Sundy Best - Cross Stitch Kits - Week 1

Hello beautiful people! Today's Sunday Best is a little run through of some of the amazing cross stitch kits available on Etsy. Life has been busy (same old excuses!) and I'm determined to give myself some crafting time in April.

I love the cute and quirky kits available for stitchers now (although still also have a soft spot for the more kitsch and old school cross stitch designs!).

Here are a few of my favourite 'safe for work' kits - the 'not safe for work' kits are equally awesome though, so be prepared for a run down of some of those bad boys next week!

1. Cute Bee from LittleBeachHut - I've admired the designs from LittleBeachHut for a while and this little bee is hard to resist.

2. Adorable Drama Llama from EllbieCo - nothing is better than a drama llama - and seriously - how cute? Just look at that little face.

3. Gin not Gym from SewCrossHandmade - I'm one day in to April and have already failed with my diet (damn the chocolate!) so this kit is a must-make to legitimise my bad decisions.

4. You're Tea-rific from GeekyStitchingCo - I think this cutie needs to be added to my Geeky Stitching Company collection very soon.

5. Makers gonna Make from Stitchsperation  - I've been a fan of the designs from Stitchsperation for a long time - it's definitely time to try a kit!

I definitely believe that setting some time aside for crafting (or any hobbies) helps us be more productive in the long run...so I'm off to have a cup of tea and get stitching. Looking forward to collating some not so safe for work designs for you next week so stay tuned.

Bye for now!

xxx

Motif Monday - The Porg

Motif Monday returns! Yay!

I'm still processing Star Wars The Last Jedi. It was an emotional rollercoaster I wasn't quite ready for.

One thing I do know is that the Porgs were flipping cute. And yeah...I also love the ewoks. If you're a Star Wars fan who hates the cute little critters of the universe then this isn't the blog you're looking for.

This week's free motif is dedicated to the little Porg dudes. It's a super quick stitch, and would be great for decorating a little one's t-shirt, or for stitching a legion of tiny little Porgs if you feel the need for a Porg army.

Porgs seems to be either brown or grey, depending on what point of reference you use. I've chosen brown for this design, but you can easily substitute for grey.

Here's the pattern:

Or you can download a pattern sheet, including the DMC threads colours I used, and a black and white version of the pattern by following this link:

Porg Pattern Sheet

Please only use this pattern for personal use, and if you share it credit this blog.

Happy porging everyone! I'll be back on Monday with another free pattern for you.

Sunday Best - Valentine's Downloads

Did January disappear in a blur and now Valentine's Day is fast approaching with not a present in sight? Fear not. I've been browsing Etsy for some downloadable Valentine's goodies, and as it turns out there are loads of gorgeous prints instantly at your fingertips.

Here are a few of my favourites (all photos from the seller's listings):

'Love' print - £2.64 from AllAboutHimPrintable

'All of Me' print - £6.59 from chitrap

Anatomically correct heart - £4.21 from PrintablesandDecor

I Love Us - £3.96 from MulberryMarketPrints

Be Mine - £6.16 from PetrichorBluePrints

I hope you've had a lovely weekend. Mine has been lovely - over so quickly (aren't they always?) but full of sunshine and wintery walks - definitely my favourite way to spend a weekend.

All these beautiful prints have reminded me that I still need to sort out a present for Mr Blog Faced - time to do some more browsing!

See you soon (back tomorrow with a free cross stitch pattern - yay!).

xxx

That Friday Feeling...Tom Hanks, Vintage Youtube and almost vintage Friends

Hello ... it's Friday ... I'm so happy with that particular fact right now!

How has the week treated you? Mine has been super busy, and yet I haven't managed to achieve much on my to-do list. Sill...it's the weekend, so who cares, right?

Erm..me..I'll try to cross a few things off the list this weekend (the first of which is the return of motif Monday on the blog...yay)!

Here are a few things I've been enjoying this week...

What I'm listening to...

An audio book read by Tom Hanks, consisting of short stories that he wrote? Yes please! I've loved Tom Hanks since the first time I saw Big! I'm only one story in, but it was a joy to listen to, and Tom's voice is really relaxing, so it's a perfect listen for some quiet relaxation time.

What I've been watching on Youtube



Dare I say it...but I've become really bored with a lot of the vloggers I've been watching for a while. I stumbled across Jessica Kellgren-Fozard by accident, but I was instantly interested in her style, take on life and overall positive attitude. I love her vintage style, her cute dogs and her lovely relationship with her wife. Some of her videos about living with disability and sign language are super interesting. I love how Jessica mixes some really serious and eye-opening content (but never in a preachy way) with beauty and fashion posts. I also love that she introduced me to Besame Cosmetics - which was love at first sight.

If you haven't seen any of Jessica's videos I'd honestly recommend them - I found them to be a breath of fresh air...and did I mention her vintage style? Beautiful!

What I've been binge watching on Netflix...

Yeah...so there's this new show on Netflix. It's called Friends. It's about these 20-something New Yorkers...

In all seriousness...I've watched Friends more times than I can count on both hands...(and probably feet) but I was so happy when it appeared on UK Netflix recently. It's my ultimate comfort TV, and I'm enjoying spending some time with these guys again. I think there has been some Friends related backlash since it re-appeared on Netflix, and yeah, sure, a couple of jokes make me cringe now, but it's still a show with a good heart and some truly classic moments. I'm also totally loving the 90's hair and fashion.

This weekend I'll be doing some working...some walking...and some crafting. Nothing majorly exciting, but exactly what I need right now.

Whatever you're up to, have a great weekend, and I'll see you soon.

xx

Collection Crush - Modern Country from George at Asda

George as Asda have got some seriously gorgeous homeware this season. I've been having a browse through a few collections recently, and I think they're my favourite. Completely affordable and so pretty. I'm still definitely a country girl at heart with my style, and this range is perfect for moving into spring (after weeks of almost constant rain and gloomy skies I'm dreaming of Spring right now!).

Here are some of my favourite items, but I have a feeling that they will be featuring fairly regularly on a Wednesday for the next couple of months!

1. This bunny cushion is so cute! I love the fact there is still a bunny trend this year. This piece of cuteness is £6.

2. Mr Blog Faced finds this 'Bloom where you are planted' wall art to have a slightly odd sentiment, but I really like it - it kind of suggests to me that wherever you are you should make the most of that situation. For £5 I'm tempted to buy it and keep it in my office.

3. This floral vase has a spot waiting for it in my bedroom - love this yellow so much. This beauty is £10.

4. And keeping up the bunny theme - could this bunny rug be any cuter? Nope. For £25 it'll help bring some cute country charm to boring floor space.

So two of these items are already in my shopping basket online...with more to be added.

Hope you love them as much as I do.

Be back soon.

xx

Sunday Best - The Yummy Valentine's Edition

It's almost the month of love. I kind of think that every month should be the month of love, but hey, I'll still go along with any excuse for making sure loved ones know how loved they really are.

This week's Sunday Best is dedicated to some tasty treats from UK sellers on Etsy. If you don't have a significant other at the moment..then this is absolutely a list of yumminess to buy for yourself!

Check out the links below to find the items (all photos are from the Etsy listings).

Prices starting at £20 from HoneywellMakes

How gorgeous are these Moon and Back biscuits from HoneyWellMakes? My hubby is eating a gluten free diet at the moment, if he wasn't - these would be bought!

Prices starting at £10 - from TheCakeNest.

...or if cake is a favourite of your loved one then these Red Velvet Cake Balls from TheCakeNest look absolutely gorgeous.

£12.95 from CocoaMallow

Writing a message on a giant slab of delicious marshmallow? Yes please CocoaMallow.

Prices starting at £14 from MrsBrownUK

I think all scrabble should now be played with scrabble tile cookies. These cookies from Mrs Brown UK are so incredibly cute.

Prices starting at £10 from LaMienneUK

And lastly...because seriously...how crazy pretty are these?? These chocolates from LaMienneUK are almost too pretty to eat. But with giant praline bonbons included, I think I'd just have to force myself to try!

Bye for now lovely people!

xx

Life Update

Well...I used to think that Australia was my favourite country. It's definitely the home of my favourite wildlife, and every Australian I've met has been super awesome.

But then along came Aussie flu...and it has wiped out my January...grrr!

I have spent a significant amount of the month battling through a changing range of symptoms and feeling so flipping tired. Couple that with life stuff and work and I've been all but crawling through the month. But I've finally started to feel like an actual human being again - yay! For those of you currently battling with the flu - there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The good news is that I'm back to doing some stitching designs, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you in February. I've also been browsing some of the new homeware that has been popping up online - and there are some beautiful items (George at Asda have got some stunning pieces for this season...love at first sight...I have a feeling they'll be featured heavily).

I've also been working through some goal setting - working out what I want my focus to be - for blogging, creative pursuits and life in general (yep...have been doing some deep and slightly fever induced thinking!).

I hope your January has been a good one, and you've started achieving your goal. A lesson I've learnt is that it really doesn't matter if goals aren't achieved in the timeframe I set myself. The important thing is to take a step back, re-plan and start again. Life is far too short for beating ourselves up about things.

Looking forward to being here more!

Collection Crush - Refresh & Reboot at Paperchase

January means new and beautiful collections appearing in every shop I love...which means plenty of happy window shopping opportunities. I already have my eye on some gorgeous homeware, but I'm vowing to get organised before I buy anything else. So what better that Paperchase's new 'Refresh and Reboot' range to help me get myself ready to tackle 2018 head-on?

The range is full of personal organisaton items, notebooks, and storage files, as well as some general stationery - all in some bright and funky colours. If you're in the mood for a refresh/ reboot then you can find the items above at the following links:

1. A5 Weekly Planner

2. A4 Grid Padfolio

3. Brass Scissors

4. Mini Sticky Tabs

Have you got a favourite new collection of items so far this year? I'd love to hear about it if you have!

Bye for now

xx

Hello 2018!

I started writing a review of 2017 post yesterday. I started typing, then deleting, typing, then deleting, until I was feeling frustrated with my lack of words. Then I realised that I just hadn't enjoyed 2017 all that much. I could put a shiny spin on it I'm sure, but it just felt false.

So instead I put my laptop away and decided to wait it out until 2018. And here it is! Hurrah! I have a positive feeling about this year and I've enjoyed day one already. 

I also started to write some new year resolutions, and scrapped them (not doing very well, am I?). Instead I've decided to try and live life with a few goals in mind this year - kind of vague - but very meaningful for me. So here's what I'm aiming for this year:

To...

• Be kind
• Seize more opportunities
• Stop procrastinating (about everything, ever)
• Be creative
• Focus on family, friends and health

So that's the plan, simple huh? I've broken out my lovely new planner today, and have started to sketch out how I'm going to achieve these things. 

The lesson I've taken away from the past few days and the impending pressure of reviewing the last year is that sometimes it's ok not to do that. Sure, we learn from difficult times, but as long as we give ourselves time to reflect on the lessons learnt along the way I think it's absolutely fine to draw a line and move forwards - onwards and upwards! 

I truly hope that 2018 brings happiness to you. If you haven't tried this already, try asking yourself 'What do I want to achieve this year' and just sketching out what those things are, and some goals for how your're going to get there. I found it a lot less intimidating than a long old list of specific resolutions that I was likely to fail at by mid-January.

I have lots of exciting things planned for this little space in the blogverse for 2018 so thank you for reading you awesome person you, and I will see you very soon!

Bye for now xx