Warm Winter Wishes - Cosy Goth Girl

I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas and enjoy the New Year.

My first make to show is a Gift Card holder I created for my DT blog post make around a week ago. More details on the post HERE.

So many people keep telling me if I like hot chocolate than I needed to have one from Costa, I could never understand the big thing about Costa; as I'm not much of a tea or coffee drinker. But wow, I'm shocked, I had a medium hot chocolate with marshmellows and because they put the marshmellows in first they melted in. Yummy I see why people go there now!
I also had to try their giant Custard Cream biscuit once I saw it - OK I wasn't really a fan of how it tasted but it is still a pretty awesome idea, I felt so small next to it! hehe.

Finally last nights make.
Created with this weeks Facebook Stamp of the Week for only 99p, usually only £1.29 anyway, from The Stamping Shack Shop - Cosy Goth Girl. This stamp could be used for different occassions, modern Christmas cards, winter birthdays, even good luck cards etc.

Warm Winter Wishes card created using:

Products: 

3x First Addition, Bird Song, 6 by 6 Papers, 

1x A4 Craft Essentials White card, 

10x Promarkers (Vanilla, Sandstone and Caramel for the hair. Sunkissed Pink and Blush for the Skin. Limezest, Maroon, Pale Pink and Duck Egg.) 

Cosy Goth Girl Digi Stamp,

5 x Card Candi,

1x Blue flower button,

1x Deep purple velvert ribbon.

Tools: Printer with ink (black image outline, purple text), Guillotine, Scissors, Biro, Double sided tape and Silicone Glue.

I would like to my Pink, Green and Purple, winter wishes card into the following Challenges:

Natalie and Amy: Favourite things 30/12/12 - 01/01/13 

Favourite things = First Edition Papers, Promarkers, The Stamping Shack Digis, Button, Ribbon and Card Candi.
Digital Tuesday Challenge: Layers 18/12/12 - 06/01/13
Divas by design - Anything Goes Challenge 19/12/12 - 08/01/13

Stamp N Doodle - Anything Goes Challenge 19/12/12 - 01/01/12

Paper Crafting Journey - Anything Goes 20/12/12 - 08/01/12

Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes 28/12/12 - 02/01/13

Let the Holidays Begin Challenge

It is that time again folks... Christmas and Challenge time!
Today marks the day of The Stamping Shack's third challenge and final challenge of 2012.
This mid months theme is Let the holidays begin - so feel free to link up over on the Challenge post at The Stamping Shack, any new crafty creation for 'let the holidays begin.'

My DT project was something a little bit different for Christmas.
I created a paper chain for my tree with the Polar Bear Love digi stamp with a gorgeous wintery feel and not a lot of colouring needed and I also created a few hanging decorations from the Postage Elf digi.
The great thing about digi stamps are that you can rotate them and flip them however you wish, this is a great way to create unique paper chains, you can also resize them to whatever size you choose so that it can fit any size tree.

Happy Crafting and Merry Christmas to you all!

Sparkle & Shine Challenge

Thank you to those who joined in our first challenge over at The Stamping Shack and congratulations to the winners!
Here is a simple, shiny and glam card for the all new 'Sparkle & Shine' Challenge at The Stamping Shack.
I tried to use as much sparkle and shine as I could - Greeny Grey / Brown backing paper was already shiny on the brown detailing, I sprayed the other plain backing paper with irredesant spray and left to dry, both papers from one of my favourite paper pads 'Desert Blooms' by First Edition Paper. I picked the 38mm Gold double sided satin ribbon from Fantastic Ribbons, which has a slight sparkle to it, which is stunning. The image Princess Daisy is from The Stamping Shack shop, from the Oscar and Daisy collection, I coloured her in with Promarkers, the sparkly crown and shoes were Metallic Promarkers. I finished it all off with Liquid Pearls for the necklace and a few sparkly orange/yellow gems scattered, the text was created using plain black card and sizzix dies.

Promarkers used: Skin = Blush and Sunkissed Pink, Dress = Ice Grey 2,  Sparkle = MetallicMarker Gold.

Why not enter the Sparkle and Shine challenge and you could win yourself some digis, you do NOT need to use The Stamping Shack digis but if you do you could win even MORE prizes. Best of Luck!

The Stamping Shacks 1st Challenge - Anything Goes

I love the deep navy with the shiny silver card against it. I just thought I would show that if you find a card base/sketch you like, you can use it for more than one card. By changing the text and image you can change the occassion and who it is for, even by changing colours etc. There is lots more you can do to make it more unique for people, even by changing the gift.

Oscar on Sleigh card, DT creation for the all new challenge, at the all new blog - The Stamping Shack.

The Theme is:
ANYTHING GOES

The Rules:
1. Anyone can enter as long as you are a follower of 'The Stamping Shack' blog.
2. You can enter up to 3 times per challenge (Link up over at The Stamping Shack post HERE)
3. You must have fun!
And that is as complicated as it get!
The Dates:
The challenge will run from 8am GMT on 15th November until 8am GMT on 29th November.
The winners will be announced over on the blog at 8pm GMT 29th November.
Winners and Prizes:
There will be 3 winners - The first will win £6.50 to spend at The Stamping Shack shop. The first second and third will also receive a badge for their blog.

Base Card - 9' by 13' Navy Card

Gift - 10 Celebration Chocolates

Backing Papers - Silver mirror card using Marianne Designs - Snowflake 1 dies set of 3, Memory box - Frostyville border die and Nestibilities - Eyelet Circles, Larges medium circle aprox. 1⅞'

Both images coloured with Promarkers - Image 1, Oscar on Sleigh from the Oscar & Daisy collection at The Stamping Shack. Image 2, Percy Skating from the DigiStamp Boutique.

Text - Me to you Bear, silver text peel offs

Spray - Silver Crafters Companion spray for the Penguins hat (using a masking technique)

Homemade box envelopes, also shown above next to the penguin card 5th Picture down.

Enjoy and don't forget to join in the challenge!

******

Thank you for the kind emails and words left on my blog. My beautiful pooch would have been 8 Today so wishing him a Happy Birthday - Miss you boy!

Goodbye Arnie, Miss you.

We lost Arnie Today, 13 days before his 8th Birthday.
Arnie. Gorgeous. Labrador. Intelligent. Was also my Bestfriend and love. Family pet. Saved my life. Changed my life.

More Information on Arnies life and last moment READ HERE.

Tick Tock Chocolate.

You may have been wondering where I have been. Unfortunately the last few weeks haven’t been the easiest, lots of things have happened and to top it off my dog became very ill, very quickly, he split open all up one side of his body with his insides were coming out, it took the vets a week to stitch him up and he is still very sore and recovering, having to wear a t-shirt to keep the stitches covered and a cone on his head, he’s still leaking from his wounds. :(
Hopefully he will be fully recovered soon though and back to his self again :)

But great news, I was approached to join a new design team over at the The Stamping Shack with lots of new and old digis at bargin prices, why not join us over in the challenges too!

When I finally got some me time, I created this masculine card with 10 Celebration Chocolates inside, for my Pin and Tack DT creation for this month. You may have seen my other Tea-light cards, that hold 5 tea-lights or 10 celebration chocolates, other gifts could work or fit in too.
I chose maroon/burgundy card along with gold mirror card. I created my own backing paper by stamping out some stopwatches from the Kanban Jasper Collection and sprinkled over some embossing powder, heated it up and the background was complete - a simple homemade matching paper, which could be created with any stamp of choice.

Backing Paper – Homemade with the pocket watch from Kanban, Jasper stamp set and gold embossing powder from Martha Strewart

Gold Mirror Card and Maroon/burgundy Plain card

Stamp – Male Mannequin from Kanban, Jasper stamp set

Promarkers: Cool Grey 4, Sunkissed Pink, Sunflower and Burgandy

Dies - Weathered Clock from Sizzix

Embellishments – 5 Gold Card Candi, 10 Celebration chocolates, 4 Anita gold glitter letters

Click the image to make larger :)

Textured, Starry Wizard.

{DT Make. Layering buttons and adding Texture}

I love texture and dimension on cards but find it hard to always incorporate it. I shadowed the image with two different grey Promakers to bring the image forward, added two strips of bakers twine across the bottom and linked in the middle with a die cut star from a recycled box with three layered buttons. I finally got to use my hessian adding texture behind.

Backing Paper - Star paper from  the Masculine paper pack by Dovecraft
Recycled papers: Sport multipack brown card and yellow shaving cream box.

Stamp - Abracadabra stamp from Lili of the Valley

Promarkers: Skin - Almond, Shading - Cool Grey 2, Cool Grey 4. Vanilla, Buttercup, Sandstone, Caramel, Cocoa, China Blue, Midnight Blue.

Dies - Spellbinders and Stars from the Believe set by Sizzix

Embellishments - Hessian, Buttons and Bakers twine.

DT Make for Anything Goes @ Pin and Tack.
Why not enter this months challenge!

Photography and Make-up

{My love of Photography}

Some of you may know that I am a trained Make-up Artist and have a love of photography. I am currently not doing much with my make-up or photography, but really want to get back into it.
I've been rather quiet over the last couple of weeks because everything that could go wrong, seems to be; the car is still in the garage, been having to visit someone in hospital every evening and so on, I shant bore you with the details, but put it this way... it has been a busy, tiring couple of weeks.
I decided that I would offer some make-up and photography sessions, I was overwhelmed with the response. Mostly people wanting make-up for either dinner or nights out.
Above are some photos of a lovely lady and her two children, this was my first photoshoot and make-up session last Saturday. I had a session of Make-up with the mother and photos of the children.

I would like to thank everyone that let me do their make-up and take photos, I really enjoyed it and hope to do more in the future.
All photos were given to them on a disk in black and white, sepia and the originals, to do with them what they wish. These were just a few of the photos taken that day.

Tower Cottage and a Card for a Cause.

 {Weekend Away Photos and Diary with a Card for a cause}

FRIDAY
- After work, packed and set off for Yorkshire
- Sat and rocked in some the new comfy chairs, with a hot chocolate, 'In with the Flynns' and 'Mrs Browns Boys' Catch up with Ed's Mum.

SATURDAY
- Snuggles and Kisses in Bed with Beanie the dog.
- Breakfast with Ed and his Mum
- A spot of shopping in Doncaster
- 2-3 hour journey to Warkworth settle into 'Tower Cottage' on Castle Street
- Drove to find a grocery store, stocked up on food and drink for the week away

- Snuggles on the Sofa with Ed and the 4th series of 'The Big Bang Theory'

SUNDAY

- Breakfast, head off for a walk along the beach, which turned out more to be an adventure. 4 hours later. Knackered and bus back to cottage.
- Cosy Night in, fell asleep on the sofa. Dinner and bed.

MONDAY

- Headed into the town of Alnwick

- Headed off home, 6 hour drive.
Was good to be home, we had a great time, but felt we had used our time best we could on the Saturday, on our 'Adventure' laughter, frustration, getting lost, finding hope again hehe. The Weather started turning nasty so decided both that we would head home.

Photos: Picture 1: Tower Cottage, 1 Castle Street. Picture 2: View from outside our bedroom window and lounge. Picture 3: Beautiful Chandelier in the lounge. Picture 4: River near by the cottage. Picture 5: Walk along the beach. Picture 6: Birds on the telephone wires, I thought looked nice :) All photos taken by Dannii

*****

When I saw that Saturated Canary's Challenge blog was supporting such a great cause, I had to create something!
For every entry into the challenge (up to 500), Saturated Canary will donate $1 to Susan G Kolmen for the Cure in Jen's honor.
This is my first white on white effect card so don't be too harsh on me ;) But as I love colour I wanted to add something that would stand out and be rather striking against the white. So I decided on Snow White as she is bright and so fun to colour. I also found some pom poms in my stash I thought I would never use.

Backing Paper - White Card Embossed with Universal Embossing Folder - Venus and a dotty folder.

Digi - Snow White by Saturated Canary

Promarkers: Cool Grey 1, Black, Dusky Pink, Royal Blue, Yellow, Buttercup, Poppy, Coca and Pine

Text - Happy Birthday from Tickets stampset by Kanban

Dies - Sizzix Ovals, Scallop and Marianne Design, English Rose.

Embellishments - Mini Pom Poms

I would like to enter this project into the following Challenges:

Saturated Canary Challenge: Dotty 30/08/12 - 12/09/12

Natalie and Amy: Anything Goes 30/08/12 - 1/10/12

Digital Tuesday Challenge: Sweet Treats 11/09/12 - 18/09/12 

(Apples and Digi Stamp used.)

Brown, Blue LOTV Fairy

I am so pleased to be a Design Team member of Spark Your Creativity, along with some other lovely ladies...

Corrinne (The Boss :)

---

Sept 2012 - Dec 2012

Dannii (Me)

Deanne

Hatty

Karon

Kim

Naomi

Shirley

Tina

{Use what you have, more recycling}

For my first DT Card for Anything Goes, I have used:

1x 6x6 Card and Envelope

Backing Papers and Card - 1x Inside of Sports Drink Multipack (Recycling) for the Brown Cardboard

2x 6x6 Paris & Co, Designer Paper Pad by My Mind's Eye

Stamp - 1x Lili of the Valley, Dandelion Clock Stamp

Promarkers: Oatmeal, Cool Aqua, Tea Green, Sandstone and Caramel

Text - 3x Heart Rub-ons from Doodlebug Design Inc. All mixed up

Dies - Spellbinders, Nestibilities - Standard Circle and Classic Scalloped Circles and Sizzix Flourish die

Embellishments - 15x Loose Silver Gems, 5x Flowers and Glitter Glue.

I would like to enter this into the following 10 Challenges:

ATC's and Cards With Attitude - Anything Goes 24/08/12 - 07/09/12

Broken Box Stock - Brown Bag'n (Recycled brown box) 24/08/12 - 09/09/12

Avadares – Make It Sparkle (Gems and Glitter used) 31/08/12 - 27/09/12

Crafty Catz - 3 embellishments (Gems, Flowers and Flourishes), 2 papers, 1 image 31/08/12 - 6/09/12

Daring Cardmakers – Focus on Flowers (Dandelion in main image, flower embellishments and flower shaped outline) 31/08/12 - 7/09/12

Inspire Me Fridays – Anything Goes 30/08/12 - 6/09/12

Polka Doodles – Flowers 31/08/12 - 09/09/12

QKR Stampede – Anything Goes 31/08/12 - 6/09/12

Totally Papercrafts – Sketch 31/08/12 - 6/09/12
LEJ Designs - Anything Goes 28/08/19 - 2/08/12

Review it! - Film [1]

This weeks list

UK age Ratings.

Young Adult - 2011 - Age Rating 15 - Comedy/Drama - 94mins

21 Jump Street - 2012 - Age rating 15 - Action/Comedy/Crime - 109mins

The Amazing Spider-Man in 3D - 2012 - Age rating 12A - Action/Fantasy/Thriller - 136mins

Ted - 2012 - Age rating 15 - Comedy/Fantasy -

106mins

What is Review it? Find out how to join in and what it is HERE

Young Adult

2011 - Age Rating 15 - Comedy/Drama - 94mins

★✰✰✰✰ - 1 and a half stars

This film was nothing to how I was expecting. I feel it is very slow to start and doesn't really get going. There is a few comical moments, which are laugh worthy, but a film about everyday life of a woman with an average life but with a twist of trying to steal someones husband. Young adult was a little too everyday life for my taste.


21 Jump Street

2012 - Age rating 15 - Action/Comedy/Crime - 109mins

★★★★★ - 5 Stars

I loved this film, it had everything for me - Laughter, Violence and Life. 

The usual type American high schools in films, the eye candy for most woman, the geek, coppers.
This film is about two school enemies both becoming police officers and being partnered together on a job. Very funny with lots of Laughs but also a lot of drugs and violence. I would highly recommend this film!

The Amazing Spider-Man in 3D

2012 - Age rating 12A - Action/Fantasy/Thriller - 136mins

★★★★✰  - 4 Stars

I think I really enjoyed this film because it was nothing to what I was expecting at all. There is a big debate about why this was released and which Spider-man films are better. There is no Spider-man VS The Amazing Spider-man debate for me, as they are both VERY different films, with both very different actors.
The Amazing Spider-man is more about the background and life of Peter played by Andrew Garfield, I feel a lot less action than I had imagined and a lot more laughter. Worth a watch.

Ted

2012 - Age rating 15 - Comedy/Fantasy - 106mins

★★★✰✰  - 3 Stars

Really sad to say this film was disappointing to me. Nothing how it was portrayed. A lot of great features and things shown in the trailer were not in the film. Only small things but it made a huge impact.

This film is about a little boy whose Christmas wish came true and his bear came to life, it shows moments of affection and a lot of drugs and violence. Definitely a romance film and I feel it was more about John's life than Ted's. Lots of humour. 

I may have been trying to compare it to Family Guy as it was created by the same person. It included most of the cast from Family Guy too.

Good film but nothing special in my opinion.

Delicious Doodles DT Call

Card - Cream and Light Blue

Photography - Crafty Cafe

Dessert Glass

{My first DT call entry}

Delicious Doodles have a yummy digi stamp free to anyone who wants to enter their DT Call.
It is a truly stunning digis and I thought I would give it a go, as seeing this digi gave me lots of ideas floating around in my head!
It didn't start off well. The printer ran out of ink, went and replaced the ink, then my printer decided to die :( So rushed around my parents and managed to print off 9 of the same sized images in black. 3 of which messed up as I put 3D Gloss over the strawberries and they changed an odd colour and another 1 messed up as my die moved.
Then looking at my images I wanted them in a light brown, but I had to stick with the images I had left.
Then injuring my finger at work with a piece of glass going through it, I was 4 images down and a finger. Not great. I've given my finger time to heal a little and I came up with a card, 1 photography (which is a cover for my Facebook Group) and a dessert glass. If this is what happens when entering a DT call, I don't know if I want to again hahaha.

Card - Cream and Light Blue - I tried to stick with a neutral colour and incorporate 3 digis. For a simple, quick effective card.

Photography - Crafty Cafe - This worked really well as I used a cup which you would find in a cafe and the Cupcake image which you would also find in a Cafe and added some crafting goodies.
I've been wanting to create a Facebook group for ALL types of craft for a while, this digi helped me a long my way. Crafty Cafe is a place for Crafter's to chat, share, inspire and create. So grab a cuppa - whether it be Coffee, Tea, Milk or Water and come join us over at Crafty Cafe Facebook Group. 

Glass Painting - Dessert Glass - I only have 5 colours of glass paints (Black, Green, Red, Yellow and Blue) and managed to use them all for this creation. This is my second time using glass paints so go easy on me ;)

I loved this digi especially as all the shading was done for me! And digis are great in general as you can create matching  papers, toppers anything you want!

If I have to choose one entry I would choose the dessert glass as it is different from a card and the first idea and creation I made using the Delicious Doodles Cupcake Digi.

PS. Finger is alright now. :)

UPDATE: I didn't make the cut, maybe next time I should stick to one project. Because Variety isn't what they wanted.

Second Smash and Winner.

First of all I would like to congratulate the winner of my Blog candy which was to celebrate me passing my driving test and me no longer being a teenager; now 20. The winner is...

kevmac6666 - McCrafty's Cards

Please send me your address and comment on this post, I will get it sent out to you :) Congratulations and enjoy your prize.

*****

{Having a smashing time}

 For my second smash page I decided to use the page colours again. I picked some recent photos of myself in the same colour scheme, found some matching embellishments from my stash and coloured in a Saturated Canary Digi Stamp which had a simular look to me, with Promarkers. I decided not to use red hair like mine and use my natruall colour instead as it worked better.


I would like to enter this into Cards Galore Scrapbook Challenge 'Anything Goes'

Meet Mitch

{Mitch has a new tank and items, he isn't sure what to make of them.}

Some of you already know about my little fella, Mitch. Here is a short video of him a few weeks after he arrived home, only the size of a twenty pence piece...

BIO:

Name: Mitch Burton-Spencer Reason: None just suited him with our surnames of course :)

Age: 5-6 months Adopted: Monday 2nd April 2012

Species: Turtle/Terrapin meaning small turtle

Breed: Common Musk

Favourite place: On top of the filter

Food: Frozen mashed up Frozen Fish and worms but he loves Reptomin pellets.

Loves: being brushed with a toothbrush :)

One of my favourite memories so far is when he used to sleep clung onto the edge of his rock and swaying with the water whilst asleep.

You may be wondering, why a turtle? Well...

Me and my partner have had dogs most our lives, but we are currently renting. We aren't allowed dogs and it wouldn't be fair to keep one right now with us both working full time etc. We wanted a pet, something between us, not a fish, we wanted something with personality, not that fish doesn't have one ;) and that is what we have! Mitch is a lovable but can be very stupid sometimes but he is growing up fast. Hence the new tank.

We decorated the new tank with a picture across the back but silly little Mitch keeps trying to climb them, they are NOT real rocks! 

We had his rocks in it to start with [Photo 1] but have now changed them for a turtle ramp [Photo 3] We added it in about an hour ago and he doesn't know what to do, hes gone under it, around it, smelt it, stared at it but not yet ventured onto it, lets hope he warms to it soon :)

Thank you for meeting Mitch. I would love to keep you updated on how he gets on and grows. I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has about him :)

3 Most commonly asked questions: 

Can he be held? The answer is Yes.

You can pick him up but cannot put him down anywhere as he loves the water, spends most of his time under and in the water so he will just try and run to find water.

Does he bite? The answer is Yes and No.

They can bite and have very sharp beak like mouths, in the video you can see how well he bit through the frozen food and that was when he was very small! But he hasn't bitten us yet and hope not to find out or loose a finger over it, he is very friendly but don't go teasing him with fingers as you may not have any left!

Can he breath under water? The answer is No.

He can spend a lot of time underwater but comes up for air. He sleeps under the water either on top of his filter or clung onto the side of the rock but he will have just his nostrils out of the top of the water.

Top 10 - A fresh and healthy lifestyle.

  

{Exercise can be fun}

My favourite summer snack would have to be a freshly prepared fruit salad. I've made quite a few this summer. A fruit salad can be a combination of fruits and even some juice, as many types of fruit as you like or as little as you like. I choose to create ones with my favourite fruits - Strawberries, Bananas, Kiwi and Clementines :)

Freezing Natrual Yoghurt or fruit juices to make ice lollies is a healthy summery treat, great for your children and good for them too.

Everybody loves to look good for the summer, but why not look good all year around?

MY TOP 10 TIPS FOR STAYING HEALTHY

1. - Healthier/Diet Versions - I prefer to buy diet lemonade and healthier choices meals or ingredients, sometimes vegetarian ingredients can be a lot healthier too. If I can get a healthier version for a similar price why not? [Light choices are the healthier versions in my store]

I prefer the taste of diet coke anyway but here is an example of the calorie difference from diet drinks to non-diet drinks, some even taste the same.

Diet Coke - 1 calorie per can on average

Coke Cola - 40 calories per can on average

2. - Do not skip meals, starve yourself or yo yo dieting - these can all mess up your metabolism and slow it down so you gain weight quicker. They can also make you gain weight quicker as your body needs the fuel and energy, if you starve it for a while and not give it what it needs, when you do eventually eat your body will store it as fat because it doesn't know when it will be eating again.

3. - Keep hydrated - Drinking enough water is essential, if you don't drink enough it can affect your skin and mood, you are also more at risk to getting ill. Water helps transport oxygen through your cells and helps keep your body at the correct temperature. It also helps remove waste and clean your organs. Kidney stones are a common illness people get when dehydrated.

4. - Snacks - It is alright to snack, sometimes it is even better for you, depending on your daily routine. But swap your unhealthy snacks for something healthier. Natural Yoghurt, fruit or even some chopped up vegetables.

5. - Portion Size - This is key, so many people eat healthy and are even or diets but can't seem to loose weight or even putting it on. It doesn't always matter the food you eat, it has a lot to do with how much you eat.

6. - Slow down - Research has shown if you slow down your eating and don't watch TV etc. whilst eating, concentrate more on what you are doing and enjoying what you are eating, that you enjoy it better, feel fuller quicker and are a lot more satisfied with what you have eaten.

7. - Exercise - I know some people cringe when they hear the work 'exercise', it doesn't have to be bad or expensive. House cleaning or mowing the lawn can burn between 100-300 calories per hour. I personally love my cross trainer - you can choose the strength of the walk etc. It might cost a bit to start with but worth its money as it is a one off payment, unlike the gym. I also prefer this form of exercise because when I go for a run people can see me, if I went to a gym, people would see me. But I can do mine in the comfort of my own home and play the Xbox at the same time shhh! :) Zumba is very popular at the moment and you can go along with friends which would be an added bonus. Maybe even dance classes or just walking your dog.
There is a fabulous chart listed HERE which is very useful.

8. - Sleep - Not getting enough sleep is bad for your body too. As well as getting too much sleep. The recommended night time sleep should be between 6 to 8 hours, everybody is different though. Try not to nap during the day either. If you start to feel tired in the daytime maybe do a few exercises it will soon revitalise your body and restore energy.

9. - Alcohol - I currently do not drink. I am not going to bore you or nag anyone who does that is there choice entirely. But a female’s daily recommended allowance is 2-3 units and a male's is 3-4 units. It is great to have a detox once in a while though; it can make a big difference in your energy levels and your skin.

10. - De-stress - It isn't healthy for you to be stressed out. Take some time to do something calming and relaxing for you. Whether it be reading a book, writing your worries down, meditating or maybe just lighting a few candles. Pushing yourself is not good for your mental health - a problem shared is a problem halved.
I am always available to email if you need to talk to someone in confidence, I don't judge. I work full time so if I don't reply straight away I'm not ignoring you. 


So what is your favourite summer treat?
Please feel free to post a comment and share any tips or healthy routines you stick to or just to say hello :)

The Hot Sun & Hair Grips.

{Always up for new ideas for some makes}

I've been having a go at making my own hair grips/slides. These are my very first ones so don't be too hard on me ;) 

Ed's first one is the one with the cream button in the middle :)

I will be trying some other ideas out for a variety.

Puff Flower button hair grips, Painted Shell Hair grip, Natrual Shell Hair grip and a button hair grip.

Also took Arnie for a quick walk yesterday and said hello to my folks. There is always some Red-kites flying over my families garden.

Photos: Andy enjoying his ice-cream, needed on a hot day and Ed chilling out in the shade, on the Trampoline.

I have just come back from a cycle, a nice shower and chill out time...

Scrappin' Card

Morning all. Everybody including myself seemed to like the card I made for Janet and I had a wedding reception to go to last night, so I decided to make them an 8' x 8' card / Scrapbook Page for them in a similar way.

Backing Paper - Takeaway Bag with 1x Wild Asparagus stamp by My Mind's Eye

2x Backing Papers from Wellington 12' x 12' Paper Pack

Stamps - 2x Jasper stamps by Kanban

Promarkers: Cocoa, Caramel, Cool Grey 2, Cool Grey 4 and Almond

Text - Congratulations stamp and Papermania AlphaMinis Foam Alphabet Stickers

Embellishments - Card Candi, Flowers and Ribbon

1 Photo

I think on my big day that I would like my crafty friends to create me something like this, then I could keep them all in an album as a keepsake of the day :)

I better get my non crafty friends into crafting then and quick hehe :)
I'm glad they have a wonderful day and that the sun stayed shining for them.