Christmas comes to Jamboree :New blog post:

Christmas has arrived at Jamboree, even the fairies that moved in when we did the extension, have beaten us, by being the first to put up Christmas decorations.

We are catching up, we have new guests in the form of wildlife, and creatures form the icy depths. A mermaid has taken up residency, wrapping presents, ready to be delivered by the elf, to the folk that live by the sea.


Here's where is all began.....
I think it was August when the idea popped into my head, swept away in the idea, only later to think - "What on earth was I thinking" lol. Plans kicked off when I spotted a boat shaped shelf unit in the local Barnardo's charity shop. It was just what I wanted, and would save alot of time and less construction. I painted it red and cream, the good ship Jamboree just needed a sail, which thankfully to my Mam, I made one from an old sheet and a mop pole, bit of a last minute job, but we got there.

It's been a few years since I've made any models, it was the prospect of making the birds that got me thinking just what have I taken on. I started to make the puffins first, not surprising that no one guessed from the photos on a previous blog post, what on earth that paper was doing stuck two to wooden posts. Plenty of newspaper, masking tape, PVA - kindly donated from my Dad, don't know what I would have done without it, I just miss the paint brush that is now lurking in the giant tub of PVA. Regular house hold paint was used to prime all the models, with craft paint for body tones and detail. I had debated on whether to buy animal/toy eyes, especially for the gulls it worked out a bit pricey. Mam got her crochet needle working, resulting in fabulous hats/scarf's for the models. Aren't they cute?. 

Next, was the challenge of the Pirate puffins hat, it was looking more like Napoleon owed it, then a pirate. Those pieces of felt you can pick up in craft shops are a godsend, along with craft foam that I used for the feet, and gull wings, with one finger puppet toy parrot to. 
I've named the seagulls, Bab's and Sid. Just the puffins to name now, what do you think?

Finding detailed images was half the battle in the process of making the models, never knew how many tones worked into a seals coat, bit of a challenge. I really enjoyed adding the whiskers, using stiffened clear cord, used in jewellery making. I've  have named him the unoriginal - Sammy the seal, I envisaged him bursting through the water, balancing a snowball on his nose, with a crab holding a piece of mistletoe. The crab turned out to be to heavy, and was later placed on the rocks near by. And good ole blue tac saved the day for keeping the snowball in place.

This is Whitley Bay's very own - The Rocking Choir group, lead by the singing puffin. Wonder what their favourite carol is?. Further down, some cheeky crabs have stolen a mini cracker, and one is reading a joke.

Sometimes it really does pay to hoard. Luckily stashed away, I found a remnant of fabric that came in handy for creating the mermaids scales, with some great 3D glitter glue that I purchased from Dress it up which held the scales in place, along with some pearls, cold coin stranded establishment, flat back jewels and white wool from Rosewills Cottage next door, and the rest was wool I'd squirrelled away for projects in the past. Primark was fantastic, as I picked up a reduced pearl multi-strand necklace. I enjoyed creating and sourcing items to put in the mermaids box. I found an old sailor image, distressed it, and added it to the box, along with coins, and an old tarnished spoon, small cup and saucer etc.

Sorry, the final window scene photos aren't so clear.

The shops kitchen is taken over - piles of rocks evolving.

The crab helps the mermaid to cut the paper, ready to wrap the presents.

All done, and snow dusted. Really enjoyed creating the window, even if it did mean glue in my hair, paint all over myself, and trails of glitter, and many a late night. After the window was finished, I didn't know quite what to do with myself, spare time again, but itching for another project.

We all know the true meaning of Christmas, but theirs is something magical about it that has always fascinated and inspired me. And, add to that the memories of being a kid at Christmas, the one time of the year to be a big kid don't you think?.

Thanks for viewing our blog, and all though a little early, we would like to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas, and a joyous new year. Thank you for all your custom in 2010.