Décopatch - Box

At Craft Club we got 3 sheets of decopatch paper. I used one and a bit for my decopatch letters and the third I saved for this little box which I bought AGES ago and it has been sitting all forlorn on my shelf ever since.





I tried to be careful not to overlap too much as I wasn't sure I'd manage to cover it all. As it worked out I covered it all EXCEPT for the inside base, which I lined with black felt and also cut some felt tattered florals.

I edged the lid with some lace and then got to work with the hot glue gun (getting a lot of use at the moment). I sort of made up the design as I went along and it ended up quite a bit different to my draft!











I added 2 spare black felt flowers to the inside of the lid with some more of the white flowers I got at craft club too. At last my little box transformed. Now what to keep in it.

Just thought this might fit the May CountryView Challenge of, "How does your Garden Grow?"

Certainly very floral with my favourite butterfly or pili-pala as I like to call them now as I have learnt the Welsh word!

CD Mini-Book

One of the Challenges on 12 Months in View last month was to alter an old CD. My biggest challenge here was to find some old CDs but fortunately my husband found a couple of old ones from work. Also one lady mentioned that they work well as the covers to a mini-book so I thought I'd give that a go.











My Big Bite made holes in the CDs without much trouble. I made some card and acetate pages and used book rings to bind.

I had a Kaisercraft patterned paper pad I had bought on a whim some time ago and decided to use that for the pages, which I have duly covered.






I have just decorated the front cover and will ponder the rest as and when the mood takes me. I have done a small collection of embellishments from other kits which colour match too, so ready to go...

Décopatch - Letters

I have finished decorating my "BJ" letters which I decopatched at Craft Club on Tuesday night, and now, together with the "G" I received in a SWAP, they are on my wall.













I used my hot glue gun to stick all the lovely flowers I acquired at craft club to my letters and added a few to the "G" to tie them together.

As I said on my previous post the papers being the same design but different colours was quite by accident and a very happy one at that.

Oh and the other wall adornments are a large embroidery I did as a teen, a sheep embroidery and a bobbin lace swan. I seem to be collecting butterflies too. My Timmy tags are on display on the mantle and I usually have my scrapbook pages hanging over the large embroidery on their hanger before going in the album.

So I guess this is What's On Your WALL Thursday (WOYWT) - LOL

WOYWW #205 - STUFF!

Well we have a before and after Craft Club desk for your delectation today.

My BEFORE desk has some cards I have made (one for a swap) based on a sketch. In the process of making a mini book with CD covers, using a Kaiser Craft pad.The tags and pockets for my round-up of Spring in my 12 Months Journal which is open at the May calendar page. Been having a Bluebell frenzy this week and my Garden photos are all on previous posts.

As for my AFTER desk. The organiser of the craft club was getting rid of stuff so I just had to acquire some of it. So I have lots of paper flowers and diecuts, some card blanks, a few flower fairy sheets and a roll of mesh stuff. I got a stencil from Helen too - thanks Helen! Love your journals.

I think that is quite enough STUFF for now don't you?


Anyway the class was on decopatch, I missed most of the paper selection as I was looking at the STUFF! I just had to have blue for my "BJ" so I took the last ones available and would you know they were the same design to the "G" I received in a SWAP but in a different colour - excellent.

I have popped some of the flowers I acquired on top as potential decoration when I finish glueing the outside of them. Probably will add the little turquoise flowers to my "G" to bring them together too.

I did make my Timmy May Tag this week aswell.

So that is me in a frenzy of colour and STUFF this week. Pop over to Julia's pad to have your world opened to loads more WOYWW desks in various states of  creativeness.

Oh and I have run out of the ATG acid free refills and 3M don't seem to have any in stock HELP!

12 Months in View - Bluebell MAD

Here are some more shots of the Bluebells from the garden.

I think they are the English variety but only time will tell as the flowers open and the heads droop (hopefully).





The pollen looks decidedly creamy-white and I needed to turn the bell upwards for the close-up, both good signs of the English variety.

The Origami bluebell I made earlier in the week was a little large to say the least!











So I cut the usual sized origami paper into 4 and made smaller bells - much better. Just had to add some stamens and wire them onto some thicker wire I found in the shed!















Certainly having a bit of a Bluebell MAD Bank Holiday today!

12 Months in View - Bluebells & Trees

The flower of the month on 12 Months in view is the Bluebell.

We have a plethora of these in our garden, although they are not in full bloom as yet.

I made the origami bluebell earlier in the week.

I drew a Bluebell stem on my calendar page and added one of the Spring quotes around its leaves.

I then did my zine page for May using the Philip Larkin poem called "The Trees".

I used a couple of bare tree stamps and filled in with peg stamps, adding some around the border too.

So refreshing to see the trees coming into leaf.

12 Months in View - May Garden

Here's my garden this month. Coming alive at last after the prolonged Winter. Magnolia in full bloom, Birch tree in leaf and Alliums coming up a treat below.
The leaves on the Magnolia have come out a lot since taking this on 1st and the Wisteria buds have gone all fluffy too - not long for them now.

Here are some more photos of our garden coming to life.

A close-up of the Magnolia.





A couple of the Snake's Head Fritillary have emerged from the between the snowdrop leaves and this
red beetle seems to like them very much.



The Camellia seems to be frost damaged on the outside as the flowers all tend to be on the side facing the conservatory. I popped a bee on a fallen flower on our wooden mushroom.



Outside the conservatory our bluebells are growing frantically, they come up in-between all the paving stones and wherever they please. In the conservatory my Arum Lily has flowered again. My son bought it for me for Mother's Day a few years ago and it re-flowered last year with about 9 flowers but this year it is very late, with one solitary flower.




Out the front I still have my Primulas in my baskets and window box. I take the lazy way with them and just pop the pots in the basket rather than planting them in the soil there.













We cut back our front hedge rather drastically last year and it is just coming back into its own. We have Dunnocks nesting in there which is a delight. I planted some Periwinkles for ground cover last month. Oh and a little patch of violets has come up too.




Yes I think that is our garden coming to life again.

TH #05 - May Tag

Timmy tag here we come. Definitely another time of do what you can with limited resources. Hmmm? Rub-ons? Not something I usually buy, had a few from a scrapbooking kit and some odd words too, so they just had to do.

Distress stains, nothing bright enough and I just wanted to do vibrant colour this time, so inkpads and water had to suffice. Stamp of a woman's face, er... nope, but I did have a stencil of a face, that worked.

I made up some film strip with a stamp on acetate then cut down to the smaller size. The tag was made from a fragment with words stuck on the back and alcohol ink on the front. The metal tag was courtesy of my typewriter and metal tape on card. Odd ribbon stained with inks.

I love the colours and that was what I was after so quite pleased in the end. Certainly embracing imperfection today.

WOYWW #204 - Tokens

Hello there all you WOYWWers and welcome to my desk. I have been doing a few varied things this week.

Some Scrapping of my last birthday back in February.

The May calendar pages in my 12 Months in View journal including the text in a shape challenge.

My Alpha page for The Craft Barn fortnightly Challenge on "A" for April Fools Day.

Cardmaking from my latest craft club using Liquid Pearls.

And I have altered a matchbox to store some tokens of affection from a brilliant new card game I just bought called "Love Letter".

And the eagle eyed amongst you might spot a couple of ATCs I have ready for the 4th anniversary. Having a bit of a pink moment.

Oh and the little A4 Cutting mat, I just bought, is for the craft clubs I am going to, don't want to miss out again.