A bone dry post. No, really.

So... what was planned for yesterday was a fail.
I better make up for it!

My morning was spent spraying, spraying, and spraying some more. And I went through 4 glue sticks as well. Not bad for a job done before breakfast, right?

Let me show you what I was up to.

These two dudes and their identical twins were ruthlessly butchered for the sake of Hallowe'en:

Yeah, yeah, I know. I felt a bit guilty, too. But not for long.

They got re- assembled into this:

Chrome spray and a little battery- operated chain of spider fairy lights. Say it with me. Spider fairy lights.

I meant for it to be an outdoor wreath, but then I remembered the purple glitter spray I got for 99p the other day and inspiration viciously assaulted me.

Are you familiar with advent wreathes? Basically, they are wreathes made from evergreens, decorated with 4 candles. In the 4 weeks before Christmas, one candle gets lit every Sunday, and once all candles are used, Santa is on the doorstep!

As a kid, I LOVED those wreathes, and ever since I was old enough I was allowed to light the candles on Sundays. Aaaah... sweet memories.

Now, let me wreck this sweet mental image for you.

I took some hoarded kitchen towel rolls and toilet paper rolls and let hot glue run down from the top. (spooky wax effect!) All rolls got a nice coat of black spray paint and, once dry, a big helping of purple glitter spray afterwards.

The shorter rolls were treated to clear lacquer as a finishing touch, the larger ones left to look a bit dusty and tattered.

The rolls are stuffed with newspaper, and they will receive a flameless tealight each (sprayed black) when it's time to display the whole thing.

What do you think, did Skelli And Mr Mummy die in vain?

He looks happy enough- in fact he doesn't seem to give a rats' @rse (pun intended)!

So, there you go, I bet you have never seen a Hallowe'en Advent Wreath before. Don't say I don't broaden your minds!

For now, my, erm, candle rolls grace the mantelpiece, awaiting their flameless candles. And I must say that they look better than in the photos- the glitter really shines, and in what is now almost dusk around here, they seem almost real. Yeah, happy with that.

So, shopping list top two items: rechargeable batteries for the spideys and flameless candles. Way more important than washing up- liquid and eggs, don't you agree?

RATS!!!

No, seriously.
Rats.
I got nothing today!
I went and FINALLY got me that spray paint I wanted so bad and went merrily ahead, spraying what needed spraying.
Shelled out £6 quid, so the result looks awesome:

Thing is, though, that gawddang paint just Does. Not. Dry. on those critters. Like, not at all. I left it for 6  hours and still no joy. 

Mind you, they are sitting on a sheet of newspaper turned mirror in that photo- it's not the paint, I think it's the material the wee buggers are made of? Anyway, that's my excuse, and it's unfortunately true as well :(

If it's still like that tomorrow, I have a Plan B, but after literally watching paint dry (erm... NOT dry) today I was too discouraged to even start something else. 

Sorry, guys, I am a letdown. BUT: Plan B is pretty amazeballs, so hang in there. This time tomorrow you will have been provided with a very bone- dry post, promise!

What's so funny?

Dude, what's so funny?

Seriously, what are you grinning at?

Anything hilarious about costing 50p, having a bath in glitter and thus saving me a fortune on this

No. I thought so. 

My Hallowe'en mantel is starting to come together!

(don't you guys start laughing now, it's only the first few bits!)

Oh, okay, yeah. Whatever. It's alright, stop holding it in... fill your boots and let it all out >.<

All done? Why, thank you, guys! *sigh*

I know, it looks very thrown- together and half- hearted right now, but good things come to those who wait!

There's a lot more crafting lined up, and for the moment the devil, quite literally, is in the details. The book pages come from a book on murder mysteries in West Yorkshire and describe rather gruesome scenes that took place in and around my fair home town, and those little bottles contain critters that are not really visible in the pictures. 

You can already tell that the theme is black and white (I get to use a lot from the last craft- off AND will hopefully achieve something reminiscent of my hero Tim Burton in the end, what's not to love?), and a few bits of colour will turn up here and there eventually. 

Sorry for mucking about with the photos so much, I had way too much fun on PicMonkey again :D

See you later, guys- I am hopeful to do something shiny tomorrow, but that depends on wether I get to go and do some shopping or wait around for a second day for a plumber who, I swear, does not exist... or rides around on his black horse and can't find my house because his head is a freaking pumpkin...

Arachno... philia?

Oh my.. guys, I am starting to think my arachnophobia is kind of easing off a little.

In regards to plastic spiders.

And jewelled spiders.

And felt spiders.

Real spiders? Erm... maybe this one.

But only because it looks like a jewel and is kind of cute when you don't remember that it's and eight- legged freak bound to crawl into your mouth when you sleep, live in your brain and feed off your memories. They totally do that.

Anyway, let's not digress and go down to glitzy business, shall we?

Sunny set the bar very, very high today. In fact, I think she'll be hard- pressed to outdo herself any time soon. you MUST go and see what she did to hack these:

Hand on heart, you will be stunned.

My project today has a lot more legs and less vitamins.

I was inspired by this ring:

(in fact, that's the hack Gail came up with- I prefer it over the original, so go and check out her mad skills!)

But unfortunately, large rings tend to irritate me after, like, 5 seconds. So, this beauty was not an option. But I still wanted spider bling, so I dug deep into my stash and found this stuff:

Plastic spider, glitter, model paint in fortress grey (when orc grey just isn't good enough... we all get those days sometimes, right?) and a bracelet blank I had somewhere in my jewellery box for no obvious reason.

Feeling flat? are your days dull and grey? Worry you not. Enter the glitter:

I would have taken pictures of me wearing it, but my hands are so covered in cat scratches (damn you, ticklish kitten!) that it looks like I wrestled some brambles and the brambles won. Ah, well. And since the flash on my camera is still broken, these pictures are the best I could come up with in terms of ambient lighting :D

It actually looks kinda cool and really sparkly, and unlike quite a few of my other creations, I dig this enough to wear this in public.

Best thing is- when Hallowe'en is over, I can take spidey off the bracelet very easily, because the bugger is tied to it with nigh invisible jewellery- making thread. Now- who's a clever girl??

The Great Glitzy Craft- Off is back!

Guys, it is official.

No way out. No escape. Don't bother screaming, nobody can hear you. It is only you, me and Sunny, who has put together a delightfully creepy inspiration post for what is going to be a new series of glitter, glam and shameless hacks of stuff we would never pay for as long as our glue guns are in working order.

So, what's going on?

You head over to Sunny and check out her inspiration post. You fall in love with stuff. You find a way to make it yourself (either copy it or come up with something inspired by the items, as closely or as loosely as you wish). You grab a button (either over at Sunny's or mine in the side bar) and put it somewhere in a post you proudly publish to show off your hack. And, obviously, you let us know about it so we can drool over your crafty endeavors. Sound good? Good.

Before you abandon me to window shop at Sunny's, here's a little something I whipped up in preparation for my week of glitzy crafting.

Sunny will agree that everything goes easier with the help of a nice beverage. And be that beverage alcoholic or not, I like to drink from wine glasses- I am just classy like that. What I don't like are water rings on my beloved coffee table, so coasters are essential. Unfortunately, my set of coasters looking like classic rock LP's is slowly, but surely succumbing to old age, so something needs to be done.

I've been drooling over these cute little guys forever, but never actually got around trying to make them myself. o be honest, I don't think I could pull them off quite as neatly. But last night (or was it in the early hours of this morning?) inspiration struck.

All you need is two circles of felt. Cut a silhouette into one of them, then blanket- stitch around the edges. Wedge the bottom of your glass between the two circles- KAZAMM! a coaster that stays with your glass. A match made in heaven.

Like these two.

Obviously, anything goes as far as color combos and silhouettes are concerned. I chose a spider because I hate spiders. Makes sense, right? For now, it's only this one, but I am planning on making a few more. My glasses require at least a bat and a ghost to accompany spidey here, don't you think?

Right then. Off you go to read Sunnys post and then- get crafting!

I'm looking forward to this, let's get creepy!

The Great Glitzy Craftoff- Confession Day!

Guys, I have nothing for today.

The project I had scheduled turned out a bit more time- consuming than anticipated, so I gotta let you down on that front.

Alas, not everybody was such a letdown, so at least I can save the day by showing off what other participants who are less of a loser than me came up with.

Shall we?

Danni over at Silo Hill Farm is lucky enough to enlist this most handsome dude to do all the hard labor she required in order to make something so gorgeous, you'll want to go and find your own handsome dude to drag into the workshop (to CUT THINGS! Get your minds out of the gutter, will you?) straight away. I won't tell you what she made, but let's just say she saw the light. LIKE A BOSS.

And Her Royal Goopness herself thinks nothing of using child labor (oh wait, this particular handsome dude happens to be 21 now! So that's ok) in her crafty schemes.

What are they toasting?

Shells.

Why does that sound odd?

Anyway, go see what they all did, I promise you will not be disappointed. 

Poor Sunny seems to have some issues with her blog not showing up in Google Reader at the moment, so if you are a regular reader, just go there old- stiley via a bookmark or direct link. She's still posting VERY regularly as usual!

Did the ladies redeem my utter failure? Please, please say yes.

Does a picture of a yawning cat make up for being a loser?

Yeah, he thinks I suck, too.

Why does this sound odd, too?

I'll have my act together tomorrow.

Promise!

The Great Glitzy Craft Off- Day Four!

Guys, you know me.
You are aware that I can't leave well enough alone.
Remember when I said I really wanted those faux coral votive holders, but couldn't find faux corals that weren't immensely overpriced? It annoyed the heck out of me.

I wanted corals, and I jolly well GET what I want!

This post saved my day... and my bank account. My coral was not going to be faux, it was going to be daux!

Vivienne @ The V Spot created a brilliant, most real- looking coral from salt dough, and rather than explaining the whole procedure on here myself, I politely ask you to hop over and check out how she did it. You'll thank yourself for reading her post, it's not only immensely creative, but LOL funny, too!

My version is not as pretty and dainty as hers, look:

I tried to be extra- clever and house my coral in a shell. Erm... well, anybody with a few brain cells left between their ears could have predicted that a rounded shell will not feel inclined to sit up nice and straight with a shedload of salt dough in it!! But you know what? I don't care. I have got my coral and I will dang well enjoy it.

Don't forget to visit Sunny- she's so crafty, she makes people!

The Great Glitzy Craft Off- Day Three

For day one of our little get- together, I made something beachy.
Day two saw black and white stripes (and an unhappy man)

Day three won't deviate from this winning combo, so you'll get stripes, black & white AND beach. Somehow, I sense you are not surprised :)

Since I started with a few little projects for the mantle, I reckoned that I might as well go all the way and finish it up, glitzy style.

This was my inspiration. Kind of.

See those chevrons? Aren't they cute? Yeah, I think so, too, guys.

But they don't look very nautical, really. When I think nautical decor, it's stripes. Stripes like those on any given pseudo- sailors' shirt. 

And when I think mantelpiece, I automatically disqualify stuff that can shatter into too many pieces, so plates were out, too. Don't get me wrong, I DID window- shop for plastic plates, but they were either too expensive or too tacky. And the whole point is to be a cheapskate and still get the look!

So what does a clever gal do?

Exactly. Shop the house.

I found a shedload of plain, white IKEA picture frames in one of my drawers and immediately, an idea took shape, requiring nothing I didn't have in the house already, namely:

black spray paint

sticky tape

white spray paint

music sheets

plastic nautical critters (admittedly, I bought these for the CraftOff, very cheaply off eBay)

I shall let the photos speak for themselves.

What do you think? Too tacky? Too much?

By the way- the last two pictures were taken with my almost- back- to- normal camera! I just couldn't leave well enough alone and woke her up to see if maybe we could be friends again.

She's not back to her normal flashy self, but cooperates quite nicely, given I treat her gently.

Happy days!

Tomorrow is another day... 

Don't forget to check out Sunny's post for today! 

Her project turned out a major fail, I am afraid- but see for yourselves.

Great Glitzy Craft Envy!

Right...
I used to think I'm quite savvy when it comes to jazzing up charity shop finds and putting my own twist on things.

Now, I am not so certain anymore. I mean, we all suffer from craft envy every now and then, but the following Glitzy projects really blew my socks off. Cheap (there, I said it!), clever and so imaginative that I would almost feel inferior if it wasn't for the fact that I'd have to stop crafting and blogging then- with all my crafty supplies knocking about in countless drawers, boxes, bags and baskets, that would be just stupid.

Ready to be dazzled?

This little beauty is one of three projects you can find over at Distressed Donna Down Home.

It's a glitzy night light in a jar! Hop over and pay this wonderful new star in blogland a visit to find out how it's done. You might come across a glitzy Atlantean treasure and some glitzy tree fairies while you are there!

Kinda boring, isn't it? Well, after Gail from Purple Hues and Me was done with it, this little food tent looked lke something Z Gallerie would charge 30 bucks for. I don't want to spoil it, but the finished piece has a candle stick to match!

Great minds often think alike. Yeah, I can prove it! 

Both Mich L (usually a jewellery maker extraordinaire) 

and Danni from Silo Hill Farm

went all clammy and shelled out (shelled out! geddit? I am easily amused...) what, about a dollar each, on what you will find to be some of the most gorgeous pieces of decor when they gave the clams a Glitzy makeover.

Would you like to join the fun? There's still lots of time. We are only three days in (my project to follow soon) and I can't WAIT to be glitzed by y'all :)

The Great Glitzy Craft Off- Day Two.

Welcome to day two of our little crafty marathon!

I've been drooling over lots of exciting projects you guys came up with in the last two days. Seriously, you amaze me! I'll fill you in with a feature post tomorrow, get ready to have your socks blown off.

Today, I have a quick little makeover to show you, inspired by this:

No, not the Moroccan lanterns. Heck, I wish! Look underneath them. See that? ZEBRA!!!

I love Zebras with a passion. I mean, what's not to love? Basically, they are like horses with a really cool paint job and they get to live in Africa. How cool is that!

Unfortunately, my dining table looks nothing like the one shown there. Which is largely owed to the fact that I do not HAVE a dining table. And you know me well enough now to be aware that even if I was the proud owner of a dining table, it still wouldn't look like this. It would be covered in kitty paw prints, craft supplies, empty wine glasses (what? Don't look at me like that. Sobriety ceases to be a virtue after 6pm!) and spare change. On a bad day, probably stacks of laundry to be folded or hidden.

Anyway, a Zebra table runner was NOT an option. Neither were place mats, as I don't believe in place mats. You don't need them when you are pigging out on the couch, cradling a plate on your lap. Well, you know, I'm nothing if not classy.

What was a distinct possibility, though, was a Zebra lamp.

When my Mum visited us recently, she was inconsiderate, awful and, most of all, HONEST enough to give my white lamp shades the thumbs down. In fact, she was plainly taking the mickey out of them, calling them all sorts from laundry bag to first aid tents. Cheers, Mum! You never saw what came with the house!! But I disgress.

No need to invent the wheel again, there are plenty of tutorials out there where you can find help to re- do your own lamps. I'll leave it at this:

Please, guys, pardon the atrocious photos. My camera has thrown a hissy fit and packed in her flash, creating problems even when I have no intention of actually USING the flash. The Mister promised to look into it- he's quite good at fixing stuff.

Apart from wanting to tear your own eyes out, I reckon you see what I did. Dismember lamp shade, cut Zebra fleece to size, mod- podge, I mean, white glue it to shade, reassemble shade, put pretty lace where fabric overlaps, done. Took me about 15 minutes, drying time excluded. 

When it was done, the Man went "You do realize this place is turning into a 70ies boudoir, right?"

I didn't say much at the time, but started plotting my revenge.

When he went to the shops, I quickly grabbed the shade of our ceiling light, Zebra'd it up and put a little twist on it... see for yourself. I will not repeat what he said upon returning home, but I know two things...

1) he must love me very much for he took the joke like a man and only cried very little and

2) I need a new lamp shade.

I shall leave you with this for now- make sure you visit Sunny over at Life In Rehab to marvel at the glitzy, kinda nutty goodness she has on offer today!!