Christmas #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 Hannah's #DICraftSwap I just couldn’t resist signing up!

This is the second swap I’ve signed up for and I’ve really enjoyed doing them! 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!

This rounds theme was ‘Christmas’ and I was given Lauren who blogs at ‘Oh Hay!’ to make something for. I decided to make her some star tree decorations and a necklace, I had so much fun making these pieces. I also sent her a Doctor Who print as she is also a fan. I did take some pics of everything I sent but somehow managed to delete half my photos this morning and have been unable to retrieve them! So all I can show you are the stars I made for Lauren....

The lovely Claire who blogs over at ‘The Owl in the Teacup’, had me and she completely spoiled me! She made me 2 absolutely gorgeous traditional Swedish Dala Horses, which have had pride of place on my tree this year. Claire also made me a twine and painted heart picture holder, which I am going to use to hold photos as it looks fab!

Claire also treated me to the cutest pair of unicorn socks, some unicorn stickers and a lovely letter set which I have already started using. Oooh and a Thornton’s fudge chocolate bar which didn’t last long at all!

Massive thank you to Claire 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. I’m skipping the current swap due to lack of funds and time but look forward to joining in with more this year! 

Hopes and Dreams for 2015

Happy New Year Lovelies! Hope you’ve had a wonderful festive period! I can’t believe how quickly it’s flown by! So this is my annual post where I get to be a little reflective on the past year and start looking at what I want to achieve in 2015! 2014 had a lot of ups and downs for me, it started off amazing, I spent the first month in Thailand and had the most amazing time! Over all its been a pretty good year however the last few months have been a bit of nightmare as my mum’s been very ill but hopefully we’ve turned a corner there! I also feel like this year I’ve been on autopilot, my life being a bit static and I’m just going through the motions. Does that make sense?

I am really looking forward to 2015! I have some fun things already booked in the calendar and think it’s going to be a good one! Here are my personal hopes and dreams in no particular order. Please note that this is a working document for me and something I want to come back and reflect on throughout the year. Also for the record these are NOT New Year’s resolutions! Who actually sticks to those?! These are just a few of my hopes, dreams and aspirations...

• Be better with my money – start saving and stop spending so thoughtlessly!
•  Get fit! Standard for most people but I want to improve my fitness, tone up and run a 10k race this year!
• Laugh more! The last few months have been pretty hard so I want to smile and laugh more! Have the most fun going!
• To say ‘yes’ more and to try new things. Something I started a few years and want to continue and do more of as it’s only led to positive things! 
• Be positive! I want to be one of those cheesy people who see the light in every dark situation. I truly believe positivity attracts positivity!
• Be more adventurous, try new things and travel to new places! 
• To start dating again
• To buy a house, Okay so this one may be a pipe dream but I want to save up and start heading towards this one! Or at least move out of the parents loft by the end of the year!

In terms of hopes and dreams for 2015 in regards to my blog, I want to shake things up a little! I have got a little bored with my blog lately and want to insert some excitement back into it! I want to blog about different things, maybe do a few more lifestyle posts. Is there any type of posts you’d like to see more or less of?

So 2015 I want to mainly enjoy my writing and to see what other excitement and adventures it brings me! I also want to meet some blogging friends!! None of my real life friends blog and I would love some friends who do!

I am so excited to see what 2015 may bring! I also just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to stop by and have a look at my ramblings here over the past year; it means the world to me!

Beauty Blog Sale!

Welcome to my blog sale! Forget going to the shops for the Boxing Day sales when you can check out the goodies I have here instead! Being a beauty blogger I have a ton of products that I’ve only used once, never used or have replaced with something else. Therefore I thought I would see if any of you lovely lot would like to purchase some of it! I’ve done 2 of these before but haven’t done that well from them so I am hoping 3^rd time lucky!

I am going to put a few pieces up to begin with and see how this goes! If I do sell some bits I will add more products so keep checking back!

Okay so here is how it works...

If you want anything or want to ask me anything, just leave me a comment. It’s going to be on a first come first serve basis.  

I only accept PayPal and all payments must be made within 24 hours. Please note: If payment is not made within 24 hours, any offers will be withdrawn!

UK postage is £2.80, whether you want one item or 10 it will be this standard price. I will post items within 2 working days of receiving payment.

I will post internationally, but please contact me before hand for postage costs

I'm afraid that I am not at fault if the package goes missing in the mail and I won’t be accepting any returns. All sales are final.

Hair...

Bed Head Tigi Superstar Queen for a Day Thickening Spray – 320ml – Brand New - £8  (RRP £13.95)

Umberto Giannini Volume Mousse for Big Hair-200ml- Brand New - £3 (RRP £5.59)

Lee Stafford Hair Growth Leave In Treatment - 100ml - Never been used! - £3

Face...

Dr.Jart + Most Moist Water-Act Skin Mist -150ml-Brand New- £10  (RRP £18)

Elemis Herbal Lavender Repair Mask – Used Once - £18 (RRP £29)

The Body Shop Vitamin E Over Night Serum-In-Oil- Used Once - £8

WITCH Naturally Clear Blemish Stick – Brand New - £1 

Body...

Rimmel London Sun Shimmer Instant Tan in Medium – Brand New - £2                                 

Avon Femme Body Lotion – Brand New - £2

Cath Kidston Provence Bluebell and Jamsine Hand Cream – 30ml – Brand New - £1.50

Makeup...

 Laura Mercier Foundation Primer- 30ml – Brand New - £5

MAC Powder Blush in Coppertone – swatched twice - £6

17 Blow Out Volumise Sculpt Tease Mascara –Brand New -£3 (RRP £6.29)

Bourjois Paris 1 Seconde Mascara in Black – Brand New - £5 (RRP £9.99)

Nails...

Avon Star Dust Enamel in Polished Plum – Brand New - £2

Avon Opal Top Coat in Opalesce – Brand New - £2

Avon Gel Finish Nail Enamel in Creme Brulee – Brand New - £2

Avon Gel Finish Nail Enamel in Fabulous – Brand New - £2

Models Own Nail Polish in Blizzard – 6ml – Brand New - £2

Models Own Nail Polish in Pink Cocktail – 6ml – Brand New - £2

Models Own Nail Polish in Golden Green – 6ml – Brand New - £2

OPI Nail Lacquer in Coca-Cola Red -15ml – Brand New - £4

Essie Nail Polish in On A Silver Platter – 13.5ml – Brand New - £4

           

Not happy with the prices? Then make me an offer!

A Christmas Card Swap and 2 Bloggers Secret Santa's!

Hello!! I hope you’ve all had a fabulous Christmas and are enjoying this festive time of year! I have till the 5^th January off work and it shall only be a 4 day week as the 9^th is my birthday and I’m keeping it free to do not too much in particular! This week my aim is to properly relax, catching up on blog stuff, reading, writing etc and make some more pieces for my Etsy shop. As well as spend time with friends and family. I just hope it’s not going to fly by too quickly!

I’m sorry there has not been too many blog posts over the last week, what with Christmas, my laptop dying and my blogging mojo running away I’ve taken an impromptu break! However I am back, as long as my laptop stays alive (think it needs a trip to the shop tomorrow to be fixed, boo!) and today’s post is all about some of the Christmas snail mail projects I’ve been involved in. I love all forms of happy snail mail as you’ll know if you read my blog regularly or join in with The Bloggers Snail Mail I run! Therefore I was super excited when I spotted the following...

Jenny from Sunny Sweet Pea runs a Christmas Card Swap every year and I was so excited to get involved with it this year! Jenny put everyone into groups of 5 and in you need to send everyone in your group a Christmas card. I think this is such a lovely idea and I was so excited to send off my cards and receive some in return! In my group were Danielle, Rachel, Joanna and Rachael, whom I would like to say a massive thank you for their awesome cards and kind words inside them!

Next up are the Bloggers Secret Santa’s I received... I joined in with a couple last year and loved buying treats for a blogger and seeing what I received in return so couldn’t resist signing up again! I signed up for 3 separate Bloggers Secret Santa’s  but only seem to have received presents from 2 of them which is a shame. 

The first Secret Santa I came across this year was one Char from ‘t*rexes and tiaras’, she is one of my favourite bloggers and has the most awesome wardrobe going, if you haven’t checked out her blog yet make sure you do! I was give Janet to be Santa for and had so much fun stalking her blog and twitter trying to figure out what to get her, in the end I decided on a Tattoo colouring book as she likes tattoos like me, and I though the book was a pretty fun concept! I also got her a mug with her blogs logo printed onto it. My parcel arrived a couple of days after I sent mine with a big label on it saying do not open till Christmas day! I don’t know how I managed to do it but I did well and waited to the big day and was so excited when I finally got to open it! My Santa was Ann, and she has massively spoilt me! Inside the gift box was a pair of candy cane stripes, a candy cane bubble bar from Lush which is my favourite, some frosted berried tea light which smell amazing. I also received some strawberry foot soak crystals, foot lotion and some chocolate coins, all the ingredients for a good night in! Huge Thank You to Ann!

Next up is the #BloggerSecretSanta14 which was run by Jasmine and Kirsty from ‘Beauty is Perfection’ they asked me to be Santa for Lyndsey so I put together a goody box of things to create a perfect night in. In return Jasmine and Kirsty were actually my secret Santa! They sent me a fun filled box which included some of their favourite products, inside was a bright pink cracker with a nail polish inside, some Soap and Glory body butter and head cream, an organic snail gel moisture mask (unsure about this but willing to give it a go!!), Burt’s Bees lip shimmer  and a yummy selection of sweets! Thank you ladies, I feel very spoilt!

Did you get involved in any secret Santa’s this year or Christmas snail mails?

Empties #3

I seem to have run out of quite a few products in the last few days so though I would share a few of them in an empties post! I’ve not done one of these in so long....

1.    Organix Renewing Moroccan Oil – check out my review of this hair oil here. I love this stuff! I use it daily on the ends of my hair before drying it and it really helps keep it in a fab condition.

2.    Biore Warming Anti-Blackhead Cleanser – I have been using this a couple of times a week. It heats up when on your skin which is a funny sensation and it leaves my skin feeling pretty refreshed. Good if you are having a breakout!

3.    The Body Shops Tea Tree Skin Clearing Cleanser – I found this tended to cause me breakouts and was a little too harsh on skin so I think I will be sticking to my go to Lush toner water from now on!

4.    Elemis Balancing Lime Blossom Cleanser – I recently reviewed this a while back, which you can find here! I absolutely love this stuff! It’s done wonders for my skin and its smells of those sweets, parma violets!

5.    The Body Shop Deep Sleep Dreamy Pillow and Body Mist – I know this isn’t a beauty products but beauty sleep is important so I am using that as my excuse to include this! I have used this for years on my pillows. It is made from camomile and essential oils and has such a comforting scent. I will definitely be buying more of this!

Have you tried any of these products? How did you rate them?

T'was the night before Christmas...

Motivational Monday #41

source

 

As Christmas is now only a few days away, this is my last Christmas themed motivational Monday before Santa visits! The last couple of motivational posts have been pretty light hearted and fun, so I thought id finish on a bit more sentimental note.

This is what Christmas is all about for me, spending time my friends and family, those I love.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas!