Thursday 23 April 2015

Stitched Blossoms Etsy Shop Review


Hi everyone, for this weeks post I wanted to talk to you about one of my favourite Etsy shops, Stitched Blossoms.
The lovely lady who owns the shop, makes the most beautiful fabric flowers, they come in many different colours, sizes and styles, either made from 100% cotton fabric or satin and many have gorgeous layers of lace too.


You may remember I spoke about a fabric flower that I bought on Etsy back in January and you can check that out here, but the shop was under a different name then, she has now rebranded with a great new name and now stocks adorable little craft flowers too.  I'm told there's many more flowers to come of various kinds and a few other exciting ranges that are in the works, so I can't wait to see those.


The purchase I'm going to talk about today, is this wonderful vintage style flower, I just absolutely love the colour and this beautiful floral patterned fabric.  You know how I love my lace too, so I was thrilled that this one also had lace added in with the layers of fabric too.


It even has this adorable lace covered button in the centre


I was really happy when this turned up in the post a few days ago, it arrived really quickly too, and as with my last purchase from Stitched Blossom, the lady was very helpful and when it arrived, it was carefully packaged and even came with a lovely organza pouch.  Prices vary depending on the size and style of the flowers she sells and there are sooo many to choose from.  I already have my eye on at least three more!  I just love the style of them, so delicate and pretty.


I originally bought this one for one of my friends for her birthday, but since it's arrived I just love it far too much to part with it!  So looks like I'll be placing another order with Stitched Blossoms very soon for another one :-)

I hope you liked this post and please go and check out this lovely shop and these gorgeous hand stitched flowers.  There are adorable little flowers for baby's, gorgeously beautiful satin layered flowers that would look amazing for a wedding and many others that would be great for so many other uses, decorating boxes and cushions or adding on to a handmade card or scrapbook page, match one up with your favourite bag or maybe add one to a headband, bobby pin or brooch.  They make perfect little gifts for your friends, your family and of course a nice little treat for yourself too :-)
Until Next Time Stay Happy

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Thursday 16 April 2015

Spring Favourites 2015


Hi everyone, well it's that time of year again, the flowers are blooming, the sun is finally coming out and so that can only mean one thing, it's time for my Spring Favourites :-)  If you would like to see what lovely things I've been enjoying over the last couple of months, just read on.


Firstly I have really been loving baking over the last couple of months.  I made my very first batch of cookies back in February and have made a few more since then, thankfully they have improved quite a bit with a little practice,


I've also made scones and my own mini chocolates (post coming soon).  I'm really looking forward to making some cakes and many other things too over the coming months.  I've always wanted to get in to baking as it's something I really enjoy and reminds me a lot of the cakes and other lovely things that I used to help my mum make when I was little, so I'm really happy that I've finally started doing it.  I've also been buying quite a few little bits here and there to help with my baking, so if you would like to see a kind of bakeware haul, let me know in the comments.


Yep it's true, I succumbed to the hype!  So in February my friend and I finally went to see the notorious Fifty Shades of Grey movie, I'd had already worked my way through all three books, which I really enjoyed and I was quite looking forward to seeing the film too.  My friend however had not read the books and I think was actually quite brave to go and see the film with me, especially as she didn't really know what to expect!

As usual the film didn't match up 100% to the books but then when do they ever, but even so I thought it certainly had a good go and I really enjoyed it, I think my friend did too.  It certainly had quite a few embarrassing scenes that you would not want to sit and watch with the family, but I thought it got the main storyline over pretty well and was quite a good adaptation.



As for Jamie Dornan, as good looking as the guy is, I honestly thought his acting abilities left a bit to be desired, he didn't seem genuine enough for me as the highly delectable Christian Grey.  But I thought Dakota Johnson played Anastasia really well and made the character very believable, so well done her.  So just a year or so's wait until the second instalment then, it's a good job the dvd is out soon ;-)  I also absolutely love the Fifty Shades version of 'Crazy In Love' by BeyoncĂ©, it's so dark, sultry and sexy, brilliantly re-done just to accompany the film.  You can have a little listen to that here, along with watching a few clips from the film, you're welcome :-)


My favourite YouTuber lately has to be the lovely Jim Chapman.  Now I've been happily watching his videos for about 2 and a half years and I don't think I've ever missed one, but I feel like I've re-discovered him again lately.  His videos always make me laugh without fail, I love the way he's so upfront and honest and will talk about absolutely anything no matter how personal or rude it is!  He is one very funny and friendly guy!

As many of you (who have been a follower of my blog for a good while) will know, I am the hugest Linkin Park fan, their music is just the best thing in life BUT, I am also a huge fan of old 90's dance music, which not that many people know about me.  It takes me back to my boarding school days and I have so many great memories with so many of the songs, I loved it all then and I still love it now!  There's way too many to list so I have created my own playlist on YouTube, which you're quite welcome to go and have a listen to and please feel free to have a dam good giggle at all the cheesy videos and ridiculous outfits :-)  I've got all my main favourites on there including Snap, Corona, East 17, Haddaway, 2 Unlimited, and many others, as well as my all time favourite 90's dance track Mr. Vain by Culture Beat, ooh best tune ever :-)


Keeping on the theme of music favourites for the minute, I've also been loving a few other various tracks and albums.  I've recently started listening to the Clubland cds, mainly one of the last ones, number 26.  It's got some really great songs on there including Paloma Faith's 'Changing', 'Liberate' by Eric Prydz and 'Resonance' by Talal Riley, I also love 'Stay High' by Tove Lo but there's loads of others too, I've just been listening that constantly lately.
I've also been enjoying a few random tracks I found on YouTube, '
Love Rain Down' by Gary B which is a really lovely chilled out song, I also found 'Wish You Were Mine' by Phillip George, I am just obsessed with this it at the moment it's SO good :-)


So my old mobile phone, was starting to seriously get annoying, it was so slow it would take me 5 minutes just open an app!  So I saved and saved and saved and then saved some more and got myself a very lovely brand shiny new phone about 8 weeks ago.  It is a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, it's a good upgrade from my last phone and I love that it has a lot more space on it and a bigger ram, so it takes me seconds to do everything rather than minutes!  If you'd like to know what apps I have on there that I rely on and use all the time, let me know in the comments and I'll do a post about it :-)  I am so, so happy with it and now it never leaves my side, most definitely my favourite new toy :-)


I also picked up a few little accessories for my new phone recently, one of them is this adorable little Koala bear dust plug.  I mentioned this on my Christmas Wish List post and I finally couldn't resist it anymore so sent off for it, I just think it's so cute!


I also picked up these really pretty phone cases from a shop on Ebay called Maggi Chic, they were all less that £5 and I just love the choice of patterns and images, they're quite different to anything else I've found and I think they'll gorgeous.


Ok finally on to a couple of beauty favourites, there's actually been a good few of these over the last couple of months but I thought they deserved their own separate post, so if you would like to read about my Current Beauty Favourites, you can click on the link :-)  Apart from all of those, I've been loving this new eyeshadow palette that I got from Boots a couple of weeks ago.



It's by Collection, it has 6 different shimmery eyeshadows in including a very good pigmented matt black (which is great for eyeliner) and it was only £3.99.  There are 3 different palettes available in this range, but I went for the Nude Grey, as I preferred the slightly more darker grey/beige tones.  I just think this is a really great little palette, it's very affordable and ideal for travelling with as the packaging is quite sturdy too.  I love eyeshadow palettes that are small but have a good selection of shades that will work well for a basic every-day look as well as darker shades for evening looks and this is ideal for that.  The quality of the shadows are really great too, they last well, blend well and give a nice coverage, so a big thumbs up for that!



Another beauty item I've been really enjoying using, has been this Soap and Glory Gloss Stick in the shade Raplumsel.  I've used it such a lot since I bought it and it's now become a staple in my makeup bag!  I love that's it's such a subtle sheer gloss and it even leaves a slight stain, which I really like.  I've tried the famous Nudist shade too but I just think that's a little too sheer for me.  I also have Plum Jam but I've not been brave enough to try that yet!



And finally, a couple of weeks ago it was Easter :-)  I was a very lucky girl and received 4 gorgeous chocolate Easter eggs and have been happily munching my way through them, I still even have a whole egg left to finish!

I hope you all like this post, please let me know what things/music/products you've been enjoying lately in the comments, I'd love to hear about them :-)
Until Next Time Stay Happy

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Wednesday 1 April 2015

The 'This or That' Tag


Hi everyone, time for another tag!

1. Drugstore or high-end?
I really enjoy going to the drugstore and getting products like Rimmel, MUA, Makeup Revolution etc that are really great quality and easily affordable too, what more could you want really but of course it's nice to have a little splurge and spend out on more expensive products too, as you all know I do love my Urban Decay!  But generally I'd have to say drugstore for me.

2. Curly or straight?
My hair is very straight and always has been but I love it when it's curly.  The trouble with my hair, is that's it's so thick and heavy it just doesn't hold a curl well.  But given the choice, curly, definitely!

3. Winter or Summer?
I have to be honest here, I hate the winter and the colder months in general and here in the UK we have a lot of them!  I'm longing for the warmer weather and nice sunny days, hmm bliss :-)  And let's face it, there's so much more choice outfit-wise in the summer, no more jumpers or thick winter coats, yeay!!

4. Coffee or tea?
I'm not really much of a coffee drinker so it's tea, always!  I have to have my pg tips first thing or I just don't feel I've woken up ready for the day and I could happily drink it constantly throughout the day.  Although when I'm out and about, I have to have my favourite hot chocolate :-)

5. Late nights or early mornings?
Although I do love seeing the sunrise, I am severely not a 'morning person', I would like to be a lot more but somehow it's never quite happened so far!  I always seem to feel more awake and energetic at night, I've always been the same.

6. YouTube or TV?
I love watching the soaps (big Corrie fan) but I think I'd have to say YouTube, it's right there whenever you have a spare 5 minutes and all my favourite YouTubers are on hand whenever I'm feeling down and need to take my mind off things or need a good laugh.

7. North or South?
I'll have to say North for this one since I live in North Wales, and I really love it here, it's beautiful, very picturesque and within 30 minutes I can be in the nearest city or on a beach or in the gorgeous Welsh countryside :-)

8. Night in or night out?
I absolutely love getting dressed up in a great outfit, wearing my falsies and dancing the night away but not as regularly as I used to these days and for me, nothing beats a nice cosy night in with a good film, a bottle of rosé and some nibblies, especially with a special someone but even when I'm alone, I still enjoy settling down with a good book or popping my mp3 player on to help me chill out :-)

9. Heels or flats?
I'm definitely going to say heels for this one, although I've never been one for high heels I do like a low heel, I just feel it looks so much more flattering and feminine and with a lower heel, they're usually pretty comfy and easy to wear too.

10. Spend or save?
I do enjoy having a little splurge, who doesn't but there's a lot to be said for saving the pennies, besides how can you splurge without saving up first?!  And I do quite enjoy saving up for some things in particular, I think if you have a goal in mind of something you really want to spend out on, you are far more likely to spend less on the things you don't really need and save your money.

11. Sweet or sour?
Sweet every time, I absolutely love cake and chocolate, I have a very naughty sweet tooth, although I am slightly obsessed with plain Pringles.

12. Dogs or cats?
Cats are lovely of course but I have to say, I'm a total 'dog person', having had Poodles in my family all my life I'm pretty much smitten.  They're just like babies, they need looking after, reassurance, and lots of cuddles :-)

I hope you enjoyed this little tag, I always love doing these they're so fun.  Please let me know what your answers would be in the comments, I'd love to read them.
Until Next Time Stay Happy
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