It's been all go here!

Hello everyone. Things have been a bit slow and quiet on the little old blog front haven't they? To be fair I have also been quiet on YouTube too! I am still posting regularly over on instagram although naughty me, I am a day or two behind on the daily photo challenege but I have time to catch up.

So what has been going on here in Anna land? Well this last week or so has been a whirlwind of crazy in the Brim household. We have been without hot water or heating for days and it is going to be yet more days until we get some. Argghhhhh! Not good for winter although it is milder than it has been thankfully. We had our boiler serviced but in doing so it was then condemned as they found out it was leaking and very dangerous. Not good indeed. The past week I have had a British gas engineer here every day. EVERY DAY. For hours at a time. Hopefully today the new boiler will be ordered and it can be installed early next week. You don't realise how much you rely on one until you don't have it. Oh and who knew boilers cost so freaking much! Geeez it's like taking out a new mortgage. It is old so I guess it was only a matter of time but still! So between phone calls and house visits with British Gas, we have been snuggling to keep warm and boiling the kettle every time we want warm / hot water. Fun times!

My darling girls have had their ups and downs this week. Splodgey as you know has been up and down the past few months with her health. She is 9 and has a tumour on her tummy which isn't bothering her at all, there has been no change but she has now developed one on her mouth. The vets says she is not in any pain but it is interfering with her eating. She is still a happy bunny and enjoys sitting and watching the babies play around. She prefers to just sit and watch them rather than joining in but she is still happy. She comes running out in the morning to say hello which melts my heart every single day. She has slowed down loads, like most old folks do I guess and she is also a lot more cuddly lately. This is a big thing as both Splodge and Nibbles came from a home with domestic abuse and at some point they had their legs broken. When we first got them it took a while for them to accept us and they weren't keen on being touched. So for Splodge to be all cuddley and want to be held is a massive thing. Like a lot of old folks she can't chew hard stuff any more so she is on mushed up food. As I say she is still happy and lively, she just needs help to eat. Mummy has to syringe her some food every now and then and all food she is eating has to be wet, soft and mushy. We know we have that awful time approaching, goodness knows when, of, you know, making that final decision. Never a nice thing to think about or have to do.

Nibbles too has a problem with her teeth and had to have an operation on her molars. She was a good girl and got through the operation with no problems and has been eating like a trooper ever since. With Splodge slowing down, Nibbles has been taking over the parenting of the babies. Luna Petunia Macaroon and Florence Tinkerbell (yes I know!!!!!) have settled in nicely and I now call them my three amigos. They are inseperable which is lovely. As I say Splodge just likes to watch. Oh my goodness the babies have sooooooooo much energy it is crazy. They are into everything and anything, it is exhausting just watching but it is nice to have them around and has given Nibbles a spring in her step which is lovely to see.

The piggies are as cheeky as ever. They were so funny the other day, I thought I was going to have a complaint from British Gas about one of their members of staff having been harrassed. The whole time he was working on the boiler (which is in their room), Betty was whoooooping at him, starring at him and pacing up and down her house every where he went in the room. It was quite funny really!

It only took us a year and a half but we finally found furniture that we both liked and it was delivered last Friday. I love it and it makes the living room look nice and homely. The babies sneak in there every now and then even though they know they are not allowed, they are chewers and I just don't want them chewing my new furniture! All of my photos in this post are taken from my instagram feed because I am too lazy to take some photos. I will soon though and show you what it looks like. I love it and couldn't be happier. We went for the Cambridge range from Next.

What else is there to update you on? Well I have quite a few things in the pipeline that I am working on behind the scenes as it were and hopefully it won't be too long before I can show and tell! One of the things is I am talking to a lovely high end company in the States about stocking their products so hopefully I will be able to update you on that soon.

I am working on some new printable planner inserts but as with all of my inserts I like to give them a good 'road test' before I release them for free or for sale. As all of my inserts are ones that I use too so I gotta make sure that they work and don't need any tweaks or anything. Hopefully I will be able to show those off in the coming weeks.

Talking of showing off, I know that my Websters Pages Color Crush planner in winging it's way to me and I am giddy excited about getting that and showing it off. Eeeeek, I seriously can't contain my excitement. Please tell me that other people get this excited by new planners!

I have been working hard on the next Brimbles Box which is the March one, due to dispatch at the end of February. I hope you like it. I have been working hard to find new suppliers and to put it together for you. I will be revealing the contents of the February box, probably tomorrow. I know a lot of you have probably seen it but I don't like to do an official reveal here on the blog until I know that people have received theirs and I know my friends in the States take a little longer.

mmmm yes lastly (as I know this is a rather long blog post now!) I for a while now have wanted to change the design elements of the blog and website but wasn't sure in what direction. I was just growing bored of it you know. I don't know why, I just was and fancied a change so this morning I got up and decided to change my logo, graphics and design elements. What do you think? I like it, it is much more in keeping with what I wanted. I wanted something much 'cleaner', classic and versatile which I think this is now. I would love to know what you think too!

Right then me dears, I am going to end this post now before it becomes huge!!! I am sure there is more to update you on lol! So hopefully I will be back with more blog and youtube content soon. oh p.s. please check out my friends blog The Prudent Pair as I have been guest blogging over there. They are a fledgling blog so they would love to have some support.

TTFN x

Thinking of starting a blog? Blog Post & Video Planning & Scheduling

I often get emails from people who are looking to start up their own blog or YouTube cannel but haven't got a clue where to start. I try and help the best that I can but I am not a blogging guru, I just plod along and adapt as I go and just hope that I am doing the right thing. I just decided to start blogging one day, I picked a platfrom (blogger) and just started writing blog posts and my YouTube channel came some time after that (I did delete some of my first blog posts as they were just too cringey!). For me the blog and YouTube channel never was and still isn't about how many subscribers or readers I have. I started it from a place of passion about what I love and just wanted to share that. Basically what I am saying is that I have no idea whether what I am doing is right or wrong but it seems right for me. I can tell you about my experiences, what works for me and how I plan for posts but ultimately you need to find a way / system that works for you! There is lots of information out there and I find Pinterest particuarly good if you search for information on how to blog. There is a board I follow here which might help.

So today I am sharing with you how I plan for and schedule in my Blog posts and YouTube videos...


I also did a video on this last year but the way that I do this has now changed. I have a much better idea of how and why I do things now which is something that comes with experience and something that you will develop along your own blogging journey. I am also using a personal size planner as my daily go to rather than my A5 so that has also impacted on how I schedule. I no longer want that information in my daily diary section. Anyways check out my previous video if you have not already seen it as that will give you another way to plan and this way might work better for you than my new way. But ultimately as I said before you need to find the way that best works for you.



I have a download again for you this week that might help you get started, if nothing else it will help you whilst you establish how you want to plan things in. 

Download
This week's download contains the pages as show in the video. The inserts are available to download as both personal size and A5. You will need software that can 'unzip' the folder to release the files as both pdf and jpeg.  To download the files please click here. Please note that the inserts that I am offering as freebies are different to the ones that I sell, so if you have already purchased a set of my inserts these are in addition for you. If you haven't purchased any of my inserts and would like to or just have a nose at them you can view them in my Etsy shop here. Please note: These inserts are entirely free and a gift from me and only the inserts provided are free, I say this because I know some people might prefer one of the other designs that I offer but it is only the ones in the freebie set on offer at this time. These inserts are for your own personal use only and are not for resale as either printables or hard copy. Thank you.

So was starting a blog or YouTube channel on your goal list for this year? I have thoroughly enjoyed my blogging journey and do reccommend it and I hope this has inspired you and given that little push for you to do so.

What's in my pencil case?

I often see 'what's in my bag' type posts and I really enjoy those as I am nosey and I like to see what everyone else is using so I thought it would be fun to share a 'what's in my pencil case' for all us arty / journal / planner peeps!

So would you like to see what is in my pencil case...

I don't know whether a 'tag' already exists for this but I thought it would be fun to set one up and here are my responses to the questions.

1. What pencil case are you using / do you use?
As my everyday pencil case I am currently using the pretty floral case that you see in the above photo although I do have several pencil cases that I often use for different reasons.

2. Why do you use it?
I am using this one mainly because I adore the pattern, I love the retro flower print, I just think it is so cute and I also love the shape. I also love that it is really roomy and you can fit a lot in it as well as being a nice shape to hold.

3. Where was it from?
I bought this from an Etsy shop: PrettyPaperFilo

4. Do you carry it out and about or does it stay at home?
I don't really have the need to carry a pencil case around that much. Occassionally I do in which case I will take a much slimmer one with me. If I do need to take a few things with me it is usually because we are going away in which case I would then take this away packed with my favourte items.

5. Show us what was inside?
Well... please watch the video as I showed everything in there or for a brief glance you can see the items in the top photo.
 

6. What was in there that you had forgotten about?
In my main pencil case, nothing but in my other pencil cases there were a few forgotten items!

7. What is your most used / favourite item?
I have a few favourite items that I couldn't just pick one! I really like coloured pens and at the moment I am using a sonix gel in teal from Staples, the Soda Fizz pen and also a papermate inkjoy in purple. I am also loving my penguin pencil sharpener, a fox rubber that I got in a recent Linys box and my all time favourite glue: Pritt Stick.

I am also really loving the Pilot disposable fountain pen that came in a recent Linkys box and my all time favourite permanent black pen for doodling etc is the Uniball eye. I also can't live without my Posca paint pens in both black and white.

8. Now you have gone through you case what will you leave out? if anything!
Nope! lol! I am really happy with everything I have in there at the moment but if I had to take something out then it would probably be my blending stumps.
 

9. How often do you go through your case and change things?
I am always changing pencil cases and go in and out of love with products so I change my pencil case around loads!
 

10. What are your future plans for your case? New case? New contents? What is on your wish list?
I have asked Father Christmas for a Lamy Safari fountain pen so I hope I am a good girl to get it!

I would love to know what you have in your pencil case so if you care to share either with a video, blog post or just a comment please do let me know so I can have a nose in your pencil case too - I tag all of you who would like to do it to please do this tag!

Autumn is most definitely, finally here!

Autumn is well and truly finally here, however you track when it starts (In meteorological terms autumn begins on 1st September but in Astrological terms, Autumn starts on the equinox which this year was 22nd September).

What does that mean for me, well for a start it marks my most favourite time of year, I love Autumn through to Winter. Firstly we have nice crisp mornings, walks in the beautiful woods turning all shades of colours collecting conkers, home to a nice squash soup and a good old cup of tea. Yes folks tea, which means my tea drinking has increased which means you can expect to see more tea videos and blog posts from me! I usually like to change my home decor when the season changes, I take out all my Summer stuff and replace it with an Autumnal theme but I haven't quite gotten round to doing that yet but I most likely will during Vlogtober so that I can show you all. I have decided to try and do Vlogtober this year on my Ginger Juice YouTube channel which means I will be posting a vlog every day in October. I enjoyed vlogmas so I thought why not try vlogtober!

Then we have Halloween although not widely celebrated here in the UK I still like it but of course us Brits have Guy Fawkes night, on 5th November a chance to have a bonfire, some nice warm chilli, soup in a mug and watch the fireworks. On a personal note I have my wedding anniversary with Mr B on 17th November and then the Christmas festivities begin. Whooop whooop!

I am already in the Christmassy mood from making up Christmas dashboards, printing out my inserts and setting up my Christmas planner because I have already begun filming my Christmas planning series which will go live on Friday 3rd October. Seriously folks it comes around sooner than you think it will.

Mr B and I have been out forraging for blackberries which this year have been so plump and delicious. I am so lucky that my husband loves to cook and finds it relaxing. The great thing about our house is we both love to cook but usually at the weekends Jon bakes a scrummy treat. Last weekend he made a crumble with the blackberries and I filmed him making it for his YouTube channel (wholesome day) which I have embedded below for you in case you would like to watch it.

Man I could go on about Autumn so much! I am really looking forward to 1st October, the start of my instagram challenge as I can't wait to see all of the Autumn inspired photos you guys will be posting. My brain is whirring with ideas for photos that I want to take. Do you love Autumn as much as I do? Let me know that I am not alone, what does Autumn mean to you?

I am also hoping to enter this competition...

Finding my inspiration to journal - Clouds

Following on from last week I thought I would continue to share with you how I find my inspiration from my world around me to journal.

We have been having some really warm weather here but at times it has also been really cloudy and also really stormy. I love the weather and I find it really inspiring, I don't know why but I just do and I especially love clouds. I love cloud gazing and marvelling at the different types and formations. I just love it! I have drawn a lot of clouds in my journals and they take on all shapes and forms. Sometimes I have people swinging off of them and also gazing up, clouds are just one of the things I really love to journal about, take photos of and also incorporate into my Filofax. It is safe to say that I just can't get enough of clouds!

So with all of that in mind, the beautiful clouds and my love of clouds I though it would be appropriate to journal about clouds and share it with you and it also gives me a chance to share with you how I created some clouds previously in my journal that a few of you said you would like to know how to do too.

One minute it was really sunny and the next minute the sun went behind the clouds and it was really cloudy. To me this seemed like the sun was trying it's hardest to shine but every now and then had to go and have a nap in a bed of clouds and this is what inspired my journal page...

How are you getting on with finding your inspiration around you?

My Current Journal Collection {Part Two}

Following on from last week I wanted to share with you the remainder of my current journals. If you missed last week you can see it on this blog post.

So let's get straight into it, here are the rest of the journals that I keep...

Anniversary Journal

When we got married I had a picture of us printed onto a notebook from Photobox and I only ever write in this journal once a year on or around our wedding anniversary. Mr B and I went to school together and we have known each other since we were 11, only getting together as a couple age 16 when we left school and realised that we missed seeing each other everyday. We then married in 2007 and this journal was started on our one year anniversary.

In this journal I record how we celebrated our actually anniversary and I also record things like where we are at in our life, what we have done or accomplished that year and our goals and aspirations for the coming year. I also like to record some factual data as follows:

• Who was no 1 in the music charts
• The price of a pint of milk
• The price of a load of bread
• The price of a litre of fuel
• Who is Prime Minister
• Our place of employment, job title and salary
• Our address

I think these things would be really interesting to look at in years to come because it is those simple every day things that we take for granted when we are currently living them that would be fascinating in 50 years time!

Ideas Journal
I have an ideas journal for jotting down and recording all of those little things that one day I may want to refer to.

Home decor ideas
I have a journal dedicated to the house with ideas and inspiration for possible decoration. Whenever I see something in a magazine I clip it out and stick it in. I didn't want to make any rash decisions when it came to decorating the house as this is a long term project so we want to make sure we get it right and take time to formulate our ideas!

Character journal
My character journal is a journal written by my alter ego 'Elana'. It is kind of a work of fiction but also an outlet when I was going through a very rough time in my life. I could write as this person and have fun in a mystical world. To be perfectly honest I haven't written in this for way over a year, which is great in a lot of ways but also I feel it is a shame as I liked her and the story. Maybe I could pick it up again now I am in a better, brighter place?

Meditation / Dream Journal
I like to meditate frequently so I have a journal beside me so that I can jot down anything that comes to me afterwards. I also have some funky dreams sometimes so I like to record those in their too.

Faces Sketchbook
Last but not least I have a sketchbook dedicated to my drawing study of faces. I was always told off at college for drawing what was in my head rather than what I saw so every now and then I like to have a practise and as I very often like to draw / paint faces in my art journal then this is great practise for me. Again I haven't used this one in a while but it it there if I want to. This is a sketch from about a year and a half ago...

And that folks sums up my current journal collection. For now. It will change, I know it will, the reason I know it will as I have something on order currently so that will add to my collection in a matter of weeks. And then of course I will finish my art journal so it will be on to a new one. So it kind of changes in as much as the book itself will change but the format may not. Who knows, lets just wait and see!

I would love to see your journals if you would like to share them with me :D

Filofax Friday!

Hi Filofax Friday Friends! Today for FF I am coming to your in vlog format again. I do really enjoy just sitting down and having a chat with you all!

So what am I talking about this week?

Getting to 1,000 followers on instagram! Crikey, I still can't believe that over a thousand of you want to look at pictures from little old me, that just blows my mind it really does and I just wanted to say thank you so much to all of you for your support, it really does mean a lot to me and I do appreciate it. As a token of my appreciation I ran a giveaway over on instagram for a £25.00 voucher to spend in my Etsy store. This giveaway is now closed and the winner was annouced. I am sure I will do another giveaway in the future when I hit another milestone. I do very much like giving back to the people that support me.

OK so here is a misconception about me... a lot of people think that because I have a blog and make youtube videos that I am online a lot. In fact that couldn't be father from the truth. I practically never go on Facebook or Twitter but I do LOVE with capital letters, Instagram. For me that is my social media of choice because I just love the positivity and I am a very visual person and just love looking at photos about anything and everything. My instagram is not just Filofaxes but also other stationery, journals, my guinea pigs & bunnies and also random stuff about me or my life. I kind of treat my vlogs on my Ginger Juice channel and my instagram account as little mini journals in their own right, documenting the day to day stuff. Anyway I really enjoy it and I wanted to say thank you once again!

Following requests I am also sharing with you what I bought when I went to the Philofaxy meet up in London. I did say it wasn't a lot so when you see it you will probably be very disappointed lol!

I also share with you my recent planner pretty additions in the form of two lovely flyleaves from the lovely Beck of Just Keep Pinning. They are so fab. I already have the minions one in my A5 Apex and my pocket size one will be working it's way into my pocket aqua Saffiano which, hint hint, will be the topic of next weeks FF! So if you want to see what I turned that little beauty into please make sure to click the follow on Bloglovin button on the right hand side or follow me by email or other social media becuase the blog posts automatically feed in to social media when they are published.

Last but not least, homework. I mentioned in a previous vlog that I had stopped setting homework for you as it was time consuming and I was struggling to think of what to set. Well quite a few of you said that you were enjoying that and that you missed it. Sooooooo, I am thinking of reinstating it BUT I need some input from you guys too. I am happy to do that again but I would like to know what sort of topics you would like to see videos / blog posts on. As I have said all along, there will only ever be content from me when I have something to say, that is usually most weeks but there may be some weeks where there isn't any. Filofax Fridays will take place in the form of vlogs, me chatting about what has been going on FF related in my world, Tutorials & How to's, and then more inspirational and instructional videos. So let me know what you guys think.

Anyway, that is enough ramble from me, let me know your thoughts!




Click here to see the video!

My current journal collection {part one}

This week I thought I would share with you my current journal collection as it has been a while since I did that. I last shared them with you in May last year and I like to take stock every now and then and look at the journals that I am using. I do this because I like to take time to think about whether they still serve a purpose for me and whether I still want to use them. I hope you also find this interesting and that it might inspire you to journal in some way, whatever way that would be for you.

So here are my journals:

Art Journal
I call my art journal such because it is the term that most people will understand or recognise, however I prefer to call it just my journal, my visual journal or indeed an artiststs journal. In that journal I like to create art as well as incorporate collage and writing.

Sometimes I paint for paints sake just because I have a desire to be creative, sometimes I use it for concept art to develop something else or to learn new techniques. I also like to part scrapbook by using photos and smashbook by adding receipts and flyers from places we have been.

Whatever it is, it is my journal and it is the documentation of my life, my place to process feelings and emotions and a place to be happy or spend time with myself.

No pressure journal
I won't go into this too much as I wrote a whole blog post dedicated to this last week

Written journal
I like to keep a written journal solely for, you guessed it, writing! I like to write reams and reams when the mood takes me and at the moment I am using my A5 Finsbury Filofax for that. I love the feel and quality of the leather and I also like the flexibility of the rings for changing things about. In that journal is my life documented in writing and everything that goes with that good and bad!

My Filofax
I am using my daily Filofax to complement my written journal. In the back of the Filofax  I have blank paper (lined) in case the urge to write hits me when I don't have my journal with me. I just write in her and then add it into my journal later on.

Sea Journal
This was a book that I picked up from a charity stand for 50p. Whilst I started this and intended it to be an altereed book all related to the sea and mermaids, I literally did two pages in it and then run out of motivation for it. I still keep it in my collection of current journals because I really like the book itself. One day I may go back to this but I am not sure but don't want to part with the gorgeousness of it just yet!

BOS
My BOS is my book of shadows

Sketchbook
This is just a cheapy sketchbook that I use for you guessed it, doodling. I use it to test and work out the little characters that then become the ones you see on my Filofax inserts and dashboards.

A whole lot more information on these journals as well as glimpses into them can be found in the video:

I hope you have enjoyed a little look into some of my journals. There are many more to come and I will share these with you next week!

Summer Home Decor Tour

So last Thursday I got all sentimental and shared with you why I love living where I do and what that means to me. If you missed that click here. Well today I thought I would share with you my Summer home decor. As you know from last week, we have been in this house for a whole year now and this tour completes a years worth of home decor tours!

I will let the video do all the talking as it is all fairly self explanatory in there :D

My New No Pressure Journal

If you are anything like me or you are into journals yourself, you will often find that your journals change, how you journal changes and you you feel about journalling changes too.  I go backwards and forward and in and out of love with not just the different types of physical journals I have but also how I am journalling in them. I guess different things suit me at different times and for different reasons.

Next week I will do an update on my current journals but just to give you a brief idea of my current journals, I am using an art journal and a 100% written journal but I was finding increasingly that I wasn't having any motivation for my written journal, I was finding that I didn't have the time, or perhaps more importantly that I wasn't finding or making the time to journal and when I did I just wasn't feeling it or in the mood.

Then one day I decided to set myself a no pressure journal.

I have a few new, empty notebooks / journals on my shelf and so I just went and grabbed the first one I felt drawn to with little thought into it, this was to be my no pressure journal so I didn't want to spend ages pondering over the cover, the paper quality the size and all that jazz. I was creating a new way of journaling, well new to me anyways.

So I set myself some rules for my no pressure journal:

No pressure to write
No pressure to art
No pressure to decorate at all
No pressure to have beautiful neat handwriting
No pressure to use any type of pen
No pressure to write long entries
No pressure to make eloquent entries

I told myself that I could just write whenever and wherever I wanted, multiple times a day if I wanted to. I can just grab any pen that is kicking around the house and just write until I want to stop writing. If I run out of time, or motivation I can just stop and not worry about it making sense or having to pick up where I left off the day before.

This is to be my no pressure, 100% fun journal and you know it is. I am finding myself wanting to pick it up and write in it all the time. Sometimes I will just write a sentence if it comes to me, other times I will write several pages but above all I am not worrying about it and just enjoying the process. I think this is a great tip for those just starting out or wanting to start journalling. Don't overthink it and don't worry about hoarding that beautiful notebook or worrying about not making it look nice and pretty. Who cares! It is just a notebook, it is there to be written in and loved.

I have been journalling for years and often go in peaks and troughs with my journals but I think you need to enjoy it and not force it. If you are forcing yourself to journal you are not being true to you and your reasons for journalling are all skewed. A journal is your companion for telling your woes, your fears, getting negative emotions out, rejoicing in the good times, documenting your life and record keeping. It is all there or should all be there, the real you, the place where you can truly be you and not worry about what anyone else things, so why should you worry about coherrent sentences? You shouldn't, you should just write, write whatever needs to come out and just go with it!

I hope that has helped you in some way, let me know if you have various journals that you use for different reasons, I would love to know.

If you would like to know more about how and why I journal you can watch this video. This is a video that I created in May 2013 but I realise that newer subscribers may not have seen this before and may find it interesting.

One of the reasons I am inspired to create...

I really can't believe it, we will have been in our house for one whole year tomorrow! The time has just wizzed by in some ways and in others it feels like we have been here for ages, I guess that is a sign of feeling totally relaxed and at ease with where you live. Many of you if you have watched my vlogs will have seen my house. When we moved here we always said that this would be our 'forever home' the place where we can grow old and grey, I don't think anything could make me want to move unless it was to the coast or to emigrate, I really do love it here. I know that I am really lucky and blessed to live here and I am thankfully for that every single day.

Of course one of the contributing factors to my love of this house is the location. We live in a small-ish village where there is only 321 dwellings, we have a village shop / post office, a nice little pub and most importantly a lake. A beautifully stunning lake with an awe inspiring surrealism to it.

My instagram snaps all with no filter!

We are really lucky to have a view of the lake from our back bedroom window and it makes me smile inside and out every time I draw the curtains in the morning. The lake is sort of a kidney bean shape so it curves round the village, this means that the lake is literally right at the end of my road and in fact everyones road.

I have a lot to thank the lake for, it brings me inner calm, peace and tranquility and most importantly the changing seasons and weather conditions are a major source of inspiration in my art work. I am currently painting a series of weather goddesses all inspired by living by the lake. The lake has a radius of ten miles and for most part it is surrounded by open fields and countryside so that vast expanse of nothingness really opens us up to see some interesting weather conditions. I just love it!

So in honour of living here for a year I thought it would be fun to do the 'all about my home tag'. I actually create a few different videos over on my Ginger Juice YouTube channel that don't always get a corresponding blog post, in fact my Vlogs never do for a start so if you are interested in finding out more about what I post over there then come on over :D

If you would like to do this tag in either a video or blog post the questions are below for you. Please let me know if you do, I would love to come and read / watch. My answers to the questions are in the video!

Questions:
What is your home design style?
What do you love most and least about your home?
What is your proudest DIY project that you completed for your home?
What is yoru favorite piece of furniture?
Who is your favorite TV designer or decorater?
If I walked in your home, what fragrance would I smell?
What is the best and worst kept spaces in your home?
What is your favorite home accessory?
Hardwood floors, carpet or tile, which do you prefer?
What is your favorite cleaning product for your home?

Forraging for Elderflowers & Making Cordial and Fritters

I just love this time of year, I like going out for a nice walk and seeing what bounties I can forrage! Since we moved to this house back in June last year, I have been scouring the hedgerows during each of the seasons and making a note of the goodies that will be on offer at different times. I love to pick and make my own wherever I can for a couple of reasons. One I take great pleasure from a walk in nature and the process of making it, I think it is a rather wholesome experience and almost meditative really. Secondly you know exactly what has gone into the making of it, no nasties! and lastly it is actually cheaper, the cost of the ingredients for the quantity made is far cheaper than what you would buy in the supermaket so making your own is win win all round really.

Where we live there is an abundance of Elderflower everywhere. Elderflowers are usually out from late May to July and are just simply delicious as fritters and made into cordial. Well those are the two things that I usually make from them but there are plenty of things you can do. Mr B is not massively keen on elderflowers but I love them and at some point I would like to try my hand at champagne and then look into other recipes like jelly etc.

I thought you might like to come along with us as we forrage for the flowers to help you identify then if you would like to have a go and then back to the kitchen to make cordial and fritters. Keep reading if you would like the recipe to make at home yourself.

Elderflowers are just so pretty with their frizzy little flowers and they look so lovely paired with the lemons don't you think. I am so glad I stopped this little ladybird before she went into the pot poor thing and was put out to graze in the garden!

Elderflower Cordial Recipe

To make approximately 3 litres

40 heads of elderflower
3.5 Kg sugar
2.5 litres water
4 lemons
Bottles (pre-sterilised) - Glass looks pretty but you can also use plastic and if you use plastic you can also freeze the cordial for use later in the year, just make sure to leave a gap at the top for the cordial to expand in the freezing process.

1. Shake the elderflower heads to remove any bugs and beasties and also to shake off dead flowers and pollen
2. Trim as much of the green stalks off as possible as these can make it taste more bitter
3. Put the flowers into a large bowl. Slice up the lemon and add this to the bowl with the flowers. If you would like the cordial to be less torte, use fewer lemons!
4. Pour the water into a large saucepan, add the sugar and slowly heat.
5. Once the sugar has dissolved, pour this into the bowl over the lemons and the flowers and savour that wonderful smell!
6. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to infuse for 24-48 hours stirring occasionally.
7. Pour into clean sterilised bottles using a sieve or muslin cloth and a funnel and label.

Can be stored for up to one month or it can be frozen in batches and defrosted to use when required.

My tips and how to identify the plant

Elderflowers can be harvested approximately End of May –Early July.

Once you know what elderflower looks like, you always know. That may sound silly but now every where I go I am like, ooooh there’s one, ooooh fancy it growing there. It becomes an addiction.

The main plant that you could confuse elder with is the Guelder Rose. The guelder rose however is a much smaller shrub. The branches of Elder are very brittle and the bark is slightly corky looking. You can also tell the elderflower apart from the guelder rose by the leaves. Elder  leaves have finely serrated edges on a stem with two or three pairs and then a single leaf at the end. The Elder flowers are individually very small - the whole flower head being of a larger spread than the Guelder Rose. The latter has much larger individual white flowers open around the outside of the flower head, and smaller flowers very similar to the Elders in the centre of the flower head. Leaves are totally different to the Elder, being broader - a bit like a Field Maple shape.

Elderflowers smell of what can only be described as being “Tom cat ish” if they smell too much like tom cat then they have gone over and shouldn’t be used. Anything you make with gone over elderflowers will smell equally noxious!

The other plant that you could perhaps mistake them for is the white cowslip.

I would recommend that you harvest from as high as possible to avoid the concern that a doggy may have already paid a visit and to ensure that you are not harvesting cowslip. Also as ever avoid harvesting from a bush that is potentially polluted, from by the side of a road for example.

Remember to only take what you need and to spread it out over several bushes. Leave plenty of flowers to enable the growth of elderberries.

And always ensure you have the land owners permission.

ENJOY!!!!

Outdoor art journaling - what is a girl to take?

It was an absolutely gloriously hot and sunny day on Saturday and I made the most of it by spending time out in the garden. We had nothing that we needed to do, not a single thing so why not make the most of it is what I say! You never know when and how long the good weather lasts here in England so enjoy it each and everytime it is here!

So going outdoors and doing a bit of journalling, what is a girl to take? It is a hard choice sometimes, especially when you don't know what you are going to create. Limiting yourself to a few items is great because it forces you to get creative with only what you have but that can also be hard if your muse has decided to go and sunbathe and is not interested in helping you one bit! At least being only in the garden I could nip inside if I wanted to grab something so that is not a big deal but even so you have to limit yourself a bit because you can't take it all out there with you. Well you could but I would have to spend ages carting it back and forth. You get the picture!

I recorded an impromptu video on what I took out with me as I really enjoy watching those types of videos and thought you might like to see what I take with me. It was so bright out there so excuse the squinting me.

Did you like my shed? It is not quite finished yet, I want to chintz it up and put some girly touches on it (which Mr B is very happy for me to do I hasten to add). I want to change the scaggy perspex window for nice clean one but Mr B needs to tidy up his randomness in the shed first. Then I want to put bunting up and I want to also put a nice decal on the door and maybe some wooden scalloped edging to the window. I haven't quite decided yet but in my mind it looks lovely, just a bit of a long term work in progress kind of thing.

Would you like to see a couple of the pages that I created? I am going to show you two here which are collage type pages and then another page that I create you will find over on the Journal Gypsies blog on Wednesday!

If you would like to know where any of the products show came from please do ask and I will try my best to remember.

If you would like to see our vlog from that day you can watch that below. Or over on my Ginger Juice YouTube channel where I vlog about twice a week along with book reviews, vegetarian food, hauls and tag videos.

The Blank Page - The scariest thing in the art journal world!

I keep hearing comments about people being scared of the blank page in their journals, that the white of the paper is glaring at them and they are unable to get started as it just sits there looking at them, judging them, making them afraid to get started.

This is totally the opposite for me. I find that my mind is messy enough as it is and I come to my journal as a place of calm and tranquility. I need it to be clean and empty so that I can empty my mind of all the messy stuff and get it down on paper! I love watching YouTube videos where people start with the mop up from a stencil so that there are already marks on the page and then they add more and cover it up and then don't mind that they have covered bits up. I would love to be able to work like that but I just can't and that is OK. I know how my mind works and I just work with that.

I do controlled messy! I do layer things but in a controlled way. I can't be free and loose and just let go, I can't do that. I have to plan the next layer as I hate covering things up, to me it is such a waste of paint or pretty paper. Believe me I have tried on many occasions which has just led to me being more frustrated and as my journal is supposed to be a place for me that I can enjoy then I have just learned not to fret and fuss about it and just what comes naturally to me.

I just wanted to throw it out there that the blank page is nothing to be afraid of, it is there waiting for new possibilities and just waiting to be covered so embrace it and enjoy it rather than being scared of it!

How do you create? I would love to know. However you do journal it is about finding the way that works for you not for others and if starting with a page of stencil mop ups is right for you then good on you but let it be because that is what you enjoy and not because you are scared!

Happy journalling xx

Filofax Friday - Vlog Styleeeee!

Hi guys, it literally has been a crazy crazy week this week in fact the past couple of weeks, if you remember last weeks FF I said I was chunking my days down into smaller sections to help me get things done and I am pleased to say that is still working for me. I am also pleased to say that the next couple of weeks look set to be less busy. Phew! Although isn't that fatal last words? I am sure it is but whatever comes my way I will be ready! I think. Mr B has a week off work booked in too so we are not sure if we are staying here or going away but we will get out and about and have some fun, and of course we will most likely vlog whilst we do that.

So this week I have to confess it got to Thursday (yesterday) afternoon and I really wasn't sure what I was going to say / do for this week, if in fact that was anything at all. I know, I know, going a little bit against what I said in week 5 (Getting ahead / Planning for the future). It was working so well up until a couple of weeks ago. Ho hum! I am sure I will get back on track. For a starters I am working on a collaboration with a couple of lovely ladies who run Etsy shops to bring you a big 'ol jumbo giveaway, the biggest that I have ever done. It is taking a little co-coordinating but it will be so worth it once it is done and I hope you will love it as much as I do!

This week therefore I decided to just chat to you about Filofax related things, vlog style.

There are many instagram photo challenges taking place and this month I have decided to do the one run by filofanuk which you can search for on instagram using the #filofaxphotoadaymay
I had totally forgotten but I actually did hers back in March. Totally forgot about it until I went to post my first photo and the # was already saved lol! Why not join in the fun too? It is never too late really, you can just catch up or miss the days, it is only for fun after all. I have posted the challenge below if you would like to take part.

I have been jazzing up my filofaxes this month with some super cute new page markers from a lovely lady on instagram called Peppermintdoxiedesigns they are so cute. I am really inspired a lot by clouds, I love them, throw in rainbows and stars and wow, I am in love! They are really fitting at the moment as we have just started to get our April showers.

Talking of instagram which I am totally hooked on by the way, I came across a company called Linkys. Linkys is starting a fabulous new stationery subscription box scheme kind of like the ones you get for beauty products but this time for stationery. Eeeep! How excited am I? errrr muchly you could say lol! I can't wait to get my first box and of course I will do an unboxing video so you can see all the yummy goodness. This is what the exterior of the boxes look like and now I can't wait to see what is inside. I will keep you all posted. In the meantime, if you are interested just drop Leah an email:
Linkysdream@gmail.com and tell her I sent you ; )

 And last but by no means least I am super excited to share with you all that I have found a really fabulous stationery supplier and am now stocking some of their super super doooooper cute items perfect for all you planner peeps! It is so hard to find cute stationery here in the UK sometimes which is why I go looking for cute products to bring you. I hope you will agree that they are gorgeous. Head on over to my etsy shop to have a nosey for yourself.

That's all from me this week folks, hopefully see you next week. Have a fantastic Bank Holiday whatever it is you are up to, typically the weather doesn't look like it is going to be all that fantastic huh!

Completed art journal flip through - January to April 2014

Well my 'Day Dreamer & Wishers Journal' is now finished. That is it. Done. As you know from previous ramblings, I have loved working in that journal so much and am sad that it is finished. I really enjoyed working in it and love some of the art inside that I created. I journalled in written form quite a bit too. I had a few moments of negativity at the beginning of the year but I didn't want to keep being reminded of them everytime I opened my journal so I hid all of those loose leaf pages into little pockets and envelopes so I know there are there if I ever want to look at them and if I don't then I don't have to. I got out of that little glitch and moved on to some very happy times which for me is why I think it made for good art work. I tend to write more when I am down and art when I am up, funny how that happens sometimes. Is it like that for you?

Here is just a small selection of pages.

When I journal I have a mix of styles. Sometimes I just write but I can't show you any of that as it is very personal. I also just art for arts sake as well as for meaning. Sometimes the meaning is very clear to see and other times not. I collage and I smash too and stick receipts and stuff in from places we have been. My journal is all sorts but it is not defined. To me it is just my journal.

If you would like to see more of these pages and the rest of the pages in the journal then please do watch the video as I do a full flip and talk about what they were created with etc.