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.

Chia seeds, water and vegetables

Back at the start of January I blogged some of my "New Year's Resolutions", so this is an update on my No.4 Healthy eating. I decided to do a nutrition course, it started last week and has 10 sessions over 4 weeks, its an online course where you attend live (or you can watch the recording the later if you can not attend) by Shaw Academy and is very interesting (they do good deals for their courses on Groupon)  it has people attending from all over the world. I have done other courses with them and they have been very good.
Last week the challenge was to drink 8 glasses of water a day, this was easy I am always drinking water (although I lost my water bottle and had to buy water when I was out n about :( This week's task is eating fruit and vegetable, not just eating them but to eat a rainbow of colours in fruit and veg. I am good with eating fruit and veg, but my rainbow needs more green veg so that's my own challenge this week.
Plus at last my chia seeds arrived and they were worth the wait, I am still experimenting but thought I would share my first almond milk, honey and chia seeds breakfast with banana, almond flakes and a tiny sprinkling of bee pollen. So yummy!!
Just whats needed for a day of designing and crafting.
 

Valentines Heart Pattern 2016

With Valentines coming quickly I just added a new pdf pattern "Valentines Heart 2016" to ravelry and loveknitting/ lovecrochet's sites 
To keep the love the it's currently free, very quick to make, recommended for intermediate filet crocheters (includes increasing) but beginners used to following symbol charts could easily follow charts.

Suggested thread cotton size 10
PDF - Includes basic instructions
Filet crochet chart
Symbol chart
Duel pattern uses both UK and USA terms

Use to make coasters, doily's, motifs for bags & clothes, to decorate a card, let me know what you use the pattern to make. Plus remember if you download from ravelry please give the pattern a like :)
Have a play and make not just in white but red or pink :) 
 

Birchbox

In my post yesterday I posted about my new subscription to mylittlebox. The other subscription box I ordered this month arrived yesterday. I am also very happy with this one. It's my first birchbox and lucky for me this month they teamed up with Pinterest one of my favourite websites (I spend for too much time pinning things with plans to make, buy or grow that item at a later date), so the box was decorated nicely with little photos and quotes, again this box will be reused to store something. 
The reason I ordered this brand was they have a nice looking boxes, which usually contains a small bag that the beauty samples are sent in. Normally appprox. 5+ samples (may include full sized items also) are sent to try out, so it  seems to give good value for money. The box is £10 plus £2.95 p&p. I got 50 extra points (worth £5.00) when I ordered because I went to another subscribers link, she will also get extra points. The points can be used to buy full sized items from the birchbox website and you can gain more points by reviewing the samples they send (the items in the box), doing the monthly reviews you can gain up to £5.00 in points per month. I will add my friends link here so if anyone wants to subscribe they can also get some extra points to start with (so will I).
Opening the box is like opening a present, very exciting as I did not know what it contained, firstly there were Pinterest inspirational postcards (very cute), a booklet with information on the beauty items in the box, a nice touch and useful. The items are different in each persons box, you fill out a profile and they select items from the range available that month that you get the items more suited to you, which is interesting. There are sample sizes and full sized items. The beauty items are in a small draw string bag, again this is excellent for small craft projects mine now has some knitting inside it. I will start with the bonus item for this month a mirror with #NO filter written on the back, (this is listed as £4.00 to buy, I will include the rrp as they list it in the booklet, I will also include the sample sizes) its a nice sized handbag mirror, I may make a little pouch for it so it does not get scratched in my bag. The full sized item was a Complexion Awakener pencil from Jelly Pong Pong (RRP £14.95) in the shade nude, this is a really soft pencil to be used in the corner of the eyes and along the inner rim (that's what I will use it for) it said in the information booklet the pencil can also be blended onto the cheeks or brow bones. 
Samples sized items were - Benefit's mink-brown "they're Real" tinted primer, I tried this when I got it,  I am lucky to have long lashes and putting this tinted primer on I now have really long lashes! So far no problems I would wear it without mascara as the tinted colour looks good very natural looking. It's a good sized sample 3gms (the RRP of the full size is £18.50 for 8.5gms) 
Caudalie's shower gel 30ml this is for sensitive skin, it may go in the holiday bag (or holiday wish bag I should call it) (RRP £9.00 for 200ml)
Absolution's L'Eau Soir et Matin cleaning water 30ml , this is certified organic and was something I was hoping to try it. Its a unisex product, it has natural ingredients including hazelnut oil which it said on their site will "soften and purify the skin and potassium to regulate your cells’ metabolism" here's hoping! I will try it tonight (RRP £27 for 150ml) 
And finally Parlor shampoo 30ml and a matching conditioner 12ml (have very long hair so maybe this sized conditioner will just do the ends) ( Both shampoo and conditioner are RRP £16.00 for 236ml each )
I think this months goodies were well worth the box price, again can't wait for next month. I read there is a real diamond necklace put into one box randomly next month as it's Valentine's Day. It's also my birthday next month so here's hoping :)
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.

My Little Wish Box

 

So I have been decluttering and not buying any new yarn (so far I have been sticking to this) and missing my little packages arriving with new yarn. I really like the idea of subscription beauty boxes and had one many years ago, I had decided at the start of the year I would like to subscribe to one or two plus the money I am saving from decluttering and using up my old yarn stock would cover some of the costs. I have been looking and making a list of the ones I wanted to try, watching unboxings on YouTube (I hope I am not the only one who does this!) so decided to try out 2 this month. (The boxes have monthly subscriptions and can be cancelled at any time)
This is the first one to arrive it's from a French company their subscription boxes are called my little box and each month has a theme which really appealed to me. It also comes in a sturdy pretty box, good for storage (yes places to hide yarn). Each month usually has an inspirations card, a little bag, some beauty items and another item non-beauty.
This month box is called "My Little Wish Box" It contained a really nice 2016 diary, not to big not to small, it has inspirational quotes throughout it, I will be using this daily. A little cotton bag (good as a project bag) with a good sample sized Klorane oat milk hair shampoo 100ml, matching conditioner 50mls and a make a wish lip balm with "Make a wish" on it, that smells so nice, I always a little afraid I will have a reaction but that's why I like these boxes trying out new things, so I will update when I have used this. There was also  a small simple bracelet with a macrame closing and ribbons with messages - "Say yes to new adventures", ""it's now or never", "Day dreamer" and "Wish you were here". They can be worn on the wrist or i think I may add them to my diary. Plus a little magazine to read later. It's my first box and I really like it, can't wait for the next. 
My other box is a birchbox hoping it comes soon (update review here)

A relaxing break

I am really trying to sort the pattern writing out and get a routine that means not over doing it also!
OK this is a short break, with a much needed coffee (I think coffee is the one thing I would find very hard to give up), a mini cake, I even crochet while I relax from writing about crochet.  
My lovely named candle holder with scented candle was a surprise present earlier in the week (Thank You Mary, I love it!).

New Years Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions - I have decided to write them down and post them here, maybe i will keep to them better this year. Some are not going to plan just yet!

1. Finish and write up outstanding patterns
2. Finish outstanding fabric designs
3. Blog more regularly
4. Healthy eating - I do eat good food, no red meat, lots of fish, fresh fruit and veg, not much sugar OK too much salt! But decided to make sure I ate breakfast each morning so ordered my oats and chia seeds. With plans to blog some of my overnight breakfast recipes.
5. Get Organised - find and put all paperwork in the correct
6. Declutter or Life Laundry I think it's called so give away, recycle or throw out the things I don't need or use.
7. Sort out main website, much needed
8. Finish my final tests from the Shaw Academy diploma courses I did (l did finish one)
9. Finish any ongoing knit, crochet or jewellery project (about 20+ at last count!

So yes started no 5 and 6 

But nos 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 are on hold, as this is my laptop

Screen cracked in the middle.

So maybe no.10 is now replace laptop screen

As for no.4 My oats and seeds are somewhere with Royal Mail. 

What resolutions have you made this year?

Will you keep to them?

Will you declare them online?

Happy New Year 2016

A Very Happy New Year 2016

More free Christmas Charts

Here are seven more mix 'n' match Christmas charts from my main website, they match the link I posted in yesterday post


The Celtic Knotwork Christmas Chart e-book (this one uses UK crochet terms) has now been added to loveknitting.com it should be available in the next 24 hours. 

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Christmas Crochet

10 days to Christmas wow that was quick!
I have been ill for what seems like weeks and weeks with bronchitis. I have not felt like doing anything, my poor blog has not had any updates for ages :( but I am much better now so have managed to complete the Celtic Knotwork Christmas Charts E-book at last. It has been added to my Ravelry store today, this version of the e-book uses American crochet terms (All 3 charts are also available individually).

I will be adding a version of the e-book using UK crochet terms tomorrow to the LoveKnitting.com site as this is a UK based site (my other patterns on their are currently using American crochet terms but I will be updating themearly next year).

I wanted to remind everyone there are lots of free Christmas charts on my main website, here are a few mix and match Happy Christmas Charts in Spanish, France, German, Irish, Portuguese, and Italian. I'll post more free matching chart links tomorrow :)