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.