December Craft Space Envy

I love being nosey don't you!

Gingerbread Fudge

I just thought I would share a little recipe with you. I made this last year for Christmas but it was too late once I had photographed it and posted it to then share it with you lovely people but here it is now, nice and early so you have plenty of time to make it yourself.

It is really yummy but the flavour can be quite intense or sickly. It is also quite sweet so you only need a square or two at a time.

I found gingerbread man sprinkles in my local cake decorating shop so I added those to the top whilst the fudge was cooling and I think it looks quite sweet.

Have fun!!

Ingredients:

• 350 gram(s) white chocolate broken up
• 397 gram(s) condensed milk
• 30 gram(s) butter
• 1 tsp of grated nutmeg
• 1tsp grated ginger (or ginger powder if you prefer)
• Sprinkles!

Method:

• Put the chocolate, butter and condensed milk into a pan onto the hob and heat gently until the chocolate and butter have melted. Add in your spices.
• Line a tray with greaseproof paper, shiny side up so that the edges hand over the tray. 
• If you would like sprinkles running through the inside of the fudge, add them to the saucepan mix now and stir very gently so they don't dissolve.
• Tip the mix gently into your tray. Tip any sprinkles on top and then pop the tray into the fridge to harden and set.
• Once cool take out of the fridge and use the greaseproof paper sides to lift out. Chop up into desired piece.
• Enjoy!

Art Journal / Smashbook Flip Through June - December 2013

I have another art journal flip for you!

I have been very quiet  on the journalling front over the past couple of months as life seems to have gotten in the way which is why it has taken me so long to be able to share a journal flip with you.

I have so enjoyed working in this journal. The paper is lovely and silky smooth, just perfect for sketching and for pen and ink. It does take wet mediums as long as you are easy on the water as it doesn't hold if it is really wet. You also can't get your "wet in wet" techniques with your water colours. That being said I did do several watercolour paintings in here which you will see in the flip. For me this was just a lovely size (A5). I have taken a couple of signatures out of the book but I added a lot of ephemera which is why it is trying to bust out of the spine!

The journal itself is Indigo Bloom for Penny Kennedy which I purchased whilst doing my food shopping in Waitrose for £10. I have found them for sale at Bricknells Stationery: http://www.bricknells.net/shop/assorted-notebooks/indigo-bloom-purple-flower-hardback-notebook-a5/  if you were interested in purchasing one (I am not affiliated).

I love so many of the paintings and drawings in here and I would go as far as saying this is one of my favourite all time journals. I guess it helps that I was in a total place of happiness for most of the creations in here so I also look back at it with very fond memories.

This journal is not just an 'art journal', it is also a written journal, a smashbook and a bit of a scrapbook. I just call it my journal though as it is just anything that I want to do, create and record. I don't like labelling things, I just like to journal in whatever way the mood takes me. A lot of the time I find great joy in just cutting, ripping and sticking stuff down!

The cutest little pic

Remember in the Christmas prep post I shared a picture from the lovely Snowflakefaerie of her using the filofax inserts that I created? Well I just thought I would pop back on really quickly to show you one of the fabulous pieces of art that she created for me of me:

Isn't she adorable! I love her so much and the little piggy and bunny too, so so so cute. Thank you so much! I just love the dear friends you can make online and I feel grateful and blessed to have you in my life I truly do! Thank you!

Please do share the love by going and checking our Ms. Snowflake and her work which is simply adorable and terribly cute by clicking on the icons below:

My best cuticle saviour ever!

Just lately I have the driest cuticles ever! They just keep splitting and peeling and it has just been awful. You know I love my nail varnishes and my hands looking lovely not to mention how painful split cuticles can be. I have tried several different oils and balms over the past couple of months from the really cheap to the moderately expensive or the higher end of the beauty line, which incidentally I am often confused by that as I am not always sure what constitutes a designer or high end product. Anyway, I was just literally buying any cuticle cream I could because I was desperate to sort it out, the one on the side of my thumb was painful when I typed so I just couldn't have that any longer!

I can't remember where I heard it, I think it was on a YouTube video, I certainly didn't read it, but they were saying that they really liked the Lush Lemony Butter. Willing to try anything, the next time I was in Cambridge shopping, I had to stop by the Lush shop to pick one up for myself. At £6.50 it was quite reasonable but after I tried it, well the price could be £20 and I would still buy it.

For me this product was just simply put, Amazing! It has a beautiful, funny enough, lemon fragrance which is really lovely. I am not always a fan of lemon fragrance products as I often think they smell a bit like washing up liquid but not this one. It is delightful. You don't have to stop at your cuticles though as it is really good at everything, any dry rough racked skin it works a lovely treat. It goes on beautifully and to me it just feels like a little mini treat. There is something I find oddly therapeutic about rubbing it into my nails for a couple of minutes. It does take a little while to soak in completely but then I am being very liberal and generous with the amounts I am using, still it is working lovely and really helping.

I have not been paid or sponsored to write / feature this product, I just wanted to share it with you in case you found yourself to be in a similar position that I was because I now cannot be without it!

How & Where I store my art supplies

The most frequently asked question that I receive is about what is in the unit that forms the backdrop to my videos. The second most asked questions is how and where I store my art supplies. The answer to these questions is actually the same so I thought it was about time I did a tour for you.

Now this is a long video, I just warn you now as not everyone likes long videos, it lasts about 40 minutes but then as you know I do talk alot. Alot!

The unit itself is the IKEA Expedit and all the boxes, drawers and cupboard doors are also from the same range. I love it and find it really versatile. I still have some "wiggle" room to so it is not too overloaded or cluttered. My only one very slight downside is the smaller white boxes, if you want the one on the bottom you have to take the one from the top out first. This isn't a major issue really just me being picky. Some of the items are small so I didn't want them in one of the massive boxes where it would become a great big rummagey mess. I wanted to be able to access stuff really easily. And I can. I am a big messy but then you are seeing the true me! I contemplated tidying it all up first but then I thought it wasn't very representative of how I actually do use the unit.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the tour!

What a tea lover wants

I am here again to help you out with that last minute Christmas shopping for the tea lover in your life. I love tea which you well and truly know if you follow me on instagram etc as I am always talking about my tea! I was perusing on Etsy as I often do when I came across a couple of fun tea related things and I thought it would be fun to do a little tea related treasury. As a massive tea lover I would be delighted if I was given any of these things.

Some of the things are simply adorable like the nails decals and the bunny hiding in the cup. So incredibly cute. Wait tea and bunnies, a perfect match for me! I thought the gin and tonic tea sounded like a bit of a hoot too. Some really different and unusual items for any tea lover here.

Do click on the image to take you to the treasury and the individual items!

Happy tea shopping x

Our Family Christmas Card

Every year we create our own Christmas card to mail to friends and family. Snail mail is getting less and less and I think that something through your letter box truly means that you are thinking of someone far more than an email blast. We try and make it even more personal by having a photoshoot so that the card is of our family rather than just a generic card bought from the supermarket. Real thought goes into sending our cards it really does, not to mention a lot of time, patience and carrots!

This year we thought we would up the game a little and create our most ambitious Christmas card to date.

We got glammed up and had a blast to create a homely retro card.

Everything had to be photographed individually and then photoshopped altogether. No we did not put our bunnies and piggies in stockings and suspend them over a raging fire! Jon held them up against a blank wall whilst I photographed them. We photographed the stockings separately and then used photoshop to stitch it together. We love our animals dearly and they are our precious children, we would never distress them in anyway.

It is not supposed to be the most realistic shoot ever but it is intended to make the viewers smile and have a little giggle. We know we smiled and had such a laugh putting this altogether, even if little Bay wanted to go exploring at every opportunity.

We even videoed part of the process and have put together a short "making of' video if you would like to see. In fact I like the making of video more than the card itself and a smile reliving the memories of making it every time I watch.

Enjoy!

What to get a bunny lover?

he he it is no secret is it that I am a bunny lover! I know there are lots of you out there too! But what does one get for a bunny lover? Well you are lucky that I am here to help you with that lol! I love a good nosey on Etsy, it is so inspiring with truly beautiful products and photography. I love it and can get lost for hours!

I have compiled a little treasury of some of the bunny products that really caught my eye, they are just too sweet not to include. A shameless plug here but the list also includes a set of my peeking bunny filofax / day planner inserts that I am pretty sure any bunny lover would want, ney, need! ha ha! Just click on the image below to take you to the treasury and the individual items.

Happy bunny shopping x

What a guinea pig wants for Christmas!

You know I have the cheekiest little Guinea Pigs ever!

I was on my computer the other day just browsing on Etsy when I got up to make a cup of tea. I came back, sat down and realised they had jumped on and had created a wish list of some of the things that they would like for Christmas. Can you believe it! What cheeky little piggies they are. So cute but so cheeky. I thought they actually compiled a really nice treasury of the things that they are hoping Father Christmas or their mumma might get them, if they have been good. Want to see...

Click on the image to go to the treasury.

Mainly they chose snuggly bedding which is adorable. I usually purchase all of my bedding from the lovely Laura over at Piggiepigpigs which is just as well as most of those items are already sold, but I can't deny the things that they chose on Etsy are adorable too. I really love the sleeping piggy sign and might just have to treat them to it!

I will be sure to update you on what they do get for Christmas!

Rhomany's Realm Art Journal Tag

I thought it would be fun to do a tag video so I am doing the Art Journal Tag from Rhomany's Realm. To watch the original video and to get the questions so that you can do this tag too, please watch her video here.

I really enjoyed answering these questions, it got me thinking abit more about my creative adventures!

So here is my video with all of my responses and an opportunity for you to find out more about me and more about my art journalling.


If you have watched this video, I tag you to do this too either in video format or on your blog : )

my new indulgent splurge

If you follow me over on instagram you will know that last week I went in to Cambridge, primarily because we went to see Texas in concert at the Corn Exchange which incidentally was amazing. Her voice is stunning. Anyways we went in to the City a bit earlier in the afternoon to have a browse and a mooch about. For a while now I felt like I could do with a new reddish / pink lipstick because I was not entirely sure that the ones I were using suited me. I seem to have hit that age now where I have changed my tastes in make up and what I wear, I don't know if it is an age thing or what it is but still my tastes have changed.

I decided to seek the help from a make up counter assistant and thus have a splurge purchase rather than try and go it alone and choose myself as after all I did need the advice on what suits me. I am so glad that I did becuase the colour that she advised and that I purchased I absolutely love! I think it really suits me and I am so pleased with it and the results.

The lipstick and colour that I went for was no23 Rouge Coco from Chanel and it cost £24 from Boots. It is very highly pigmented and I literally only needed one coat, it went on like butter and is not drying at all. In fact it is really hard wearing too and lasts hours with no need to reapply. I have been really impressed. I have found in the past with other lower priced lipsticks that you have to really work at them and that they are quite hard and then have very little staying power. I know this is a little more pricey than some lipsticks but I think the quality and staying power is worth it. My advice to you is, if you can, save your Boots advantage card points up and treat yourself to a little self indulgent splurge and you will be glad you did!

The enchantment and draw of the circus

Back in November I was driving through my town and I saw that the circus had arrived. It was twilight and the lights were just coming on above the big tent. Instantly I felt connect to the circus and snapped an instagram pic as I slowed down to have a look. I was even more delighted to see that it had an Alice in Wonderland theme. As soon as it came, it had gone again. Sooner than the advertised date. It got me thinking all about the Night Circus again. Man how I loved that book. I read it a while ago but it still haunts and enchants me even now.

There was just something about that circus and the book. I can't stop looking at the picture and in my journal themes of the circus just keep on popping up. I even wrote a passage that I thought could be the start of my own work of fiction. I liked the concept if only I had the rest of the story or an idea in my head of where the story could take me I would be off on a writing mission. I think I am trying to hard. I want to write a fiction book. I do, I really do. Just no idea has come to me yet. I am hoping that it will sometime soon.

But I am enchanted and in my journal little touches of circus keep appearing. I wondered dear blog readers if you have ever been captivated in this way, so deeply that is is all you do, all you know, all you become obsessed with? I am intrigued to know, also to put my mind at rest and hope that I am not the only one that it happens to.

I love to read and I do get really engrossed in a book so much so that when it ends I feel sad that I must let go of it and that it is not going to be a part of me any more. I do hope dear readers that it is not just me.

For now I am clinging on to the circus and seeing where it leads me in my journal...

Christmas Preparations

I hope all of your Christmas preparations are going well and you are not too daunted by all the tasks you have to get done. If you are watching my Vlogmas Vlogs over on my Ginger Juice YouTube channel you will know / see how I have been getting on.

If you have been following me for a while now, you will know that I make and sell my own filofax printables in my Etsy shop. I try not to make this blog too much about selling, or my other social media platforms that matter because I want to just share more of my life, art journal etc with you Guys, not be "here by this product" all the time. I enjoy using my social media as an extension of my journal for that is what I see it as. From me you get a mix of my life in different ways. Anyways I digress, what I am sort of trying to say is that I don't really share the inserts much with you. I kind of tell you about them and then that is it, it's not a hard sale over and over which is why you don't get to see many pictures or stuff about them. I don't know, maybe I should and I would make more money that way! lol! But you dear readers are my online friends so I don't do that.

I do however want to share you a photo now. From my onlineness and from creating videos over on YouTube, I have met some lovely people that have now become my friends. One of those dear people is the lovely Veronica Snowflakefaerie. She is such a lovely lady and has been really supportive of me and made lovely comments on the videos when some people can be so negative. Anyway she is a really lovely talented lady and creates some wonderful art work in her journals, she is very inspiring to me. Ms Snowflake has a set of my Christmas filofax inserts and she has very kindly consented to letting me share a picture with you guys. I love seeing the inserts in action and what people do with them so if you do have a set please let me know if you have any videos or pictures etc as I would genuinely love to see them in action.

I really love what Ms. Snowflake has done with them. They are black and white with wideish margins so that you can have the pleasure of customising and decorating them yourself. I really love the blue borders and the holly in the corner.

Below is the picture of what they look like black and white. so you can see that they look lovely when they are all decorated up.

Blatant plug: To purchase a set for yourself (it is never too late to get all organised for Christmas!) then please visit my Etsy store here. If you missed the video of these inserts in action please see the video here.



If you missed the video that I did on how I organise for Christmas using these inserts then don't fret here it is



Come back to the blog later this month and I will share more of Ms. Snowflake's work but in the meantime you can check her out too but clicking on the icons below:

I'm doing VLOGMAS!

Hey Guys!

If you didn't already know from past blog posts and videos, I have decided to do VLOGMAS! If you haven't heard of vlogmas before, basically it is where you vlog every day in December. Every day, wow I must be mad!

Anyways I just thought I would let you know for two reasons really. One, if you are not a subscribing over on my Ginger Juice You Tube channel and you want to see my vlogs you need to go subscribe because two, I won't be putting the vlogs on my blog. As you know I usually always put my videos onto this blog, mainly because I have been in a blogging slump and have had no other content to share lol! Well I am going to be a tadge busy in December. Firstly I will be vlogging everyday, secondly I am taking part in Rhomany's Christmas Cronicles class and thirdly I have heard that there is a big celebration somewhere around the 25th of the month that I need to plan and getting ready for. Because of all of that I don't envisage having much time to add the videos to this blog as well. You know it has made me pretty exhausted just thinking about it to be honest!

Don't worry though, if you are not interested is seeing my vlogs, the blog will not be neglected. I am scheduling a load of posts to appear throughout December for you my lovely blog readers, which I might say while I am at it, a big Thank you. I have gone from around 40 readers a day this time last year to now nearly 200 a day. I love you guys, thank you so much for all of your support. Along with blog posts, I am also aiming to still post my Glossybox and Flowbow reviews and unboxing when they arrive as I know alot of you like to see those from the comments I have received in the past. So one way or another you won't be able to get rid of me. Ha!

So what am I going to do in Vlogmas? To be quite honest I haven't got a clue! I am a little scared and daunted by it but I am up for the challenge that is certain. Mr B is all OK and geared up for it too. Basically I think most of the vlogs will be a follow us around / day in the life of type vlogs. I love watching those so I hope you do too. You know I art journal and am a filofax user so I hope to share some of that aspect of my life with you too.

I hope you have a fun and festive time whatever you get up to!

Happy Vlogmas x

Me, posting my letter to Father Christmas at Winter Wonderland, Center Parcs.

November Craft Space Envy

This month's craft space envy:

I love having pots and jars around, there is something really comforting about that and a great way to recylce.

My Autumn Beauty Favourites

I know it is a bit rushed but I suddenly realised that December will be upon us in two days time which in two days time means the start of a busy month what with Vlogmas and Christmas Cronicles etc so I thought I would pop on and do a quick video today showing you my Autumn beauty favourites.

I know it is technically still Autumn for a teensy bit longer but come December I like to switch over to my more wintery or Christmassy toiletries, some of which I showed you recently in my Christmas haul. I am really looking forward to getting started with the festive season, I really can't wait at all I am such a big kid it is unreal!

I loved Autumn it was fun, lots of Autumnal walks in the new area in which we live which was just lovely. Beauty wise Autumn saw me returning to a few old favourites and some staple products. As I mention in the video my town is quite small so I am limited to a small Boots and a small Superdrug or to the supermarket for buying toiletries. I only have the luxury of branching out when we go to Milton Keynes or Cambridge which actually isn't all that terribly often. I was also opting for fragrances that reminded me very much of harvesting fruits.

What did you favour this Autumn I would love to know along with your recommendations for products for Winter!

Next year I am hoping to up the game a bit more with the blog and start including some pictures for those of you that read the blog at work or don't want to watch the video so you can see the products too. Lots of ideas for next year so I hope you keep on coming back x

The Day Planner Organisation Tag

I thought it would be fun to do a tag around day planning but more on the organisational aspect rather than the decoration or "how many" variety. I couldn't really find one so I decided to create my own. I also wanted it to be generic to day planning and getting yourlife organised as opposed to "I have twenty thousand filofaxes". Sorry if I offended anyone there but I just want to inspire people and show that you can organise yourself with just a pencil and a paper and that you don't need kajillion pounds or billions of pretty stickers in order to do that!






Please do play along. I tag anyone who watches or reads this to take part and let me know as I would love to watch your video or read your blog post. Here are the questions:

1. What planner(s) do you own? and which ones do you actually use?
2. What made you choose to have a "real" planner as opposed to going digital?
3. What do your friends and family think of that?
4. What sections do you have in your planner?
5. How does your planner work for you / what functionality does it provide?
6. Do you decorate your pages if so how and what with? Are you minimalist?
7. What inserts do you use / where do you get them from? Do you make your own? Any recommendations?
 8. Do you use anything else along side your planner like journals and notebooks?
 9. What other "tools" or products do you use for organising yourself?
10. What piece of organisation advice would you give to others?

Cuppa Tea Pet? November 2013

Here it my monthly Vlog / Round up / Review of the tea that I have been drinking this month (November 2013)

Just because you have bigger boobies it does not mean you have to wear but ugly bras!

I love Curvy Kate lingerie so when I found out that they were running a competition I thought I would give it a shot to enter. I have never entered a competition like this before so I wasn't really sure what to do or how to do it etc. When looking at what other people had entered I came across the amazing entry by Big Cup Little Cup which was just simply fabulous so I told myself that I would never be able to do anything as good. I finally plucked up the courage to create an entry only to find out that my instagram wasn't working properly and that there was no sound. I was right close to the closing time too. Oh well I thought no biggy! then the lovely people over at Curvy Kate said submit it again so I have, and here is my entry. It is 15 seconds long so nice and short.



I have big boobies myself (Size 40F) and for years I struggled to find bras that were not only comfortable and support them nicely but were also pretty and if at all possible sexy as well. It was a very difficult task I can tell you. Companies seemed to think it was OK if you had bigger boobies to sell you BUTT Ugly bras! I don't think so people. I even had a very frank discussion with a lady in a high end lingerie shop in London because it is quite fashionable for Ladies to have enlargements these days yet that shop in question only went up to a C cup! tsk tsk!

But alas I found Curvy Kate and now I don't buy any other brand of lingerie. There sets are beautiful, sexy, comfortable and everything that I want in a bra. My all time favourite is the Lottie as it is so comfortable but makes me feel all womanly.

Ladies please do go and check out the other competition winners over on the Curvy Kate blog http://blog.curvykate.com/uk-blogger-comp-vote-for-your-favourite-15-second-review/
you won't be sorry you did!

Book Review Monday - Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Book review Monday! I still can't believe how quickly each week does come around! This week I have for you Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce. I fairly pleasant read. I don't know what else to say that isn't already in the video lol!!

Gingerbread Christmas Haul

I just thought that I would share a little haul that I have of a gingerbread / Christmas related theme!

ART Book Review - Mail Me Art

It's another ART book review! I know it has been a while but it is because I simply have not had / bought any art books lately.

This one has very little text content which I was slightly disappointed about to be honest as it is just a showcase for the pieces of mail art that were sent in to the exhibition. Nice art work but a little disappointing for the price.

Glossybox time!

It's Glossybox time again. After the disappointment of the October box I was really hoping that November would be a great, or at the very least a good box. I am delighted to tell you that it was and it has totally redeemed itself with me now.

Here is my review of the products from last month and November's unboxing.

Another Graze Box review and Unboxing

Another graze box review and unboxing for you today my lovelies!





To get your 1st, 5th and 10th box free you can use this code if you would like to: https://www.graze.com/uk/p/ANNAB6LRU Just to confirm I am not paid or sponsored to do this, I do it just because I like to and you guys have said you like them too!

Giveaway results!

Thankyou to everyone that took part in the Festive themed Filofax giveaway. I have the results for you here. Please do watch to see if it is you that has won and if it is please do get in touch so that I can send you out your prizes xx

Winter Wonderland Experience at Center Parcs Elveden 2013

We have just returned from a mid week break at Center Parcs. Our anniversary is on 17th November so we go on holiday at that time of year every year. We have been to many different places but one of the places we often find ourselves returning to is Center Parcs. We booked a while ago not thinking anything of it and when we received our paper work we found out that it was the very start of their Winter Wonderland Experience. Well you can just imagine our delight when we found that out.

Center Parcs is a really lovely relaxing holiday experience and one that we have enjoyed many time before but the addition of the Christmas aspects was truly magical and it was lovely to experience something a little bit different. Even though  we don't have children, we delighted in looking around all the festive elements and Center Parcs truly did make it a very magical experience.

Of course I took my camera around with me and I thought it would be a good practise experience for Vlogmas, so I vlogged most of our holiday so if you would like to see what we got up to and how lovely the parc was then do take a look. I have included some photos on this post too!

Book Review Monday - Faery Tale by Signe Pike

Book review Monday and today we have a non fiction piece / travel writing / memoire. I find it really hard to categorise this one. I don't normally go for non fiction but this was about Faeries so I had to didn't I! It was great, I really enjoyed it.

How to Put ANYTHING into your filofax

I often get asked how to punch holes in inserts so that you can put them in your filofax. In fact you can put anything you like in. You don't need an expensive six hole punch, just a regular two punch is fine. I show you how!

Book review - The Dark Heroine - Abigail Gibbs

Hi folks, it is Monday (crikey doesn't it come round fast!) Well you know what that means, it is book review day. This week's book is The Dark Heroine by Abigail Gibbs, which I am not kidding, is so totally, unbelievably addictive. A little predictable but I was gripped none the less!

The Making of a New Journal

As you will know if you have been following me for a while. I do get through quite a lot of journals. It was about time that I got myself a new larger one that is ideal for painting in. I thought rather than go out and buy one that I would bind myself one instead. It has been a long time since I have made a journal so I thought it was about time that I jolly well did!

I haven't shown you all of the making of it, just wanted to share with you how it was made.

My First Ever FLOWBOX unopening!

As you know if you have been following me for a while now,  Mr B and I are vegetarians. I have been a veggie on and off for nearly my entire life. Mainly on than off to be honest. At one point I was veggie for ten straight years. It helped that my Mum was also veggie so she cooked the most scrumptious meals for us. My Dad is and always will be a massive carnivore! I also like to be conscious of what I am putting in and on and around my body.

I prefer to go for more natural or environmentally products where possible. The only thing I find is that I struggle to find good or new products. My town isn't all that big and we only have a very small health food shop that couldn't possibly stock lots of things. I guess in a way I was starting to get a bit fed up with the same stuff all the time.

As you know I already subscribe to Glossybox and Graze as I do unboxing and reviews for those for you which I know from your comments you love to see! Whilst browsing the net one day I came accross an advert (I think, I can't really remember now!) for The Flowbox and I was really excited to find out that this monthly subscription box would be full of eco-friendly products for the home, toiletries and also vegan food. Perfect!

The Flowbox launched only this month with this being the first ever box that they sent out so I was even more excited to share it with you guys! So I hope you enjoy my unboxing. I was really very impressed with the variety and type of products as well as the size. No sample / trial sizes here!! It even included a box of tea. Yay!

Now I paid for my box and will continue to do so, I don't have an affilitate link or anything but I do have a coupon code for you to get £5 off your first box should you wish to sign up. Just to clarify, I don't get anything for this (in case you were wondering), I am just passing it on for you!  Use code GOFLOW13 for £5 off at https://www.theflowbox.co.uk

Holiday / Christmas Filofax Giveaway!

Hey Friends!

I have another little treat for you! I would like to help a couple of you get all sorted and organised for Christmas so I have another giveaway for you, this one is all themed around Christmas. Please do watch the video for what you could win etc.




So just to confirm here is how you can enter...

Just leave a comment on this video to tell me that you would like to win. Let me know whether you would like the Gingerbread set, the candy cane set or the Deer set. The first prize winner will receive the personal size inserts as they will fit the filofax prize. The second place winner gets the choice of either personal or A5 size.


To increase your chances of winning...

you can follow me on any of the social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, This blog, Tumblr or Instagram. I will post this video icon in all of those places, you just need to find it and leave me a comment on it. You can only do this one per platform but you can do it on every platform.


The Prizes...

1st Prize - The blackishbrown personal size domino filofax shown, the set of two tapes shown, the set of stickers shown and a pack of my festive digital download printable (by you) filofax inserts. You tell me which ones you want!

2nd Prize - A pack of my festive digital download printable (by you) filofax inserts. You tell me which ones you want!

Closing Date...

Closing date for entries will be 10pm GMT on Friday 15th November 2013.

I will then put all the names from all the entries across the platforms into a list and use a random generator to pick a winner.

Winners will be contacted via the winning platform and
announced on this channel in a video.

Open internationally.

Thank you...

once again to all you lovely subscribers and followers who have supported me, I really do appreciate it.

Please keep your questions and video requests coming, I love making videos and I hope that I have inspired you along the way even just a little bit.

Much love, big hugs & Good Luck xx

My bunny nesting

As you know I have lady bunny rabbits and of course they get their monthly time when they come into season and with that they start to nest. It is so cute to watch them nest and I thought that I would share it with you. I checked with Splodge and she said she didn't mind as long as I gave her a carrot! As you can see she is a busy bunny making her lovely nest and getting it all cosy. I just don't have the heart to tell her that there is not a man in sight nor is there likely to be one anytime soon. Bless her!

My bunny nesting

As you know I have lady bunny rabbits and of course they get their monthly time when they come into season and with that they start to nest. It is so cute to watch them nest and I thought that I would share it with you. I checked with Splodge and she said she didn't mind as long as I gave her a carrot! As you can see she is a busy bunny making her lovely nest and getting it all cosy. I just don't have the heart to tell her that there is not a man in sight nor is there likely to be one anytime soon. Bless her!

How I celebrated Guy Fawkes Night!

Just a very light hearted video for you folks on how I spent my Guy Fawkes celebrations! It is a bit silly and a bit crazy but it was fun! If you don't know much about British History and why we celebrate Guy Fawkes and Bonfire night every 5th November check out this wiki post:

Book review - Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

I have another Book review for you. I have decided to make Monday's book review day or anything to do with books as I might not have a review every week, it depends on how much I read! So if it is not a review it might be a haul or a tag or something like that. I can't make any promises that it will be every week, I just might not have anything to share but I will try. Anyways, anything bookish that I do have will be on a Monday!

The book that I have today is Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. Do let me know what you thought of this book if you have read it, I would genuinely love to know!

I heart Fall (Autumn) Tag!

I thought it would be fun to do the I heart Fall (or Autumn as us British gals call it) Tag! I tag anyone that would like to do it! If you would like to do it here are the questions:

1. Favorite Fall lip product?

2. Favorite Fall Nail Polish?

3. Favorite Starbucks Fall Drink?

4. Favorite Fall Candle?

5. Favorite Fall Scarf or accessory

6. Haunted house, haunted hay ride, or haunted corn maze?

7. Favorite Halloween movie?

8. Favorite candy to eat on Halloween?

9. What are you dressing up as for Halloween?!

10. What is your Favorite thing about Fall?

Let me know if you have done it too so I can come watch your video.

Cuppa Tea Pet? October 2013

As you know if you follow me on Instagram that I drink a lot of tea. I have been asked what teas I drink and what I thought of them so I thought I would start to do a monthly series of well just that so I hope you enjoy! Please do let me have your recommendations for tea too as I love trying new ones.

How to Make & Print your own Custom post-it notes!

I am here with my first ever tutorial! Scary stuff! I hope it comes accross OK and that I make sense in what I am talking about.

So in this tutorial I talk you through how to set up a template that you can use time and time again for printing your own custom designed post it notes. This is really useful for things like shopping lists or To Do lists or maybe you just want ones with pretty pictures on.

You can turn really cheap boring post-it notes into something more asthetically pleasing. It is expensive to buy the really pretty ones all the time so these are much cheaper because you design them yourself!

I use mine in pretty much all walks of life but they are especially useful if you use them in your filofax!

Have fun! Let me know how you get on x

update to my Autumnal Decor

Remember I showed your my Autumnal decor tour, well I have just a really quick update for you...

Vlog and Organisational series round up

Hey Guys! A vlog for you just rounding up from my recent Organisational Series talking about the experience. I said I didn't have any more ideas for videos about Filofax but I lied! I now do. That being said I would still love to know what you think and would like to take your requests for those so let me know x

If you would like to purchase a set of my inserts for your filofax over on etsy, enjoy 10% off with this discount code valid until end of December 2013: OYHS2013

My Immortal Book Haul

I got a book haul to share with you. I didn't actually purchase any of these books, they were given to me by a friend and they are all books about Immortals. Some are just immortals, like Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan and then there are a couple of Vampires, one Warewolf and then one Angels. A bit of a mixed back. I can't wait to read some of them. Of course they now form part of my to be read pile and subsequently a to be reviewed and YouTube'd pile so stay tuned for that.

If you have read any of the books I would love to know what you think. No spoilers though lol!

Giveaway Results

Well folks, remember the giveaway that I posted a week or so ago? Well it closed on Friday night and I am pleased to say that I have now done the draw and the winners have been contacted!

I was totally overwhelmed by the responses, it was really lovely. I am just sorry that I couldn't make you all winners! As a thank you though I am offering a 10% discount coupon for my etsy shop, so if you didn't win you could, if you wanted to, purchase the inserts at a discounted rate. Just use code: OYHS2013 which is valid until 31st December 2013.

Thanks so much guys xx

Introducing to you my pair of rascally wabbits!

So you have seen the piggies, now it is time to properly introduce to you the bunnies, Splodge & Nibbles. This follows on from my guinea pig video. Now you know the inspiration behind all the bunny drawings, it is this rascally pair!

Book review of the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I have another book review for you: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

WOW!

That is it really just WOW!

I loved it I really did, it left my enchanted, even now after days after reading it I am still enchanted and still feel like part of the circus. I so hope she writes and releases more books because I love her writing style so much.

Another Graze box!!

It is Grazebox time again so that means another review video and another unboxing. I am really loving my Graze box at the moment as you will see from the video!

To get your 1st, 5th and 10th box free just use this link code: https://www.graze.com/uk/p/ANNAB6LRU

Introducing my guinea pigs and where they live etc

You have seen pictures of my girls from time to time but I thought it was about time that I introduced you to them properly.

So here we are! I have split the videos down into two so this first one is just focussing on the Guinea Pigs, Betty Boop is 2 1/2 years old and is partially sighted from her cataracts that can't be operated on and since loosing her Husband Bertie, we have introduced (as you will know if you follow me on instagram or Twitter) Little Bay who is now approximately four months old. She has grown so much she isn't really a bubba any more.

It is lovely because she has just recently found her little kitten purr too and she is just starting to get vocal, she is coming out of her shell now.

All of the fleece bed liners and snuggley items are from Piggiepigpigs. I cannot reccommend them highly enough. Their products are so cute, the quality is amazing, you can wash them over and over and over and they are still perfect and their customer service is lovely, you actually get to deal with a real person. The biggest testimonial of course is that the girls love them and love to snuggle in them. Go check out her videos on YouTube too for more cute Piggies!

My bunny video will be along shortly.

Book Review - The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Another review for you, this time it is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

This book is AMAZING!! I am so glad that I picked it up and read it. It has changed how we view our life and what is going on around us. It just enables you to take control and realise that you do or can have a happy life! I don't know what else to say other than WOW!

Read it.

How I organise my life - Part 5 - Pets!

Well here we are this is the very last instalment, the fifth and final video in a five part series in which I am sharing with you how I organise my entire life in my filofax. Oh except I kind of have a part six coming up soon which just gives a bit of a round up and final thoughts of the series.

This part is all about my children, the fluffy ones that is, my two bunny rabbits and two guinea pigs.
If you would like to purchase my filofax inserts they are available in my etsy shop. This video isn't about selling though, I just wanted to show you how I do it and inspire you and give you some ideas on how you can organise your life too. These inserts shown are in the "health" set.

How I Organise My Life (Part Four: Health, Diet, Fitness & Medication) Using my Filofax

Welcome to the fourth in the five part "How I organise my Life" series. The part focuses entirely on health - how I organise and track what I eat for weight loss and motivation purposes, my fitness - making sure that I have done some that week because if I don't write it down a whole week could go by, yes I am that naughty, my weight loss and the medication I am taking.

If you would like to purchase my filofax inserts they are available in my etsy shop. This video isn't about selling though, I just wanted to show you how I do it and inspire you and give you some ideas on how you can organise your life too.

As you know, the other instalments to look our for are:

Part 1: How I organise my Home, work and Personal Life
Part 2: A GIVEAWAY!!! As a thank you to my subscribers I will be giving away a filofax and the tools to get you set up and on your filofax journey!
Part 3: How I organise for Christmas
Part 4: How I organise my diet, lifestyle, health & fitness
Part 5: How I organise my "Children" (two bunnies and two guinea pigs)
A sort of part 6 which is a round up!

They are or will be available both on this blog and on my YouTube channel.

October Glossybox unboxing and September review 2013

My October Glossybox came through the post yesterday, I was super excited and wanted to rip it straight open but I was very restrained and waited to film a video so you lovely people could see too. I was a little bit disappointed at first as when I opened the September box (which incidentally was my first box) I was bowled over by the products and the fact that with the exception of the perfume, they were full size. It left me with a very good impression. When I opened the October box I was a little disappointed as the products were teeny tiny! Big in price though and I am looking forward to trying them all out.

So here is my review of the September box and my October unboxing.

If you got one too, do let me know what you thought. I have to also admit that the only thing that fits the theme is the tint, nothing else is 'dark' as it were. Odd! I hope I am impressed when using the products and that next month is better!

Book Review - The House of Velvet & Glass by Katherine Howe

Hi guys, I have another book review for you.

I found this book really hard to review actually as it wasn't really very clear cut for me. I liked it mostly but there were parts that didn't match my expectations based on the blurb on the back cover.  I needed tea to get the grey matter lubricated and into action.

Don't get me wrong this book was great for character description and scene setting and I really got into the family and felt really part of the family even. For that it was fabulous. I felt that the more psychic and occult aspects of the book weren't as "out there" as the description lead me to believe so if you are not into that I wouldn't worry. So you can see why I had a difficult time reviewing this.

Do let me know if you have read this book and what you thought of it though. I don't go to a book club so I would love to discuss this with you. It makes you think things you hadn't thunk of before!

How I get organised for Christmas

Here it is folks, the third installment in the "How I Organise My Life" series. This one focuses purely on Christmas / The Holidays for my USA friends.

In this video I show you how I use my filofax to manage everything in advance and during the festive period which includes, shopping, what we are going to eat, what guests are coming and where they will sleep etc, presents to buy... and some!

If you would like to purchase my filofax inserts they are available in my etsy shop for just £6.00 for the set which you can print over and over again year after year. There are more inserts in the pack, I have just showed you a few of them here. This video isn't about selling though, I just wanted to show you how I do it and inspire you and give you some ideas on how you can organise your life too.

The other instalments to look our for are:

Part 1: How I organise my Home, work and Personal Life
Part 2: A GIVEAWAY!!! As a thank you to my subscribers I will be giving away a filofax and the tools to get you set up and on your filofax journey!
Part 3: How I organise for Christmas
Part 4: How I organise my diet, lifestyle, health & fitness
Part 5: How I organise my "Children" (two bunnies and two guinea pigs)
I am also going to do a roundup vlog afterwards which is kinda like a part 6 but I already said there would be 5 parts. Ooops! Oh well.

My Washi experience

I am a strange one. An outcast in the art and crafty community. Why? Well I seem to be the only one that does not own a single roll of washi tape. Not one. Zilch. Haven't even used a piece. I feel so hard done by lol! I just have never felt the 'need' I suppose.

When I saw on facebook that Mikaela from Stampin Up was running a washi tape class near me I thought I have got to get myself on! So myself and a friend and her friend went and we had a lovely evening. Mikaela is a very talented lady and is so lovely and friendly, she was a delight! It was lovely to be able to have a nice cup of tea and craft along with other people. I was so excited by the washi tape I couldn't help but randomly clap throughout the evening. I even instagramed as we went!

I just thought I would share with you what we made. Now mine are a bit wonky in places as I am a bit slap dash and used to just sloshing paint around rather than card making but I loved it all the same. So seasoned card makers please don't laugh at my attempts!

We made a lovely little box and several cards to put in said box. I think they are really cute if I do say so myself and I love them. I should so get some washi!

Graze box review and unopening 9th Oct 2913

Sorry it's been a while folks, a lot has been going on. So a bit later than promised here is the review of the last Graze box that I received and the un opening of the next one!

If you would like to get your own subscription and take up the offer of your 1st, 5th and 10th box free the link / code that you will need is: https://www.graze.com/uk/p/ANNAB6LRU
Apparently it can only be used five times so you may or may not be able to use it but worth a try anyway!

I am so totally loving my Graze box. It only comes once a fortnight and the snacks don't even make it past the weekend. Still I am not going to increase the frequency as I don't want to be too naughty!!

It's GIVEAWAY time!

This is the second video in a five part series in which I am sharing with you how I organise my entire life in my filofax. This part is the GIVEAWAY so keep reading for details on how you can win yourself a free filofax and other goodies!

The other instalments to look our for are:

Part 1: How I organise my life (Personal & Home)
Part 2: A GIVEAWAY!!! As a thank you to my subscribers I will be giving away a filofax and the tools to get you set up and on your filofax journey!
Part 3: How I organise for Christmas
Part 4: How I organise my diet, lifestyle, health & fitness
Part 5: How I organise my "Children" (two bunnies and two guinea pigs)

So just to confirm here is how you can enter...

Go to my Etsy shop and have a look at the filofax inserts that I sell.

Come back to this video / blog post and leave a comment to tell me  that you would like to enter and which pack of inserts you would like to win.

To increase your chances of winning...

you can follow me on any of the social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Tumblr or Instagram.

I will post this video on all of those places, you just need to find it and leave me a comment on it. You can only do this one per platform but you can do it on every platform.

For more chances to win leave a comment on the other videos in this 5 part series.


The Prizes...

1st Prize - A pocket filofax in black, note pad, home made
dividers, post it notes, hole punch, pack of pens, stickers, page markers & a pack of my digital download printable (by you)
filofax inserts. You tell me which ones you want!

2nd Prize - A pack of my digital download printable (by you)
filofax inserts. You tell me which ones you want!

Closing Date...

Closing date for entries will be 10pm GMT. on 25th October 2013.

I will then put all the names from all the entries across the platforms into a list and use a random generator to pick a winner.

Winners will be contacted via the winning platform and
announced on this channel in a video.

Open internationally.

Thank you...

once again to all you lovely subscribers and followers who have supported me, I really do appreciate it.

Please keep your questions and video requests coming, I love making videos and I hope that I have inspired you along the way even just a little bit.

Much love, big hugs & Good Luck xx

My Attempt At Autumnal Decor

This is the first Autumn that we are in this house and the leaves are all changing around me and so I really felt like changing the decor in my house for something more fitting of the season. This is my attempt to do that, using only things I already had in my house and not spending a single penny. It is not the greatest I admit but it is free!


p.s. the bunny on the pumpkin is my Nibbles, look out for a video on my bunnies shortly!

How I Organise My Life (Part one: Personal & Home) using my Filofax

As you know I am quite into organisation and have been using a filofax for a while. From that I decided to make and then consequently sell inserts that could fit a filofax, ring binder or any general day planner.

I just wanted to share with you how I do it and why etc and to give you some inspiration to get yourself organised.

This is the first video in a five part series. This video isn't about selling though, I just wanted to show you how I do it and inspire you and give you some ideas on how you can organise your life too. This is a long video, around half an hour. I am just giving you warning as I have had some negative comments in the past about my videos being too long!

The other instalments to look our for soon are:

Part 2: A GIVEAWAY!!! As a thank you to my subscribers I will be giving away a filofax and the tools to get you set up and on your filofax journey!
Part 3: How I organise for Christmas
Part 4: How I organise my diet, lifestyle, health & fitness
Part 5: How I organise my "Children" (two bunnies and two guinea pigs)

If you would like to purchase any of my inserts you can do so in my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mrsbrimbles

What a Smoothie

As I mentioned in this post, I am getting back in touch with my body and working out about five times a week. The only thing that gets me through is my after workout indulgent smoothie. Here is how I make it:

Craft Space Envy

This month's craft space envy...

This reminds me of a lovely class room and would be great for communal crafting!

September's Craft Space Envy

August's craft space envy...

mmm.... oh to be able to walk into a space that is this clean, fresh, light, airy and tidy! oh boy! Part of me thinks it is too tidy (I know it was probably just for the photo shoot) but at least you could find everything you wanted and everything has its own place. For me whilst I love it, I thing I need a bit more colour and chaos in my life!

A bit of London Glamour

I have been looking around for a while now a monthly beauty box subscription and have been deliberating on which one to get. To be honest with you I could get quite a few as they all look good! I could so get the Birchbox as I like the idea of more organic toiletries. I also like the look of EcoEmi for the foods items as well as the beauty. And there is also fortune cookie but I don't think they deliver to the UK which is a shame as their items really appeal to me.

In the end I decided on the Glossybox.

I decided to get a monthly subscription to try new things and experiment more. I feel like I have been quite stagnant in my cosmetics lately and so it is time to shake it up!

I was really excited to get my first box and decided like a lot of other bloggers and YouTubers, to share it with you so here is my unopening of the September box. I will do a review of this box at the same time as I do an opening of the October box so watch out for that one!

The theme of the box is London glamour. Take a look...

Getting back in touch with my body!

I am getting back in touch with my body and getting back to working out but not going to the gym, going back to old school workouts in the front room with Mr Motivator on DVD. I

 thought I would do a bit of a vlog all about it. Why and how I am getting back into working out following my rough start to the year being hospitalized with pneumonia.

My favourite art supplies for using in my art journal

I get emails all the time asking me what products I use and ones that I would reccommend. When it comes to reccommendations, of course I have MY favourites but they might not always be your favourites. People work with different products in different ways and I have found that I haven't enjoyed using what others have, we are all different after all!

My advice is to always experiment until you find what you enjoy using. That being said I know and appreciate it can be costly to buy new materials all the time. And of course companies bring out new products all the time to tempt us! They know that we can't resist after all. Right?

So I thought I would do a video to show you what my favoured products are or at least the products that I am using at the moment. I am sure my tastes will change as I go in and out of love with products, but for now here they are: