Personalised Glitter Photo Ornament DIY

All you need for this quick and easy Christmas DIY (Which would make a great gift, especially if you used it as a tag when you wrapped another present!) is a clear ornament (the kind that splits down the middle), a small photo of your choice, glitter, two strips of ribbon and some glue.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 1// Cut the photo down to size, I used the bottom photo off an Urban Outfitters strip and rounded the edges slightly, and write a message on the back of the photo. 

2// Next dip your finger in the glitter and tap it all over the inside of each half of the ornament, it should stick very easily. I ended up with glitter all over my maths hw as a result of this step though.

3// Then poke the image slightly into one half of the ornament and click the two sides together.

4// Once they're together you can draw a strip of glue down each side of the ribbon you're using and glue it over the 'seam' of the ornament, hiding the join.

5// The final step is to take another piece of that same ribbon and feed it through the hole on top of the ornament tying it in a big bow. 

Hope you like this easy DIY idea...

Gifts for the Girly One

For those with the ever popular iphone a Phone Case is an easily attainable and cheap stocking stuffer or secret santa gift. I brought one for a friend the other day on ebay for only 98p which was a wine glass with liquid that moves, very cool! Jewelry suits a recipient of any age and any budget, H&M do really pretty jewelry for great value, or you could got to a fancy jewellers if you're looking for something a little more upmarket. Perfume is always a safe bet for anyone really, though it can be quite hard if you don't know what scents they like or wear. If you know what perfumes they do wear, staff in places like The Perfume Shop can help you pick out a similar one. Keep ing to the theme of smells, Yankee Candles are a great gift idea, some safe scents that everyone would like are ones like strawberry buttercream, christmas cookies or vanilla buttercream, though my favourite is black cherry. A cute Wintery Bobble Hat  is the perfect gift for the current weather and they're great for hiding a bad hair day too. Another great gift for helping a girl survive the British weather is a sturdy but also pretty patterned Umbrella like this Parisian themed one (I may very much want this one myself). Another item that suits the weather is TV Box Sets because who doesn't love curling up to watch their favourite show when it's raining outside? A little pamper night gift with a nice box of Chocolates, a Lipbalm and Hot Chocolate Set would be another great universal gift, perfect for a secret santa gift, friend, sister or colleague. If you don't fancy putting your own gift set together, you can get them ready made at Lush. If you're looking for a more expensive gift for a loved one, High End Makeup from brands such as Chanel, YSL, MAC or Charlotte Tilbury would be appreciated by most girls who wear makeup and like pretty things. Which means most girls I know really!

Two more gift guides left now, aimed more at the parents, so I hope you found this one inspiring...

Gifts for the Creative One

I think this is my personal favourite gift guide as the bright colours and copper accents just make it very aesthetically pleasing to me.

An obvious gift for creative friends are supplies like Sketchbooks, Colouring Pencils/Pens, a Calligraphy Pen and Watercolour Paints as these type of basic supplies are always necessary. TKMaxx is a great place to find cute and quirky slogan Notebook's which make wonderful gifts, as do Pastel Post It Notes or any type of post it notes really as we all know that creative people often have more ideas than places to keep them. I have some great speech bubble ones from Ikea. This super pretty Copper Bowl or cute jars would be a great way to make a creative space look a little tidier, I know that when I'm making things, I make quite the mess. Plus it's so lovely when everything's organised and you know where to  look when you need things. Another great gift idea to keep them organized is this gorgeous Sighh Designs To Do Desk Pad, which I could definitely do with myself. Other stationary such as this Kate Spade Stationary set would make a great gift too, I always find that it's so nice when the day to days bits and bobs of your life make you smile. For the more serious artists out there a Drawing Tablet would be a great or for a cheaper alternative a Stylus to be used on a normal tablet is a great way to venture into digital art, I know my sister draws this way. Finally Art Prints from Etsy or small business like Little Pencil Co and Sighh Designs would look great in this Copper Frame from H&M.

3 Gift guides down now, so how are you liking them?

Gifts for the Geeky/Techy One

I tried to get a mix of presents that would suit males and females as I think most geeky/techy presents are usually aimed at men. A great option for just about anyone nowadays is a phone case or Tablet Case/key pad  as they protect your all important devices, whilst making them look stylish and being totally useful. Another great useful product would be Portable chargers as phone batteries just don't last anywhere near as long as they used to because we use them constantly. Who hasn't realised 10 mins before going out that they only have 15% battery? An equally useful but perhaps more boring option is Memory Cards/External Hard Drives  as I constantly have the issue of not having enough memory on my phone and it's always a good idea to have everything backed up incase your laptop or tablet gets a virus or something. Headphones are another great gadget accessory that everyone would use, similarly a gorgeous leather Laptop Case and Organiser like this one (Though this one is ridiculously expensive!) would be very useful, personally I would love to be able to keep my stuff this organised (I definitely wouldn't though).  A cute novelty gift such as this Storm Trooper Soap Dispenser or Darth Vader Mug would make a great secret santa gift too. A TV Boxset or Movie DVD so that they can relive the experience again and again is always a safe bet too. Another option is Batman Pajamas or other apparel such as this very unusual Captain America Bra so that the recipient can show off their love of their favorite movie/book/comic franchise. A great tip is literally just to type in the name of their fave show/book/movie/comic into etsy and scroll tough all the lovely handmade items till you find something you love. Finally this Slytherin Wall Piece is a great example of room decor so that the recipient can surround themselves with the things they they love at home. Places like RedBubble or Etsy are brilliant for art prints, canvases and hand paintings.

Hope you enjoyed gift guide no.2, my gift guide for the creative one will be up soon...

Gifts for the Sporty One

To kick of my series of  gift guides I'm starting with that friend or family member who loves exercising, going to the gym, playing sport and eating healthy AKA the one you are always jealous of! 

A yoga mat and yoga mat bag would be great for anyone who does yoga (obviously) or pilates, both of which are great for busy people who don't necessarily have the time to get to the gym as both can be done at home  by watching online videos such as Blogliates. A Water bottle is an essential for anyone really but especially for people who are very active as they need to rehydrate and this VS one is super cute too. At the more expensive end of the scale is a Fitbit or similar gadget for tracking activity, I'd love one personally as I think it would really encourage me to be more active. A Gym Membership for a month or two is also a great present for someone who has everything and it would definitely be appreciated. For pre and post workout many people enjoy protein bars or snacks like Nak'd Bars so buying a wholesale box would be a great way to help someone to stop unhealthy snacking. Some more obvious choices are a Motivational Tank, Sports Bra, Trainers, Leggings or Running Jacket because there is no such thing as too much activewear. Reflective gear is also really great for runners in the winter months as it gets dark so early.

Hope these ideas are useful...

Glitter Lyric Bauble DIY

My sister's Christmas Present is themed around her love of Broadway, each present is meant to be related to one of her favorite musicals (I'm so hoping she doesn't read this!). This one is based on Wicked, which is also one of my favourites, the songs are just amazing, and we love dueting Defying Gravity together. As a result I wanted this present to reflect our shared love of the songs. Cue this lyric bauble.

 All you'll need to recreate it is glitter, fine tipped glue, clear baubles and printouts of song lyrics.

All you have to do is write out any word you would like, such as the recipient's name or in my case the name of the musical in glue and then sprinkle glitter all over it. Then leave it to dry preferably overnight, in the mean time, you can cut up strips of paper with lyrics on and curl them by running them along a pair of scissors. Then once it's dry you can just fill the bauble with the curled strips and tie it together with some ribbon or twine. Then it's ready to go.

This present is obviously super adaptable- you could use song lyrics like I have, or a poem, book passages, strips of wedding invitations for new couples, it's really up to you. The colour of the glitter can be changed to match any scheme as can the word on the bauble.

So there we go, I'll be back soon with another DIY involving a clear bauble too...

10 Free Christmassy Phone Wallpapers

With December almost here, it's finally time to start letting Christmas creep into every part of my life, including my gadgets! So I thought I'd put together a quick post showing some super pretty Christmas wallpapers to help you get in the Christmas spirit...

Merry Christmas foliage Frame- Here

Snowflake- Here

Merry Christmas Wreath- Here

Sparkly Tree- Here

New Year- Here

Pinecones- Here

Let It Snow- Here

City Lights- Here

Ski Chalet Sketch- Here

Christmas is Coming- Here

Enjoy!

Sale Shopping 2014/15

Bye bye all my christmas money, anybody else waiting for pay day already?

I'm very pleased with all the bargains I picked up in the January sales so I thought I'd share them with you all! I went to the boots sale on boxing day and then went into Birmingham with my friends Katie and Eilis (Hi!) on the 27th where I picked up things from Urban Outfitters, Topshop and Ann Summers.

Firstly, in he Boots half price sale I picked up a Topman gift set and Toni and Guy volume gift set to go in my present box for any upcoming birthdays, then I brought a Mark Hill gift set, a Soap and Glory gift set and and Toni and Guy gift set for myself, all for just £5 each! Finally,  I bought a Soap and Glory gift set and another Toni and Guy gift set for you. Yep, you did read that right, I'm hoping to do a giveaway on my blog soon, so keep a look out for that!
Next, in Urban Outfitters I picked up a Game of Thrones themed mug for my friends birthday this week. Then a tangle teezer for the giveaway(!) and finally a super pretty, dainty leather wrist watch with little turtles embossed into it. It's perfect for my tiny wrists and is so simple that it will go with anything.
Finally in Topshop I picked up a gorgeous lace/crochet collared sleeveless top in the prettiest most wintery shade of green for only £8 and when I spotted the makeup gift sets were on sale I knew I wouldn't be leaving without picking one up. I have read so many great reviews of the Topshop makeup but have never actually tried anything, so when I saw they had a lipstick and blusher set on sale for £6 I picked two up right away, one for me and one for the giveaway!
I also picked up a gorgeous monochrome floral nightdress in Next and a really pretty nude and black lace bra in Ann Summers, but I thought it would be a bit weird to photo them. I was intending to buy a bra from Victoria's secret, but even the ones in the sale were still quite pricey, so I resisted. 
We also popped into River Island, Forever 21, Victoria's Secret, Lush, Superdrug, Sports Direct (For the benefit of those who know I so do not belong in that shop, I was looking for some running shoes for my new years resolution, find out more in this post) and went to Nandos for lunch. All in all I had a wonderful day.

Have you picked up any bargains in the January sales?

Day 31: 2015 Resolutions

*I apologize for the extreme lateness, but I thought that this post had been scheduled to go up, oops.*

I'm not usually a huge fan of the new year resolutions thing, cus everyone knows that they're just gonna give them up within like two weeks, however this year since it was one of the topics, I decided to try it out. I'm not gonna bother talking through my resolutions because they are pretty self explanatory. I'm just gonna make two quick comments. Number 6 is a brave one however I did manage 22 books last year (I have literally no idea how, I think it's just cus I read so much in the summer holidays!) so I'm gonna push myself this year.  And as for number 3, that's also a very brave one as I do no sport or exercise of any type at the moment! Although I have started doing blogilates videos again in November after I brought some workout gear in the black friday sales though and am really enjoying it, plus I'm feeling pretty determined. In order to save up for my running shoes I'm putting a pound in a jar for everyday that I exercise so hopefully I'll be able to save up for a nice pair of nikes in about 2 months. Thank god I'm a size 5 and can fit in the childrens section, that's gonna save me like £20-£30.

Well anyway those are my resolutions, they're very generic and obvious and aren't really all that measurable, but I don't really have any targets just general areas to improve in my life. I'm already failing at the more sleep one since its now 11pm on a school night. Oops.

Let me know yours!

Day 30: 2014 Favourites

Just to add to cliche that is me and this blog I'm now going to comment on how fast the year has gone: Am I the only one who can't believe its 20-freaking-15 in less than two days? 2014 sounds so futuristic still, let alone 2015. I swear the years go faster each time, though to be fair I did read on tumblr one time that the years seem to go faster because each new year is a smaller fraction of your life eg when you're 5 the new year is still 1/5th of your life however when you're 16 the new year is 1/16th of your life so it seems shorter. Which kinda makes sense really, no? Anyway today's all about my favourite products of the year, so without further ado lets get on with that...

Makeup-

MUA Undressed Palette- This has basically been my go to palette this year, though the fallout can be a little annoying, the colour pay off and blendability of the colours is great for such an affordable palette. 

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer- I don't think I really need to talk about this since every blogger, vlogger and youtuber from here to the moon has raved about this at some point, but it had to be included.

Benefit Porefessional Primer- I first tried the sample size of this when I got it free with Elle magazine and I knew I'd have to buy the full size for christmas but when I found out they were selling double sized bottles for the normal price in John Lewis and I just had to.

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet- Easily my favourite lip product I've ever tried, I truly don't understand how anything can be so long lasting, matte and such a true bright colour. If they didn't cost £9 each I'd own ever colour by now.

Loreal Super Liner- Still my favourite eyeliner of all the many I have tried, long lasting, easy to apply and a true black, could you ask for more? 

Real Techniques Buffing Brush- I honestly don't know what I would do without this brush, it so dense and soft and really does even out and buff the foundation into the skin. 

Hair-

Mark Hill Miracoilicious Hair Mask- My relationship with this hair mask has just hit it's one year anniversary as I first tried it when I brought it on boxing day in the sales last year and I have to say I still love it now just as much as when I first tried it. I will never stop recommending it to anyone and everyone.

Tangle Teezer- After trying out the tangle teezer on my waist length wind swept hair I can officially say without a doubt that it is the best hair brush ever.  Whilst the price always puts me off, I really couldn't go back to a normal brush after trying this.

Skincare-

St Moriz Fake Tan- The only tan I've ever tried, but with it being as good as it is I've never really been tempted to buy another brand. The price is really affordable and the blendability and colour payoff is excellent so I see no need to try another brand.

Freederm- This is probably the best spot treatment I've ever tried, 3 days of using this and the spot will be non existent, but when paired with sudocrem it works miracles, seriously!

What are your plans for celebrating the new year, I'm working this year, but I don't really mind cus none of my friends are doing anything really, let me know your plans?

Day 29: Challenge Roundup

Overall I'm pretty pleased with how the challenge has gone, particularly because I have managed to write posts that I actually am proud to post for most of the days, however I did miss two days (11 and 18), and put 2 or 3 posts up late, Oops!

These four posts are the posts I have most enjoyed writing and the ones I'm generally most proud of because of the photography etc. (Christmas trees really do make great backgrounds).

Day 13: Perfect Winter Lip and Nail Combo

Day 9: Gingerbread Recipe

Day 12: Rudolph Nail Art

Day 5: Books

Let me know what your favourite posts have been so that I know for the future!

Day 26: Christmas Day in 5 pics

Sorry I'm late but I have been so busy with family things and then I went sale shopping today (I'll do a post in Jan) but here's my Christmas day in 5 4 pics because that's all I have!

The mess left from present unwrapping.

 My mum made a gorgeous Christmas Dinner

I made Chocolate profiteroles for dessert.

Playing trivia games after lunch.

Day 24: Christmas Traditions

We don't really have any Christmas traditions that are out of the ordinary in my family, we obviously do the standard tree decorating, turkey dinner and movies but I can't think what else we do really. For the last few years on Christmas eve we have been going to TGI's with some family friends before going to mass but this is the first year in quite a while which we aren't going so I guess that means it's not a tradition anymore.

The only other tradition I can think of is that we usually have a party the saturday before Christmas with all our family and friends, it finished at 4am this year! The photo below is from this years.

Sorry for today's boring post, hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas Eve...

Day 23: The Christmas Jumper

I was planning on doing a jumper wish list of sorts, but decided I'd be a bit more original and instead decided to post some photos from my Christmas jumper party :)

 

 I think Jordan (second from the left) had my favourite jumper!

Can we just take a moment to appreciate my sister's new hair, (She's the one on the right) she had it cut from almost waist length like mine to shoulder length and it looks GORGEOUS.

We exchanged our secret santa gifts at the party too and I am eternally grateful to Sean for buying me this awesome Game of Thrones notebook and matte nail polish. The notebook is so pretty I'm never gonna want to write in it..

I had such a fun night, so thankyou muchly to all of my friends for attending!

Day 22: Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane Hearts

All you need for this quick and easy recipe is mini peppermint candy canes and a chocolate of your choice, yet they make a beautiful addition to any gift. I used a 100g milk chocolate bar and 18 mini candy canes to make 9 hearts though white chocolate would also look fab!

All you have to do is  lay out two candy canes facing each other to make a heart on some parchment paper then melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second bursts till smooth and pour into the little heart shells. I then put mine in the freezer for 10 minutes till solid (though you could put them in the fridge) and then peeled them off the parchment paper.

If you try out this recipe, please tweet me a pic @KatieCorbett98, I love to hear from my readers!

Day 19: Favourite Christmas Posts

So today is a quick summary of some of my favourite Christmas themed posts from this year, you should definitely check them all out and maybe even give them a follow if you're feeling particularly festive.

• Christmas Biscuit Trees on Cole of the Ball
• Beauty Wishlist on Miss Cosmetic Blogger
• Party Season Must-Haves on Elise Dopson
• Surviving Party Season on A Yellow Brick Blog
• Favourite Christmas Flavours on The Beauty Baker

As always, leave me suggestions and the names of your blogs in the comments so I can check them out!

Day 17: The Tree

I have been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks now but I just keep forgetting to get a photo of the tree! I apologize for the lateness since the festive period is almost over *cry*. Our tree in the lounge is red and gold themed too match the room as it's painted red. Plus there's a nice little cameo of 2 year old me and my brother in the left of the photo.

 These rocking horses were always some of my favourite decorations when I was little-

 How gorgeous are these ones, can you believe they were from B&M Bargains last year? Me neither!

 As a bonus here's our purple and silver tree in the kitchen-

Merry Christmas!