree.  They're usually anywhere between £1 - £3 a set.  You'll then need batteries for the lights too, of course.  This will usually be two AA batteries.  Then you'll need a treat bag you can attach the lights to.  I used a plastic cauldron from Asda (Walmart) that cost around £1, but again these are available everywhere, as well as other types of treat bags you can use too.  

Lastly, you'll need a roll of any strong tape, like gaffer or duct tape.  I used very thick, black electrical tape.  This tape is very strong, so it would hold the lights firmly in place, but it also meant that an additional piece of tape can be run around the inside edge (once the project is done) to make the wire "disappear" so that tiny humans can happily collect treats in their bag without treats, or tiny hands, getting tangled.   

The led lights are available in so, so many designs.  For this project in the past I've used a set of Harry Potter Hedwig lights, as well as a set of adorable little ghost lights I found in Poundland.👻🎃 Choose a set you, or the tiny human who will use the bag, like honeys...

First we unpack the lights and fit the batteries, to check that they work.  How irritating would it be to securely attach the lights, only to then find out they're faulty?  Yep, been there, done that.😊 

Next we begin to attach the lights.  I snipped off around a dozen or so pieces of the tape and lightly attached them to edge of our coffee table - thinking back on it, I should have used a craft board or a chopping board from the kitchen.  Oh well, next time maybe.😊   

Attach the first light so that the light sits outside the treat bag but the wires are on the inside...

Fasten securely with a piece of your previously cut tape.  Carry on attaching the rest of the lights, spacing the lights out so that they go all around the treat bag.  With a much larger piece of tape, secure the battery pack/compartment of the lights to the inside of the bag. 

Once again, try switching on the lights.  This is to make sure you can still easily reach the on/off switch of the lights and that the tape isn't covering it...  

 

Not all lights will sit as well as the Potter themed ones did. They have a sort of copper wire that bends to shape and allows the little owls to almost perch on the top of the cauldron.  The ghosts have a more flexible wire, so I just ran a little bit of tape over the edge of the cauldron to hold the wire from moving... 

Last thing to do is to run a length of the tape around the inner edge of the treat bag to completely cover the wires.  This not only makes the wires (sort of) disappear from sight but, as I said, prevents tiny humans fingers/hands getting tangled or caught by any wires. 

It's taken much longer to explain this tiny project than it takes to complete it honeys, it's so easy you'll be able to make a few in no time at all (depending on how many tiny humans would like one of them.)  I'm sure lots of little ones would love to have their own little lantern/treat bag to light their way and might even want to use it as a night light for Halloween too. 

How are your Halloween preparations going?  We still have some baking to do and the treat bags to make up.🎃   Thank you for keeping me company, are you taking part in Blogtober this year?  If so, please leave a link to your blog/Vlog and I'll pop over and say hello.💖🤗

Till next time dear ones, hugs always x

What To Do With A Completed Latch Hook Kit?🐝

Disclaimer:  I have not been paid to promote any products or stores, just sharing my latest crafting project and looking for ideas on how to complete it by turning it into.... well something.  Any suggestions honeys? 🤗 

Hi Honeys, 

How are you today?  I'm looking for suggestions on what to do with a recently completed latch hook kit, a gift from Hubby (thank you sweetheart x)  

Have you ever tried a latch hook kit?  Before this adorable kit Hubby brought me home, with the bee motif, it had been years since I'd done one.  I'd forgotten how much fun they are.😊 

The kit comes all contained in a cardboard box.  Inside there is everything you need to complete the design shown on the box.  Firstly, there is a piece of canvas aida, this is the fabric that the yarns are attached to and has the pattern the kit is to make, printed on it...

In addition there is a latch hook tool, seen above, and all of the yarn needed to complete the kit in pre-cut lengths.  

It took me almost six days, working on it in the evenings, to complete this little kit and I just love it💖  Now though, the question is, what to do with it? 

On the box the kit is packaged in, it suggests turning it into a wall hanging, a cushion or a rug.  Now, since it measures 30cm x 30cm (that's only just short of 12 inches x 12 inches) so it's much too small to be a rug😊  I do think it might make a lovely wall hanging, if I finished off the edges with a binding or edging.  

I have to admit I'm leaning towards adding a backing to the canvas aida and then sewing it up into a cushion cover using something lovely from my tiny fabric collection upstairs.  It would be so nice as a cushion cover and I'm sure Buzz would like a new friend to keep him company upstairs🐝

Do you remember Buzz?  If not, you can read about him here🐝💖 

What do you think honeys?  Any other ideas on how to transform the little bee latch hook kit into decor?  Have you tried making a latch hook kit?  Hubby got this one for me from Home Bargains, and I think I'll see if there are any other designs on their website.  I enjoyed working on it, it's good physio for my arthritic hands too.  

Thank you for keeping me company dear ones.  Till next time, stay warm and safe, the weather is definitely changing.  Hugs always x

Blogtober Day 13: Crafting fun with air dry clay: DIY Poppies🌼

 Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to promote any products or stores, just sharing some crafting smiles x 

Hi Honeys, 

Welcome, thank you for visiting 💖 How are you today? It's day 13 of Blogtober and I thought I'd share one of my favourite crafts... 

Have you ever tried crafting with air dry clay honeys?  Many people prefer to craft with a polymer or a modelling clay, but I adore using air dry clay.  The main difference of course is that, as the name suggests, air dry clay sets or hardens by being left at room temperature, there is no need for a kiln or oven. 

I'm not any kind of an expert honeys, I just have so much fun with my clay.  The one I use is this one, I discovered it a couple of years ago while shopping in The Works,  it comes in a 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) block and it lasts me for ages.  It looks a sort of grey colour while working with it but as it dries out and sets it becomes a sort of chalk white.  Then it's fun to paint and decorate your creations.    

Remember to only take what you need to work with from the pack of clay, then quickly seal the rest in an air tight container or zip lock bag to stop it from setting or hardening before you have a chance to have fun making your creations.

Speaking of which, that brings us to today's post 😊  I'm not artistically talented honeys, I so wish I was! I've always wished that I could draw or paint or sculpt.  Oh to be able to create something beautiful. Something that makes other people smile. That would be wonderful, dear ones. It really would. 

The thing is though honeys, knowing that I have absolutely no talent whatsoever doesn't stop me from having the most fun 😊  I may not be able to sculpt but I can cut out fun shapes with cookie cutters 😃 

Among my favourites in my growing collection are these brightly coloured blossom shaped cookie cutters...

While I know they're not the perfect shape, I decided to try to make some poppies last year.  Hubby and I proudly wear our poppies every year, in tribute to those who have served our Country, past and present. 

I began by cutting out the shapes in different sizes to see what they'd look like.  Once made, I moulded them by rounding the "petals" upwards so they weren't just flat shapes. Then I just had to wait until they were entirely dried and set...

Once set, then we can really have fun 😊 

I used acrylic paints that Hubby brought me from The Works.  I was so pleased with them, for a first attempt.  What do you think honeys?

As you can see honeys, while making my poppies I also made some roses as well as some Christmas tree decorations...

I really enjoyed making those tree decorations last year honeys, so much so that I'm going to try to make some more this year.  I'll be popping them into our Christmas cards again, in the hopes of sharing a smile or two 😊

Crafting with clay is far more than fun for me though.  By using my hands, by keeping them moving, I'm hoping to (hopefully) keep the arthritis from winning.  

As the old saying goes honeys "use it or lose it" and if I can combine a fun hobby with a little exercise for my hands, well I'm very grateful.  

Have you tried crafting with clay? Making these little tree decorations would be a fun activity for children to help with too, and I'm sure family members would love a special tree decoration made by a grandchild or niece or nephew to be included with their Christmas card. 

Till next time dear ones, stay warm and safe everybody, hugs always xx

Blogtober Day 11: Butterfly Crafts & Smiles...

 Hi Honeys, 

Just a very quick post today I'm afraid, the damp and cold is trying to turn me into a human pretzel, I slept less than 3 hours last night and I feel so drained.  Enough of my moans honeys, today I thought I'd share the latest little crafting projects I'd completed...

Do you remember the butterflies I made from air dry clay?  If you missed them, you can see the post here honeys.  Well, I wanted to make another two, for my much loved Sister in law and our beautiful niece 💖 (hello honeys x) 

If you remember the original I made was composed of three shimmery, sparkly butterflies, suspended from each other using pretty blue ribbon.

For this latest version I added another element, a "cage" which contains a semi precious crystal...    

What do you think honeys?  They were so much fun to make and the light bounces off the butterflies glittery wings 💖  Till tomorrow dear ones, stay warm and safe everyone, hugs always xx

Blogtober Day 6: Crafting Smiles...

 Hi Honeys, 

Smiles ahoy today (I hope) for the 6th day of Blogtober 😊  Do you love crafting dear ones? I do 😊   I'm no good at it, I can't draw a straight line but crafting makes me smile and it calms me and I just love it 💖 

Today I thought I'd share some of my crafting smiles 😊

Do you adore ladybirds as much as I do?  I started painting pebbles a while ago now and I just had to try to make some ladybird pebbles 🐞  

I can remember seeing these gorgeous little garden helpers (they keep your roses free of aphids you know) everywhere when I was younger but now they seem to be as rare as the beautiful butterflies who used to be constant visitors in our garden too and are now so rarely seen.

I tried to create my favourite kind of day on a pebble (is that an odd thing to do honeys?) and it turned out like this... 

Endless greener than green grass, blue skies that go on forever with the lightest, fluffiest clouds and a couple of birds enjoying it all 💖

I even tried to paint some fruit onto pebbles (as you do :) You can see them in the photo below, in various stages of being painted...

From left to right:  A lemon, a strawberry, two pears (only one with leaves so far) and a red apple 😊

Above them is a small trinket dish I made for a dear friend in the shape of a watermelon.  The underside is painted in a darker green.

I love creating things with air dry clay honeys.  I've been collecting cookie cutters to use with the clay and have even made tree ornaments.  They're fun to pop inside Christmas cards to family and friends and if you have little ones at home it's a great activity they'll love.

I'm always on the look-out for new cookie cutters in interesting shapes and Hubby has brought me quite a few that have become my favourites (thank you sweetheart x).  One of the sets he found for me included cutters in the shape of a dress, a shoe and (as shown below) a perfume bottle and a lipstick. 

Do you enjoy crafting honeys?  If so, which are your favourite crafts?  I hope you're having a fabulous day and staying warm. Till next time dear ones, hugs always xx

Super Easy DIY Face Mask Using Recycled Denim

Disclaimer:  This mask is not personal protective equipment.  I made a few of these masks for Hubby's work commute after watching an awesome tutorial I found on Youtube (details and link in the post below) added my own little tweak by using a micro fibre cloth as the inner layer and wanted to share. Enjoy honeys and please stay safe x

Hi Honeys,
I hope you're well and having a great weekend.  I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. OK, short Rosie moan coming up, please feel free to jump ahead😊  It's now 131 days lock-down began, many people are (carefully) out and about already but I haven't been any further outside than a few (very rare) trips to the end of our little patio in the back garden to feed the birds.

I haven't been able to have my bloods done (long story) and so I haven't had access to my arthritis medication since March. Spoonies will understand that when I say ouchie, it's a wee bit of an understatement. I'm coping as best as I can, just as we all are.  Things will get better dear ones, we have to believe that, they always do.  All we can do is hold on until they do <hugs> xx

Enough of my moans and on to what I hope is a useful, and fun, little sewing project 😊     

This is going to be quite a long post, I took photos when making this cool (Hubby says so lol) wee mask, so why not go grab a cuppa and maybe a cookie or two and I'll meet you after the page break?  (just click the "read more" link)

Christmas Crafting: Fun With Air Dry Clay And DIY Tree Ornaments🎄

Disclaimer:  I haven't been paid to promote any shops, nor gifted any products, just wanted to share my latest little crafting smiles x

Hi Honeys
Well, here we are in December.  I really can't believe how quickly this year has gone by.  I'm so sorry I haven't posted before now, the cold and damp weather are causing my arthritis to flare, so mostly I've been camping out on the sofa with our sweet furbaby.  Bless her, she never minds keeping her Mum company and sharing a fluffy throw💖 

While staying warm on the sofa with Jade and (to try) to battle the aches and stiffness in my hands, I decided to attempt to make some Christmas tree ornaments from air dry clay.  It was such a lot of fun and I'm so pleased at how they turned out...   

Air dry clay, because there's no need to bake your creations, really is the perfect crafting medium for fun craft projects for little ones in the run up to Christmas 🎅🎄

Why not go grab a warm cuppa honeys and meet me back here in a few minutes and I'll share some crafting smiles 💖

Crafting Forever Roses...

Disclaimer:  I haven't been paid to promote any products or shops, just wanted to share my latest crafting smiles x

Hi Honeys,
How are you today?  It's been so cold this past week or so and we now have at least another two trees full of leaves scattered across the back garden.  Hubby & our furbaby Jade are going to spend Sunday afternoon clearing them (again) which Jade will absolutely love.  She adores being out in the garden with her Dad and loves running into huge piles of leaves even more 💖

The cold has been making my hands (and other bits) ache by irritating my arthritis so I've been fighting back by crafting 😊  The phrase "use it or lose it" applies perfectly honeys, unless Spoonies keep those joints moving, the arthritis wins and we'll seize up, like an old engine, until our mobility is lost to us.  A chronic illness can't be allowed to win dear ones. Not even a little bit.

You know how much I love our roses honeys?  Our front garden is very small, but it's home to our beautiful rose shrubs, planted in memory of my dear Gramma and beloved Mother in Law who both adored roses even more than I do 🌹 

Losing our precious roses is the main reason that every year I have a countdown to spring (125 days to go!) because I can't wait to see our garden start to wake again after it's (too) long winter nap.  I do have artificial roses dotted around our home, gifts over the years from Hubby (thank you sweetheart x) but I never thought I could make beautiful roses myself!   

I'm so excited honeys!  I craft, whether it's knitting, sewing (machine these days, my days of needlework are behind me I'm afraid) or making little things with clay, I love to create things and it also serves as a sort of physiotherapy too I suppose, in that it helps to keep the movement I have in my hands. It helps battle the stiffness of arthritis. Enough waffle about painful things and on to fun things instead 😊

Why not go grab a cuppa, I will too, and meet me back here in a few minutes and I'll share how I made those pretty little clay roses. There are lots of photos in this post, so a lovely cuppa, and maybe a cookie or two, would be perfect ☕🍪 See you back here in a few minutes honeys...

(click the read more link to see the full post)

Blogtober Day 25: Friday Smiles & Butterflies..

Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to promote any products or shops, just wanted to share some smiles x

Hi Honeys
How are you today? Staying warm I hope?  It's gotten so chilly this past few days, at the moment we're into the afternoon and have reached the dizzying heights of 7C.

I thought for today's Blogtober post (can you believe there's only a week left!) I'd share some past air dry clay shapes I'd made, and hopefully a few smiles too 😊

I so wish I was able to make some of the fabulous things I've seen on Pinterest, but I'm grateful for the fun I have with some cookie cutters and a large pack of air dry clay...

Blogtober Day 22: Easy Halloween DIY To Help Keep Trick or Treaters Visible & Safe

Disclaimer:  I haven't been paid to promote any products or shops, just sharing a little Halloween DIY I made last year for work x

Hi Honeys, 

Welcome to Blogtober day 22, today I thought I'd share a fun little DIY I made for Halloween last year because it occurred to me that it might be a good way to keep trick or treaters safe in the dark?

Every year at work in the week of Halloween, I usually have a little cauldron at my workstation.  In this little cauldron will be balloons and lollypops or sweets of some kind.  I buy these while shopping for the contents of our Halloween bags we make up every years for visiting trick or treaters.

Well, last year I thought I'd do a little DIY on my little cauldron and so I did 😊

OK, I just smiled when I saw this photo, and it did actually make a lot of people smile at work last year too 😊  I had wanted to add a little magic to my checkout honeys, it makes people smile and tiny humans seemed to like spooky balloons and sweeties.  Mostly their parents seemed to like that too because it would distract wee ones for long enough to let them pack their shopping in peace 😊

I was looking out Halloween decor for this year though honeys and it occurred to me that my little light up cauldron might actually be useful to help wee ones stay visible while crossing roads/streets while trick or treating on Halloween?

Those little LED lights are quite powerful in the dark as you can see...

These useful battery powered LED lights really don't have to be either Potter themed or even very expensive though honeys.  You'll find lots of different designs, such as light up pumpkins, bats etc in shops like your nearest pound shop or dollar store.

I found these cute light up ghost LED lights in Poundland, they only cost £1 (well duh Rosie, lol) and two small batteries for the little battery pack.  The plastic cauldrons can be found in most shops too honeys at around £1 or less (I think I've seen them for around 50p). 

In order to attach the lights, and the small battery pack, to the inside of the cauldron I used some black electrical tape...

In case any fellow Potter fans are curious, I bought the Hedwig lights last year in Primark..

I haven't seen them this year (although I never go into the City so they might be available again in larger branches?) but I did find this set, with all of the House crests, instead.  I bought these for a future DIY project for our book nook upstairs.

Potter themed lights are very me honeys because most Halloweens you'll find me in a Hogwarts school uniform, complete with my House robes.  One year I even managed to convince a little visitor to my checkout (who was with his mum) that Hogwarts was a real school, it still makes me smile 😊

This little DIY doesn't have to be expensive though, as i said the little cauldrons can be found almost everywhere for £1 or less, and pound/dollar store lights are fine to decorate it with.

Our light up Cauldron will be filled (and re-filled all evening) with lots of trick or treat bags this year and will be sitting by our door, shining brightly for visiting Trick or treaters 🎃 

Do you adore Halloween too honeys? Whatever you're doing, stay warm and have fun dear ones.  Till next time, smile lots and hug even more, hugs always x 

Blogtober Day 19: Saturday Smiles & Crafting Fun..

Hi Honeys,
I hope you're having a great weekend 💗  How can we have reached day 19 of Blogtober already?  It's another rainy, cold day dear ones and I have to dash out the door soon to work but first I thought I'd share a little smile or two 😊

I've been having fun with a little crafting honeys and I just love these little guys...

I know 😊 I'm under no illusion over my lack of painting or artistic skills, but it's such fun trying to turn some tiny rocks into something else, in this case a couple of tiny ladybirds 😊

I also tried to paint some tiny pieces of fruit, as you can see..

There's a lemon, a strawberry, a couple of little pears and a little red apple 🍎  Above them, in the photo, is a small trinket dish I made from air dry clay and then (tried) to paint into a piece of watermelon.  

I know I'm pretty much rubbish at painting and I'm so in awe of all of the talented people who paint all of the beautiful painted rocks I've seen on Pinterest, but I'm having such fun honeys, and it's keeping me happy while the weather's so cold and rainy outside.😊 

Do you like crafting honeys?  I have to dash to work, such a long day ahead, but tomorrow I can rest a little, keep our furbaby Jade company on the sofa and maybe paint some more tiny rocks 😊

Till next time dear ones, have a wonderful weekend, smile lots and hug even more, hugs always x