Summer Coaster Trio

Filet Crochet Coaster "Gwein"

This is the first of a trio of coasters, or squares they could be used for something else.
The first coaster is called "Gwein"
The chart below could be also worked for other crafts - cross stitch, knitting, beading. 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Note: Where the pattern states Treble crochet UK/ Double crochetUSA if you follow UK crochet instuctions do a treble, if you follow USA instructions do a double crochet DO NOT do both!

Starting at bottom of chart/ graph chain 82 and another 3 chains to turn (this will count as the first treble crochet UK/ double crochet USA) of first  the row. 

Treble crochet UK/ Double crochet USA into the 5th chain from hook. Double crochet in next 2 chains to complete bottom right solid square of row 1.

Continue following pattern for first row reading chart/ graph right to left. After completing first row, chain 3 to turn to start next row.

Continue following chart/graph until all rows are complete. At end of row 27 fasten off.

MATERIALS :

(Crochet cotton size 10) About 76 metres/ 83 yds, hook size 1.5mm/ US size 7 steel crochet hook or SIZE FOR GAUGE.

APPROXIMATE FINISHED SIZES:

Using Crochet cotton size 10: width = 40.1 cm/ 6.2 inches, height = 43.5 cm/ 6.8 inches

GAUGE:

Using Crochet cotton size 10: 10 squares = 14.8 cm/ 2.3 inches, 10 rows = 16.1 cm/ 2.5 inches

HOW TO READ PATTERN:

Each solid square is equal to 4 Treble crochets UK/ 4 Double crochets USA. Each open square is equal to 1 Treble crochet UK/ 1 Double crochet USA, followed by 2 chains, followed by 1 Treble crochet UK/ 1 Double crochet USA. The Treble crochet UK/ Double crochet USA at the end of each square also counts as the first Treble crochet UK/ Double crochet USA of the next square. For example, a solid square followed by an open square is 4 double crochets,

2 chains, 1 Treble crochet UK/ 1 Double crochet USA.

 For those that prefer to follow a symbol chart I have included one for you

If you do make the coaster, don't forget to link via ravelry, or let me know how you got on :)

My Little Box May 2016

This months box was the "My Dolce Vita Box". A nicely illustrated box with an Italian theme although I think like last months box the theme was very loose. I don't remember seeing lots of women wearing turbans anytime I was in Italy? Maybe I was not looking? which brings me to the first of the liftstyle items a green floral turban style headband (RRP £11), not really me but useful for when putting on/ taking off makeup. The next item was more in line with the theme a little laurel wreath style Ring £12 cute. In the little cotton bag was 3 beauty items a My little Beauty own brand - Illuminating moisturiser for legs £8 may test it but most tanning products turn my ghost white skin orange, not a good look. A nice sized perfume sample by Courrèges - La fille de l'air (sample size 8.5ml, full size rrp. €65 per 50ml) This is a little too floral and strong for me but works well left in my yarn bag (one of many) as it makes the yarn smell nice. Finally Baija - Croisière Céladon Body Oil (sample size 30ml, full size rrp. €16.90 per 50ml) another very large sample lightly scented with Jasmin green tea in sweet almond, sesame and sunflower seed oil. 

Sadly I was not over excited when I opened this box and so cancelled my subscription, I will keep looking at up and coming boxes and if they improve will re-subscribe as I still like the idea of the mixture of lifestyle and beauty items. I have joined a different type of box service also, I will write about in a few days.

My Little Box is a French company, sends to different countries but the contents can vary. £11+ P&P

Window Box Make Over

I bought some random plants for our window boxes, as they were looking very sad and overgrown.
I am very excited to see how they look in a few weeks when they start to grow (I'll post again then). I bought Celoisa Kimono (a mix of orange, yellow and red plumed plants), Ageratum (fluffy little blue flowers) and Mimulus Magic also called monkey flowers (a mix of red and yellow bicolour little flowers) .

So Susan May 2016

This months bag is called the "I Love Being Happy" Bag the quote on the bag is by Audrey Hepburn - "The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy - it's all that matters"


All products are 100% Cruelty-Free (they do not test products or ingredients on animals) and contain no mineral oils, no phthalates, no parabens, hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic and fragrance-free

The Bag Contained (all full sized products) : 

• Eco-Chic Canvas Makeup Bag (worth $12 / £12) this linen bag is so cute with little Russian dolls on it

• Creamsicle in “Gelato” by Trifle (worth $17.95 / £14.95)
  A creamy tinted balm that melts onto your skin upon contact. Dab onto lips & cheeks for rich hydration and for that pop of dewy, smooth colour. With Silk Peptide to promote suppleness. I used on my lips and it lasted all day and smells so good

• Cashmere Blush by So Susan (worth $15.95 / £12.95) With PoreFade™ technology, Vitamin E Acetate and Pure Beeswax. A  powder blush that feels like cream upon skin contact. I will probably use this as an eye shadow not really a blush person.

• Angled Eyeshadow Brush by So Susan (worth $17.95 / £14.95) A versatile brush made from synthetic nylon & taklon hairs only. This is a nice soft brush a good travel length for a brush, it fits neatly in the makeup bag. For home use I prefer a longer handle. It picks up the colour well.

• BONUS ITEM : Light Pulse by Jelly Pong Pong (worth $19.95 / £16.00)  "A brightening gel formulation encapsulated in an elegant, foolproof stick format to enable you to illuminate and create “light” on your face so you look healthy, radiant and glowing" A really soft pencil nice for adding a bit of highlight to the eyes. 

As always an excellent bag. This is the first of my new 3 month subscription.

Bag Value : $83.80 / £70.85 (subscription is $20.95 free shipping monthly worldwide, they are a London/ UK based company)

Birchbox May

A little busy this month I am way behind with blogging. This months Birchbox arrived last week (all my boxes arrived within days of each other so been testing everything out, plus catching on paperwork for work (very important to buy bills!) This months Birchbox had a scratch top box, two boxes had the word winner printed on them only to be revealed after scratching the silver off, you could have won a holiday, my box did not have winner on it :( but it was fun scratching off the silver to see if it did, plus it reveals a very nice design, so all good fun.
Inside this months box (in the little bag) were 1 full sized item and 5 samples.
The full sized item was from Spectrum Collections a "Unicorn Tears Wonder Sponge" (Full size item price £4.99) We were given the choice of two colours pink or lilac, I picked lilac, so I knew this item was included in this months box. The sponge comes in a little plastic resealable bag, very Handy for travelling. The sponge is slightly harder than others I have tried but I liked that, very nice and may re-purchase, as its cheaper than a lot of other sponges out there.
The five samples (in no order) Philip Kingsley -PK Prep Polishing Balm (sample size 20ml, full sized 75ml £18.50) a hair smoothing balm that works on all hair types to smooth, condition, and tame whatever style you’re after. Contains nourishing ProVitamin B5 and vitamin A to add shine and gloss while nourishing your locks. My hair goes frizzy when it raining or when its sunny, generally its always frizzy! I used a tiny amount (less then 1/4 of a pea  amount) and it made my hair so shiny and a lot less frizzness, plus it did not make my hair look greasy, I will be buying this product when the sample runs out I really love it. Sorry the next sample is not in the photo of the box contents as it was put straight into my bag when I opened the box, for when I'm out 'n' about. TheBalm® cosmetics "Stainiac" in Beauty Queen a hint of a tint for lips and cheeks (sample size 1.2ml, full sized 8.5ml £10.00) It has a very suble tint/ colour, its quick and simple to use. I did apply twice for a better colour but it was still very natural looking which I like.
Caudalie Vinosource "Moisturising Sorbet" a gel/ cream a very lightweight non greasy moisturiser, the sample was 10ml but only contained approx. two pea sized amounts of cream so tried it in the morning and night. It was a good moisturiser but I did not like the smell and as the full size is £23.00 for 40ml I think its too expensive!
Rituals - "Dao Wai Wang Body Scrub" (sample size 75ml, full sized 325ml £19.50) enriched with white lotus and yi yi ren to calm the skin’s surface. I love this scrub, the smell is not over powering but light and uplifting. The scrub uses Chinese bamboo particles and does not scratch up your skin but leaves it smooth and feeling very soft and moisturised. I am really enjoying using this
(sample size 20ml, full sized 8.5ml £10.00)
The final sample was a Vita Coco Coconut Oil (sample size tiny 5ml, full sized 500ml £10.00) this is 100% organic raw cold pressed coconut oil. I use coconut oil for so many things cooking, hair, teeth, skin, nails, this sample will go in my travel bag very handy.
All in all a very nice box, that I am enjoying using










Note: If you want £5.00 worth of points with your first box click https://www.birchbox.co.uk/invite/nezumi6 currently you can get a free full-sizefull-size Jelly Pong Pong Glow Getter highlighter worth £8.95 with the first box - just put the code GLOWGIRL in the promo code box before ordering.  So that's a free Jelly Pong Pong Glow Getter highlighter and £5.00 in points, don't forgot to review the products when you get them and that's up to another £5.00 worth of points to spend in their shop. 
Birchbox UK cost £10.00 plus 2.95 p&p monthly, you can cancel at any time via your online account. They are an American company, different countries receive different boxes and products. 

SoSusan Lip Love Bag April

SoSusan Lip Love Bag's April is themed "I Love Spring" , another very cute bag this month that has a quote by Harriet Ann Jacobs "The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also." The canvas bag is also illustrated with nice spring related images, including 2 cute cats on a swing! (I think this bag will make a nice home for some of my crochet hooks)

All products are 100% Cruelty-Free (they do not test products or ingredients on animals) and contain no mineral oils, no phthalates, no parabens, hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic and fragrance-free

The Bag Contained (all full sized products) : 

• Eco-Chic Canvas Makeup Bag (worth $12 / £12)
  
• Muse Palette by So Susan (worth $17.95 / £14.95) A 3 colour silky eye shadow palette formulated with silicon-coated micronized pigments for a seamless, velvety texture that lasts up to 8 hours. With Eyeseryl® peptide to help reduce eyebags, dark circles and puffiness. I used this palette it has really nice colours the bronze was nice used alone. I found the colour does last all day. I was very happy with this palette
  
  
• Lip Parfait in “Exotic Fruits” by Trifle (worth $18.95 / £12.95) This lipstick is nude colour Infused with cocoa butter that smells so good, I found it very soft and moisturising, I used it more as a lip balm because the colour is not very strong on me but I like that.
  
  
• Malibu Melt by Jelly Pong Pong (worth $24.95 / £19.95) A Creamy Powder Blush stick (contains shea butter) again the smell is very good, the website blurb said it is super hydrating cream blush that’s formulated to condition and help keep skin plump with moisturising colour for a full 12 hours of continuous wear.I have not used it yet I don't normally wear brush but do sometimes use it as eye shadow, I have not used this yet.
  
  
• BONUS ITEM : Illuminata by So Susan (worth $17.95 / £14.95) - "A preservative-free, superbly formulated luminizing loose powder that gives a soft-focus. Upon contact with skin, Apricot, Jojoba & Macadamia oil beads encapsulated in the powder pigments, burst open to impart a hydrated, more refined appearance to your skin, making Illuminata™ a unique, groundbreaking hybrid between long-wearing powder and rejuvenating, moisturising oils." Have not used this yet but will do.

Bag Value : $91.80 / £74.80

I feel all the products are very good for spring, very fresh, I am very happy with this months bag and look forward to next months (I will doing a new 3 month subscription)

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My Little Flower Box

My little boxes theme this month is "My Little Flower Box" and it's not the normal box this month, its a book shaped box with ribbon ties, nice idea but I prefer the box as I can use it for storage this book/ box is thin and the ribbon does not hold it closed.....
There was the little magazine inside which is good. A Pop-up garden (£7.00) cute little box and good idea but the seeds are cress! if they were flower seeds I would have been happier, the theme was flower box?
A Travel pouch for lingerie from Balzac Paris (£13.00) This is a very pretty printed cotton double pouch, but if I was going away for the weekend I would need more then 1 knickers and 1 bra, that's if I could even fit my bra into the tiny pouch, again nice idea but........
The beauty items were a Nailsinc base coat (£11.00) OK I will use it but its not very flower related, a nice rose or lavender coloured nail varnish would have been better I think and a L'Occitane travel sized shower gel Cherry Blossom scent, I really like L'Occtaine their shea butter range of soaps is excellent, I will use this shower gel and its flower related but yes another problem it leaked not too much but a travel sized product that leaks is not good for travelling! I did contact them and they said email back if I wanted a replacement and they would send it out... which as its a little bottle and only a tiny leak I have not replied. The final item and the star of the box was My little boxes own brand face mask from "My Little Beauty" Rosy Mornings detoxifying mask (£11.00) this is a very good mask. Its vitamin C rich, 96% natural ingredients with active fruit extracts. It's a good mask it made my skin feel really clean, soft very smooth, sometimes I get tiny little bumps under the skin, you can't see them but you can feel them and it magicked them away. I think if not for this product I would have cancelled my subscription as overall the theme of the box was a good idea but most of the contains were a little disappointing. I will give it one more box and decide.

I will review the SO Susan subscription tomorrow

Fabric Love's Swatch Kit

I saw this magazine in the supermarket last month "Love Patchwork & Quilting" (a nice magazine), really it was the free gift I saw "a fabric lovers swatch kit" and thought it was an excellent idea. It contained 100 cards, 100 double sized stickers (to stick the fabric sample to the card) and a metal keyring.
It's meant for people to stick swatches from there fabric stash onto the little pre-printed cards with  information on one side to fill in with details so you can remember your fabric name, details etc. then add to the keyring to keep to keep organised.
For me I thought it would be an excellent way to have samples of my fabric designs at hand and organised. So I made a template to fit the card tags and ordered some of my design minis from both from Woven monkey and spoonflower in the correct sizes and started organising my fabrics. I think this is so useful for co-ordinating with other fabrics, buttons, threads, zips or just for showing my fabric design, plus its so small and neat and can fit in my bag when out 'n' about. This is one of the best free gifts from a magazine I have ever had :)

Birchbox April

This months Birchbox arrived, its with Rifle Paper so the box has a really nice, we were given a choice of two different floral designs. The one I selected reminded me of spring! fresh colours. We also had a chance to upgrade the box by adding two little Rifle paper notebooks. So that's a no brainer for me, I love notebooks!! always have one with me so I upgraded start away, it cost an extra £4.00 I noticed they are now selling them on the site for £12.00! The box also had a 25% off coupon for rifle papers so will be looking at their website to see whats available. Inside the box was the usual cute little drawstring bag, these are great for making sure my crochet/ knitting projects don't end up like tangled around everything in my handbag or my comb/ hairbrush!!
This months items were - Cynthia Rowley - Full sized Black Eyeliner (Birchbox Exclusive!) It saids its "smudge-proof definition that lasts all day!" (Full sized £11.00) I tested it found It did smudge a little, but it also lasted all day in fact I had trouble removing it, I would only come off with an oil cleanser in the end.
 - Sample sized Kueshi - Foot Care Cream - A foot-softening treatment that uses natural ingredients to refresh and nourish dry skin. (The sample was 40ml, Full sized 100ml £12.00) This has a nice tea tree oil smell and my feet liked it they felt nice and soft.
- A half size sample of Benefit BADgal Lash - Volumising formula.(The sample was 4.0ml, Full sized 8.5ml £17.50) nice big brush I will need to test it more.
- Beaver Professional - Hydro Nutritive Moisturizing Shampoo (40ml sample) & Conditioner (small foil sample) - it saids it "gently revives and restores and keep the pH balance". (The sample was 40ml, Full sized 258ml £11.50) I will try this out soon.
- Balance Me - Tinted Wonder Eye Cream - An eye cream to cover dark circles with a tinted lotion (Full sized 178ml £20.00) This is the same cream I got free on a magazine last month. It was a bit to dark for me when I tested it, but I found it very mosituring (it has rosehip oil) so I have used it in the morning if I am not going out and it makes my eye area feel good. I wish it was a little lighter but I am really really pale so its hard getting a good colour to suit me. Saying that I will use it also as an light eye cream on days I stay in so it will not be wasted.
Again I liked this months box, I like been able to choice the design and the little notebooks. The products included new items I had never tried, so I liked that.



Note: If you want £5.00 worth of points with your first box click https://www.birchbox.co.uk/invite/nezumi6 currently you can get a free full-size NUXE Masque Crème Fraîche® de Beauté worh £18.50 with the first box - just put the code PAMPERME in the promo code box before ordering.  So that's a free NUXE Masque Crème Fraîche® de Beauté and £5.00 in points, don't forgot to review the products when you get them and that's up to another £5.00 worth of points to spend in their shop. 
Birchbox UK cost £10.00 plus 2.95 p&p monthly, you can cancel at any time via your online account. They are an American company, different countries receive different boxes and products. 

Spring Update

I have been working on some new filet coasters, three flower designs, one to be added each month here on this blog and they are free!

A quick site update to reflect all the wonderful flowers now its Spring. A new banner, it has my floral edge fabric design, for a little bit of Spring inspiration.


I will also be posting reviews of the subscription boxes, but I want to use some of the products first so will be posting them very soon. 

Web and Mobile Diploma's Completed

So happy today, it's been a busy week! On Monday I did the final assessment of the Diploma in Web Development (I did the course last year November) and today I finish the final assessment for the Mobile App development Diploma. I got a distinction for both so very happy. I still have some assessments to finish for courses I did last year but slowly I am getting through them. I am hoping to do an advanced diploma in web development soon so want all the other courses finished and completed (well hoping they are anyway).

SoSusan Lip Love Bag

I said in a previous post I had been given a birthday present of another subscription box, well bag really (Thank You Dad). The first one sent out to me in February went missing in the post, they were very helpful (Gemma, Very good customer services) and a replacement was sent (it took about 3 more weeks to arrive) and it arrived the same day the March bag arrived.
I don't use make-up every day, but I like to sometimes. I recently cleared out a lot of the old make-up I had. I would be afraid to think of how old some of it was and it needed to go. I wanted to replace it with a more natural make-up but the prices are so high. I looked at SoSusan their subscription bag is a very good buy, you get 4 full sized beauty items and a limited edition bag for $20.95 a month with free shipping worldwide. You can put the bags on hold (I wish some of the other bags/ boxes did this) which is very good or cancel at any time. Its cheaper if you order a 3 month ($18.95 a month) or 6 month block subscription ($17.95 a month) you can still put bags on hold with these subscriptions. I was given a three month subscription and would like to keep it up for at least another three. I don't know how fast I will use everything so its nice been able to hold off bags (good for Holiday times also) without having to cancel the account.

The SoSusan products and the other companies products included in the bag are 100% Cruelty-Free,  Vegan, No Mineral Oil, No Parabens, No Phthalates, No Gluten, Hypoallergenic and Non-comedogenic.
I have put the contents of the bags below, I am still playing with the products so later this month or next I will do a review. I love the canvas bags and the packaging is  so cute. I am happy so far with what I have had. Because I had a replacement bag I was given a replacement product Seraphine botanicals - Conscious eyeshadow base (I love this and have been using it a lot). Really looking forward to this months bag :)

February Bag: The "I Love Challenges" Bag
Bag Contains : 

• Eco-Chic Canvas Makeup Bag (worth $12 / £12)
• LipoPout in "Cats" (worth $18.95 / £12.95)
• Omniblush by Jelly Pong Pong (worth $17.95 / £13.95) (Mine was replaced with a
  Seraphine botanicals - Conscious  (worth $20)
• Skin Salvation - Primer & Luminizer (worth $27.95 / £21.95)
• BONUS ITEM : Marshmallow Skin by Trifle (worth $18.95 / £13.95)

Bag Value : $95.80 / £74.85



March Bag: or The "I Love Spreading Kindness" Bag
Bag Contains : 

• Eco-Chic Canvas Makeup Bag (worth $12 / £12)
• Lip&Cheek Jam by Trifle (worth $22.95 / £17.95)
• Luminaire (worth $19.95 / £15.95)
• Crème Couture (worth $16.00 / £13.00)
• BONUS ITEM : Supercharged by Jelly Pong Pong (worth $22.95 / £17.95)

Bag Value : $93.85 / £76.85

My Little Bubble Box

This month's my little box theme is "My Little Bubble Box" I think the bubble bit is lost somewhere in translation, but its a fun box and has some very nice items.
Again a very nice box and also a little fabric draw-string mag with the beauty items and the mini magazine. The items were:
Bulle de teint or translated as beauty bubble (rrp 8.00) its a makeup sponge excellent for applying liquid makeup to give a airbrush finish and its simple to use. Wet sponge and squeeze, add a little foundation, concealer, blush whatever you want than dab dab dab onto skin adding more product as needed (a little at a time, better to build up). I needed a new one but they are expensive, although I have seen a few on ebay much cheaper may buy one to see the difference, so have been holding off buying one. Very happy with this and its not to big, good for concealer around the eyes.
A cute blue hairbrush (rrp £13.00) with "Be Cooler" on the back. One of the main things I like about this brush is its lightweight, so may be going in my out 'n about' bag, although not sure it could stand up to morning hairbrushing!
Bubble Blush Lip Tint from My little boxes own beauty range. A lip and cheek tint, its very pink but maybe as its a tint when on it will blend in.
Huygens body scrub (This is a Full sized Product rrp £12.90) , 99% natural ingredients (11,4% ingredients produced from organic farming), helichrysum italicum, sweet almond oil, fruit oils, limonene, spearmint, this smells like summer walking through a field should, without the smell of the animals and other things that a summers field really smells like!! A honey critus mix, it leaves your skin feeling really soft.
Givenchy Noir Couture volume mascara (sample size 4g, Full sized 8g £25.00) this mascara has the usual Givenchy packing very nice and chic, I have not used the mascara yet, but have read good things about it.
And lastly not forgetting a balloon with "BE wild!" on it, mmm...not sure about it, may just blow it up and let it off in the wind when I need a bit of inspiration.

My Little Box are a French company, their box costs £11 plus p&p and I think this month the products have more then covered that. For anyone wanting to subscribe they are billed monthly but you can cancel anytime via your account online.

Tip: Whatever box you subscribe to have a look online and on their facebook/ twitter/ instagram sites for codes before you subscribe, for extras and discounts

Glamour Magazine Free Gift

I confess I am always on the lookout for a bargain. Last week I found Glamour magazine had a balance me product as a free gift when you buy it. There is a choice of four different products, a Revitalising Hand and Body Wash rrp £6, Tinted Wonder Eye Cream rrp £11, Radiance Face Mask rrp £12 and a Limited Edition Lip Balm rrp £12 to choose from.
I got the tinted wonder eye cream, I've read good things about this product, so looking forward to trying it. And the magazine is only £2.00 so an excellent buy, plus I have a something to read later :)

Birchbox March 2016

This month's Birchbox is here, can you believe that is the third box already, the months are flying by. Spring will hopefully appear soon.
I liked this box it has a word puzzle on it, if you get all the names and mark them on the box, photo it you can enter the competition to win a large box of goodies. I don't want to mark my box :( I like it.
The box contents were good this month two full sized items and 4 sample/ travel sized items all in the little fabric bag inside the box.
The first full sized item was a colour enhancing lip balm (full sized £11) this is made by birchbox its their new Arrow Boost line which is paraben-free, cruelty-free and vegan. The Color Enhancing Lip Balm has a mild minty scent and the colour tint in the balm adjusts to your lips PH so the color is unique to you. My lip colour only had a tiny colour change, a little darker, which I was happy with. The balm was soft and I have been using it when I am out 'n' about as the weather has been cold and windy, it has stopped my lips from cracking, which is very good, It's now living in my purse and I am very happy with it. The other full sized item, was ModelCo - More brows (Full sized £13.00) its a tinted eyebrow gel that has little particles in it that thicken the brows, it does what it saids, although not sure what happens when it rains, it does not say if its waterproof,  
The sample products were The Works Pillow Spray in deep sleep (The sample was 5ml, Full sized 75ml £16.00), I love this product and have been using it every night, I may need to buy this soon. You spray it on your pillow to help you sleep, it has the essential oils of wild chamomile, vetivert and true lavender, it smells really nice (some lavenders remind me of cleaning products, this has a good lavender smell). I do seem to be sleeping for longer too. 
I got another Polaar product (had one in last months mylittlebox) this is a moisturising gel called IceSource a good sized sample (The sample was 25ml, Full sized 50ml £27.00) it has glacier water to cool and mattify the complexion, not sure of the mattifying effect but it smells nice and my skin was strangely cool and very smooth and soft, very nice. I love trying new products :) 
The last two products were both for the hair, I will use them soon - Philip B Drop Dead Straighting Baume (The sample was 15ml, Full sized 178ml £20.00) A silicone free treatment to shorten blow-drying time for any hair type, relaxing unruly hair (how did they know about my hair!!!) and Amika Nourishing Mask (The sample was 20ml, Full sized 250ml £19.99) with sea buckthorn berry and jojoba oil to soften and repair hair in minutes! 
I really liked this box, new products to explore and try I Love it :)


Note: If you want £5.00 worth of points with your first box email me (or use the contact form on the right) for a link, I currently also have a code for 50% off the first box which can be used with the link - just put the code in the promo code box before ordering.  So that's half price for the 1st box and £5.00 in points, don't forgot to review the products when you get them and that's up to another £5.00 worth of points to spend in their shop. 
Birchbox UK cost £10.00 plus 2.95 p&p monthly, you can cancel at any time via your online account. They are an American company, different countries receive different boxes and products. 

Diploma in Personal Nutrition

Trying to do new things this years and be healthier, decided to do a nutrition course (Diploma Introduction to Personal Nutrition) . As I have done other courses with the Shaw Academy the personal nutrition course seemed good (you can get discounts for their courses on places like groupon and wowcher), it was very well organised and had lots of information, plus interactive challenges each week like drinking more water and eating more fruit and veg (via twitter or facebook). You watch the live webinar (8 live & 2 recorded in total over 4 weeks), if you miss a session they record them and put them on their site 24 hours later. The advantage of attending the webinar live is you can ask questions and get answers (you can also email them) I really enjoyed this course, even happier I finished my final exams with a Distinction :)


I have just started a completely different course in Mobile Web Development, its 4 weeks I'll see how I get on :)

Shamrock Coaster

With St Patrick's Day approaching on the 17th March here's a quick shamrock coaster to make. I can't guarantee it will bring you luck (I hope it will) but it's quick and easy to make :)

INSTRUCTIONS: Chain 76.  Chain 3 to turn this will count as first treble crochet(UK)/ double crochet(USA) of first row.  Treble crochet(UK)/ double crochet(USA) in 5th chain from hook. Treble crochet(UK)/ double crochet(USA) in next 2 chains to complete bottom right solid square of row 1.  Continue following pattern for first row reading pattern right to left.  After  completing first row, chain 3 to turn to start next row.  Continue following pattern until all rows are  complete.  At end of row 25 fasten off

My Little Home Box

I am late in posting this as I have had many Internet problems hopefully they have been solved now.
My second box from "My Little Box" arrived. It's so exciting opening it to find what goodies were inside. I am not missing my yarn buying at all and seem to be making more and designing/ writing up more patterns.
The theme this month is "Home" the box itself has a pretty illustration on it. There's a sticker inside the packing for your front door with a "Don't forget" list also with cute illustrations of keys, phone travel card and lipstick!
Opening the box, you find everything is neatly tied with a ribbon, there was a blue frame with a double sized card inside with illustrater Kanako's drawings, very nice (frame and print £6.00). 
I love the small drawstring fabric bag it has little lip sticks and beauty items printed on it, inside it contained three beauty items. Mine were Noxidoxi Mask and Peel, a skin reviving mask and face scrub (this is a V.large 40gm sample rrp full size 50gms = €20.00)  Polaar Genuine Lapland Hand Cream which is highly concentrated with an arctic berries extract (This was a full sized product approx. €16.90) and from My Little Boxes own brand beauty range My Little Beauty Early Morning Perfecting Face Cream (This was full sized product approx .€10.00) 
I added the euro prices but most items are available outside of France, except My Little Boxes own beauty range which is currently available only in France.
We have used the handcream so far which was very good, the smell is mild but a I find it a bit sour (so my fav. shea butter handcream from L'Occitance is not been replaced yet) but I will use it.
The other lifestyle item was a linen type cushion cover (rrp. £10.00), I can't find a fabric/ wash label on the cover so not sure what is the fabric content. One side is cream with little triangles, the other side is blue with white polka dots, but with the opening down the middle on the blue side (I would use the blue side), I think I will upcycle it a little, maybe just add some nice buttons, I feel it needs something, I will play :)
Overall it was a nice box of items, not as good as last months box, but I will not be cancelling yet. 
I need March's box now :)

Happy Valentines Day

This morning I hung out my Ogham Grà Love panel in the garden on one of the giant yucca plants (I did not harm the plant), as it's Valentines Day! I decided to join the celebrations in my own way! it was sunny but very cold out there ( Grà means love in Irish Gaelic, Ogham is a old Celtic script the pattern from my e-book Ogham Love Charts)


I hope everyone is having a good Valentines Day even the single people like me. I found a super bargain in the supermarket last week a reduced price (in the bargain section, I love finding bargains) for £1.99, a super cute large jammy dodger tin (a UK biscuit I ate as a child very tasty but sweet) I love tins, great for buttons, sewing needles and all the little things you want to keep tidy and neatly hidden away. This tin even had little packs of tiny jammy dodgers inside eekk!! As they have strawberry jam in them do you think I could count them as one of my 5 a day fruits & veg?
 

Just a reminder if you want the free "Valentines Heart 2016" pdf via Ravelry or Loveknitting please download it in the next 4 days as from Friday it's $1.50. I am doing another limited time free pattern soon for St Patricks Day, so to keep informed follow this blog, the facebook page or join the ravelry group.
Plus a note to fellow bloggers (blogger and blogspot) recently you may have seen your followers disappear this is because google are only allowing gmail or google+ account holders to follow  blogger/ blogspot blogs, they have removed those followers from twitter, openID and a few other sites :(

Birchbox February

My 2nd birchbox arrived, I was so excited as I did not expect it yet. It was a pretty box with "shine bright like a diamond in gold" printed in gold on it. I saw on their website there were three different colour boxes this month, I am happy with this colour. Sadly I don't find a diamond necklace in my box :( there was one placed randomly in one box this month. I saw a lucky person had found it on Instagram.
When I opened the box everything was in a bag again, I like these bags prefect for projects.
I knew about two of the products that were in this months box from emails. The first was birchboxes own brand LOC newly launched product - one and done shadow stick. We were sent an email at the end of January, with a choice of two colours "perfect cents" a gold/ copper colour and "champagne problems" a silver colour. I chose the perfect cents and I am really glad I did, its a really nice pale gold/ cooper that is not to shiny, a soft eye shadow pencil that is waterproof I love this, great for a contact lense wearer like me and it did work as I had to go to work this week in the nasty windy wet storms. I wore it to test it out, loved the colour too (the shadow stick is £8.00 a full sized product was sent). The second item was a tapered powder brush by Spectrum Collections (£7.99 full sized product sent) a super soft brush that looks pretty also, very happy with this brush. The other samples I received were  
Ayres Body Butter in Patagonia (Patagonia is a blend of jasmine, lavender, ylang-ylang, and fir) info on their site said " paraben-free formula contains a signature blend of natural plant emollients, herbal extracts, and vitamins to soothe and moisturise skin. Vitamin E protects skin from free radical damage, while shea butter sinks in for lasting hydration" (£19.50 for 191gms, sample size was 28gms) When I tried this cream out at first the smell reminded me of a strong designer men's aftershave, but after about an hour the smell was not so strong and changed to something I really liked (earthy, clean smell) and my skin liked it also very hydrating.  
Korres Milk Proteins 3-in-1 Cleanser (£15.00 for 200mls sample sent was 16mls) this does what it said on the tube, cleanses, tones, and removes eye make-up quick and easy to use. 
Lumiere d'Hiver Super Comb Prep & Protect (£20.00 for 200mls sample size 30mls) the site blurb saids "Strengthening, repairing, de tangling, great at taming flyway ends as well as nourishing and protecting, it's a brilliant all-rounder. It's also 100% Vegan, gluten-free, sulphate-free and paraben-free" You wash hair and spray on this leave-in conditioner, or like me in-between washes spray on, it was excellent for detanging my hair, which is long and wavy so tangles easily. I really really loved the fact it untanged my hair :) 
and the last sample I received was BioNike DEFENCE XAGE ULTIMATE RICH Lifting Remodelling Balm (£27.00 for 50mls sample was tiny 3.5mls) this was a light cream very hydrating but did not feel like a balm. Very small sample but seems like a very nice product.
So I am again very happy with my box :) 


Note: If you want £5.00 worth of points with your first box email me (or use the contact form on the right) for a link, I currently also have a code for 50% off the first box which can be used with the link - just put the code in the promo code box before ordering.  So that's half price for the 1st box and £5.00 in points, don't forgot to review the products when you get them and that's up to another £5.00 worth of points to spend in their shop.