Blog Every Day in May - let the blogging commence!

 

So I've just discovered a  blogging challenge for May over at Rosalilium  (discovered via the Life Outside London blog which is a new favourite read of mine).

Elizabeth at Rosalilium has put together some great prompts for May - which will help so much.

I've signed up with the aim of improving my writing this month (my own personal challenge for May).

Let me know if you sign up!

Bye for now

Kat xx

Collection Crush - Next Home 'You, Me & the Sea'

Now this is a collection which I love so much that I've already bought a piece from it, but there are still so many others which I'm coveting! I'm loving the nautical trend at the moment and as far as home decor goes I do love to surround myself with calming blue...

Next have a lovely collection of seaside/ beach related homeware this year. If you fancy adding a bit of seaside charm to your home you can find these items here...

You Me and the Sea Candle Jars

Coastal Placemats

Print on Wood

I think I might give my lounge a bit of a makeover for the summer and am definitely leaning towards a seaside theme - knowing what British weather can be make it might be the closest I get to the beach this year!

What's inspiring you this season?

Bye for now!

Kat x

A little thought for today...

I sometimes find myself questioning whether I do anything that makes a positive difference to the world (yep...I can wile away many an hour thinking about things waaay too deeply) Then I try to remind myself that sometimes you can be having an impact without even realising.

I came across this quote today and it reminded me to keep trying, and keep positive because we can all make a difference in our own little ways.

On a related note I received an email from a charity I donated some random items to, letting me know how much they had raised so far from the donations. Considering it was honestly some items I would have thrown away, they've already raised £30, which made me feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside.

A mission for this weekend is to sort out some more items to donate...with the added bonus of clearing some space in my mess of a house! 

Bye for now!

Kat x

Motif Monday - Loki

Hello stitch fans!

I'm happy to be able to share a new mini cross stich design with you - this time for Loki - the Marvel Supervillian we all love to...well...love. He's in his Avengers garb and although the picture doesn't highlight it very well, his helmet, staff and accents are stitched in gold thread - because, you now, he's kinda fancy.

Turns out gold thread is a pain in the derrier to stitch with but the end result looks fab - however, it could easily be substituted with yellow thread. 

If you would like to stitch your own Loki you can download a PDF with the pattern and key of which threads I used at this link to a Google Drive doc:

Loki Cross Stitch Pattern

Happy stitching - my better half was the creative genius behind Loki's design - he's been inspired by pixel art, so is mega easy to stitch but the finished product is oh so cute! If you do use the design, please keep if for personal use and comment with a link to your finished product - I love seeing the patterns in action!

And for fans of the man who brought Loki to life in the Avengers - here's a little pic of Tom Hiddleston to brighten your day....

 

Bye for now

Kat xx

Sunday Best - Geek Love!

Hello little treasury treasures, 

I hope your weekends are going swimmingly. It's pouring with rain here so the weekend woodland rambles I'd planned have taken a back seat - and snuggling under blankets whilst trying to talk myself into being productive has taken its place.

Inspired by signing up to the Geek Girls Penpals I've put together a treasury of a few pieces of geeky beauty on Etsy.

Link to the Geek Love Treasury on Etsy

I love seeing some of the items inspired by various fandoms on Etsy - especially the Doctor Who and Sherlock geekery that is available - and I might have to buy myself a geeky panda plush - so cute! To check out the items in more detail please click on the link above.

I think we've all got geeky tendencies - be it for a television programme, an academic subject, a set of books, make-up or a particular sport - being a geek means having a passion for something - and that's a good thing which should be celebrated!

Bye for now!

Kat xx

TFI Friday!

Woop! It's Friday! For me this means two whole days of chilling, crafting and exploring woodlands (weather permitting). What will your weekend bring? Something good I hope!

I may also fit in some time to carry on trying to organise my life by sorting out the overwhelming levels of 'stuff' I seem to permanently accumulate!

Here are three things which have made this week that little bit brighter and brought some happiness my way....

Honey Badgers - oh, I'd seen the 'Honey Badgers don't give a shit' meme splashed across the internet - but it wasn't until I saw this video that I truly understood just how magical honey badgers are...seriously...not only do they not give a shit, they also seem to be mini geniuses - I can't recommend this video enough - a few days later and I'm still speechless.


Tanya Burr Make-Up - I have a sneaky suspicion that in general Tanya Burr (and her new make-up line) is aimed at a much younger generation than the one I'm a confirmed member of. That said - I love her positive approach and some of her make-up tutorials are so simple yet so effective. I've invested in a few of the lip glosses and nail polishes from Tanya's new range and they're so lovely - good quality for the price and such pretty colours. 

Tanya Burr make-up at Feel Unique

Captain America: The Winter Soldier  - I've seen this twice in the cinema now, (which is a serious record for me - these days I'm lucky if I see a film once in the cinema - I've fallen firmly into the 'I'll wait until it's on Blu-Ray' trap recently). I absolutely love this film. The story, the acting and the action all add up to a little slice of Marvel magic. If you generally like the Marvel films and haven't seen it yet then I couldn't recommend it more - Sebastian Stan is amazing, Nick Fury gets an awesome action sequence and Black Widow kicks ass - oh, and Chris Evans is on fine form....I will say no more!

I hope your week has brought some little pieces of joy your way - I'd love to hear about it if it has!

Bye for now

Kat xx

Collection Crush - Zara Home Parrots

Thanks to a recent shopping trip to Brighton I have now discovered the joy of Zara Home. I always knew Zara clothing was really quite lovely, but little did I realise that they were also the suppliers of gorgeous homeware - which it is now my mission to own some of.

My love for houseware involving birds is fairly well known by now, so I was absolutely delighted to see that much of Zara's new collection involves Parrots! Here are four of my favourites:

Clockwise from top left:

Laminated Parrots Tablecloth

Parrot Jug (my most favourite of all the items!)

Parrot Tray

Parrot Jaquard Tea Towel

The important questions are...
- can my home cope with any more bird-related items?
- how many pieces of quirky homeware featuring animals/ birds/ fish/ insects (you name it) could be considered too many?

I have a sneaky suspicion the answer to the former is yes, most certainly and to the latter that there is no such thing as too many.

Am I right? (please tell me I'm right.....)

Bye for now

Kat xx

International Geek Girl Pen Pals Club

I just wanted to share this little gem I stumbled upon whilst heading down one of those rabbit warrens the internet so kindly leads us down when we let it (I love those times when you stumble across something quite lovely by complete accident).

I'm proud to say that I have some Geek Girl tendencies - my entertainment leanings are certainly considered to be on the Geek spectrum, so I was really happy to find this community of geeky girls looking to communicate the old fashioned way - as penpals - by signing up to the International Geek Girl Pen Pal Club.

Round 13 is currently open for sign-ups - so if you have a geeky passion and would love a pen pal then get over to the site now (it's free and very quick to sign-up, which makes a nice change - hurrah!). Importantly - it's not just for girls (although people are matched up with a pen pal of the same gender and from a similar age group).

I'm really looking forward to finding out who my pen pal will be...expect some future posts on geek-related stationary!

Bye for now

Kat xx

Stitch n Tell and a Motif Monday Teaser

I was hoping to have a new cross-stitch design ready for you today, but instead I've been doing a bit of stitching to make sure that the designs work in reality, and working with my boyfriend who has quite the talent for pixel art, which happens to transfer very well to cross stitch. This little guy is the end result of today's collaboration...does he look familiar?

That's right, it's Loki himself - burdened with glorious purpose and all that. It doesn't show too well in the photo, but the gold parts are stitched in a metallic thread...which looks lovely now it's finished, But almost got thrown across the lounge a couple of times as it is so frustrating to use!

From next Monday I'll have some weekly little motifs for you....and you probably don't have to be a genius to work out who you'll be seeing first! Your vey own cross stich Loki could soon be yours (and a few other Marvel characters to keep him company).

If there are any characters from film or TV who you'd love to see in miniature cross stitch form let me know and I'll see what we can do.

Bye for now

Kat xx

Sunday Best - Hurray for the Easter Bunny!

Happy Easter lovely people! I hope your Easter Sundays are filled with happy things. Mine will be spent having a picnic, going to an Easter fair and trying to resist the lure of chocolate!

Link to Bunny Etsy Treasury

I've been rabbit obsessed lately - it's taking all my will power to stop myself from adding a lionhead rabbit to my menagerie! So it seemed like an appropriate time to put together a treasury on Etsy of adorable bunny goodness. Click on the link above to be taken to the treasury on Etsy if you'd like to find out more about any of the items.

I'm fairly new to the world of treasuries, but I quite love them! I'm hoping to share a new one each Sunday - I hope you like them :)

Bye for now

Kat xx

Stitch 'n' Tell - Adventures with Paper

Does anyone else find that they have a little stash of unmade free kits from magazines? I've made a vow to work my way through them...with a view to having lots of little emergency gifts ready for forgotten birthdays. Or...and I'll whisper this because I'm aware it's only April...*Christmas presents*.

Today I made this super quick but very cute notebook, from the April edition of Cross Stitcher magazine. It was my first attempt at cross stitch on paper and I love how it looks so much! The design of the notebook is so cute anyway...I love typewriters. 

I have a sneaky suspicion this little gem won't find it's way into the emergency gift stash! 

I really want to try more cross stitch onto paper/ card - although I'm not sure how to make such neat holes - a tiny paper punch perhaps? If anyone has any tips I'd love to hear them.

Bye for now!

Kat xx

Castles in the Air

I came across this quote in a book I was reading yesterday and instantly loved it. I've been thinking a lot about developing my writing skills recently, and this poor little neglected blog of mine keeps jumping up and down in the back of my mind (somewhat like Donkey in Shrek - pick me! pick me!).

Life recently has been busy (although I'm very aware that these days it's very difficult to find anyone who isn't impossibly busy), but it's been a good kind of busy. Lots of plans - castle building if you will, but now it's time to lay those foundations.

I still love crafting and creating things - one of my biggest joys by far, but added to that I've also officially rediscovered my love for reading (hurrah), make-up (nail polish collection = out of control) and *drumroll* ....gardening!!!

Why the three exclamation marks after gardening? Well if history is to believed I have the ability to kill the hardiest of plants - and a crippling fear of slugs - I'm conquering both of these afflictions and building a pretty (but tiny) garden. My mum would be so proud - her garden was truly a thing of beauty.

I'm planning to be back around these parts a lot more from now on - but more importantly, lovely reader - how have you been? What's new?

I have some serious blog-reading to do, so bye for now and see you again soon!

Xx