Bead Haul Prototype Box #beadhaul

In the past I have subscribed to Craft Creatives boxed and liked them but I didn't always like the themes and stopped subscribing when they changed their box from themes to projects. The Craft Creatives team recently made a prototype box available of their new Bead Haul box. I love making jewellery bits, and it's quite handy that my hubby works in that field too and can give me little hints and tips. I was really excited by this and signed up for the prototype and was really impressed.

Now I must apologise as I did get this box just over a month ago and even made some things on the day I got it, but forgot to get round to blogging about it!

Now I must point out that this box was a prototype to see what people thought about what was on offer and the box that came was pretty plain and non-branded (apart from the label that said it was a Bead Haul prototype) but I actually liked this as I buy the box for what's inside.

 

Sorry for the bad picture. This kit included the below:

• head and eye pins
• two shell wings
• earring hooks
• two necklace chains
• jump rings
• aqua beads
• metal feather charms
• bird charms (included single bird charms, two birds on a white/branch, birds in a hoop, and bird connectors)
• aqua square beads
• a tassel
• two seagull wooden tile charms
• bird buttons
• stix 2 pick up pencil (this was a gift)

I liked the range of items and already have this antique gold colour in jewellery hardware which was handy. I also have a lot of aqua bits so I can mix it with my own bits I already have.

I liked the buttons however I wasn't sure they really fitted with the box, but will be using these in my sewing projects. I also realllllly didn't like the tassel, I've seen these a lot in DoCrafts kits at the moment and just don't like them or 'get' them, but that's just me. 

There were a few projects to try out online too which was good as it gave me a feel for what I could make, and then inspire me to make other projects. The first thing I made was the bird in the hoop infront of the aqua tile bead. At first I had no idea how this would work and thought maybe glue would be involved, but its made using a jump ring on the bird, and a jump ring on the tile and layering them on the necklace. I love it.

 

The next thing I made was this pair of earrings. I love wing things and thought these were beautiful. The only thing I would have liked is if they were opposites of each other (as in the pattern). They're really light weight too!

I then decided to get my jewellery making box out and found some chain, jump rings, a clasp and a little charm saying 'made with love' (shown below) and this is what I made.

One of the ideas was making earrings with the metal feathers however they are quite weighty and I'd worry about using them as earrings so I'm going to come up with another idea (maybe a bag charm). I can't weight to try some other projects with this kit and thought it was really well thought out.

I wasn't sure if I'd purchase the first 'official' box, however the theme has been revealed as FAIRYTAIL!!!!!  This has definitely swung it for me especially with my love of Disney and fairytales (as I write this I'm watching Once Upon a Time, and planning a trip to Disneyland Paris!). 

This box will be available to order from 1st November 2015 and will be priced at £12.50 with £2.50 postage, and delivered in early December. This can be purchased as a one off box, or brought as a subscription being delivered every 2 months. I think I will order the first box and see what it is like before I commit as I'm not a huge jewellery maker but like making things when I want a break from card making (especially around Christmas time!) More info can be found on https://www.craftycreatives.com/beadhaul/

The actual boxes will also have more beads rather than findings which I'm really pleased with as you can buy findings sets quite easily and you won't be over run with findings (unless you want to be of course). Nothing worse than having hundreds of findings you don't want or use!

This box was purchased by myself and was a fair review based on my thoughts of the box. I do not get anything from #beadhaul in exchange for this review or via the link.

Envelope glue

I've been making a few envelopes recently, mainly where I've made a card and I've not had an envelope to match (or the cards quite 3D and I've needed a deeper envelope). When I've made envelopes for myself I've used either glue, a tape runner or double sided tape, however when making cards for others I want them to look professional. 

I was looking at getting some envelope glue and was advised you can make it yourself with gelatine, I brought gelatine (6 or 7 months ago) and just haven't got round to making it. While buying some craft items recently I saw the envelope glue so decided to finally give in and buy some. 

I made my envelope on my Crafts Companion Ultimate Pro. 

I used Collall tacky glue for the three permanent flaps. 

I then went to use the envelope glue and it wouldn't come out and saw it said to push it down, I did this but kind of too hard....

I spreaded it out, however due to the moisture from the glue puddle it made the envelope a bit wet and crinkly 

Once dry, I licked it (it tasted fine by the way) to remoisen and stick the envelope flap down.

It held well however the edges did curl up a bit so I think I need to practice a bit more. 

Pottery Painting at Center Parcs

I've just returned from 4 nights away at Longleat Center Parcs with my Mum, Dad and sister. This was my first time at a Center Parcs resort and I booked for my sister and I to do pottery painting. It cost £5 each for 90 minutes studio time and you then pay extra for the item you want to paint. We weren't sure what was on offer to paint before going but having searched reviews online I saw plant pots mentioned so had an idea that's what I'd go for since we needed a nice pot for the rose by husband brought me for our anniversary.

We arrived at 11am for our slot. No one really noticed us waiting at the desk at first but a lady walked by and asked if she could help, I said we had a booking for 11am and she said she was busy but would be back (we felt a bit like we were in the way and not really welcomed.) The lady came back, asked if we had been before and advised us that all the items we could paint were on the shelves and prices were on the samples, the take a seat and the to call someone over. I was a bit confused so asked if we then told them what we wanted to paint and she said no we just picked it up and took it (if only she had explained that bit originally!)

There was a wide range of items to choose from including mugs, bowls, ornaments like princesses (very much like Belle from Beauty & the Beast), words such as dream, money boxes and bowls. I went for the plant pot and my sister chose a dog bowl with feet. Prices weren't on them all but in the end we chose what we wanted rather than worrying about the prices as we would rather have something we would use. It turned out my pot was £15 and Laura's dog bowl was £20 which I think was quite pricey! 

We sat down and a lovely lady called Sue came over (so glad it was her rather than the first lady we met.) She explained that the paint came out pale but after glazing they darkened and there were lizards on the wall showing the different between the unvarnished and varnished colours. We also had a tile on our table with the finished colours. She explained we needed to do a few coats to get good coverage and also pointed out the tools available like masking tape and stamps. I did try making tape but it wouldn't stick to my pot so ended going freehand instead.

The paint dried quickly between coats so we didn't get too messy although one paint tube had dried up so the lid flew off as we squeezed it! Whoops!

When we finished we were told to bring the items up to pay for them (it was tricky trying to carry a damp plant pot while in a wheelchair and the lady (same one who we met as we arrived) didn't offer to help but luckily the 'taxi/security' man who came to pick us up helped which was very kind. She also said we didn't have our names on them so wrote our villa number on the base.

We were told the items would be ready in 24 hours for collection so my Dad kindly went back and got them for us. 

We're really happy how they turned out. My plant pot matches the colour scheme in our living room perfectly.

I would do this again but it would be helpful to know what items are available before going so you can plan your design etc or know how much you will be spending. 

My new fave local craft shop!!!

A few weeks ago there was a huggggge fire near us and roads were closed due to the smoke (burning tyres) but we needed to get some hemp bedding for our hedgehog and didn't think traffic would be too bad as it was nowhere near the fire.... How wrong were we! Over 1 hour for a 10 minute journey, however every cloud has a silver lining and I spotted a banner for a new craft shop, Craft Plus UK! This resulted in Lee hanging out the window trying to get a photo of the banner for me, then much dancing in the car as it put me in a happy mood.

When I got home I found the shop was only a 5 minute drive away and (much to the excitement of my sister) also did decoupage bits!

A few weeks on and we finally visited it today. 

 (Photo from Craft Plus UK Facebook page)

I went with a list of things I needed:

Clear embossing powder

Glossy accents (my bottle has gone missing somewhere in the craft room)

Mirri card 

Black ink pad

The good news is I got all those things.....erm plus more?!?

The store is nice as its on an industrial estate so parking is easy. The store was smaller than I expected having seen photos on their facebook but it is actually a perfect size for me (with Hobbycraft I go all the way round then forget I needed something, and sometimes just don't have the energy to go all the way back.)

They have it just right as everything has its place, it's easy to see what they have on offer and it's not cluttered. They also only have papercraft and scrap booking things so it's perfect for card makers (no cake tins, fabric etc) 

My sister loved the huge decoupage selection and I treated her to some things for Easter, although we did debate if she had room in her room for the paper mâché hand. In the end she got a house money box, the hand/jewellery holder, glue, paper and a paint brush (....an Easter egg would have been cheaper lol) she did pay for the glue though. Laura took this photo as of dropper her home after our shopping trip)

I then went on a walkabout and found they had FlitterGlu kits! I've always wanted to get these but on Create and Craft they were always really expensive it seemed, plus postage so I have never ended up getting it.... So that went in my basket along with a gold mega-flake tub (seriously can't believe how light the pot is even though it's full!). Also IndigoBlu are no longer on Create and Craft so this was the perfect excuse to buy it.

I then discovered their range of IndigoBlu stamps and the stamp I've always wanted.... Juliet! So that also jumped in the basket. I did eye up the music themed stamps as they had a lovely guitar stamp for a card for my husband but I knew I'd only use it once. 

As I got rid of my Big Shot I didn't need to go down the die aisle but there was a large selection from my quick glance. 

The staff are really nice and helpful too. When I got home I realised there was an error on my receipt and their customer service was brilliant.

I'll definitely be going back here rather than bigger stores (or the one in town which is too cluttered and sold returned faulty Tonic punches...) but I definitely cannot go to Craft Plus UK alone as I would spend wayyyyy to much (and the floor outside is a bit raised so handy to have Laura or Lee on hand if I'm a bit wobbly like today)

Craft Plus UK can be found at 5 Bakers Court, Basildon, Essex, SS14 3EH or online at http://www.craftplus-uk.com

This review contains my own thoughts and I wasn't asked to write this, or paid in anyway, I just wanted to do this post as its a lovely shop with great customer service. 

Update the review for the Cricut Explore

I've now had my Cricut Explore for 2 months nearly and have had a chance to use a number of functions so I thought I'd post an updated review, especially given the fact Cricut have now announced a new Cricut Explore (although from what I've seen it just makes it wireless without needed a wireless adaptor, so not much difference.)

Firstly I have actually used this Cricut more than I used my Cricut Mini as the cuts are far superior. Even though it's bigger, I like the fact I can make it wireless so I've got more space on my desk when cutting.

I had a few issues when I first got it due to the mat being bent but having contacted Provocraft they kindly sent me out a replacement (actually 2 new mats!) after I gave them proof of purchase and my machine serial number. Brilliant customer service! 

I also ordered the heavy duty and lighter mats along with a scoring tool from a shop on eBay but after waiting 2 weeks it never turned up so they kindly sent out a replacement but had no more scoring tools (these seem to be hard to get hold of) but I managed to get one via Amazon.

I've not really read any guides or instructions for the Cricut Explore and here are a few things I have learnt while using it:

- When cutting Crafters Companion Centura Pearl card it won't cut cleanly on the cardstock or cardstock+ setting however on the glitter cardstock setting it does it perfectly as it does a double cut (ie it cuts once then goes over again)

- For print and cut items there is a maximum size for cutting depending on the web browser you're using. I found this out as I printed Donald Ducks boat out for a card so it was around A5 size, it printed fine, I put it in the Cricut and it scanned the lines then said it was finished and didn't cut anything out! On searching I found this http://content.provocraft.com/b/pdfs/explore_manual/10thingstoknow.pdf

- When adding text there is a filter to show only 'handwriting' styles of text so that when using a pen in your Cricut it won't just do an outline. There is a little triangle at the top of the text box and you can choose 'has a writing style' and then all the fonts which have an option to just do a line style font will show (this blog has a great section on it http://www.withglitteringeyes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/alternative-handwriting-fonts-for.html)

I'm still learning new things while using the Cricut and managed to cut a cardblank, add in text on the front and back, then I crafted as normal and it gave a brilliant result. 

I also used the writing font to address an envelope and it looked so cool although I found that it didn't finish off an 'O' and instead left it like a 'C' which was odd so I had to write it in myself.

Talking of the pens, I have tried a few pens out now as I didn't particularly like the Cricut pen which came with the machine as you could see where the pen started and finished each letter. I also tried Crayola fine line pens which worked a bit better than the Cricut pen (and were only £2.50 for 10) 

However the best pens I've used so far have been Pilot V5 Needlepoint Liquid Ink Rollerball Pens. I brought 3 for £4.50 on Amazon and they fit perfectly and write lovely (see the heart card earlier in this post for an example). Although colours are limited in these I don't find a need for any other colours. It might be nice to have a white, silver or gold maybe to write on black card, but not necessary really. I used the pens on Centura Pearl and was wary that the ink may be wet, but it dried almost instantly (I would say instantly actually but I didn't touch it until it came out the machine)

I'm looking forward to cutting some fabric at some point in it and will post the results on here. I'm so glad I brought this, you certainly get what you pay for! I've got rid of my Big Shot and all my dies now as this does an amazing job and with the Cricut subscription I have access to so many images and cuts PLUS I can add in my own images to cut, the possibilities are endless. 

Crafty What Not's Floral Pavilion Subscription Box

A few weeks ago I received an email from Jenny from Jennysis asking if I'd like to review her new craft box, Crafty What Not's, and I jumped at the chance. I used to subscribe to Crafty Creatives but stopped after their birthday box as I like getting lots of different little bits and one or two kits rather than a box of just kits (I like doing my own thing). 

Last week my box arrived...on the same day as my iPhone 6. My sister waiting in for my phone at my flat and she was so excited when the Crafty What Nots box arrived and when I got in we opened it before my phone! 

It was refreshing to have a different sized box so you get better sized craft papers and lovely that the box had a personal feel, a bit like a friend had sent you a box of crafty presents. Everything was lovingly wrapped and there was so much attention to detail including a lovely handmade card which you could recreate yourself (I'd seen these on the Jennysis blog and thought these looked so sweet).

The theme of this box is floral pavilion but it's not overly floral in my opinion, it's very Cath Kidston.

When you open the box you have a list of what you get and an inspiration sheet which was packed with great ideas on what to make.
 
The box itself contained:

• Pattered paper/cardstock/canvas - 16 sheets of good quality thick paper/cardstock of which two of these were fabric/canvas style sheets. Some sheets had shiny accents, others were iridescent like centura pearl and lots were double sided.
• Card blanks with envelopes, two different sizes
• Flower stamp and acrylic mount
• Flower die cuts (matching the papers)
• Wooden/MDF butterflies
• Lots of gorgeous buttons
• Candi (faux legless brads - I've recently really got into these and these will be added to my collection)
• Two chalk ink pads
• Foam pads - great for use with the Candi (I don't really use small square foam pads and have so many from craft boxes but they are really useful)
• Instructions to make a handbag gift bag/box including a magnetic clasp 
• A personalised notepad (which was a lovely touch) 

I've not managed to make anything with this box so far (due to our cheeky little kittens) but I'm going to make some flowers (like the one below) with the Candi, and will be adding the buttons to my button collection and making some of the button cards on the Jennysis blog.

Each box is £12.50 plus P&P and the promise of products of at least £20 and each box will contain at least one papercraft project and other things such as jewellery making, sewing and other crafts. I think it is a good idea and the box itself is nice but I'm not sure I'd pay £12.50 for it especially when I have a lot of similar things already but it's great for people new to crafting and wanting to get a range of items to try. 

If you'd like to find out more or sign up for the boxes you can visit the Craft What Not's page here

Please note that I received this box free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

My First Handmade Bag!

I love bags, but more importantly I love a practical bag. The other day I was driving home from work one day thinking about the perfect bag for a meeting.... like a minute takers bag with room for your notebook, meeting papers, pens, water etc but in their own compartments as I always end up taking a tote and fumbling through it then having to get everything out to put it on my desk and then hiding the bag under the desk. So one night, when I couldn't sleep, I looked online for messenger bags to get some ideas and came across this picture:

When I went onto Chris W Designs site I found it had numerous pockets including one for your iPad/tablet! I brought the pattern straight away (I must point out at this point I didn't notice the four handbag images on the page to show that it was an advanced pattern and I've never made a bag before!)

The next day I went about sourcing the bits I would need. Sounds straight forward but for the life of me I couldn't find ANYWHERE in the UK that had the right sized oval eyelets, it was hard finding any at all but then I could only find smaller ones but luckily found on the site it suggested going to Emmaline Bags (a site in Canada). I was a bit worried about price but I ended up paying less than £10 for enough hardware for two bags plus some extra bits that just fell into my basket....

I must quickly mention how great Emmaline Bags are. I ordered some zip pulls which said 'handmade' however the wrong things were sent but Janelle was amazing and popped the right bits out to me straight away. Thank you!

The patterned also suggests using ByAnnies Soft and Stable from the US, and having looked I found it in the UK but it would have been £15 extra on top of the cost of the other materials so used fusible fleece (as suggested) as I had to buy a metre of it anyway for the strap so I had enough for the rest of the bag too. I was a bit worried in case the bag went wrong as well. In the end the total cost for all the materials and hardware was £30 (not including the pattern) and only £6 of this was on the fabric.

I spend one Friday evening cutting out the pattern pieces which actually took 4 hours. The pattern comes with pages to print which act as your templates and there are also tabs for pieces without templates (ie when you just need squares) so you know what each piece is. I found this ever so helpful and really helped me stay organised as I kept everything in a plastic wallet.

I liked the fact that the pattern had instructions without photos, so you could print it, and also had instructions with photos so you could view the images on a tablet/phone or computer. I saved the pattern on my Dropbox (a free secure online storage programme) so I could view it on my phone, tablet or computer at anytime (well when I had internet connection) which was really handy.

The instructions were quite easy to follow, and where I wasn't sure of what to do, I found the pictures really helped. 

The only bit I didn't like was adding the side gussets to the bag as I didn't like going round the curve at the bottom and found it a bit tricky but I managed it.

Front view

Inside the main pocket

The back view showing the tablet pocket

 

In total the bag took 3 1/2 days to make and 10 minutes of tears when I accidentally stabbed the top zip with my scissors when I was putting in the eyelets for the straps and it cut the zip. I was inconsolable and my husband tried to suggest ways to fix it, including having a zipless bag and adding in buttons, however when I calmed down I saw that the broken part of the zip was only 2 centimetres from the end so I was able to chop the end off and make a new bit of zipper casing to hold the end of the zip. To be honest it actually looks better as the zip isn't protruding as much at the top of the bag.

I'm so pleased with how this bag has come out. I have learnt things to improve on too for my next attempt as I'm going to make one for my sister and have invested in a mini craft iron so I can press the fabric while at my sewing machine so I get better lines and creases and so I can improve on the strap. I'm also going to improve the hidden zip pocket as the end of the closure isn't hidden although the zip is black so isn't mega obvious.

When I showed my sister the bag she loved it and has asked for the same fabric so I may just change the lining or add in piping to the front pockets to differentiate a little.

Using the fusible fleece the bag is soft but still maintains its shape so I think I'll carry on using this instead of Soft and Stable.

I really enjoyed making this bag and I will definitely be making more and look at making my own pattern at some point to fit an A4 folder in and pen loops for when I need to go to meetings and taking minutes.

I didn't get paid anything for this blog post and didn't get anything for free. I did it all off my own back and have written this post as I loved making the bag and was so impressed with the results.

Crafty Creatives Christmas Box

Recently I've had an awful chest infection which seems to have gone on forever, but I got something lovely in the post last week....the Crafty Creatives Christmas Box! I'd ordered this back in September for £20 plus p&p - although I stopped my Crafty Creatives subscription this was a one off box and I thought I'd treat myself as I love Christmas crafting.

The box arrived Wednesday morning while I waited for my oven to be installed (after 6 weeks without an oven) and was so excited when my Mum brought in my post (she came round to help when the oven was delivered). The box came in a red bag instead of the normal pink bag and was packed with goodies - so much so that you couldn't get it back in the box to shut it properly!

Here is a Vine or the unpacking (I hope this works ok, I've never tried adding these before):

The box included:
Wooden snowflakes
Tree shaped beads
Christmas cameo
Stix2 Wrapping Seals (see my post http://www.saraleighuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/christmas-wrapping-and-using-some-bits.html for a review of these)
Three cardboard cones which fitted together like a Christmas tree (like the Decopatch models)
Christmas tree stickers
Christmas papers
Card blanks and envelopes
Mini coloured bells
2 gift boxes to cut and assemble (assembled below

The contents of the box also included three kits. I don't usually like the kits but these looked quite good including lip scrub (with 5 little tubs), a felt decoration and a beaded bauble.

I've not made the lip scrub yet but ended up using the items from the felt decoration and beaded bauble kits in other ways. I used the felt from the felt decoration kit, along with the two small wreath rings to make wreaths to go round the bottom of candles. I'm a bit addicted to die cutting small flowers out of felt to decorate things with at the moment so I covered the wreaths with wool (wrapping it round) and then layered the ring up with felt flowers and adding some glitter. I used the felt from the kit as well as some of my own. I then did the same to the Christmas tree/cardboard cones.

With the bauble I put the beads in my stash and decorated the bauble with some glittered snowflake stickers (our Christmas tree is black with black, white and silver decorations so decorated it in this way so it stays in keeping with our theme).

With the Christmas tree beads I coloured them with my Spectrum Noir pens to make them red and deep purple to stick with my wrapping theme and then glittered them up. I've used them on some of my Christmas tags and will be using them on Christmas crackers too

Makery - My New Favourite Craft Book!

A few weeks ago my husband and I went on holiday to Somerset and visited Bath (my favourite place). While walking around Bath (well.....while walking back to the car park at Waitrose from the Roman Baths) we went down Northumberland Place, and stopped for a little rest (walking around Bath with Muscular Dystrophy gets tiring). While having a little rest I suddenly got a boost of energy after seeing a craft shop in the distance....The Makery Emporium! 

The shop has a table in the middle with bowls full of buttons which draws you in. The shop stocks crafing 'ingredients' and has lots of lovely fabrics, ribbon, washi tapes and lots of other bits to make fabricy crafty projects. The shop is small but perfect as you can see everything easily. I brought some little metal heart tags to add to jewellery and craft projects. I wish they had a shop nearer to me as they do small quantities of things so if you want one button to cover with fabric you can buy just that, or just one button.

We went back to the holiday cottage and I searched online for craft shops in Bath to find out the name of the shop to tell my Mum and found that they also have a workshop where they do craft workshops on things such as lampshade making, cushion making and many other crafts. My Mum and I are definitely thinking of planning a trip to Bath at some point and doing one of these workshops (any excuse to go to Bath). 

When I got back home I found that The Makery had a book coming out and was really interested as I love making things especially on my sewing machine. I then found that my Mum and Dad were going to Bath the same week the book was being released and my Mum kindly phoned up and ordered me a copy to pick up when she was in Bath. I'm so glad I preordered mine as The Makery were on Dragons Den the week of the book launch which lead to a huge rush on the book. When pre-ordering the book from The Makery were offering a free gift of ribbon, however when my Mum picked up my book it didn't come with any but she was offered a fat quarter of fabric and chose a lovely blue fabric with strawberries on (very Cath Kidston-esq). I actually prefer this to ribbon but no idea what to use it for as it's so nice and don't want to jump into any projects and use it all up.

I got the book earlier this week and it is amazing. It covers a wide range of crafts and has lots of lovely projects from glasses cases and jewellery to floor rugs and slippers. The crafts in this book range from knitting, machine sewing, crochet, paper craft and even a shrink plastic project.

The best thing about this book is that it comes with full size patterns in the back of the book - no need to photocopy and enlarge or download and print out on reems of paper (like some other craft/sewing books), all you need is some tracing paper or similar (I used some parchment paper I had hanging around for one of the projects).

The instructions are easy to follow and the book suggests alterations you can make and more ideas, such as on the fabric keyrings the designs used are initials with an alphabet included on the pattern sheet however they suggest looking for other alphabets or designs and suggest a larger seam allowance when using other designs which is really helpful.

I made a 'L' keyring for my sister with some off cuts of fabric I had in my fabric stash. I did also try and make a 'S' for myself but my attempt was rubbish as I sewed it incorrectly but will be trying again and taking my time and ensuring I sew it correctly (it was my fault, not the books). I changed the design of the 'L' slightly as the image in the book was of a lower case L which I thought looked more like an 'I' so I added the bottom line in. It was a really quick and easy pattern to follow for the L and I'm going to try and make a hedgehog shapped keyring next with some brown tweed type material I have.

This book is great for someone either new to crafting or who wants to widen their crafting skills as it doesn't repeat skills so if you can't crochet or knit (or don't want to, as it has tutorials in the back for crochet and knitting) you are not going to find there are lots of things you can't make. It's much better than wanting to try a craft, buying a book solely on that skill then finding you can't pick it up and then the book ends up gathering dust on the bookshelf.

I'm looking forward to making the bag and coasters in the next and really want to make the double knitted rug. 

Amazon lets you see some example pages from the book so go and check it out at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Makery-Over-Projects-Home-Wear/dp/1845337042/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I really wish they had a store nearer to me (although you can buy online) so I could go to all the Workshops. If I had a craft shop it would be just like this!

Vinylux Nail Varnish .... does it last 7 days?

 I recently heard about a new weekly nail polish which lasts up to 7 days so couldn't wait to give it a try and my nail varnish lasts a maximum of 2  days without chipping (and thats only if I've washed my hair before I do my nails as that causes my nail varnish to chip).

Vinylux is made by the people who do shellac polish but with this you don't need a uv lamp or any special equipment. I went for the mini pack with four colours and a top coat which was £20 rather than paying around £16 for one large colour.

 With Vinylux you need put the coloured polish on bare nails and then put the top coat on and the whole thing dried in under 9 minutes (which is the best bit in my opinion).

The colour looked good but the polish is quite thin so all ridges showed through so I took it off and smoothed my nails before repainting them.

 

The above polish lasted for ....... less than 24 hours before chipping.....NOT GOOD! I hadn't even done anything strenuous!

I tried again and also painted my sisters nails, this time in a different colour. I made sure that I ensured the tips of my nail were sealed in and it lasted a little bit longer, around 2 days before chipping (the below is after 3 days)

 My opinion on Vinylux....nice colours and it does what it says....lasts UP TO 7 days so technically 2 days is fairplay. I wouldn't buy it again though

My new house phone - not craft related but amazing!

I was getting mega annoyed with unsolicited phone calls from withheld and international numbers especially when I'm unwell or on my day off and I'm no where near my home phone as by the time I got to the phone they'd gone.

I called BT and asked what they could do as a disabled customer as I'd nearly fallen 'running' for the phone. Their response....they could block my phone from calling international numbers? And give me a new number so for a while I wouldn't get the calls? They can't block incoming international calls apparently. I gave up and was looking to get Truecall for £100 to screen calls but it was just so expensive. My husband said just dont answer the phone as if it was important they could call my mobile but it just annoyed me the phone ringing especially when I'm in bed with a migraine!

I explained my annoyance with BT on a craft forum (see it was kind of craft related in the end) and to see if anyone had Truecall and someone mentioned an article they'd seen about a new phone...from BT?! You could block international and withheld calls and at an introductory price at only around £40 for 2 phones it sounded perfect, why BT never tried to sell me this I'll never know.

I did have to wait for nearly a month due to no stock, but today my new phones arrived! The old ones are going to Lee's brother (my brother in law) as he has just brought a flat so they are going to a good home.

The phone is BT 6500. The phone is a lovely size and shape, sound is amazing too. The main unit has the answer phone functions but you can listen to the voicemail from any BT6500 handset connected. The phone had visual voicemail so you can choose which message to listen to and who its from and see missed calls. I like this as I always use to forget to call 1571 to listen to messages.

Now for the bit I brought it for - call barring! I set it up to block International and withheld numbers but wondered what would happen if someone really needed to speak to me....well I didn't need to worry, the barred callers hear the phone ringing and then get put through to the voicemail so if they do need you they can leave a voicemail! At our end the phone is silent but you can see on the phone that a withheld or international call is coming in, then when the voicemail kicks in you don't hear anything (usually the voicemail greeting would play out loud and you would hear the caller too).

Other features are shown below but I'm sold on just the call barring feature! Plus you can put the phone on 'do not disturb' setting but have a list of VIPs who can still get through.

I love our new phones and we've had no annoying calls yet since installing them!

Easter Egg Showdown - Cadbury v Aldi

A few weeks ago while watching Super Scrimpers they did a test on 3 Easter eggs: Cadbury, Lindt & Hotel Chocolat. I decided (after seeing Aldi was running a special on Easter eggs) to run my own taste test as I always go for Cadbury and everyone raves about Aldi chocolate (I've tried their hazelnut chocolate and its lovely).

Also living virtually next door to Aldi it was easy to source the chocolate.

We always have lots of chocolate in our house for emergencies, this includes some minstrels from 3 years ago which I must throw out (having just remembered).

Egg Statistics

Aldi - £2.99
Choceur Milk Chocolate Flame Egg 350g
Milk chocolate egg filled with a selection of chocolates
The selection of chocolates includes:
milk chocolate with apricot flavour centre
Almond nougat with cocoa pieces
Nougat in milk chocolate
Soft caramel covered with crisped rice and milk chocolate
Marzipan with almond in chocolate

Per 100g:
530kcal
28.9g fat


Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons egg
99p at Aldi (brought on 13th march 2013)
Hollow milk chocolate egg with milk chocolate buttons.
162g
Per 100g
530kcal
30.1g fat

Verdict:
Nothing will be better than Cadbury in my eyes (or mouth) but the Aldi egg is really nice and compatible to Green & Blacks. The chocolates that came with the Aldi egg are amazing and I think due to that the Aldi egg is my favourite. I also love rhe packaging as each half of the egg was wrapped and the chocolates were in the middle. You would definitely think this egg would be in the higher priced section of a supermarket.

My verdict: Aldi egg (but mostly due to the chocolates inside) but the chocolate egg is still delicious and much nicer than other other supermarket ones I tried before. Nothing will match Cadbury as it has its own taste but overall Aldi was better.

While at Aldi I also brought some marzipan eggs for my Mum who loves marzipan (as I do) and her feedback was that they were lovely! Might have to buy some more!