Decorating....part 1

It has been on my To Do List for a while and I keep putting it off, but soon I will have to tackle the hallway!

We have lots of watermarks around the door into the backroom, fair enough most people do not notice them, but I DO! It needs doing....apparently I have to buy something called Stain Away to put onto it first otherwise the stain will simply come through.

And the bottom of the stairs, where the stairgate used to be....needs work!

Even the skirting boards....and this is after I have washed them down! 

The walls in general are pretty grubby out there so it needs doing asap.I suppose hallways really should be repainted every 3 years not every 6! I will keep you posted with my progress, or lack thereof.

First table of the season!

As promised, here is a photo of my table at the St Peter and St James Hospice Open Day. It was in a small room that held 3 of us and is to be the new cinema room there.I took my table along as I always do,just in case, and it did prove to be useful. As you can see I did not take any of my large Baby Cakes, but I still managed to sell out of sock cupcakes, flannel cakes and the little ladybird sweets you can see in the front,

I really need to get a move on and make up a few more bits for my next table!

Ivy Hand-painted Glass Container

I have found a large old coffee jar and decided to paint some ivy onto it, as ivy seems to sell well. First of was the outlining. I draw out my design on paper first so that I can rub it out easily and start again if necessary. Then I put my picture inside with BluTac and trace over with the paint outliner. 

Then after this has dried I simply colour it in with my glass paints,bake at 160 for 45 minutes and hey presto.

I added an ivy leaf onto the top as well. You could  fill it with sweets, teabags, cotton wool or anything else really.

Glitter Christmas Cards

Yes....I have started to make some Christmas cards already...not sure if they will be to sell or just to send yet.

I started off with an idea that I had seen on Pinterest in my mind. They had produced a bauble with glitter on it and put on a plain background and framed it...I thought I would try this but on a card instead.

I have one of these compass cutters as I do not normally do cards and therefore do not have all the various punches etc. The circles came out quite well though.

Another thing I also have is a glue pen...it's fab! It simply rolls out a tiny amount of glue and is therefore brilliant for delicate glitter work. So I did a few designs on my cut out baubles and showered them with glitter. When using glitter ALWAYS HAVE A SHEET OF PAPER UNDERNEATH...it really helps when you come to tidy.

and hey presto... 

Next I stuck a single bauble on a card and drew a line down....

and a little bow and scrawled Merry Christmas in my best writing. ..

And I varied the colour of the glitter a little and tried different designs with the glue pen...

even a lattice one..

and a wavy one...

I enjoyed doing these and think that they worked quite well considering I have not made cards before!

Christmas Painted Glassware

Well, my table at the open day on Saturday went really well! I had a lovely afternoon and sold quite a bit too! A couple of days before, last Wednsday I think, I found some tealight holders from a trip to Ikea long ago...at 19p each they were a bargain that I was sure to find something to do with! And I have....I have used my Pebelo Glass Paints to outline some holly and essentially colour them in!

Two sets of two.....these will go on my Christmas stalls throught-out October and November...

I will price them at £2.50 for a set of 2. A couple of them have already sold at the Hospice open day!

I also found these lovely vases..I think I have already done one somewhere but decided to go with the Christmas theme of holly with them also....they could be used with tea- light candles in them or you could put in the hallway and fill with sweets for guests! These will also be on my stalls! Probably prices at around £4 each.

Friday....I have my first stall of the year tomorrow!

First stall of the year tomorrow...is it too early to have Christmas stuff selling???? The big question! It is at an open day for our local hospice so I really do not know what to expect! I have made so many things, but a lot of them are Christmas based! However the stall was quite inexpensive so I do not have to sell too much....I have spend the day so far dropping the kids off at school, going to a year one coffee morning at the local Cafe Rogue and wrapping hyacynth vases up complete with a hyacynth bulb in each one:

Add a pretty ribbon and they make the perfect gift for a neighbour or friend. I have plenty of these for my up and coming fairs...including tomorrow! Just hope I have done everything I need to....having said that I may leave making labels till I get there but take plenty of card and fancy scissors and pens to do it while I am selling...always good to have something to do!

Junk Modelling Day

Way back in the summer holidays....I did not get around to posting this! It is another thing that they decided to put on their summer bucket list! Junk Modelling!  As you can see I had quite a collection for those days when they just want to cut and stick!

It was all taken very seriously.

I love the nose! He always wants to add legs too. 

 

They are probably not the most creative kids around but they simply LOVE cutting and sticking and modelling stuff.

Oh my goodness......its got something coming out of its eye!

and a coco pops backpack!

And a somewhat wonky house???But VERY happy diva!

So, as you can see, not a great deal of any significance was made but they all had such fun doing it. The trouble is, I now have to keep sctumm about having them littering the house until the last recycling day of the holidays then EVERYTHING GOES! We always take photos though so that they can remember their mad makes.

Well, with the summer hols done and dusted I have recycled all their creations and so far they have not missed them at all despite the fact that they were on the window sill in the family room/kitchen, where they all sit EVERY DAY! 

Now to get on with some more tidying!....