My Christmas Nails!

I haven’t done a nail post in soo long! But I am ridiculously excited about my Christmas nails so I just had to share them with you all! As you can probably tell from my recent posts I am really getting into Christmas this year which is a bit odd for me, I’m not a complete Grinch but I’m usually pretty laid back about it all but this year I am properly getting into the swing of things!

I have been getting gelish done for the past few months as my local beauty salon, as a nail biter I find it’s the only thing that’s stops me biting them! I also love the finished shiny look of them! So when my gorgeous beautician asked if I wanted to try some nail art this year I could resist!

I went for a mix of things, candy cane stripes, snowflakes and a crazily cute Santa’s hat! They are all done in gelish and she did them all by hand! No stencils involved! So impressed with them!

How are you getting into the Christmas spirit? Have you got Christmas themed nails? 

Motivational Monday #40

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Hehe I bloody love today’s quote! Why should we stop believing in Santa and flying reindeers?! It’s all part of the Christmas magic I love, and at 28 I’m not ready to be a boring ‘grown up’ just yet!

So therefore I challenge you all to embrace the fun and magical aspect of Christmas this week!

Happy Monday Lovelies!

Glitterati by Crown and Glory - Decembers Box

I caved! I re-subscribed to Crown and Glory’s Glitterati Box! (I blame Kezzie’s naughty influence for this ;) !) I was too tempted to see what Christmas delights would be in the December box so I couldn’t resist! And boy, am I glad I did as it is all amazing!

Here is what was in my December box…

1.    Medium glitter hair bow in starry sky – I have wanted one of these for AGES, and I have been wearing it non-stop since it arrived!

2.    A Christmas wreath crown – this hair crown is filled with pinecones, mushrooms, red and white flowers and pieces of fir tree, it is so pretty but is the only piece in the box that I’m unsure of wearing as it’s not really my style.

3.    Metallic blue wired head band – which is 80’s tastic – I am in love!

4.    ‘Everything is going to be fine’ key ring – CUTE!

5.    A purple Christmas cracker – inside was a fab glitter Christmas holly clip – I shall be wearing this a lot in the lead up to Christmas day!

For now I am going to stay subscribed to this gem of a box for a while longer, I adore crown and glory, they create the most beautiful and fun hair pieces and for £20 I think it’s a steal considering what you receive!

DIY: Star Tree Decorations

I love homemade Christmas decorations, they just add such a lovely personal touch to proceedings. I recently spotted on Pinterest these really lovely tree decorations made from twigs. The only issue is having time to dry twigs out! Especially in this miserable wet UK weather! This kind of put a downer on these decorations until I thought I would have a go at making them using brown gardening wire which looks a little twig like! I am so pleased with the final result and thought I’d share a DIY post with you all on how to make these twiggy star decorations!

Brown gardening wire

Thin coloured paper, ribbon or thread of your colour choice.

Scissors

Wire cutters

To make…

1.       Using the wire cutters cut 6 equal length pieces of the gardening wire. I went for 2 inches each but you can alter this depending on how big or small you want your star.

2.       Choose two colours of ribbon, string or thread of your choosing. You are looking to create two triangles, so take 3 pieces of the wire and tie each corner together using your chosen string. Do the same again to create a second triangle.

3.       Place the triangles on top of each other to create a star shape.

4.       Then wrap your string/ribbon/thread around the centre of your star to secure the wire together. I used red string and gold thread to get the look I wanted, but you can use whatever colours you want!

5.       To finish tie a look of string to one of the points of the star and then hang on your tree!

What do you think? Are you a fan of handmade decorations?

#TBT Homemade Christmas Gift Tags!

Welcome #TBT / Throw Back Thursday! Where I am going to be delving into the depths of blog posts past and repost some of my favourites to share again with you all! I haven’t done one of these for ages so I thought a Christmas themed one was due!

Originally Posted // 3^rd December 2013

As mentioned before in other DIY posts I am a huge fan of scouring pinterest for ideas and inspiration. Last Christmas I kept coming across these vintage stamped gift tags which are so simple but so effective. They’ve cropped up a few times on pinterest this year as well as on a few blogs I follow and I think they look fab! So I couldn’t resist giving it a go myself.

I found the vintage tags in my craft box at home and the alphabet stamps I came across on Ebay for £4.99, which includes ink. I thought this was pretty reasonable! When they arrived, I was so excited to give them a try, it’s now meant I have done all my Christmas labels already!

What do you think? Do you like to get creative at this time of year?

Woodland #DICraftSwap

Over the past year I’ve really fallen in love with crafting, and just generally being creative again. I don’t think I ever really feel out of love with it, I think life just got in the way and I didn’t really make time for it. That’s all changed lately and I am so glad to be back making things and having fun with craft. So when I found out about Hannahs #DICraftSwap I just couldn’t resist signing up!

Each month she announces a new theme for the swap and then Hannah emails you the person you are sending to, the person you are sending to is not the person you are receiving from. It’s up to you if you want to reveal yourself. Each parcel must include at least one handmade item and one bought gift with the min. value of £3. Spending and making more is entirely up to you.

October’s theme was woodland! I was pretty excited by this as thoughts of leaves, winter walks and woodland fairies started to fill my mind! I was given the lovely Louisa who blogs over at ‘Luthaisea’s Kit’ to create something for!

We are all asked a few questions on the theme and that is sent to whoever is making for you. In Louisa’s, she said her favourite woodland animal is a hedgehog so I decided to make her a hedgehog plushie door hanger. I am so happy with how the little guy turned out!

In the information I was sent about Louisa she said that when she thinks of woodland she thinks of Sunlight lancing through trees, now I love tea lights in jars and started playing with some colourful leaves I had in my craft box. Using some Mod Podge I stuck the leaves around the jar so when the tea light was lit inside the jar the light would shine through the leaves! I was pretty chuffed about my logic on this one and even happier with the result, if I am allowed to say that?!

The final thing I made was a floral crown, woodland reminded me so much of fairytales, mystical creatures and magic. So I thought it would be fun to add this to my package! I make quite a few floral crowns which tend to be filled with huge bright flowers, I wasn’t sure if that would be Louisa’s style so decided to go for a dainty white flower instead. I wish I had a better picture to show you!

Louisa is also a huge fan of Scotland and all things Scottish so I added some tartan material and a thistle necklace which I placed a woodland printed tin. I had so much fun crafting all my pieces and getting my package ready! A few days after I sent off my parcel to Louisa I then received my own in the post!

The gorgeous Jenny who blogs over at Pretty Column had me and I felt thoroughly spoilt when I opened my package! Check out my new buddies...

Jenny had crocheted this fabulous fox and to accompany Mr Fox was this adorable hedgehog. They are both placed on a shelf above my desk looking very cute! I was also sent these great mushroom candles which I have placed above my fireplace. I am not sure I will light them as I like them too much!

Finally I also received this lovely woodland themed pencil case. My bag is ridiculous, I have about 27 pens floating around the bottom of it but can never find one when I need it! So I had great fun pulling them all out and popping them into my shiny new pencil case, I actually feel organised!

Massive thank you to Jenny for such lovely treats and to Hannah for organising this! If you are interested in craft swaps then I really recommend popping over to Dainty and Ivory to sign up. The theme for the next swap is Christmas!!

My Little Cosy Box

‘My Little Box’ is definitely my favourite subscription box by far at the moment! I am in love with the illustrations they use and all the goodies that arrive inside it! This month’s theme is ‘My Little Cosy Box’, the same as Novembers disappointing Birchbox, but I think ‘My Little Box’ has covered this theme pretty well!

Each comes with an A5 illustrated quote, and I have framed a few of my favourites, and I think this month’s is pretty cute and spot on! Inside my box was an espresso mug with a cute illustration and the quote ‘how is your day gonna be?’ which I adore! I haven’t drunk coffee for 7 months now so will another use for this gorgeous mug!

My favourite item has to be the red and white polka dot little cushion that you can heat up in the microwave! I can’t wait to start using this! In the little beauty bag I received a mini Essie polish called ‘cute as a button’, My Little Beauty Volume & Care Mascara and an Aracancil Starliner Black Waterproof Eyeliner, all items I will definitely use!

This box never fails to surprise me and for £11 plus p&p a month, I think it’s a fab price for the quality of goods you receive!

What subscription boxes do you recommend?