Fabulous Christmas Decorations

Hi Guys,

I've just finished the second batch of these gorgeous clay decorations which are découpaged using ricepaper and napkins.

This time I used a very lightweight clay and of course moulds which made a big difference to the finish as you will remember my last lot were done freehand and were a bit on the rustic side.  For the round decoration I just used the lid of a pringles box as a mould as I couldn't get my hands on a round one anywhere. These are super easy and really fun to make.  I added some bows and glitter and aged the edges a bit with patina for effect.  You can click to enlarge the photos.

There are lots of ways you can finish these off.  You can add flowers, ribbon, use stamps or even a 3D effect - like snow paste or 3D acrylic paint to enhance the finish.  The sky's the limit and you will have your very own unique design.  These lovely decorations make fantastic Christmas gifts for friends and family .....or teachers etc.  Why not try some of your own?  You can even present them in little boxes for a really posh look - even better if the boxes match the decorations, and you can do that using the same paper to découpage them. 

I hope you enjoyed my post, like always if you would like to ask me any questions please do so by emailing me (see the 'Send us a Message' form on the top right of this page) and I will be happy to help.

Bye for now

Gwen 

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Autumn Wreath DIY

As this was my first time making a wreath I wasn't quite sure what kind I wanted to do - Halloween or Autumn? The Halloween wreaths that I had seen around seemed like a whole lot of hard work requiring difficult to get materials and as I just wanted to keep this one simple I went with the Autumn wreath - plus I had most of the makings of it to hand.

I bought a cheap euro-store Halloween wreath and removed all of the things that were stuck to it (a scarecrow and some plastic leaves) as I couldn't find a vine wreath anywhere else and that's what I wanted for this project.

That done, I made the two large bows from upholstery webbing that I had in the house, using a simple bow tutorial that I found online.  I bought some faux mini pumpkins/gourds (which also came in handy for the Autumnal Centrepiece in my last post). I added some straw that I had also pulled off the original wreath and glued everything on using a hot glue gun.  Two more tiny bows which I made with orange scrap ribbon from my collection and it was done.

Thanks for looking and good luck making your own Autumn wreath.

Bye for now

Découpaged Photo Frame

Euro store, dollar store, thrift store, pound store, bric-a-brac or whatever name you use for them in your own country, these stores very often have a wealth of useful nick nacks for the craft addict.  I have found many great items in my own local stores over the years that I would have paid at least three times the price for in a regular shop. One of my most recent visits presented me with some cute little picture frames, made simply from wood with a heart shaped opening.  I thought these frames were a total bargain at €1.49 each and so I stocked up - as you do...

I eventually got around to decorating the frame as gift for a friend.  Some paint, découpage and a little embellishment and I had a lovely frame that would look good in any room.  I chose to keep it fairly neutral using grey napkin for the découpage and some pearls, stuck over a cream background and topped off with a tiny handmade bow as you can see in the above pictures.

The picture below is how it looked before my makeover:

So glad you stopped by to read my blog.

Bye for now

Easter Egg Decoration

I can't believe its that time of year again, it came around so fast!  I love the spring and this year I decided to add to the cheer by decorating some eggs and making my own Easter wall-hanging decoration.

The eggs were part of an Easter art gift set to my son last year which he never got around to completing so I felt obliged not to leave them there another year undone.

There was already drawings printed on the eggs and for two of them, as you can see, I just painted the eggs and coloured in the drawing using some felt tip pens.

For the second two however, I covered over the drawings with some chalk paint and decorated them using ribbon and some fancy silver sticky tape.  I added some coloured ribbon for hanging and then made the Happy Easter plaquette.  I added some hooks for hanging the eggs and a chick which I painted yellow.  I'm really pleased with the way it all turned out and this little decoration can be used year after year!

Thanks for dropping by, I hope you try some of your own - its easy!

Bye for now