Ta Daa!! Look what I made!!

 

If you saw my last blog post you will know that I've taken up knitting and crocheting and I wanted to let you know how I've done so far.

 

So I started out knitting by following tutorials on you tube, the one that helped me the most was Chandi's from Expression Fiber Arts, I've linked her video here incase you're interested in learning how to knot too. That's also where I got the idea/pattern for the headbands that I've made. She has quite a few tutorial videos and a website with a shop and a blog on there as well so go check those out at www.expressionfiberarts.com.

 

Here are my knitted projects.

 

 

The one on the far left is my first attempt and therefore my scrappy on to keep. The other 3 have been bought and I made them as requested. I love the yarn that I used, because of the marbled pink through it they all turn out differently so none of them are identical which is nice.

 

As I said in my last post which I shall link here, I sort of already knew how to knit to begin with so I haven't put mounds of effort in to this just yet. I'm really excited to be learning something brand new in crocheting so at the minute that's getting a lot of my attention but I will be returning to my knitting very soon, I have to I've already had 1 request for a hat and 1 request for a jumper lol. I just need to figure out how to do these and I'll be well away.

 

For now though, I have been practicing crocheting over and over and over again. Now I didn't go out and buy a whole kit for this, I literally own just the one hook but I have a few more bits on order so I'm excited to get those to show you.

 

These are my monsters... I mean creations so far.

 

These were literally just me learning the single crochet stitch with wool that's too thin and a crochet hook that's too small lol I need more practice at these I think, just for the fact I miss the last stich sometimes because I cant see it then the sides get all wonky. I'm hoping this will get better with the new hooks I've ordered.

 

This little thing is my attempt at all 5 stiches, again, little but wonky but practice makes perfect and all that fluff. Also it didn't always look so shabby, the dog attempted to eat it while I was taking my pics.... The stitches I learned from Leticia at Made with love by Glama. The link to her first lesson on Crocheting is here.

 

Although THIS I am super proud of. Again I learnt this from Chandi at www.expressionfiberarts.com in this video here. Mines smaller because I did it late last night and I admit I was getting a little stressed with it so I'll attempt that again later.

 

I realise this is a very long post and if you stayed till the end you are a star and thank you!!!

I mean it, I really do appreciate all of you that read my posts.

 

I hope you liked it and I'll be updating my blog with any future projects I have, at the moment though, I think I need more practice.

 

I just want to thank Chandi and Leticia, if you're reading, you helped me immeasurably when I no longer have a grandma to ask all my knitting or crocheting questions. Your videos are always there to answer. Thank you xx

 

Gina xoxo

 

 

 



So.... Knitting...

 

 

I have decided to take up knitting... yea I know... little bit out of the blue but I did say in my new years resolutions that I wanted to learn something new so here I am.

 

It's amazing how many tutorials you can find online now for literally everything!

 

Originally my nana taught me to knit when I was a lot younger but it wasn't something I was ever really really interested it in, it was just something to do with my nana so I never made anything.

 

Not anymore... I have finally made something and I'm pretty proud of it, even though it was super simple to make. It only took me a couple of hours, mostly because I only learned how to knit yesterday I'm sure I'll get a lot faster at it but look....

 

I made a head band!!!

 

 

You cant tell on that pic but its grey with fading pink through it.

 

Here's a closer picture:

 

 

I'm still waiting for my skinny mint teatox, I haven't forgotten, I will definitely update you when it arrives but kudos on the head band right??

 

Next... a Jumper!! I'm joking.. that's not gonna happen anytime soon but I will be attempting new things and hopefully learn how to crochet too.

I've seen some really beautiful shawls I'd like to attempt.

 

Well... night all, I'm off to find something else to knit.

 

Gina xoxo

 



Teatox...does it work?

 

Hi guys,

 

Am I the only one that's noticed the hype around teatoxing?

 If you don't know what that is, its a form of detox by drinking tea. Sounds easy enough to me.

So I've ordered some.

 

I've decided on one called Skinny Mint and I've noticed it's getting a lot of attention recently so I've decided to order some and try it out.

 

It comes in a different amounts, I've decided to go for the 28 day teatox offer, there is also a 14 day offer and a 56 day offer.

 

In the one I've ordered, the 28 day one, you get 28 morning boost teas and 14 night time cleanser teas. Not sure how I feel about that just yet, but it does claim to boost your metabolism, burn fat and curb your appetite as well as give you loads of energy in the morning and detox your body at night.

 

Sounds too good to be true if you ask me but the only way to test it is to try it for myself. I'm going to be fair and start out by weighing myself, then keep a diary of any changes in weight loss or energy gain or just any changes I think are down to the teatox. I will also behave and eat healthy which I am trying to do now anyway, but to give it the best chance of working and therefore a fair chance.

 

So I will definitely let you know how I get on with that.

As soon as it arrives I will upload pics for you and show you what it looks like, smells like, what's included and obviously, what it tastes like. Delivery says it should take 4-5 days, so hopefully I should get them before next Friday.

Wish me luck.

 

Gina xoxo

 

P.S Has anyone else tried a teatox or any other kind of weight loss detoxes? Let me know in the comments below I'm interested in finding out what really works and which are the best ones to try.

 

 

Pandora charms, what does yours mean?

 

 

So some one asked me about my bracelet the other day and it made me think. Pandora charms are a bit like tattoos in the fact that each one is personal and each one has its own story and its own memory and I quite like that, so I thought I'd do this post and hope that inspired other people to write a post about their Pandora's and the stories behind them.

 

This is my bracelet:

 

 

These were my first charms I got when I first got my bracelet so they don't really have massive significance but I love them all the same. 

 

 

 

This butterfly one, I got for the same reason I got my butterfly tattoo. To me they symbolise freedom and I love them.

 

I have butterflies on almost everything I can, scarves, tops, bags...

 

 

 

 

These are my clips, to keep all of my charms in place, these don't have a meaning, but they are the same. I had to get these the same due to my slight OCD when it comes to symmetry. Which I get will sound weird when I have a bracelet full of different charms, but trust me it makes me feel better. 

 

 

I got my angel to symbolise my nana that passed away a couple of years ago now. She was my angel, she's the one who gave us the deposit for our house. Without her we would never have been able to afford to buy our house.

  

This one is for my other nana who passed away a long time ago now, I used to stay over at her house every Friday night up until being a teen when she got ill. She died around Christmas and that year is the first and only year I remember it actually snowing on Christmas day.

 

These were for my birthday last year from Mikey.

The one on the right is a tiara, and on the charm, it says

 My Princess because that's what he calls me. 

 Mikey bought me this as a wedding gift, the anchor means hope, the heart means love and the cross means faith. To say he picked it out himself I was really impressed and I love it.

 

 

 

 

Mikey also picked this one out for valentines day this year. It's a little cupid with a little gold arrow.

 

I think he is getting pretty good a picking out charms for me.

 

 

 

 

As I said, I hope this inspires you to post about your Pandora's or any other charm bracelets you have and if you do I'd love you to send it to me so I can see it. I love things with personal meaning and significance.

 

Hope you liked mine.

 

Gina xoxo



Mini Boots Haul

These are a few things I bought the other day when I went shopping, don't get excited it's not much but I do love them.

 

Gotta love Boots for make up, I wasn't looking for anything specific, I did know I wanted some new makeup brushes though.

 

I thought I wanted real techniques brushes but when it came to looking at them I liked the No7 ones better, so I got these:

 

 

From left to right: Blusher, Foundation, Concealer, eye shadow and contour/highlight.

The first 4 came in a pack together in a little pouch like this:

 

If I'm honest I probably wont use this to keep my brushes in all the time, I prefer them in a jar where I can get to all of them but I will probably use this if I need to take them anywhere.

 

The next thing I bought was this, bare Minerals, Ready to go, Complexion perfection palette.

 

 

Which zips up to be a cute little makeup case.

 

 

Clockwise you have Concealer, Foundation, Touch up Veil, Bronzer and Luminizer. So essentially is a contouring kit.

 

I'm still getting to grips with this and at the moment I'm 50 50, I'm not loving it but I don't hate it either. So I'm going to keep pushing with this and see if it grows on me. It also comes with the 2 brushed at the bottom, one is for light coverage and the other for a more dense coverage. I have used the 2 brushes but again, not loving or hating these either.

 

Jury is out on these at the minute, let me know if any one else has used this and what you thought of it and also let me know what your favourite brushes are. I'm always curious to try new brushes.

 

Gina xoxo 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Musings update

 

Sorry!!

I know it's been a while since I've written anything on here but in my defence I have been dying with yet another cold.

 

So I haven't really done anything apart from feel sorry for myself and watch Pretty little liars, seriously though, if you're not already on that, get on it! Addicted!!

I told my friend about it after I'd watched the first series, she's now finished series 5 and I've only just finished series 3. Some one obviously has too much time on her hands.... #JustSaying.

 

I've literally taken every cold medicine/remedy/syrup under the sun and so far nothing has made me any better so I took myself off to the doctors this morning, turns out I have a chest infection. Fun.

 

So guess who has antibiotics!?

 

 

I DO! Ugh can't wait to feel better.

 

It's funny, when you feel rubbish, you decide that as soon as you feel better you're going to do loads more stuff, like when you can breathe you'll go to the gym and be really energetic and run around like a headless chicken... I know this is not going to happen but leave me be, it's keeping me going.

 

I don't think people realise just how much your patience is reduced when you're not well... and trust me I don't have a lot of patience to start with, so being at work is... interesting.

At the moment it takes all my energy to control my sarcastic outbursts, you cant seriously expect me to stop rolling my eyes too - give me a break I am trying!

 

Speaking of trying - I have forced my self to take a load of pics today for my next couple of blogs because guilt is eating me up for not blogging and also if I don't blog now I can see my self getting way too comfortable not doing it at all when I get home from work, energetic or not.

 

Keep your eyes peeled for those and I shall be back soon.

 

Gina xoxo

Ramblings of a night owl

 

 

Apologies in advance for the ramblings of girl still awake at stupid o'clock in the morning (2:10) but fact is I can't sleep because my head is buzzing with ideas and thoughts and the only way to get rid of said buzzing is to write it down, usually I write in my diary but honestly it takes more effort to write than it does to type and I don't have that kind of energy right now. Plus this is kinda what I started this blog for in the first place, my ramblings .... so here goes.

 

No ever tells you how hard buying your own house is going to be. Like yea my mum made a point of listing all the bills I'd have to pay and yea she made a point making me do chores so that I would know what I needed to do but that's not what I mean. I mean like actually having your own place, not a rented, fully furnished, already decorated type place. A place where you get it and there is work to be done to it and because you own it guess who's doing that work, yea, you! Guess who also has to pay for said work, yea, you!

 

It's so frustrating knowing or having an ideas of how you want your home to be like but having to wait so long for it to happen. Sorry, if you're rich this post doesn't apply to you, just us working class folk and as working class you have to do things bit by bit, that bit is usually done or paid for around payday and it's really hard seeing I only get 12 of those a year.

 

As I said I know exactly what I want to do with this house and you know what, half the wall paper is already bought but even after spending all your money on stuff for the house, like wallpaper you still have to find the time and effort to bloody put it on the walls, which when you work all week and you don't get home until after 6 everyday you really struggle to find the time to do on an evening and the weekend is the only time you see family and friends or chill out after having a long shitty week at work.

 

My parents did tell me that building a home takes time and it's a constant process once you've decorated the whole house, it's taken that long that its about time to start the whole process all over again with the first room you completed.

 

I mean is any one else finding this hard or am I just ridiculously impatient?