Halloween Rag Wreath

The number of things I want to craft can feel a little overwhelming at times...where do I start, what do I make etc.

To combat this I have numbered all my boxes of crafty goodies, wrote the numbers down onto pieces of paper, folded them up and then put them into a tub. I am then drawing out a number and whatever number is chosen is the box that I use something out of to make something.

Up first is this box of goodies:

This one us mainly Christmassy items but in here are two 15cm polystyrene rings I bought several years ago and after a quick Pinterest search I decided to make a rag wreath with one.

I had some Halloween scraps left over from a large wreath I started last year. After a few tests I decided that 2cm x 2cm squares would be big enough for this size ring. I started with 6 different fabrics but later added white as I found I was running out:

To make the rag wreath I poked holes into the polystyrene ring using a Crafter's Companion scoring tool but you can use a pencil or a crochet hook, anything that will make a hole small enough so the material doesn't fall out.

I wanted to make sure the material didn't fall out so after poking a dozen or so holes I put a small blob of tacky glue into each before adding the material. To add the material just use the scoring tool to 'push' the centre of the material into the hole you have already made:

Keep going until you have covered one side and then work on the other side. Once completed I let the glue thoroughly dry out and then went back over and filled in any gaps I found. This was the finished wreath:

Next up was to add a length of string so that this can be hung up. I tied a knot at one end of the string and used a large needle to thread this through the polystyrene and looped it over and pushed the needle through a couple of centimeters further away and knotted the end. 

Now you can leave the wreath like this but I thought it needed something extra for the middle. I made up Dracula from the Sizzix thinlits dies by Tim Holtz and also traced / cut out some bats. I added glossy highlights to the bats and to Dracula's eyes and then made a banner using Stamp Addicts alphabet stamp set: 

I used thin strips of acetate to attach the bats to the banner, however, once I placed this on the wreath I changed my mind about having the outer two bats on acetate as you could see the acetate when it was against the material. 

I used hot glue to attach the two outermost bats to the material and although you can see the acetate on the centre bat it is hardly noticeable in real life as you can see from the next photo of the wreath hung up.

I really enjoyed making this little wreath and I think I will do a Christmas theme one with the other ring that I have.

Thanks for dropping in and I hope you all have a good week x

T is for Toadstool

T is for Toadstool and this was such a simple stamp to colour, or so I thought. I definitely need more practice with shading but its a nice cheerful card so it has a place in my finished cards box ready for the right occasion.

I also got to use some really old stickers on this one around the border. These are some of the first stickers I ever bought and even though they still seemed 'sticky' I did use a drop of glue on each to ensure they stayed in place.

Have a fabulous week everyone and as always thank you for popping by x

Day 2 & S is for Snowman

 This morning included a quick shop for a food for the two little critters and the taking down of our Christmas decorations. The rooms always feel a little bare when the decorations are taken down but it's nice to get back to some kind of normality.

Yesterdays time spent on DT samples was a little fruitless which I blame on being tired, so spending a few more hours on them now. I'm just working on a tutorial to go with one of them which I will blog once the stamps are released.

I'm looking forward to zooming with the EC's later today!

Although I completed most of the alphabet from the 2020 challenge I didn't get around to posting the last of them and I as part of clearing out photo's from my PC I want to complete this challenge so here is S for Snowman.

This is an 'edgeable' die and stamp set released by Crafter's Companion 4 or 5 years ago and this was the first time of using it. It was such a quick and simple card to make with minimal colouring required. Batch making cards with this would be a doddle!

Hope you all have a lovely day x

Day 1 of 2022

Happy New Year everyone, wishing you all a healthy and happy 2022.

2021 was a year of ups and downs for a lot of people and for me it was most definitely a year of downs. Sadly my Dad passed away in March and it's taken a while for me to find my 'get up and go' again but it's the start of a new year so let's just see what can be achieved this year.

Day 1 of 2022 

We started the New Year with a short (ish) walk in the fresh air, slightly hungover from last night and feeling quite tired because we didn't go to bed until 2am. Cooked a bacon butty for lunch and I'm now sat in my craft area working on some DT samples for the lovely Stamp Addicts team.

I've decided to try and set / hit some goals in 2022, not new year resolutions as such, instead I've broken things down into smaller monthly goals making them far more realistic to achieve I hope.

January

• Make a minimum of one Gnome a week
• Clear out craft photo's from PC 
• Blog regularly
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK 

February

• Revamp / update at least one Gnome a week from last years stock
• No purchasing of any craft supplies at all, not even essential items
• List 10 craft items for sale that I no longer use
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK

March

• Video tutorial of something craft related (can be anything and can be as long / short as comfortable with)
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK

April

• tbc
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK

May

• tbc
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK

June

• tbc
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK

July

• tbc
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK

August

• tbc
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK

September

• tbc
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK

October

• tbc
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK

November

• tbc
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK

December

• tbc
• Make one Christmas card
• RAK

R is for Reindeer

I just had to make Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer for this card and then of course it had to be a Rocker Card with some Red card 😊

This was from Sara's Cute Christmas range and while I have used some elements of this collection before this is possibly only the second time I've used the Reindeer.

The trick to this card was making sure the Reindeer was in the centre so that the Rocker card didn't tip one way or the other.

I am behind with posting on the alphabet challenge...as I'm typing this we are up to letter W so we are very close to finishing. There's still another four letters to go though so please do come and join us x

Q is for Quackers

I had so much trouble finding something to make with the letter Q and finally I remembered I had a Bugaboo Digi called Quakers!

These cute little Ducks were so easy to colour in:

I kept the background really simple, the hardest part was getting the Ducks to 'sit' on the banner.

Hope you like this little card and thank you for visiting x

P is for Patchwork

 You know you when you get an idea in your head and you try to replicate it in your card and it somehow works out....this is what happened with my next card.

P is for Patchwork, Puppy and Pink. The image is from 'The Little Book Of Smudge & Mitten by Hunkdory. All the images in the book are mainly black and white and are perfect to add in colours. This shows you the original picture against my coloured in version:

For this little Puppy I decided to draw Patchwork instead of fur.

I think he turned out quite cute.

I've coloured in several more images from the book to make up quick cards as and when I need them. The paper they are printed on is quite glossy so you just need to take a little bit of care if you colour using alcohol inks as it can smudge until its dried fully.

Thank you for popping by x

O is for Owls

O is for Owls, Orange and Ovals. 

We are over half way through the alphabet challenge over on Use Your Craft Stash. These pretty Owls were made using an old Stamping Up punch which I bought several years ago.

I love this card, it was so quick and easy to make so I plan to batch make them in different colours for Birthday cards for next year.

Hope you are all keeping well and thank you for visiting x

N is for Napkins

Well this one didn't turn out quite as planned but it was my first attempt at this technique so it's a bit of a learning curve. 

This is for the alphabet challenge over on Use Your Craft Stash and I didn't manage to get the napkins to be 100% wrinkle free so decided to 'age' them with Distress Ink to give them a used look.

I've had these MDF coasters for a few years although I did have to buy the glue / gloss to coat over the napkins. I have a few more napkin sets somewhere in my stash so I will dig them out at some point and have another go.

Thank you so much for visiting and please do come and join our little group on FB x

M is for Mummy

Over on Use Your Craft Stash we are up to letters M & N in the alphabet challenge and I absolutely loved creating this particular card.

This is a stamp set from Stamp Addicts which I bought last year. I know Halloween isn't a big thing in the UK but this Mummy was just too cute to pass up.

The background was made with Distress Inks and simply mounted onto Orange and Black Card.

These challenges are definitely getting me using my older stash, some of the stuff is being used for the first time. Oh, and its saving me a small fortune because I'm not buying the next new thing and then the next and so on.

Thank you for visiting and stay safe x

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