On my online workbook this week: ‘Twas and is balancing the weight of tradition with the joy of choosing what matters most that really Crafts a special Christmas

Dear

This week’s inspiration is finding balance between new design ideas and our tried and tested traditions.

My design note for you this week is all about keeping the snow fluff tidy. You will find a tip on how to keep the candles perfectly in position in the Tutorial (with the added benefit of the candles now fitting so snugly that it won't topple over) and this should help prevent accidentally breaking some of those delicate dried twigs causing the white snow fluff looking untidy.

But it still happens, right? The moment you have your design just right and the opening is now inconveniently small… ping… a tiny, tiny twig falls and sits there in the white fluff for all to notice! Or a bit of artificial snow. Or even a bell or a succulent or a dew drop crystal drops in while designing. Any debris can make the design look untidy.

My tip for you is a glue tipped skewer. Simply place the tiniest blob of hot glue (see the pictures above) on the end of a long bamboo skewer, reach in and simply touch it to the something you want to lift out, and pick it up, and out. I tried several times, just to test (ha ha ha) and am happy to report that for some reason the debris sticks to the glue and the fluff stays put! It worked every time.

I have to mention at first I tried picking up the debris with an extra long tweezer (you can find one in a chef supply store if that might be a handy addition into your tool bag) but it was a bit bulky for this delicate design and that just caused more twigs to break and drop in. You definitely need a thin and long skewer for this clean up job.

Enjoy!

Every good wish,

Christine