Destined for so much, achieving so little

Body Shop Rediscovery!

One of the things my hubby remembers about me from when we first started dating is that I always smelt delicious, like mango and papaya. It was of course the famous body shop body butter! I've tried other brands over the years from boots and superdrug but had kinda fallen out of love with body butter and was left feeling uninspired! However for Christmas my hubby bought me a brand new pot of mango body butter along with the exfoliating scrub. What a match made in heaven it is! I'd always used the body butter but had never thought to try the scrub - what was I thinking??!! The emollient and cleansing nature of the scrub makes your skin silky smooth and soft like a cherub. Followed by a layer of body butter and you are left with truly divine skin which retains its heavenly smell for hours - I've even caught my hubby taking a quick sniff of the back of my neck when he thinks I wont notice! Have you rediscovered anything lately?

Oh how I love crochet!

The past few months have been a bit crazy as we've been having a lot of work done on the house. It has quite possibly been some of the most stressful time of my life and we're still no where near completion; I'll spare the details for another post! Whilst all the work has been going on in the house I've been feeling a bit lost since i've been unable to do any craft projects; you can't even walk into my craft room due to the towers of boxes!! However over Christmas we went to stay with my family in Wiltshire and while we were there I popped to the local wool shop and picked up some balls of beautiful Rowan Big Wool and a size 10 crochet hook. Perfect for a brand new portable craft project! I've made lots of Amigurumi using crochet but haven't really tried anything else. I've been wanting to get making some granny squares for a while and thought this would be a great opportunity.

Using this video I had a few trial runs then got making.

I thought making a whole blanket would be a bit too adventurous (and expensive!!!) for a first project so I settled for a bed runner. I'm super pleased with how its turned out :)

I had some wool left over so thought i'd make a cushion too - which nicely complements our new owl cushion that we got from my brother in law and his wife for Christmas.

My hubby bought me this book for Christmas along with some other gorgeous craft books. I'm already itching to get started on my next project. Do you have any craft projects that you've recently started??

Happy New Year!

Ok so new year, new me.. yada yada... you've heard it all before, but hey! Why shouldn't I give it a go? First step, I've got to get back into blogging (not that I really started!). Last year I started following some amazing blogs which made me bitterly jealous. As I was pouring over their beautiful pictures and inspiring words I thought to myself why the hell not?! This is totally something I can try myself if I can exercise a little discipline - one post a week is a totally achievable goal!

The blogger world seems like such a friendly community which I would love to be a part of and make a few friends. However, I am fully aware that I may never crack the blogsphere or have many followers, but as long as I have this little part of the web which I can claim as my own I can't complain. Unfortunately, despite having a wonderful and techie husband, my own skill set is rather limited so its all going to be a bit of a learning curve - so bear with me!

I'm married!

Its been months since my last post as I have been swamped with all things wedding - but i've returned a married lady and with plenty of stories of last minute craft projects to share and pictures too. Don't think you're getting them that easily!! here is a little morsel to tempt you....

I will be back with more so don't go away.. let the recaps commence!!

Momiji Madness

Plu & Pia

Not long now folks... 51 days and counting.. eeek! As the end of next month draws closer I find myself pulling together all the final bits and bobs that I will need for the big day. I have been thinking for a while about a present that I can get for AS for our wedding day; I have been looking for something personal and that would mean a lot to him. Then it struck me - it had to be a Momiji of course. One of the first ever Christmas presents I gave AS was a Momiji, he gave me one to mark our first year together, and of course the very special one he used to propose. It would be the perfect present and would allow me to write him a little sentiment that could be stored in the Momiji for him to read on the day. With a growing collection of 46 Momijis it was important for me to find the right one. I received an email today from Momiji and I couldn't believe my luck - a new range of hand numbered Momiji's had been released and there was one which was perfect for the occasion!

Meet Lucky Kitty...

The design based on Maneki Neko, literally translated as 'Beckoning Cat' believed to bring good luck and fortune to the owner. This seemed particularly appropriate especially considering our love for cats. We got our first kitties last year Tilly and Tammy :)

Tilly (as a kitten) and Momiji Kitty

This is another of my favourite Momijis, Princess..

We bought her this year to commemorate the royal wedding and also the year of our wedding. The first couple of hundred of these were also hand numbered - we were lucky enough to get number 49!

Now with AS's present sorted I can now focus on how we can incorporate other Momijis into the rest of the day. Plu and Pia will be guarding our wedding cake. Snuggle will be making an appearance - she definitely represents my love for Toadstools!

Chiyo, Pixie and Sister will also be partying with us too. Their teapot and cakes will fit nicely into our tea party theme! I can't wait to see the professional detail shots from the day with these beauties in :D

Ditsy Florals, bunting and padded hearts!

So its been a while since I last posted but now with only 59 days to go until the wedding I am in turbo crafting mode.

So I found this picture and fell in love...

I just love the village fete look and really wanted a mass of bunting; so with my sewing machine plugged in I began. I found a selection of fabrics and to save time and money I decided to use a simple design. The flags are single sided, but as you hold them up to the light the pattern shows through which meant more fabric was left over to make even more bunting!! I used pinking sheers to stop them fraying and also gives it a home made look, and saved time as I didn't have to finish the edges properly.

I particularly liked this fabric as it fitted in with the tea theme perfectly.

The scraps of fabrics were perfect for making these padded hearts which are being added to my table centre decorations.

So with all this floral inspiration I will leave you with a picture of my beautiful wedding band which we recently picked up. The design is called daisy :)

E-Cools!

One of the things you have to consider when you are getting married is your make up. The thought of the amount of photographs that will be taken on that day is enough to send anyone into a frenzy; you'll definitely want to look your best as these photographs are going to be looked through over and over again not just in your lifetime, but for generations to come. After some consideration I have decided that I am going to do a Kate Middleton and do my own make up. The way I see it, nobody knows my face better than I do. With this in mind I have been trying out different products and looks, to help me choose for the day. I will probably get round to posting a few options later but this is not the purpose of this post. Once the products have been found the technique is in the application, and what is application without a fabulous set of make up brushes! After some research and a trip to Boots I came across a brand called Ecotools - and thus started my love affair. Ecotools are mid-range brushes made of silky soft synthetic hairs and uber cool bamboo handles which are sleek and are made from a sustainable resource. WIN.

My first set of brushed included a lovely soft blush brush, a lash and brow comb, an eye shadow applicator, an angled brush, a concealer brush and a free mirror. I instantly fell in love with the blush brush, I had always had cheap brushes before that always felt as if they were scratching your face but this one is so soft the blush just glides on. The concealer brush was a fantastic discovery also - it helps me blend my benefit erase paste on in a nice even way, hiding all those horrible sleepy dark circles.

Next up was my the eye set. A great selection of different sizes with the job they were designed for written on the side - just in case you forget. I found the blend brush a bit big, however the highlighter brush is a much better size - just perfect for blending in those lovely eye-shadow shades. The angled crease brush is also good for adding deep colour into the eye sockets - great for adding depth.

Then along came the Kabuki... which is also a really fun word to say. I think the day I discovered that was the name of this type of brush, I must have used that word about 50 times just because it was fun to say!! Anyway moving on... like the blush brush this is beautifully soft and its feathered bristles make it perfect for adding finishing powder on top of your foundation or adding body shimmer.

And finally... the Pièce de résistance! The bronzing brush is by far my favourite brush, highly regarded amongst the chic-geeks at Make up Alley. The bristles are so dense that it feels as if you are brushing velvet against your face. Although it is labelled as a bronzing brush it is brilliant for mineral make up, which is what I use it for. I'm currently using Lily Lolo mineral foundation and this brush helps me achieve a fantastic even coverage. Lily Lolo make up is definitely worth a look at if you are looking to move to mineral make up. Its better for your skin, and is still brilliant when you have dry skin like me. Their shop allows you to buy sample pots for £1.29 which is great for helping you choose the perfect colour.

Lily Lolo also have a great retractable lip brush which is worth checking out...

With all these good quality brushes its important to look after them - I use this cosmetic brush cleaner by Strictly Professional that I bought from Amazon.

I highly recommend these Ecotools brushes. If anyone has any other make up tools they cannot live without then please share!