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Thursday, 31 December 2009

...Happy New Year again!! lol

I was just about to log off the 'puter when I thought I'd pop over and see what the girls were up to!!! I do have the best DT. What a fab bunch of ladies, and, we're about to be joined by another, it was announced in the newsletter but I'm sure you'll all know by tomorrow!! lol!

You have to see these folks!! I swear the absolute best bit of this whole business is popping over to a blog and seeing what someone has done with your stamps!!! I love it, it's such a treat! - go on, pop over to these ladies, you're in for a treat too!

Julia

Anya

Bonnie

Laurie

...Happy New Year!!


Happy New Year!!!!! This is what it looks like a few miles up the road! I'm cheating slightly, this was taken last year but it was snowing again here today and I'm hoping for our wee traditional New Years Day spin in the country tomorrow!!

Anyhow, the very best of all our wishes to you and yours for 2010! May it be your best yet!!

I just sent out my first 'real' newsletter! lol, hope it looks ok in your browser, I hadn't the patience to wait for it to be tested! lol!!

ED - NB, if you didn't get one, it may be caught in your spam filter!!! Or, you can sign up for future copies in the wee box there on the right!!

Have a fab weekend...think of me here... forced to fool around with ...new stamps... lol!!!

Wednesday, 30 December 2009

Sneaky peeky!

Quick! Jennifer's been sneaking the Valentines set!!

Bonnie has some hearts up her sleeve too!

Just in case you missed it, Julia was the first to peep!!

And I'm still building the newsletter. If you'd like to sign up for the fist proper newsmail in the next few days pop your email addy in the wee box on the right!

...gadgety thing

So I am trying to set up my newsletter properly. Crikey, the more I find out, the less I know.

Anyhow, I'll be sending one out probably on a monthly basis, it will contain info on what's new, maybe some exclusive sneak peeks and updated information on what stamp sets are out of stock/back in stock.

The particular newsletter I'm sending out in a couple of days time will also announce the newest member of my DT, prepare to have your socks blown right off! Tee-hee!

Anyhow, if you feel like signing up for it, there's a wee boxy over on the right hand sidebar, see it? It says "Get the Wms Newsmails" you can pop your email in it if you'd like to be in the know!! lol.

Hopefully have a card or two soon, tho it'll be patchy over the weekend as my wee dude turns 3 on Saturday!!! Where has the time gone?

Monday, 28 December 2009

...oops!

And off I trotted down to the Post Office...and they were closed!

My apologies everyone! I thought they were due to re-open today, your orders will now ship first thing in the morning!!! Many thanks for your patience!

And in the meantime...anyone spotted the sneak peek at Julia's...?

Sunday, 27 December 2009

...Merry Christmas!! it's not over... just yet!!LOL!

I'm hoping you all are having a lovely Christmas, I don't consider it officially over till midnight on the 31st! lol, yep, I love to drag it out. Seems so unfair to do all that hard work for just one day!!

Didn't manage to make a post on Christmas or get my newsletter out, or do a million other things I intended as we managed to bag ourselves a pretty nasty stomach flu just right at the start of Christmas proceedings! lol. It's the same every year, it wouldn't be Christmas at the Brennans unless someone was ill!

Thankfully, I can see the funny side of having a house stocked to the gills with tasty treats and no-one able to eat them. Everything freezable is frozen and everything else is chocolate so that'll keep. I woke up this morning feeling ok and decided it was high time to open some prezzies!! Little dude is still working through his pile, lol.

Anyhow, I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope it's going well for you, and if it's not, I hope the Big Guy upstairs has you in the palm of his hand.

Sunday, 20 December 2009

...so, what did I miss?

Been scurrying about like the proverbial mouse trying to prepare for Christmas. I dunno, it's not like I don't know that it's coming all year, and still I never have enough time! lol. I bet you're the same...maybe!

Anyhow, nearly there now.

Been shipping stuff, and answering customer emails - other than that I haven't been on the web, so here's a quick list of the goodies I missed, maybe you missed them too!!

Anya and Anya and Anya

Belinda

Bonnie

Jennifer

Julia

Laurie

Lisa

The only things I've made recently were brownies, cupcakes and sticky gingerbread! lol, not a card in sight! Thank goodness for the old stash!

Anyhow, one curious thing did happen, the girlies left their Santa letters at the fireplace last night and this morning, there were tiny elf footprints in the icing on top of a bun that I carelessly left out overnight!!!!! Unfortunately I can't find it to show you, I fear DH may have disposed of it but I hope we're all keeping a record of out Santa evidence this year...

chat soon,

Monday, 14 December 2009

...empty promises


It was one of those empty promises you make, not ever expecting to have to follow through.

"OOOh, can we go on the big wheel?" she said, one day last summer. 'Sure' we said, driving past, thinking about what I was going to make for dinner, and now, fast-forward six months and they hadn't taken the blasted thing away, as I'd always hoped they would.

My wee folk had pestered us about it, on and off since the summer, each time, I had a reason ready, we were in a hurry, it was closed, it was too busy...

Last night we were down in Belfast at the Christmas Market, which I have to admit, is getting to be quite interesting, tho' not a patch on Salzburg, but that's a tale for another day.

And there it stood in all of it's floodlit spectacularity.

It was a monster I hoped I would never have to face. All of my favourite things rolled into one tiny swinging capsule. Suspended at height above unsuspecting onlookers.

If you're guessing I'm afraid of heights, you are right. You get extra points if you spotted the claustraphobia.

Add on the peril factor. Plus the multiplicative nature of my brain and all of a sudden I'm imagining that the structural engineer must surely be nuts if the thinks those bolts are going to hold my little family safely, 20 stories in the air. No way. I wonder did they check the structure today? That attendant looks a little tired, I wonder if he's the 'safety guy'?. How do they get you down if you have a heart attack. At this point we're in the queue.

My little, bigger, daughter, who really, REALLY wants to go on the 'wheel' wants to hold my hand! Oh dear. Back out now before it's too late. My Brother is with us. Not much phases him. I take comfort from that and reason with myself that thousands of folks have shuffled through here, had a 'go' on the wheel and safely shuffled off again, completely safe.

Wait a minute!!! Thousands of folks have shuffled through here, had a 'go' on the wheel and safely shuffled off again, completely safe. Oh no! surely it's 'due' a breakdown!!! think of all the wear and tear those thousands of folks have inflicted, why didn't we go last summer when it was still fairly new, in prime condition, instead of waiting for a damp, cold, night in the Belfast gloom.

A light went off in my face. A millisecond later I was glad i resisted the urge to throw myself bodily under the walkway ramp, when I realised it was just an attendant taking a photo of our 'big' moment as we boarded the swinging gondola.

The voice in the back of my head screamed GET OFF NOW. My five year old looked up and smiled, delighted at the thrill ahead.

The attendant closed the door.

UP.

I will spare you all the liquid details and move quickly to the point where I'm on my feet, in a swinging gondola, 50 feet in the air, gasping for breath, fist jammed into the emergency stop button! Thinking "NO! I DON"T WANT IT TO STOP! I WANT IT TO GO DOWN!"

Three little pairs of eyes agog, mouths open. DH shaking his head, eyes rolling up in amused incredulity. Brother actually rocking with mirth.

Littlest daughter was the first to speak. "Close your eyes mummy, and hold my hand."

I did as I was told, one finger still on the emergency button.

The attendant opened the doors, out I shot into the night like some crazed vampire escaping the dawning sun.

The ride went on without me. I regained enough composure to take some pics for your viewing pleasure but this morning I still feel quite ill. LOL. I have reached that stage in life where i now know my limits and I will never, voluntarily, cross them again!




Friday, 11 December 2009

...you can't miss these!

For a while now I've been thinking about having a dedicated Waltzingmouse gallery for folks to upload cards into. I'm interested in gauging whether anyone would be interested. At present, cards made with Waltzingmouse Stamps may be viewed in the Waltzingmouse Gallery here. But how many folks think to go look, I'm not sure.

Loads of us, myself included, are missing out on the many fabulous things being made by 'WMS folks' take a look at what Lynn Phelps made here and what Regina made here! I was blown away by these two ladies just today and I urge you to pop over and take a peek, you won't be disappointed!

And pop over to Bonnie's, she's a star! lol! And nip over to Anya's, Ho Ho Ho!

Now, tell me, do we need a gallery of our own, or do we just need to highlight the SCS gallery? I'm all ears!! LOL

...questions?

ED - see what Anya's made!!!

Could the lady who enquired about svg files for Warty witch box please pop me an email at:

claire.brennan1@ntlworld.com

many thanks!

In fact while we're on the subject, could some-one who is in the know please contact me regarding saving files for cricut. I am looking into saving all my free templates as cricut compatible files in the new year!!! Many thanks in advance!!

I also aim to have the free templates available at my store, I hear some folks are still having bother liberating the files from SCS!!

Wednesday, 9 December 2009

...a little behind...

with all the effort of getting everyone's orders out i am behind with email correspondence, so if you emailed me in the last couple of days and haven't heard from me, I'm not ignoring you! LOL, I'm going to try to catch up with it all in the next coupe of days!!

...more goodness!

You have to see what Julia's done with a plain old pot thingy!!

Also just to let everyone know I'm all up to date with orders, everything has shipped to everyone, the last few orders just before Lunchtime!!!! (except 2 folks I've emailed about deets!) so I was able to go shopping this morning without any guilt! LOL!

I do hope everyone gets their stuff well before Christmas but, as always Royal Mail do say it can take up to 14 days...

Anyhow, I do think it's best to let everyone know that orders placed from tomorrow onwards now may not arrive in time for Christmas and so please do bear that in mind.

itching to make something...lol

...and the winner is...

Sandy Dawes!!!!

Congratulations Sandy!!! You win the entire contents of your weekend shopping cart for free!!!!

I will email you tomorrow with your complete refund!!!

It would be indelicate of me to announce just how many sets Sandy will receive, LOL! suffice to say that I think Sandy will be quite tickled!!! lol!

Thank you to everyone who shopped with me over the weekend!!! I printed out a list of all of the orders I received over the weekend, right up until midnight tonight (my time), both through the store and via email, and then made the random draw from those, well actually had my DH make the random draw! I can't believe how excited I got about this!!! It was great fun!!

I do think this might be a good thing to do again sometime, I know I'd love a chance to win my shopping cart for free at some of the stores I shop at! lol.

In the meantime may I leave you to drool all over the following blog posts by my DT?

Laurie's cider!

Bonnie's wine!

Julia's card!

Tuesday, 8 December 2009

...pooped

Don't forget, one lucky winner purchasing stamps from my store over the weekend, will win their entire order for FREE! Scroll down for deets in yesterdays post! Draw will take place Tuesday night, midnight, my time! Winner will be announced here!

All orders placed over the weekend (my time) have now shipped, orders placed after midnight Sunday (my time) will ship in the morning. It may take a while to get shipping notices out...lol

Thank you all, I do hope everything reaches folks well before Christmas!

Do pop over to Anya's,

Belinda's, yep Belinda I will 'do' you another swirl!! LOL1 ( i love it too)

and Laurie's for more eye candy!!

Some gorgeous things you don't want to miss! Nighty night!

Saturday, 5 December 2009

...linkie linkie

Don't forget, one lucky winner purchasing stamps from my store over the weekend, will win their entire order for FREE! Scroll down for deets in yesterdays post! Draw will take place Tuesday night, midnight, my time! Winner will be announced here!

Scroll down to see the two new sets just released, they're in yesterday's post but today you need to have a peep at what some of my my DT ladies have been up to!!

More lovely things to see just added!

ED- see Bonnie Here!

ED - see Anya here!

Check out Julia here!

Anya Here!

Bonnie Here!

Jennifer Here!

Lisa Here!

My other DT ladies will be posting soon and I'll be sure to point you in their direction for some more inspiration!

Friday, 4 December 2009

...December 09 Release!!! New stamps!

OOOh! OOH nearly forgot!!! Since it's Christmas and all, I had the daft notion that I will pick one lucky shopper from the weekends release purchases to win their entire shopping cart load free!!! - What this means is that orders placed this weekend will go into a random draw and one person will receive a refund of the value of their shopping cart!!! WWWOOOHHHOOOO as they say somewhere else - Every little helps!!! The draw will be made on Monday/Tuesday using names of purchasers up until that point!! Happy holidays to y'all! Leave a comment if you think this is a good idea, to help me decide whether to do it again!!lol!

Hello and welcome to the December Release. I have 2 new stamp sets for you!

Please be aware that although Royal Mail gives last posting dates for Christmas as the 10th December for overseas folks. There is the chance that these may not be with you in time for Christmas. Getting orders out ASAP is always my priority but unfortunately I don't have any say in postage speed once they leave me, so be aware that you might not get these before Christmas.

Congratulations to: Petr@ who said:
They sure tickle!! I love the fact that your sets coordinate with the nesties.
When I was a child I used to have a lot of little boxes to store all my little 'treasures'. I still have some of those, they are the gateway to good memories.
I've left a comment on your blog! You win both sets! Pop me your addy in an email!
The stamps are top quality, clear photopolymer, self sticking stamps for use on clear acrylic blocks (not supplied). Supplied on clear plastic with matching printed image sheet, all in a polybag.

Very Vintage Labels No.5 (Nestie Friendly)



The bottom left is a frame stamp with a separate stamp contained within, they are laid out like this to save space. The bottom middle image is the same, the circular motif is a separate stamp, it just sits within the frame to save space.

Along the lines of the popular Vintage Labels No.4, this set co-ordinates with the Spellbinders label 5 dies. I guess you've noticed I'm addicted to these!

The top left hand image shows 3 concentric dotted shapes, this is one stamp but each border is easily inked up individually or in pairs to give a neat border for your die cut shape. See my blog here for more on this.
I have designed this stamp to contain 3 different sized frames as a space saving alternative to 3 separate frame stamps. Also the fact that the3 frames are together gives the stamp added stability and durability. I find the little dew drop inks very good for inking the borders separately, tho it is just as easy to wipe away any unwanted ink before stamping.
A ‘tag shoulder’ and ornaments compliments the set. All images and stamp designs are Copyright © 2009 Waltzingmouse Stamps, Claire Brennan.
Little Box Labels (Nestie Friendly) - concept by Joan Bardee!

There I was, drawing frames for the Labels 5 dies when along came Joan and said - "Boxes, everybody likes boxes for their stuff!" It was the lightbulb moment LOL! and so credit for the idea behind this set has to go to Joan Bardee, my US Cultural Ambassador! lol.
A cracking stamp set for folks who like to make little boxes! I was so taken with the shape of the Spellbinders Labels 5 dies that I continued the theme into this second stamp set.
Designed to make easy labels for things like gift boxes, recipe boxes, Notepads, Diaries, stationery boxes...the list goes on.

A versatile label design stamp, designed to fit the Spellbinders Labels 5 dies. The die is not required for use of this set though as this label shape is very easy to cut out.

4 detailed motifs including a heart lock and key, star/snowflake and a jug with kitchen utensils, all of which co-ordinate with the 19 sentiments supplied should cover most of your 'boxing' needs! lol.

Rounded off with a super sized herringbone border stamp which I just know is going to finish off all those MAN cards rather nicely too! LOL. All images and stamp designs are Copyright © 2009 Waltzingmouse Stamps, Claire Brennan. Brain thought inspiration Copyright © 2009 Joan Bardee.
To purchase either of these two stamp sets or indeed any of my stamp sets, pop over to the store:

All sets retail at an amazing £13.50 sterling each - check out how many images and sentiments are in each set!! (approx US $22, Canada $23.48, Euro 14.95, Australian $24.32 - all values approximate as of 4th Dec and subject to change - source, XE.com)
And yes! - I ship everywhere, lol.

Due to the fact that these are releasing on what is late Friday night here, orders placed over the weekend will ship first thing on Monday morning.

Don't forget to scroll down for samples using these sets and also check out my DT folks, Julia, Anya and Bonnie are flying the WMS flag today and Jennifer, Belinda, Laurie and Lisa just deserve a visit also because they're just so darned crafty!! lol! HAppy surfing and thanks for stopping by!

...December 09 release post 2 and NEWS!


If you're just joining me I'm releasing two new clear photopolymer stamp sets at some point this evening or in the morning! lol! Hopefully tonight - I have a bit of catching up to do - who knew the dentists appointment yesterday would go so badly...lol!

Todays first sample shows the label from Little Box Labels used to dress up a fun little canister I picked up on holiday last year - it was full of apple caramels Yum and it's been waiting to be gussied up and passed on - I'll fill it with goodies and give it as a gift!

I stamped the label image in red and added the 'from my Kitchen' sentiment in dark brown. I stamped a dinky little jug and utensil image, also from the set in the circular space. This little image looks good coloured up too! Just check out what Julia did with it here!

Once I had cut out my label with the corresponding labels 5 die from Spellbinders, I matted it onto another piece of brown cardstock. See what Anya did with the label image here!
The background red card was stamped simply with the herringbone border stamp, also Little Box Labels, about 3/4 of the way up - I like how the end of the stamp makes a zigzag around the tin.

The red and white checkerboard belly band was made using the Off Beat Background set, already instore here. I love the slightly retro feel it gives the tin.

A little ribbon and a button to finish!




The next item I want to show you is a plain pre-made card box repurposed to house ribbon! I don't have vast quantities of ribbon and I would love a row of these along my dresser (hutch in US?).

I cut holes in my stamped and die cut label using a small Spellbinders circle die and a little anywhere hole punch. I laid this in position on top of my box lid and marked the position with a pencil, I then cut holes slightly larger than the pencil line so's the cut edge wouldn't be visible.

I glued on some patterned paper (cosmo cricket boyfriend collection) and cut the paper away from the holes.

I think this makes a tidy storage solution. I also want to make up some button boxes and put the buttons in the circular space on the labels! What do you think?





Last up is a wee slider box. I'm working on a template for this and yesterday's boxes, I will make them available in the next day or two.

This makes a simple but cute presentation idea for these little apple tree decorations, just right for teachers gifts! lol, I cut a hole in the box using the labels 5 Spellbinders die. I cut my hole over the fold, just to add a little interest.

I had some clear acetate in there but it wasn't behaving nicely in front of my camera, but you get the idea.

Popped on an itty bitty label made using a frame stamp from the Very Vintage Labels No.5 set also being released soon as I can! lol

I haven't even scratched the surface with that set yet!!




And now on to some big news!

I am excited to tell you that we have two new Design Team members this month. Huge welcome to:

Jennifer Holmes
Lisa Hjulberg

Both ladies I am in awe of - and I'm sure you will be too! I am so very lucky that all my DT ladies are lovely people as well as being fantastic crafters, I feel like I'm making buddies!!

Over the next week or so I'll be posting links to these and all the other design team folks who have projects featuring the stamps from this release so's you can soak up more inspiration and ideas for these two sets!

Helping me out today are Julia and Anya - don't forget to pop over for a peep!

And check back later - I have a competition winner to pick and hopefully open the doors to the new stamp sets!

hope they tickle!

Thursday, 3 December 2009

...December 09 release Post 1


ED - the competition is now closed! Thanks for your comments!

Scroll down for pics - it's a long post! lol!


Tomorrow (!) or just possibly Saturday morning, I will be releasing for sale two new stamp sets!! If you're new here I try to release a couple of new stamp sets per month and you've just arrived at the start of the December Release!!! Stay tuned there's usually a few 'purty' things to inspire and I'm also hoping to throw in a couple of templates! lol, OH! and I nearly forgot, the competition!!

Let's just start that now! - since we have so little time! lol, leave a comment under this post telling me what you most often put into little boxes! There will be a random draw tomorrow and someone will win a free stamp set of their choice from this release - ah go on then...both stamp sets!! lol!

So, The two sets are called 'Vintage Labels No.5' and 'Little Box Labels'.

Yep they both co-ordinate with the Spellbinders Labels No.5! LOL, nope - I just can't get enough of those Spellbinders!

Anyhow! you don't need the labels dies for the 'Little Box Labels' set tho - there's plenty of stamps in that particular set that can be used without the die. There's a total of 26 stamps in this set. One main label image, a border, 4 decorative images to fit in the label and a load of sentiments!

'Vintage Labels No.5' comprises 11 different stamps (giving 8 frames stamps 4 decorative motifs and one tag shoulder stamp). One of the stamps features 3 borders on one stamp - I'll do a wee tutorial on these next week for folks to see how easy it is to use them, I've used this tactic in other label stamp sets to allow me to squish more stamps in for your money - click here to see what I mean.

Kicking off the samples for this release I'm starting with a little altered notebook! I used the main label stamp, inked in black, from Little Box Labels to create the label for the front of the book. I used a decorative heart lock image, inked in red in the circular space in the label stamp (added glossy accents to get that lovely dome sticker look!). I paired this up with the word 'Secrets' also from the set to create a diary style notebook!

I liked the red/white/kraft/black colour scheme for this!

If you look below you can see that the main label has a top part and a bottom part with space in between for lettering. There are a load of sentiments included for use with this label and the space is big enough to fit many other sentiments from the sets in my store. The label is filled in with a herringbone pattern, very hot right now and suitable for any occasion.

The top part of the label features a round clear area that I thought would be great for stamping little motif in, relating to the project. It's also a good spot for embellishments such as buttons etc.

The bottom part of the label features a tiny circular clear area - here I popped a wee page pebble in for an accent! this is also a great place to punch a hole for string/ribbon etc. The label can be used either way up.


Also included in the Little Box Labels set is a large herringbone stamp - I've been itching for this - I so need this for all my MAN cards! lol! It's also great for creating backgrounds, here I used it to stamp a black pattern on the white strip running down behind the label. I finished the end of the herringbone border nicely so's you can use the points at the ends as a design feature!

You can just see the little pattern on the black card, which I stamped with the key stamp from the sneak peek, in Versamark to give a good subtle texture.

Next up is a wee little box!! Love wee little boxes! I made it up to suit the shapes you get when you cut using the Labels 5 dies - will share the how to in another post - this one's already too long!! LOL!

Used a border from the 'Vintage Labels No.5' and the 'For you' sent is from Little Box Labels. Flourish is from Seasons of love Tags.

I made up Christmas boxes but these could easily be made up for any occasion.


A smaller Labels 5 shape is used as the hinge.


I am loving how the herringbone label stamp from Little Box Labels looks good in any colour!! Here I popped in the round spiky motif which is one of those handy wee designs that can double as a snowflake/star or just a decorative element.

See how useful the wee tiny circle is for highlighting embellies such as mini buttons!


'Goodies' - another handy sentiment from Little Box Labels



I made up another box - tad addictive - to suit a MAN gift! lol, went for cream and brown, clean elegant, love it! The round motif I stamped into the label this time comes with the 'Vintage Labels No.5' stamp set.

This time I added ribbon by using a slot cutter tool to create slots inside the label shape and then threaded ribbon through.

Have you guessed how much I'm loving the herringbone label? lol!





Hope they tickle!

Wednesday, 2 December 2009

...December sneak peek!!


Things are getting very blurry here as Christmas steals up on me once again! So glad I started making Christmas cards last May...

Anyhow, it's time for another release!!! Here's the first peek - there may be another or then again I might just dive into projects....LOL we'll see!

As usual it depends on when I get done showing you the things I want to show that I will release the stamps - but it will be sooner rather than later.

Royal Mail says the last posting date for American orders will be the 10th of December but I don't like to leave things that close - I will most likely release the sets for sale on Friday evening, and continue to show projects after if I can. Orders will ship as quickly as I can get them out and I do make them a priority but I am reaching the stage where I find it's only fair to tell folks that orders made from around the 7th, may or may not get to USA folks before Christmas. Unfortunately I have no control over the post!

Tuesday, 1 December 2009

...oh all right then!


The light here is dreadful and I so dislike putting bad photos of things on my blog but I got a release waiting to happen and I need to post this and get it 'out of the way!' LOL. So with huge apologies for the awful pics here's a fun wee way to wrap some sweets or maybe some small odd shaped item. Or even just make some as tree decorations!

I made a snowball. LOL - I love making these, they're so easy!! There's a few directions at the bottom if you scroll down! I make absolutely no apologies for the fact that it is completely overdone, a 'right-confection' as my DH might say! lol! It is Christmas!

I used Seasons of Love - Tags and the Vintage Christmas sets on this, but you could easily use just one set - I just wanted an excuse to use both of the snowflakes together!

I made my tag with the star stamp, and stamped the snowflakes on the snowball in matching inks (Ocean Tides and Raw sienna - both Palette inks) Then I tied a bow with some Ocean tides ribbon layered on top of an old Joannes' bridal ribbon I purchased through a ribbon overstock site.

I stamped the back of my Star tag in Antique Linen and used the journal lines from the Seasons of love Tag set to fill in the circle so's I can write a wee message! I love how the wee journalling lines fit the space exactly with no need to mask!


Below you can see the snowball opened, I put sweetie snowballs in mine but on reflection it might be best to use individually wrapped sweets - I'm not sure these are food safe, which doesn't matter at all as we've none left now!!



I started with one of these - a plastic ball that comes in two halves - make sure you get the ones with the wee thingumy attached for stringing a hanger onto! That's where you'll tie on your bow and add a hanging loop - no reason these can't go on the tree! I imagine these are available all over the place! Got mine at a craft shop.


Paint it all over with PVA glue - modgepodge in the USA? I didn't water mine down. See? even 2 year old baby folk can do it!


Once you have a nice thick coat of glue on, cover the lot with bits of ripped, white, tissue paper. it doesn't need to be too tidy, just make sure it's not covering the parts of the hemispheres that clip together. Paste a little more glue on top. I like the fact that the tissue paper is thin in places, you can nearly see inside but not quite!!


Stamp some snowflakes on extra tissue paper and tear out roughly.


Dot them over the hemisperes and paint on more glue - I don't think you can have too much! lol!


Leave them to dry and then add tags, ribbons and fill with your choice of sweeties/gift! couldn't be simpler!!

Hope it tickles!