D.I.Y - Framed Pin Cushion!

It's been a while since i posted something that's actually handy!




Today, while sewing, I realized there has to be an easier way to keep pins and needles by my side, without having my fingers bleeding every time I reach into my sewing box. Then, this idea came to mind! 


I had an old photo frame lying around, and so gathered a sharpie, sponge, and scissors. Here's how to do it!

YOU WILL NEED:

Pins and/or Needles

Old Fabric

A Pen (Sharpie is best!)

A Photo Frame

Scissors

Sponge (I used one for dishes!)

First, open the back of the photo frame, and place the sponge over the window. Turn the frame over so it's facing you. Carefully draw the shape of the window onto the sponge like so:

rough estimates are okay!

Second, Cut around the shape drawn onto your sponge, leaving a 1cm/2cm gap between the cut and the line.

Then, gently tear off the scourer from the sponge itself (if there is one, that is!) Don't worry if any bits tear the wrong way, it'll be covered by fabric.

Now, it's time to get your fabric ready! Place it on a flat surface, and make sure it's relatively crease-free. Trace around the sponge, again leaving a gap of around 3cm-5cm from the sponge.

I think you know what's coming next.. yep, cut around the fabric! Then wrap it slightly loose around the sponge, so it's not pulling any corners in.

Gently push the fabric covered sponge into your photo frame window, making sure it doesn't fall through the other side. If it has a clasp like mine, be sure to put it back in place so nothing falls out.

Lastly, Trim off the excess fabric around the closed back of the photo frame(Now you see why you left some around the edges!) And voila! Turn it over, and hopefully you should be left with something like this!

Now you can go voodoo and stick all your pins and needles into your lovely new cushion! 




Here's mine!: 

Happy crafting! xox

Why Buy Models Own?

Why not?!

All the polishes I have and all the ones I plan to buy, are simply gorgeous! They're one-coaters, they dry with a smooth finish, and I have yet to find a wider range of colours for such a good price and big bottle!

Did i mention they're amazing?


Check out the many different ranges & colours, irresistible!

The 'Beetlejuice' collection can be found here

The 'Pastels' range can be found here!

The 'Neons' range can be found here!

The 'Smash-up Crackle' polishes can be found here!
and check out that saving!

The Nail Art pens can be found here!

The Nail Polish Box Sets can be found here!

All normal Nail Polishes can be found here, with a great saving!

And don't you dare forget to check out the on trend Hed Kandi range! all five polishes for £20! 

So, you lot, go get your lovely hands (and nails!) on Models Own! You will not regret spending an extra pound or so for a bigger bottle and beautiful colours.

Don't forget, Models Own also do many other beauty products! Eyes, Face, Lips, not just Nails!

Also, with your first order only, you'll also get a free Kohl Eyeliner worth £8!  At the checkout, just enter the code: KOHLBLACKFREE and it'll be on it's way to you in no time!


I promise you all, these are amazing prices for amazing products. I'll never go back to my old polishes!


Happy Shopping! xox

hello, beautiful!

I haven't really posted a lot of beauty stuff recently, so here's a bumper post of beauty tips!

           

 - Pretend there is a magnet pulling your belly button towards your spine. If you do this throughout the day, your abs will be tighter and your core will be stronger in no time! 

♥♥♥♥

- Don’t overdo it with hair products. You want to know what guys think smells nice? Shampoo and body wash. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use body spray or perfume (because who am I kidding, I use a different scent every day) but if you are just hanging out at home, freshly washed hair is enough!

♥♥♥♥

- Out with the old, in with the new. If you are buying a lot of new clothes or shoes, get rid of whatever you no longer wear. There are plenty of other people who would gladly wear your old clothes, and you make room for new stuff! ;)

♥♥♥♥

 - Don’t fall asleep with your face on your hands/arms. When you have skin on skin, the temperature where they are touching rises and makes you sweat. When your face sweats for a long period of time, dirt enters your pores and makes you break out.

♥♥♥♥

 - Waterproof makeup is worth investing in. My eyes water all the time, so makeup that rejects water is preferable for every day use. Also, it’s always nice to be prepared in case it rains.

♥♥♥♥

- If you’re having a hard time cleaning out pores on the sides of your nose, drag a (clean) bobby pin lightly across the surface to force out toxins. It hurts, but it works. Finish the process by rinsing cool water across your face and letting it air dry or dabbing it lightly with a clean towel.

♥♥♥♥

 - When applying makeup, focus on accenting either your lips or your eyes. If you are highlighting your eyes, use minimal lip makeup (such as a nude lipstick or sheer gloss.) If you want bold lips, use less harsh eye makeup.

♥♥♥♥

 - Embrace your natural hair. The less heat and styling you do to it, the stronger and healthier it is. Try to save straightening/curling for when you’re going out, and even then be sure to use heat protection spray!

♥♥♥♥

 -  Wash your hair every other day, if possible. Stripping your hair of its natural oils daily can actually damage it, plus the hot water from your shower is damaging as well.

♥♥♥♥

 - Use conditioner when shaving. It helps you get a much closer shave, reduces razor burn, and doesn’t hurt if you should cut yourself. This is one of my best pieces of advice ever. It'll leave you with smoother skin, too!

♥♥♥♥

- Once you find a product that works for you, stick with it. Although the latest products are often enticing, you never know what effect they could have on your skin. If a product gets the job done, don’t let it go!

- Toothpaste works as an acne spot-treatment and a milk face mask leaves your skin super soft! Utilize what you have at home, don't pay for pricey treatments!

♥♥♥♥

- If your hair seems like it’s constantly damaged and never feels soft, try out a Keratin treatment to soothe your hair and make it silky! Keratin is a protein that protects, smooths, and repairs your hair. It also straightens your hair (as it is effectively, eliminating the frizz), so if you don’t want straight hair, this product might not be for you. Instead, try deep conditioning your hair by keeping the conditioning product of your choice on for 10-20 minutes before rinsing.

♥♥♥♥

- Put two spoons in the freezer, wait a hour or so, then apply them to your closed eyes to reduce lines, wrinkles, and make your eyes looks more youthful! 

♥♥♥♥

                       

- When applying eyeliner, tighten the skin next to your eye (lightly, using your finger) for a more precise and straight line.

     ♥♥♥♥

That's all, folks! Do you have any beauty tips or tricks? I'd love to hear them :-)

 

7 Uses For Baking Soda!

Just a quickie tonight, guys! I'm off to bed soon, so tired...


Here you go!

1. Brush your teeth with it! It has a natural whitening effect.

2. Wash your face with it! It works as a daily scrub/cleanser.

3. DIY deodorant! the recipe: 4 tbsps. baking soda + 10 drops of your favorite essential oil.

4. Spot Treatment! Create a paste using water and apply to affected areas.

5. Cleanse your hair! Fill a glass with warm water and 1 tbsp. baking soda; rinse through your hair after a shower to reduce buildup from your roots caused by shampoo. (yuck!)

6. Soothe your stomach! Baking Soda relieves acid reflex and heartburn: 1 tsp. baking soda in a glass of warm water.

7. Soak your skin! dissolve some baking soda into your bath for a soothing and skin softening experience (note: you won’t need soap, the baking soda naturally cleanses your skin!)

I know it's pretty pathetic, but what do you expect from me at ten to eleven at night? I'm an amateur anyway, don't hate! (also, I apologize for the rubbish quality pictures, I saved these from my ipod! boo..)

we all need some space sometimes.

I'm about to let you in on a huge secret that i haven't told anyone about, yet. (other than ryan, because he's part of it too...)

I'm planning to move back to scotland either late this year, or early in 2013. Hopefully by summer 2013 anyway!


So recently i've been thinking, knowing roughly where we want to move to, it has very small flats/houses, and since we'd probably have a flat, we'll need a hell of a lot of storage space!

I found some great ideas for storage and thought i'd share them with you!
(if i use any of these, they're likely to be FULL of my craft stuff... we'll need at least a two bed flat!)

i think this one is excellent!

i kind of need this one for my "oh i could use that!" hoarding addiction.

this is a beauty! don't know where i'd find huge pipe cutoffs though..

this would be fabulous for me.. storage on top, magnetic jars in the middle, and pots on the bottom!

EEEEP! if only ryan would sleep in a pink room... i'd make it a lot less girly to be honest..

another great idea for small bits!

these are all i can be bothered to find at the moment! i've got some housework to do now, so i'll leave you be.

happy blogging! xxxx

what i'm wearing today!

I apologise in advance for the rubbish quality...  webcam isn't too good, and my camera needs 6 hours to charge and i forgot to do it last night! :-(

Anyway, here's what i'm wearing today!

without my lovely silk scarf.

with my lovely silk scarf!  and 6 year old brother playing with the cat...

Jeggings: George @ Asda - £5

B&W bow top: thrifted - £2.99

Multi-coloured clover leaf cardi: thrifted - £3

Silk scarf: thrifted - £2.50

Cat-loving Brother: Model's own! 

What're you wearing today? anything adorable? show me!

Louise x

My Favourite Outfits!

Since it's getting close to summer, i've invented some wonderful creations on Polyvore! 




Here we go!

this one is probably something i'd wear to the beach.. holiday inspiration!

this one reminds me very much of Gem Fatale, i love everything about her!

again, a beach outfit! or maybe a walk along a nice sunny pier? who knows!

i think i put this one together back at the start of january, when it was quite cold.. winter warmers ftw!

I'll definitely be putting together more creations soon, but i'm trying to even out my blog a bit more too so it's not too much of one thing all clumped together..  hm!


Any styles/ideas you've had recently?  let me know!


Louise xox

something extra

I'd like to work for you!

Since leaving high school in 2010 (I'm still young, I know!) I moved onto college to get my qualification in Art & Design. I found out that I was more interested in writing about what I'd made, more than making the object itself.

Soon, I found myself writing for magazines including The Sun, 'Fabulous' (free with the Sunday paper!) and I even got to find myself some freebies and review them in a local magazine!


So, What can i do for you?


First off, I'd love to write for you. Be it a review for makeup, clothes, or even appliances, I'd be honoured to do it for you. If you need a one-off guest blogger, or regular blogger, I'm your girl. (As long as you let me crack jokes too!)


Outfit Post? - Want me to review your clothes? It shall be done! I'll try them on, and give my honest opinion of them in a smartly-worded article.

Make-up Post? - Want me to try out your products? I'll slap them on, take a good look, take in the texture, durability, colour, etc, and get writing!

Product Post? - Let me try it out, have a mess around with it (without breaking it!) and you'll have a good, honest opinion from a fanatic who like anything that makes life easier.  - Thank god for dishwashers!


If you'd like to get in contact with me for any reason, please email me at  law.louise@yahoo.com with the subject line mentioning what you're contacting me regarding.  Thanks all! 


xox

How to clean just about anything!

I've had a lot of trouble getting the motivation to actually get my rubber gloves out and scrub, clean, tidy, wash and put away ANYTHING at the moment. I'm so lazy when it comes to tidying/cleaning, but while going through my dad's full wall bookcase (Yep, it's HUGE, that's only half his books!) & I came across this wonderful book on the top shelf.

I had a long flick through it, and i thought to myself.. "there's no need to be lazy... this stuff is easy and quick to do!"

So, i thought I'd share some of my favourite tips from it with you!

Quick Tips:

• Towel off your glass door (if you have one) after every shower to prevent mould & mildew.
• Take off shoes at the door! keep your carpets as clean as possible, renting a carpet cleaner can be expensive.
• Wash dishes immediately after using them. Who wants to be vigorously scraping off hardened food off plates? Not me!
• Spray the whole shower/bath area once a week with soap scum remover to prevent a nasty build up.
• Make sure all dishes, glasses, pots and pans are dried and put away before you go to bed.

Planning for a clean life & Reasons to clean!

• You're in control of your routine; set at least a day a week for a top-to-bottom cleaning day.
• Take pride in cleaning your house, you have made the effort to make it a clean place to live!
• You'll enjoy a safer, healthier home.
• Enjoy spending more time with relatives in your house, make it feel like a home.
• Saving money! furniture & clothes that are properly cleaned last longer.

Where do i start?!:

• If you have kids, reel them in to help! they help make the mess, they can help tidy it! They're never too young!
• Set a date to clean, and a time scale too, just don't exhaust yourself!
• Two of you (or more!) working together (if they know what they're doing!) will have you done in double-quick time!
• Be VERY ruthless. Collecting birthday cards is great and all, but unless you're a crafting diva, do you really need all of them? keep those that are special to you, bin the rest!
• Keep an eye out for extra storage space! 
• Never underestimate your attic, most will have a lot of storage space, but that's only handy for things you don't use very often. Unless you like a workout!
• Get some music on! Dance around to your favourite song whilst cleaning, make yourself feel good!

TEN GOLDEN RULES!

1. Clean a mess up immediately! Spills and stains are easier to clean if caught immediately.
2. Clean from the top, down; from the top of the fridge, to the bottom of the freezer, always work from the top down.
3. Think dry, then wet! if "dry" cleaning something doesn't work, wet the cloth and try again! 
4. Start with the least harmful approach; use gentle cleaning methods & chemicals, don't do damage!
5. Let time do the work! before you clean something, spray other objects too, let the cleaner soften/lift the dirt from it, then work your way around them all.
6. Carry your supplies with you! this is obvious, no-one wants to be running up and down stairs, in and out of cupboards looking for cleaning products. keep dusters&polish in the living room, bathroom cleaners in the bathroom, and kitchen cleaners in the kitchen.  
7. When in doubt, test it out! before using a new product/method on furniture for the first time, test it on a part of the item that you wouldn't notice if anything goes wrong. (the bottom of a leather couch, the side of a cushioned chair)
8. don't soak everything, go easy! literally.. don't soak what you're cleaning (unless necessary) just gently spray a tiny bit onto things the cleaner could potentially be harmful towards.. paintings, photo frames, ornaments, etc.
9. Read the directions!  know what you're working with, and make sure you always..
10. Wear protection! gloves, a face mask (if you have strong odoured chemicals) safety glasses (well, maybe not)  keep the chemicals on the stuff you're cleaning, not on your body!

Tips for de-cluttering your house!

• Accept your loss, if you don't need it, get rid of it! be extremely ruthless, let no clutter survive!
• Get into the place where you keep bank letters, pay slips, and general mail, SHRED what you don't need (do NOT bin it, shred/cut it up. identity fraud, remember!) and organize the rest!
• Ask yourself; does it fit? do i wear it? do i want it?  if the answer to any of those questions is no, then bag it up and drop it off at your local charity shop! (if it's in a good condition and doesn't have stains/repairs)
• If you have kids, get them out of the way. Kick them to the couch, or outside, somewhere they won't get under your feet if you're ready for a long weekend of deep-cleaning your house.

Steps to successful de-cluttering:

• Make three piles;  Keep, Throw, Reuse/Recycle.  Absolutely no "i can't decide!" it gets kept, or it's gone! 
• Instead of coming home from the weekly shop with thousands upon thousands of plastic carrier bags (which take up to 50 years to decompose!) Buy tote/cloth/canvas bags to carry your shopping in, save the plastic!
• Instead of buying things you might only wear once (unless you get it cheap!) Rent it!  Videos & DVD's are a definite.
• Start buying family members birthday and christmas presents that are rapidly consumable. Does your niece really need another cuddly toy?  No, she'd much prefer a cheap day out to the zoo or an activity park!
• Focus more on 'doing' and 'being' instead of 'having' in life!

There is so much more in this book, but i only want to share my favourite bits from it with you! 

The book i've been talking about here is on amazon for £7.50 brand new, or used ones from A PENNY!  go grab a copy, it's excellent! 

Do you have any cleaning tips to share? 

I hope you've enjoyed this post as much as i've enjoyed writing it :-)

Louise x

My miracle workers!

I've been rounding up a few of my all-time favourite miracle workers for hands/face/body, and i'm going to share you with them!


First up, we have facial products!

• Blemish Clearing Peel Off Mask (Available from Avon)

Helped clear up red spots on my face, and since it's a peel-off mask, it removes any dirt and blackheads too!

• Pore Penetrating Clay Mask

this stuff was amazing, it feels a bit like chalk when it dries, but DUH, it's clay, right? (i'm silly)
It made my skin smoother and softer and definitely cleared up the nasty bits!

• Pure Coconut Exfoliating Facial Scrub

Okay, i lied a bit.. i haven't actually used this yet, but i HAVE used something similar, it's a really gritty scrub (which is good for opening pores and removing dirt!) and it smells so good, i can't wait to use it!

Then, two extras which work wonders for me!

• Glycerine Hand & Nail Cream

This has really helped my nails and hands, my nails feel replenished, and my hands are a lot softer, which i am so grateful for!

• Johnson's baby Bedtime Lotion

Ever find yourself wide awake at stupid hours in the morning? get some of this slapped on!  non-greasy, non-sticky, and  even though it's for babies, it works just as well for everyone else!

Do you have any miracle products?  share them with me! xxx

Louise x