Christmas preparations!
Use What You Have
Pouch style gift bags
A few stash busting bags using the acetate and large pattern paper I can’t use on greeting cards.
Simply made as long as the side panels are the same. Some sides are pushed in to make gussets, there are different closure styles from Velcro to string, pegs and brads.
AI art?
It is my new obsession, asking ChatGPT to redraw one of my photos in a particular style.
Pets, people and places are being printed in pop art or old master format and used to personalise greeting cards.
I am limited, as I use the free version, to four? uploads a day but this is enough to keep me going.
A much better performance by ChatGPT then when I asked it to identify items from photos.
Aunty Jenny’s necklace
When sorting through my late Aunt’s jewellry I broke a necklace. Although it was probably on its way to the charity shop, I felt guilty so decided to craft it into a new life.
I set the beads in uv resin to make three pendant baubles. These can be hung on a window latch, car rear view mirror or Christmas tree (with the right string) but here I have used some toning ribbon from my stash so I can finish the project off without buying.
Don’t feel so guilty now.
Paper embroidery
My cross stitch ‘to do’ list is huge but I had to try this basket of flowers before any of the bigger ones because I am trying cure myself of a YouTube addiction!
My vow to stop mindless watching is to try out a crafty project if I watch a crafty video (and to cook a recipe if I watch yet another foodie video etc.).
So when the lovely Sarah Homfrey demonstrated basket weaving stitch in her May embroidery upload I had to try it.
I have a paper die that creates cross stitch panels so used that rather than load a hoop for stitching a more detailed basket on fabric.
I freestyled the pansies and fixed the finished panel on some craft foam before mounting it on a card base. I found some matching brads to embellish and tied some embroidery thread around the spine.
Rustic but at least the project is done and I can tackle some other UFOs (un finished projects).
Receive,Remake, Regift
Being a crafter makes it hard to dispose of greetings cards received so I feel obliged to remake them and hand them on. I feel if I add embellishments and effort it isn’t cheating on the home made card making ‘rules’.
This one received for the Channel Islands liberation day (ending 5 years of occupation in WWII) won’t be handed on until next May 9 th but I enjoyed remaking it now.
Card front cut apart then mounted on a card base once the white brads were put in to the bunting line. Googly eyes stuck on and dots of Nuevo drops added to the flowers and a piece of embroidery thread tied around the spine.
Harder than it looks
Just clear some bits from my desk I thought but it turned into a long session to produce just one card…
The card base was cut to fit a donated envelope. The green backing paper scrap was just about big enough for the die cut frame and square.
The green stems are heat embossed, the ribbon bow donated but needed the (donated) jewels to cover a mark. The buttons (from my jar) needed some thread tying through them then a die cut vellum flower to back them.
So nothing purchased and yes the desk was cleared…
Sea glass greetings
How to use the sea glass I collect on my daily beach walks with the dog…
Just a few little shards of sea smoothed glass have become greetings cards when combined with watercolour backgrounds, fine liner detail, heat embossed greeting and mounted on card blanks.
My obvious lack of drawing finesse is minimised by keeping these cards clean and simple, using watercolour card and leaving lots of white space.
Olio recipe rescues
I love the challenge of rescuing food on olio and creating delicious dishes with abandoned ingredients.
There is often surplus bread so we regularly have bread and butter pudding with lemon curd (Mary berry recipe) or simple marmalade made from olio rescue lemons and oranges.
Currently a batch of carrot soup is being frozen using olio supplies and bags of chopped veg are waiting their turn for ‘souping’ later.
Grapes can be a challenge to use up but frozen they make great ice cubes and pickled grapes are a new addition to our salads.
Thank you olio for making us use and save unloved food.
Jewellery on display
I like displaying my jewellery rather than hiding it in a box and forgetting it. It makes me vary what I wear and decorates the bedroom too.
This is simply an unloved canvas frame covered with paper (washi tape around the sides can’t be seen in this photo).
Cup hooks from the hardware shop simply screwed in place and the job is done.
janecrafts 