January Favourites

Remember when I was going to do these every month? Yeah, me too. Ironically, I found the June '14 post, congratulating myself for managing a "Favourites Of The Month" post for two months in a row...Languishing in the "Drafts" section still un-posted. So...that went well.

Start as I mean to go on, on with January Favourites!

Photo: Holland & Barrett

Dr Organic deodorant (£5.49, Holland & Barrett). This was originally on the June '14 post, but I can now tell you that it did survive the summer, and it does really work! For a while when I was younger I used a crystal deodorant (literally, a rock crystal that you wet). They work surprisingly well, for a rock, but some do still contain some of the nasties I was trying to avoid getting all up in my glands and stuff. Yuck! My favourite Dr Organics scent so far has to be the pomegranate one, though the tea tree one is lovely and cooling, an added benefit for the summer! After many sniff tests (sorry husband/sniffing guinea pig...Needs must!), I think they work just as well if not better than the one I was using before (Dove roll-on), and without all the nasty chemicals! Of course it's only seen a few scattered scorching days since I started using it, but that's a pretty accurate test period for England!

Photo: blog.pne.ca

Miracle Shammy Synthetic chamois cloth. I found this at Autosport International, which I go to every year with my Dad. The cheesy (sorry dude) salesman was doing his shopping channel spiel demo (you can see the US version here), and part of it was showing how these cloths soak up a 2l bottle of pop (or something similar...Maybe not the full 2l, it was really cheesy and I may not have paid 100% attention), and would dry a car in two swipes, or some such advertising, blah blah blah. However I saw it soak up all that liquid and thought "Hey! Microfiber hair towel!" I was eyeing wonder-towels on the internet before Christmas at around £20ish each. So I figured at £10 for four (plus two polish cloths, which are very good for glasses/watches, etc) I'd give these a shot instead. I told the guy he was missing a trick by not selling them as hair towels, and he laughed in my face. So, your loss my arrogant friend. They are AWESOME hair towels. I can cut my drying time by 50-75% by squeezing out my hair with one of these things first and they have no loops to snag and drag at the hair cuticles so it seems to dry smoother too.

Photo: Lush.co.uk

While we're on hair care, item #3 for January is the "New" shampoo bar from Lush (£5.75). I'd tried shampoo bars in the past and to be honest I wasn't that impressed. Turns out I just tried the wrong ones! New is full of cinnamon, clove and peppermint so it smells divine (and more than a little Christmassy), and supposedly boosts blood flow to stimulate the scalp. The shampoo bars last 60-80 washes, which for me is almost a year's worth of shampoo, for £5.75.

Read my full review here on my nail art blog.

OPI Sheer Tint top coats. Oh myyyyyy. I am in LOVE with these polishes. There are four in the range, all transparent, in pink, yellow, blue and purple. They are amazing. I can't wait to try out more manis with these!

I've also spent January busying away behind the scenes on another little project I've had running. If you have a moment to spare, please head over to my new Facebook group and Etsy shop, where I will be sharing my crafts and selling my wares. 

Happy New Year!

No, I am not sat on the internet at midnight on NYE blogging (thank you, post scheduling!). I am probably actually asleep somewhere. Such is life.

This seems like an appropriate time to let you know that I am still alive, apologise for the lack of blog posts this year, and promise to try harder next year. Life and work took over slightly this year, and I haven't spent nearly as much time crafting as I have in previous years. I have (hopefully!) big-ish things lined up for 2015, including finally getting my act together and my Etsy shop stocked and open for business.

May 2015 bring us all health, wealth, happiness, and the hover boards we were promised in 1989.

Happy New Year!

May Favourites!

OK...When I first did a "Favourites" post (wayyyyyyy back in September) I did clarify that I would forget to do them every month. So, here we are. This is the next in the series of things that are making me a happier little bunny this month...

This Pura Vida bracelet:

You will probably notice a slight theme this month. I'm slowly being over-taken by the coral trend (is that still a trend? I'm not trendy). This bracelet is the perfect match for May favourite number two. A friend and I have recently started importing these bracelets (first in the UK! We think...) and selling them at work after we fell in love with them when she found them on a trip to California. If you fancy stocking up on some for yourself, check us out on Facebook. Each bracelet helps to make life better for people in Costa Rica (and makes you look super awesome...I'm just sayin'...). I would advise you to get in on this trend before everyone else! ;)

This Accessorize nail polish:

I'd taken it off by this point...So the bottle is modeled here by my toy bichon frise.

If you follow my nail blog (and if you don't, where have you been?!) you will have seen me use the sequins that come with this colour last month to create a really cool scaly manicure for Play-off Weekend at the start of April. I just realised how gross "scaly manicure" sounds. Sorry. It wasn't gross at all actually, it reminded me of awesome dragons and Pudge the fish. Anyway...I digress. I used to just lump coral in with all the other reds that were a bit bright and I didn't like wearing. Then I wore this colour. I secretly judge my nails by how many comments they get. Working in a shop, hundreds of people see each manicure, so it's a pretty good way to judge, I think. This colour gets compliments from MEN. Straight men. Men don't notice nails. They even say they never notice nails. I don't remember the last manicure I did that a guy actually noticed (apart from that guy who said French manicures always made him think of porn...But we'll gloss over that one). Sadly this "Sandstone" colour is only available as part of a set (polish and pot of chunky glitter sequins) for £5. I see a lot of spare sequins in my future, because I need to stock up on this before it goes!!

Benefit Cha Cha Tint:

Image copyright Benefit Cosmetics.

I mentioned the coral theme before, right? Cha Cha tint is a lovely orangey-coral colour for lips and (though I haven't been brave enough to try it there) cheeks. I'm too much of a smeary klutz to wear lipstick, so lip stains are a perfect un-smudgeable solution and when I found some 99p samples on eBay I snapped one up.

This hair bow:

Actually, all these hair bows...

I don't usually wear hair accessories. My hair is huge and eats any decoration that goes near it. But I went to a vintage fair the day before Star Wars Day, and saw the Darth Vader one, and then they were six for a fiver, and there was Disney...And...Well...the inevitable happened ("The Inevitable" being I muttered something like "My nieces will love these!" as I flung a fiver at the woman and squirrelled away my Disney kiddie hair bow purchase for me, me and only me). I have to apologise as I've lost her business card so I can't give her the plug she deserves! If I find it I will definitely edit her details in later.

My go-to summer perfume...

JLo Glow apparently is aimed at "late teens/early 20s", but I don't care. The blurb says it smells of neroli, pink grapefruit, rose, sandalwood, amber, musk, jasmine, iris, and vanilla, but to me it smells like summer and I love it! I'm also apparently running low, looking at the picture! It is actually nicely complimented by the lovely Lustre dust in the background from Lush, which also smells of jasmine and has the added benefit of being jam-packed with SPARKLES!!!

If I remember, there will be a few June favourites to come next month (or, as it took me sooo long to do this, later this month!).

Something Different...Graphics.

I was saying the other day that I hadn't done a craft post for a while (seeing as this was meant to be a craft blog and is sadly lacking in that aspect lately!). Truth is, I haven't really done many actual crafts. November and December are always hellishly busy for me, working in retail, and January is usually spent putting myself and the house back together and doing all those things that get neglected during the festive period!

So, whilst not strictly a craft, I thought I'd post a few creative things I've been doing, as suggested by the friend I have done  most of them for!

I love playing with Photoshop, whether that's touching up and editing photographs or making graphics from scratch. Lately I have been making graphics for a good friend's wrestling efed, and the people who play there. I won't explain the whole thing, basically they create characters, those characters have "pic-bases" who are (usually) celebrities, and have banners to go with it for use on forums, etc. So yes, I know the celebrities in the pictures have the wrong names. Creative licence. Just enjoy the pictures. :)

*HEADS UP* Some of them aren't wearing very much. Make your own NSFW/PG13 decisions please. I trust your judgement.

This is the first one I did, for one of my husband's characters. I think he was a little doubting over whether or not I could actually work to the graphics standard he was used to. Given his face I surpassed it. 

That was the first style background I learned to do, and is still one of my favourites. I possibly over-use it slightly. ;)

Backgrounds are easily the most fun bit.

This one is one of my favourites, I'll not go into how to do it, basically google is your friend...If there's an effect you want, someone will have already put a lesson up on how to do it!

Here it is in use. Sad thing is a lot of the awesome backgrounds get covered up!

Spot the difference! There were actual details given for the character's outfit for this one. I love the crumpled lettering...Never done that before.

The finished product.

My favourite effect is DEFINITELY metallics...

Before and after. The font makes a lot of difference...

This wasn't for the efeds, it was a design I submitted for a friend's company logo.

This logo is NOT my original design, I just edited it and added effects.

This one is my original, and one of my favourites. :)

This is one of my all-time favourites. The font is altered/added to, which caused massive problems when I wanted to use it again, because I couldn't recognise it! Free font sites are my downfall. I LOVE fonts. I try to have a different font for each character, though obviously I have my favourites!

Obviously I didn't make this image (or the "R"), just the rest of the text!

One of my other favourite fonts.

So there you go. Sorry for the whorey display of boobs and asses. It seems to go with the territory.

If you are interested in commissioning some graphics of your own, drop me an email or leave a comment below. :)

If you are interested in joining the efeds (and you can fill out an application form correctly, eh Mark?), you can find the best ones here and here.

I don't have characters...I just wanted a pretty graphic! ;)

Remember When Everyone Was Doing Those "100 Things" Posts?

Well I found one in my Documents folder, so I did it. You're welcome. :)

001. Real name → I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you... ;)
002. Nickname(s)→ Floss
003. Zodiac sign → Aries
004. Male or female → Female
005. Elementary -> Whitehill
006. Middle School → Whitehill
007. High School → Brinsworth
008. Hair color → Brown
009. Long or short → Lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng!
010. Loud or Quiet → Little bit of both!
011. Sweats or Jeans → Jeans for going out, sweats for staying in.
012. Phone or Camera - Camera.
013. Health freak → No.
014. Drink or Smoke? → Not really.
015. Do you have a crush on someone? → Who doesn't?
016. Eat or Drink → Both!
017. Piercings → Ears
018. Tattoos → I could tell you, but where would the mystery be then? ;)

HAVE YOU EVER?
019. Been in an airplane→ Yes
020. Been in a relationship → Yes
021. Been in a car accident → Not a serious one.
022. Been in a fist fight → Not a serious one.

FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → Ears
024. First best friend → Abigail, we were 2yrs old.
025. First award → Erm...I really can't remember! First medal was for doing the Playtex Moonwalk marathon though.
026. First crush → Sean Bean.
028. First big vacation → Bournemouth, that I can remember.

LASTS:
029. Last person you talked to → The weird-but-friendly assistant at WH Smith.
030. Last person you texted → John.
031. Last person you watched a movie with → Myself, right now.
032. Last food you ate→ Sushi!
 033. Last movie you watched- *checks TV listings* Legally Blonde. :P
034. Last song you listened to → "Popular" from Wicked.
035. Last thing you bought → Sushi, a sympathy card, and a stuffed toy of two peas in a pod.
036. Last person you hugged → John.

FAVES:
037. Food → Chinese
038. Drinks -> Juice, Lychee or Mango for preference.
039. Clothing → Pyjamas!
040. Flower → Roses, they don't make me sneeze.
042. Colors → Purple
043. Movies → Love Actually
044. Subjects → Art, English, Music, Sociology.

CHECK ALL THAT APPLY :] :

In 2013, I....
045. [Y] kissed someone
046. [Y] celebrated Halloween
047. [N] had your heart broken
048. [Y] went over the minutes/texts on your cell phone
049. [N] someone questioned your sexual orientation
050. [N] came out of the closet
051. [N] gotten pregnant
052. [N] had an abortion
053. [N] done something you've regretted
054. [N] broke a promise
055. [Y] hid a secret
056. [N] pretended to be happy
057. [Y] met someone who changed your life
058. [N] pretended to be sick
059. [N] left the country
060. [Y] tried something you normally wouldn't try and liked it
061. [Y] cried over the silliest thing
062. [N] ran a mile
063. [Y]went to the beach with your best friend(s)
 064. [N] got into an argument with your friends
 065. [N] hated someone - I don't tend to "hate" people. If you've done something that bad, you're probably just dead to me, it's far less negative and energy-consuming. :)
066. [N] stayed single the whole year

CURRENTLY:
067. Eating → Nothing
068. Drinking → Cherry Coke
069. I'm about to →Put some bedding away. Rock'n'Roll!
070. Listening to → The TV.
071. Plans for today → Hockey, maybe wash my hair later.
072. Waiting for → John to wake up after his night shift.

YOUR FUTURE:
073. Want kids? → Eventually.
074. Want to get married? → I'd do it all again tomorrow. ♥
075. Careers in mind → Something craft-related, and probably self-employed. When I'm rich enough to not need to work, that is!

WHICH IS BETTER WITH A BOY?
076. Lips or eyes → Ideally both (all four?!) but I'm not discriminatory.
077. Shorter or taller?→ Taller, but I'm only 5'2" so logistically not too tall.
078. Romantic or spontaneous> Bit of both!
079. Nice stomach or nice arms → nice arms
080. Sensitive or loud → Bit of both.
081. Hook-up or relationship → Relationship.
082. Trouble-maker or hesitant → That's a weird option..

HAVE YOU EVER:
083. Lost glasses/contacts - Only sunglasses.
 084. Snuck out of your house → No. I live here, I can come and go as I please. When I lived at home? Still no.
085. Held a gun/knife for self defense → No
086. Killed somebody → No! (WTF?!)
087. Broken someone's heart → Probably...
088. Been arrested → No.
089. Cried when someone died → Obviously.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
090. Yourself → *pokes middle* Yes. I am undoubtably real.
091. Miracles → Of course!
092. Love at first sight → Yes.
093. Heaven → Yes.
094. Santa Claus → Yes.
 095. Sex on the first date → No.
096. Kiss on the first date → Maybe...

TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now? → Yes.
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life? →Short of a lottery win and/or a dog? Pretty much! 30 this year, married, got our own house, employed, great family and friends, life is good.
099. Do you believe in God → Yes.
100. Post as 100 truths and tag 10 people→ If they want to take it from here, they are more than welcome.

So Long, 2013!

'Tis the season, the season I no longer shy away from the post box ("MORE bills?! *runs away*)! Christmas cards! :D And, of course, the newsletters.

Victoria Wood does a fantastic routine about the family newsletters in Christmas cards. I can't find the Youtube video, but it's funny. Take my word for it. Frankly, we get a few, and I quite enjoy them! Of course there are the ones that are blatantly just "not-so-humblebrag" newsletters..."This year unfortunately we've spent a fortune on fuel, even though we got a super-economic new car, driving to New Haven, but it's worth it to visit Binky at Yale! Did we mention our little Binky got into Yale?" But if you've done something to be proud of, why not tell the world? Just tell us!

We don't do a family newsletter, but if we did, it might run a bit like this...

January: I gave blood for the first (and currently only) time. They made a terrible mess of my arm, but I would do it again in a flash. Unfortunately I had some iron issues and then flu, so I haven't managed to donate again since. I plan to in 2014 though.

February: Valentine's Day! I can't remember precisely how we celebrated. Welcome to married life, y'all.

Pancake Day! Not normally newsletter-worthy, but this year I discovered pancakes with home-made chocolate orange ganache sauce and whipped cream.

Commence Droolage....Now.

March: I hit the big 2-9! :D I took a few days off work, and had a couple of road trips, including taking myself to the Harry Potter Studio Tour at Leavesden Studios which was AMAZING. If you want to go, I will go with you. I want to go again. Christmas would be good, they do special trips and there's snow and...Anyway. Travelling companion available! :D

Amazing. Scale model of Hogwarts at HPST.

April: Play-Offs!! We spent a great weekend with family friends in Nottingham.

Meat Loaf! We went to the Last World Tour, and it was brilliant.

Yes I do pick my seats based on Paul Crook's stage side. Sorry Randy, love ya, love Paul more.

May: We went to see Mick Foley again. His stand-up show is VERY funny, I would imagine moreso if you are into wrestling, but still, he's a funny guy. I also went on my friend's hen do, and got the drunkest I have probably ever been in my life (which isn't hard to do, because I don't really drink, but hey).

June: We went to Manchester to see Bon Jovi (again!).



Rumboldfest! We had a great time at our friends' awesome campsite wedding in Wales.

BFF and I got up stupidly early to queue for tickets for Michael Buble's "surprise" gig (public dress rehearsal) in Sheffield...AND GOT TICKETS!! Awesome show as usual, and we got to see for £25 what would have cost us £80 in London. Plus every penny of profit went to local children's charities. What a lovely man.


July: I did the "Insanity" programme (July and August too). Even though I had to finish a little early because of an injury, I finished eventually!

We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, by not doing very much at all. Ho-hum. The traditional 6th wedding anniversary gift is sugar.

I went to London for a girly weekend to see Rascal Flatts. Awesome show, and Laura Bell Bundy was the support act. Bonus! This was one of those weird circumstances when someone I don't know that well and haven't seen for months tagged me in a status because I was the only one of her FB friends in England who also liked the Rascal Flatts fan page and said "Hey! I have tickets! Want to see Rascal Flatts?" and I said yes, and then awesomeness happened.

Second row standing, people. Second. Row. Standing. Which as we all know, for short people, soon turns into FRONT row standing. I spent the evening wearing a stranger's cowboy hat, which he passed up to Laura Bell Bundy to perform in, and then put back on my head. SSSF (Stranger's Stetson Sisters Forever).

August: Family Holiday to Norfolk. Great times, even though John had to come home early for work. We still had a fantastic time and I LOVED having a dog again for a week. :D

September: John's birthday. I fear I set myself up for a fall when I made the Big 3-0 birthday so spectacular (his day included a trip out to buy a Blu-ray player, meal out, cinema, hockey, takeaway).

The cake came later. First there was a Birthday Cookie.

October: We started the Christmas shopping! First time we have been able to be this organised but 2013 has been kind, LOTS of monthly payments have ended (YAY for steps closer to being debt-free, even baby steps!), and John worked extreeeemely hard and got lots of lovely overtime, and hence Christmas was a lot less panicked this year!

We also had a visit from one of my best friends and his wife from Canada, who we've been looking forward to meeting for years. We had a great week showing off our favourite places in England and getting to know Lisa. Before they came I missed one friend in Canada, now I miss two! I'm lucky that all my friends choose awesome partners. Yay!

November: Disney on Ice! Rapunzel is one of my favourites, so I had to see Dare To Dream.

December: I worked. John worked. When the stars aligned with a prevailing wind we actually saw each other once in a while. Christmas was quiet with both families, and New Year celebrations will be similar. As usual we will be ringing in the new year at home tonight, just the two of us, good food, some treats and the TV.

Next year we are looking forward to my Big 3-0 Birthday, which will hopefully include a girly trip to London amongst other activities. Hopefully we will also be able to afford to put a deposit down for my Big 3-0 Birthday Trip to Walt Disney World (actual trip delayed to 2015) when we will hopefully be travelling with friends and meeting up with at least one more! It's weird planning so far in advance, but we also have our eye on a trip to Canada (hopefully in 2015), visiting friends in Quebec and Toronto with a road trip to New York (state not city). Quebec/Toronto/Ontario/NY peeps, get ready! At some stage, we're coming!! This will be timed to coincide with hockey season, obviously. ;)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope 2014 is happy, healthy and brings you everything you deserve.