Mother's Day

Hi Folks,

These last few weeks it's all been about Mother's Day which falls on 11th March in Ireland and UK.  I've been busy making some lovely Mother's Day gifts and cards.

Today though, I'm going to talk to you about the cards.  Everyone loves a card - especially one that is hand crafted by a loved one.  It's especially nice to know that someone has gone to the trouble of making something just for YOU.

Here are a couple of my creations which are not marked 'Mother's Day' so can be used for a birthday or other special occasion.  All you need is some cardstock and embellishments, some glue, varnish, and perhaps a stamp.

You can fold an A4 sized cardstock in two to make a generous sized card or if you prefer,  you can cut the card to size if you have a paper trimmer.  Alternatively, you can buy plain white cards with envelopes ready for decorating.  You should get these items in your local craft store.

On this occasion, I used the ready made cards as that's what I had to hand at the time.  So now you just have to stick on your embellishments using your imagination to create a nice layout.  For mine I used a mix of embellishments including fabric, lace, floral paper, handwriting design paper, ribbon, a wooden frame, paper flowers, pearl beads.  If you have a stamp and ink you can add a greeting to your card or you can just write a few meaningful lines.

Don't forget to let me know how you get on.  I would love to hear about your card making experience and remember if you have any questions, you can message me using the email form on the right hand side at the start of this post or comment in the box below and I'll get back to you straight away.

Bye for now

Gift Tag Tutorial

Happy Saturday Everyone!
I hope you are all having a fabulous Saturday and as I promised in my previous post that I would do a tutorial on how I made my Christmas Gift Tags I have posted the instructions underneath along with some photos and I hope you all give it a go.  Please do send me some photos of your finished tags and you can comment below to ask any questions or send me an email through the link on the right hand side of this page.

Hand Made Gift Tags

Gift Tags - What you need:
Ready made gift tags or some craft card (don't use copy paper)
One hole paper punch
Scissors
Découpage glue
Small flat brush
Ricepaper, Napkins or other thin paper scraps left over from other projects
Acrylic paints - I used gold, black and green
Glitter (optional)
Ribbon or twine (for hanging and adding to tags)

Gift Tags - What you need to make your own

Firstly, let me say that I used coloured ready-made tags as that's what I had to hand when I decided to make mine.  Plain white card is probably better though as you wouldn't have to match up the colours like I did so that the colour of the tag doesn't take away from the napkin colour by showing through it.  If this is the way you are going, use the scissors  to cut out the tag shape from your card and use the punch to make the hole.

Gather up all of your scraps and decide what you are going to use on each tag and place them roughly on the tag.  You can mix scraps that match for a more interesting look and don't forget you can add pieces of lace or ribbon to add to the finish.

Glue them on folks - go ahead and stick those scraps onto the tags using the découpage glue in whatever order appeals to you and then leave them to dry.  When completely dry, use your acrylic paints watered down to dab around the tag wherever you think needs tidying up for example if there are any white edges showing around one of your stuck on scaps, use paint the same colour to camouflage it.

Green Gift Tag by Funky-Junk

Using some gold or silver or black or any other dark colour paint, you can dab around the edges of the tag (using your finger) for a more aged look and to finish it off.  Next, stick on whatever embellishments you want, ribbon, a bow, crystals or lace and if required add some glitter by adding some glue here and there first.  Then add your twine or ribbon for hanging and you're done! 

Snowflake Gift Tag

Now you have your own unique Christmas Gift Tags to add a more personal touch to your gifts.  I hope you enjoyed reading my tutorial and that you will give it a go and don't forget to send me on some photos!  You can sign up to receive my posts quicker by adding your email address in the top left of this page.

Pink Gift Tag

Bye for now

Découpage Tutorial - Cream and Gold Plaquette with Hand Made Ribbon Rose

Hi Funky-Junkers
I've been a bit silent recently but haven't forgotten about you.  I've been a busy bee and this is one of the things I've been busy with.

This lovely plaquette was a gift for a work colleague and I wanted to share it with you and give you one of my top tips on découpage.

First, I'll run through how I did the découpage on this one.....

You'll need a board - wood or mdf (not too thick)
Some nice paper or a napkin
Some mod podge or découpage glue and a small flat glue brush
Fine grit sandpaper
Varnish
Chalkpaint and paintbrush to suit size of project

Paint up your board in a colour that you like.  When dry and you are happy with the finish, take your napkin and pull away all but the top layer so that you are left with a much thinner napkin. Cut out the part of it that you want to use and position it on the board  - or you may wish to use the entire napkin.  Using your découpage glue, apply it to the napkin brushing outward from the centre until you have covered the entire piece and the board.  Be careful not to use too much glue.  Leave to dry.  Apply a second coat.  When dry sand lightly.  Apply several coats of varnish letting each coat dry thoroughly until the napkin looks like it is part of the board and not raised.  Sand lightly in between coats.

And you're done, you've just découpaged!

Today's Découpage Top Tip:  For a better look, if using an entire napkin, paint the board in the same colour as the napkin background. i.e. if the background is white on the napkin, don't paint the board dark blue as the napkin is thin and very transparent and the colour of the paint with show through.

Thanks for dropping by and don't forget you can ask any questions by commenting below or by sending me an email through the contact form on the right hand side of this page, I'm always happy to help.

Bye for now

Mother's Day Gift Idea

My last post promised more gift ideas for Mother's Day and with only a week to go, I said I'd better start posting.  I seem to be keeping things very simple this year and the heart below is just that.

I painted it in a grey colour called cement and added some nice words that I found online.  I used the pencil trick to transfer the writing.  Print your words the way you want them to appear on the heart, then, on the back of the page colour over the entire area behind your words using a HB pencil, place it in the position you want it on the heart (face up so you can see the words), secure it with some tape and carefully go over each letter using a pen or pencil.  When you lift the paper the outline will be imprinted on your heart.

Now all you have to do is go over it to darken it up using a marker or whatever you wish.  I used a black pencil and then I sealed it with some gloss varnish.  I added a bird motif which I glued on and some dashes around the edges to enhance it a little.  String for hanging it and it's done.  You could also use ribbon if you want a more fancy heart and you could add a rose instead of a bird or some découpage.

Thanks for following my posts, drop by again soon to see my final Mother's day gift idea and remember, if you have any questions you can contact me by email using the form on the right hand side of this page.  Bye for now...

Mother's Day 6th March

Mother's Day in Ireland and the UK falls on 6th March 2016 and with a couple of weeks still to go, I'm well ahead with my celebratory plaquettes.  I thought I'd post them onto the blog straight away to give you all some inspiration and plenty of time to make your own.

So far, I've concentrated on hearts as I think they look real pretty and speak for themselves without having to go to too much trouble.  I've kept the first few super simple using a couple of slate hearts and some chalk-style free hand writing for which I used a white pencil.  You can choose whatever message you like best for your own piece and I'm sure your local craft store would have some hearts. They don't have to be made from slate either, regular mdf would do - just paint them with a flat black paint to get the same look.  I finished these off with a gloss varnish to seal the pencil work and they hang with some regular twine.  I hope you enjoyed reading my post, stop by again soon to see some more Mother's Day easy to make gift ideas.

                       Bye for now
                             

French Graphics Plaquette

Another gift option from Funky-Junk this plaquette is painted in a fabulous ochre colour with a lovely French Graphic which I found over at Graphics Fairy, a great source for unusual pictures and typography.  It has two senciled roses and is finished off with a black ribbon to complete the look.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Great Gift Ideas

It's getting close to that time of year again where we spend our time planning for Christmas and trying to source unusual gifts for friends and family.

It's a difficult job trying to find something that is a little different and doesn't cost the earth.  This year, Funky-Junk has the answer with their beautiful handmade vintage style photo hanging plaquettes.  These plaquettes are all one of a kind, affordable and make wonderful gifts.

With a choice of background design and colour, a little ribbon and peg hangs from the frame which gives the option of placing a photo if desired... but these decorative plaquettes with their fabulous design and colours look great in any setting with or without a photo attached.

Peach Roses Vintage Style Photo Hanging Plaquette

To see more of these lovely plaquettes, click here or go to the 'For Sale' tab at the top of this page.  If you don't see anything suitable, contact me by email using the form on the right hand side of this page with your contact details or stating required colours/pattern/design and I can make to order.

Mini Christmas Trees

Lace and Pearl Christmas Tree

Gift Ribbon Christmas Tree

Feather Christmas Tree

It wouldn't be Christmas without a few home made decorations and this year I have a no-cost idea to share with you that I came across online and that is totally simple to make and looks cute.  As you can see from the photos, different look Christmas trees can be achieved according to the materials that you choose.  I used what I already had in my craft cupboard and you can do the same, try using buttons, scrap fabric, snippets of paper -  almost anything that you have will work.

You will need is a cereal box along with a scissors, some glue, paint (whatever colour matches your materials) and of course the material that you want to use.  Just cut out a square of the cardboard and make a cone shape rolling it so that the print is on the inside. Trim it and then glue it to keep it together.  Let the glue dry and give it a coat of paint. When the paint has dried, just stick on the material of your choice layer by layer until it's completely covered and again leave to it to dry.  If you wish you can then add extras like beads or other embellishments to finish it off. That's it - there's nothing more to it.

For my first tree I used gift ribbon and then stuck on little gems.  The second one is made from feathers - this would have been fab if the feathers were gold, white or silver but I didn't have any and just went with what was in my craft box.  For my third tree I found a piece of curtain lace which I cut into small pieces and glued on.  This one is my favourite.  I'd love to know what you think so don't forget to leave a comment.