An Experimental Crafty Thursday.

So my friend Lucy and I both love arty/crafty projects, one day we were watching some DIY's on YouTube and decided we wanted to give some ago. We wanted to try and make our own crystal geodes using egg shells and also our own snazzy pillowcases because we're cool like that. Well things never really turn out how you plan do they? This is how our day went:

First of all Lucy ordered some transfer paper for the pillowcases and I ordered some Alum power in order to make the crystals. Lucy originally was going to use black pillowcases but couldn't get hold of them locally and then also realised you needed a different type of transfer paper for dark fabrics anyway. So we went into town to pick up a few bits, eggs, dye, pillow cases, essentials we needed really.

So lets start with the egg geodes, we did a bit of research into what you need and how much etc. The ingredients:

• Blown out egg shells cut in halves
• Pin/Scissors
• Glue (We used PVA)
• Alum Powder
• Food Colouring
• Hot Water
• Plastic Containers
• Tissue
• Patients (Not our forte!)

Step One

Use a pin or a small sharp object to puncture your egg on both ends, You then need to blow out the egg inside. Once you're left with the shell you need to carefully cut the shell in half, this is actually quite tricky. We found small little cuts worked best.

Step Two

You then need to paint the inside of the egg shell with glue, we also painted a little bit on the edge and outer shell as we thought it would look more natural. Now sprinkle that egg with Alum powder!!!

Step Three

Put the eggs aside to dry. It's time to prepare the solution! Boil the kettle. You want to mix the boiling water with alum powder into a container. We used roughly 50g of Alum powder to about 200 - 250ml of water. 

As you can see the water has gone a merky greeny/grey, this was not suppose to happen. From tutorials we have seen the water is suppose to be clear, I don't know what happened, maybe the powder we ordered wasn't genuine, (Thanks eBay) or it was a different type of alum powder. 

I cannot describe to you the smell this gave off, it wasn't pleasant at all and we felt like crazy scientist mixing dodgy chemicals haha. I did dare Lucy to drink some....don't know why she declined though.

Step Four

Once all the powder is mixed in and dissolved it's time to add your colouring!

We chose to do, Yellow, Blue, Green and Purple! We guesstimated how much dye to use, they look pretty saturated though so we thought it would be fine.

Step Five

Now get back those egg shells! It's time to drop them in to the solution. We fit two halves in each container. Cover with a paper towel/tissue and allow the crystals to grow.....this takes at least 12 hours, agonising I know! 

The Finished Product??

Look how amazing they turned out!!!! Haha no not really, this was how they were suppose to look but ours didn't quite turn out this well, but still we were pretty pleased with the outcome considering we weren't too sure on the powder we used. 

 To the left you have the Yellow ones, which came out the second best I think.

To the right was suppose to be green, for some reason the crystal has gone clear and the shell is yellow, not really sure what happened here.

These are the purple ones, which kinda look blue, could have down with more red colouring, but overall these seemed to work the best.

And finally we have the blue.....I really don't know what happened to these ones lol It's funny how we did everything more or less the same but we got such different results. 

Pillowcases.

Making the pillowcases is pretty simple. You just need pillowcases (Preferably cotton) a printer and transfer paper. Lucy bought polyester one's we didn't think anything of it, but when she went to iron them they melted a bit so if you do have polyester pillowcases just make sure you have the iron on low.

We knew the designs we wanted, so we got them up on the computer ready to print, It's surprising how confusing it is to try and get a printer to flip an image, but we managed it in the end. Just make sure you follow the transfer paper instructions....otherwise you will run into a few issues.

Luck wasn't on our side this day, when Lucy went to print out her design the printer decided to bleed....yes bleed, Red ink went literally everywhere, but weirdly the colour cartridge was clean so we couldn't work out where it came from. Luckily she was able to salvage her design as you don't want to be wasting transfer paper it's quite pricey! 

This was my design, I decided to cut out the letters individually so I could space them more. The first set didn't go too well, I decided to iron each letter and then peal it off which then caused them to smudg when I went over them....duh! I also managed to burn the A somehow but I quite liked the end result it made it a little more edgy and grungy. The second pillowcase turned out fine as I didn't have the iron on as hot and I waited until the end to peal the backing off.

Here are my finished pillows :

Lucy's pillow turned out amazing, I really liked her design, I wasn't sure how well it would work on the white background but it turned out really well, Hey Lucy? did you ever get round to doing your over pillow? 

Here is Lucy's design:

Incredible right? 

Well after a day of mishaps our projects didn't go too bad considering haha. I'm looking forward to another crafty day with this cool girl :)

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Life, Updates and Achievements.

Hey there, remember me? Nope I didn't think so. I haven't done a post in a very long time, and to those of you who love reading my posts and keep telling me to do more I apologise, I have been meaning to do one for some time now I just haven't got round to it. I'm lazy haha.

So what's been going on? well quite a lot actually, I didn't even realise just how far a long things had come until I read my first ever post which was January 2014, a whole year and a half away almost. Time goes so quickly now I'm older and maybe because I'm enjoying life more.

In that post I set myself goals to complete for the year, they were as follows:

Goals for 2014: 

1. Get a bus on my own (Haven't done that in 4 years) 
2. Start driving
3. Lose weight 
4. Work on going to college or getting into work
5. Say YES to more things and not let opportunities slide.

I'm actually quite surprised reading them, I mean the first goal I honestly thought there was no way in hell's chance I'd be able to get on a bus by myself again, but I did it! Not only did I accomplish that, I am now a regular bus user, I rarely get panicky or anxious getting the bus now and that's just crazy to me. Occasionally I get days where I struggle and don't feel like doing it but that's bound to happen, the difference is I don't give up, I try again another day.

I even go out on my own more, I don't mean crazy nights out, but to the shops, or appointments etc, I do it on my OWN. 

I got the train up to Lincoln on my own to meet my sister at uni once as well, (which I'm sure I will be doing again sometime soon).

I haven't started driving yet, but that's fine I have plans to start, It's just taking that first step right? I'm not sure when that will be, but It will be someday.

Losing weight, the bane of my life, *sigh*. I've lost a few pounds, nothing major, but I do eat so much better now, I use to be a huge coca-cola addict, I was drinking maybe 1L a day, and cutting that down was not easy, The headaches were awful, I was constantly tired and exhausted, I was so grumpy, It took a while, I'm still not coke free ( haha doesn't that sound dodgy) but I now drink fizzy drinks with sweeteners rather than sugar and I don't drink a whole lot of them neither, I've replaced them with, Smoothies/Juices, (Thanks nutribullet) and Water (Still and Flavoured). I've replaced all my carbs for wholemeal ones, I eat more protein, and I rarely snack now. I go on walks with my little dog, Charlie, and I do some workouts at home, I may not have lost a lot of weight but the main thing is I feel so much better in myself, mentally and physically.

I didn't go back to college as I decided it just wasn't for me, so I started a course online in veterinary nursing, which is what I've wanted to do for a while now, It's so interesting, I've almost finished and then I'll have my final test, Once I pass I'm going to ask around my local vets for voluntary work to gain practical experience, as of course the online course is only the theory side. 

Say YES to more, this has always been a difficult one, deep down I want to say Yes, I want to just not give a fuck and be happy and have fun, but sometimes the mind doesn't allow that. However I have made a bit more of an effort to not turn down opportunities, like when I get invited out I try my best to go and have fun, most of the time I do, sometimes not so much, Having a panic attack in the middle of whether spoons wasn't very nice, but everyone was so supportive and understanding. Took me a while to get back out there, but I did it, and I shall continue to do so. 

Overall I feel more positive, I try to not let negative people get in my way now, I just block them out, why should I have someone around me if they make me feel so bad, it's just not worth it. 

I still have a way to go, but i'm getting higher up on my little ladder :)

Let me know if you prefer these kind of life update posts, or do you like my beauty and random related ones more? 

I'll try not leave it so long before my next post. (No promises, I know what I'm like ha)

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So, It's Been A While.......

The last couple of months have been......strange, I don't really know how else to describe it. So I'll explain what I've been up to since my last post.

Summer Arrived.

I've never really been a summer loving type of girl, The sun is suppose to make you happy and to motivate you but in all honesty it doesn't have that effect on me. I hate the summer, mainly because it means stripping down into shorts and vests and well we all know I don't have the perfect body and I really admire those who do have the confidence to wear what they want and not care, but me, I hate showing skin, I'm much happier in a baggy jumper and thick leggings, I just feel more comfortable and it's not even because I'm worried about what people think, I couldn't care less, it's me, even in my own home I refuse to wear shorts or a vest (unless I have a cardigan over the top) I feel bare and humiliated by myself. I also hate summer because of the heat, now of course my clothing choices don't help but I'm one of those rare people who can't stand being hot and sweaty, I literally melt in the sun, after 5 minutes I'm looking for shade. I get headaches and feel sick, I literally can't think of anything worse than laying under the sun, hence why I'm so pale.....I can live with that though.

My 22nd Birthday.

So I turned 22, it was fun, I was spoilt as always and I did really enjoy myself.....but as each year goes by, it's another reminder of how little I've accomplished and the older I'm getting the harder and scarier it is becoming. 

Anxiety/Putting Things Off.

So for some reason, I've being putting everything off, even stupid little things like washing my hair....it's gross I know, but I've been supper sluggish and lazy, I feel so guilty about it and I know it's got to change. I've been putting off exercise which is why I probably feel lazy. I've been putting of my veterinary course, I've been putting off cleaning/tidying. I've been putting off going out anywhere. I pretty much just sleep and eat, it's really embarrassing for me to admit and the longer it keeps going on the harder things will become, so I'm going to make a conscious effort to sort this error in my life out.

Losing My Childhood Companion.

My beautiful Jasmine, she may have been an unusual dog, but if you got to know her like I did, she was special and she only allowed people she trusted and loved close to her heart and that wasn't many lol she was very protective. We lost her to cancer in the end, she was 13 years old and had a long happy life. It's hard not having her around, I was only 9 when we got her, shes been there through everything. Every house move, every argument and fallout and every celebration and laughter. I will dearly miss her and It will never feel the same without her.

Now for somethings a little more positive.

Charlie.

We decided to get another dog, my mum has always wanted a Caviler King Charles Spaniel, ever since she was a little girl. One night we happened to research into the breed a bit more, get a bit more information, price, temperament, health conditions, if they get on well with cats etc etc. It just so happened there was one little boy pup left about 8 miles down the road from us and it was the exact gender and colouring my mum wanted. We didn't want to get a puppy so soon, but after we thought about it, we kind of just felt as if it was meant to be, what are chances of the exact breed/gender and colouring to be so close to your home, and for it to be ready to be collected at that time. A lot of people would just say it's coincidence, but it felt a little like fate for us. Although we still miss Jasmine so very much, and it's still not the same without her. At least we have a little something to keep us occupied and positive while we get use to her not being around. 

Diet 

So I may not be exercising, but at least I've kept my diet on track. I still only eat brown rice/ brown pasta, veg/salad and chicken/fish 99% of the times. I've even been adventurous and tried Quinoa and Courgettes....didn't think i'd like them but, turns out I actually do. I've been making a conscious effort to drink more water as I'm pretty terrible at this. I tend to fill up on fizzy and high sugared drinks, which I'm slowing cutting back on.....it's hard ok! I've had a few off days, where I've binged on chocolate but I don't let myself go off the rail, I tell myself it's ok in moderation, you've got to treat yourself a little, but it's about knowing when to stop, trust me, if you knew me 3 years ago......I've improved so much. 

Veterinary Course

I may have been putting it off more than I should be, but I am making progress, I've passed  3 tests so far and currently studying lesson 4. I think because Lesson 2 was such a long, and hard lesson, it took me ages and I found it really difficult getting my head around it, but I eventually did and i'm breaking the lessons up into sections which is helping a lot, instead of trying to cram it all in to my brain in one go....it just doesn't work. 

I know where i'm going/gone wrong and at least me recognizing that is something, so I can take the steps to put it right. I keep reminding myself how far I've come in the last couple of years and how much improvement I've made and not to let it all go to waste. I guess we all have bad days....weeks even months, but noticing the reasons why and not letting them drag us down is the best we can do. Constantly reassuring yourself it's ok to be down but tomorrow is a new day and you need to pick yourself up and try again, just keep trying, no matter how many times you fall or fail, one day, you may eventually succeeded even if it's a little later than everyone else, you still did it, in your own unique way. 

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