I wanted to give the silver plated cuff link settings below a nice dark patina, so decided to test out this fangled egg theory.

The only thing you really need to know is that I thought I had to use raw egg yolks instead of cooked ones.

The cuff links are still in the bag with the yolks after 4 days. They are just sitting on the kitchen counter, waiting. I daren’t take them out.

Next time, when I have more eggs, I’m going to follow the method on e-how, here.  Failing that,  there’s always Liver of Sulphur, which is significantly less egg-involving. Hoorah.

I started it mostly so I could curate front pages for Folksy, which is something they’ve introduced recently. So far I’ve made one, but obviously haven’t got round to submitting it to Folksy folk or anything useful like that.  Too busy making stuff out of paper.

But every time something catches my eye on Folksy I pin it, and add it to one of my boards. I also have a board for cute animals, because of course that is mandatory in any internets venture.

Remind me to get on Ebay after this and get an industrial strength hole punch.

During my decoration-fest, I listened to all the episodes of Cabin Pressure, some of them several times (downloadable for peanuts here).  I also ate a lot of Nakd bars, which are a sort of concentrated fruit and nut mush bar. I know what you’re thinking: ‘Yummy! Mush, my favourite!’. They are tasty, believe me.

Here are a couple of pictures of the massive pile of decorations, plus a picture of my very untidy workbench on Sunday night.

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Anyway, instead of just moaning about the state of my clothes, I intend this post to be of a short review of glues that are particularly useful in my dealings with paper, cloth, metal, glass and plastic. Let us begin with the queen of all glues:

Epoxy – if glues were Hollywood actors, epoxy would be Marlon Brando: a powerful performance but oh my god is it difficult to work with. I admit, I used to have more faith in its powers on smooth surfaces and used not to sand both surfaces before I used this, but I learnt my lesson with those cufflinks. In my experience, it’s by far the best thing for glueing metals to anything, for jewellery. Absolutely the worst one to get on your hands as it just lingers for ages like a sticky slime.

Super glue: a far more brittle performance. In my experience this is not suited to bonding anything with a smooth surface that needs to flex or that gets regularly put under pressure. I use it to seal the knots on the twine I use for my garlands. It solidifies them and seals the cut ends so they don’t unravel and embarrass me.

Hi-Tack – my favourite glue! A massively sticky wood-based glue that I use for all things cloth related. I also use this for glueing the edges of books when I make them into boxes. It also seals the cut ends of ribbon and you can even use it to glue up hems.

Double-sided permanent sticky tape – I love this. I use Stix brand. When I buy a new roll it feels like I can live forever; my power to adhere things to other things reaches a god-like pinnacle! I use it to make my wallets, it really is so amazingly strong. But it’s also not cheap. I prefer to use  Sellotape double sided for light stickings.

Dimensional glaze – there is so much I don’t know about how to use this glue. It’s mysterious! What I do know is that it glues glass to paper like a mad bastard, leaving a clear, smooth finish. If you squeeze a drop out onto paper and let it dry, it forms a clear raised surface. There must be a hundred uses for this but I haven’t had time to try them out. Anyway, it’s wonderful. I’ve used it most recently to both glaze and attach bits of book paper to bookboard to make a little brooch. They become completely waterproof.

Craft mount – by far the best to use when attaching paper to paper to make something doublesided. But, a tip,  avoid the Nobbycraft permanent stuff in a pink can unless you want massive blobs of yellowy adhesive showing through and spoiling the effect. Actual Craft Mount is far superior.

Uhu (or any clear, super strong glue) – I don’t know it well enough in terms of making things but if I had a choice I’d always go with Marlon epoxy resin.

This is as far as my gluespertise goes. Also, I need to go and glue things. If you have any tips about glue, please do share them with me!

Today it’s cold and windy and raining; I like it. The greyness is appealing, if only because it makes the virginia creeper hanging from the apple tree glow like its lit from within. It sets off rainbows well too.

Handprinted pale grey and ivory dragon cushion £35.00 by Helkat Designs

Felt clock by Kelly Conner (seller is on holiday)

Grey notebook by Kate Bowles – £15

Handmade 100% Liberty cotton riding stock by Topstocks – £29.00

Tourmaline and silver ring by JAusten – £30.00

Grey cashmere coat by FashionCouture – £169

Okay, now I’m greyed out and loving it. Bye for now x

I did find some quirky and fun things though!

Adorable red mittens by Dolly Knits- £22

Over the knee socks by Legyviel – £27.50. I WANT THESE!

Women’s slippers by Seamingly Possible – £20

For keeping your best friend warm: What the Jack! Dog jacket by Crotchety Craft – £15

Keep your laptop cosied up with this recycled flannel shirt. £26 by Toggle

That’s all for this week!

These would cheer my up every morning, staring at me from my wardrobe! Lavender Russian dolls by Beaky – £6

Great Tit cotton bag by Kate Broughton (seller is on holiday at the moment)

I love unicorns in an embarrassingly non ironic way. This vivid cherry red one is by Cherryloco and is £12

This is me over the winter months. Lazy Hound tshirt for men – £20

That’s it for now. Hope you enjoy my picks this week!

This is the style I call ‘paper onions’. I don’t know what else to call them!

These are paper hearts, strung on twine. There are eight on a string. I’ve toyed with making longer ones  of maybe even 16 – I think they’d look quite spectacular for a going away party or something like that.

I’d like to experiment with something other than twine though. I like the rustic effect and I think it goes well with the paper but I’d like to try it with some sort of silky cord maybe, or ribbon. I’ve just bought a few things to try out, so watch this space for yet more adventures in garlanding.

I feel lucky that we have enough room in our house to let me have a work space, even if it is a bit cold and dark. What sort of spaces do you work in? I’d love to know!