Festivities on a budget

Hello lovelies!!!

So, Christmas is here again, that certainty crept up very quickly indeed! I'm usually the type to shun the Christmas festivities until much later in the year (christmas eve shopping anyone?) But there is just something about this year and I'm feeling particularly jolly and festive, and we're still in November!!! 2012 will be the first Christmas Luke and I have had in our little flat and I couldn't be more excited to crack out some Christmas Decor. I'm quite the avid pinterester and have seeming replaced my usual searches (mainly pugs and other baby animals...ahem) for the likes of all things christmassy. It's a great place to gather some inspiration. We've set ourselves a budget of £50 for christmas decorations, this probably sound quite a lot but at £25 each we currently have nothing to recycle so it will have to go a long way!!

Credit: Pintest I love the above picture so much, I love the ceiling hanging with the candles and all the greenery! Unfortunately, my flat doesn't QUITE look that good (heck, we haven't even got a table!) So I doubt we'd be able to create this! I do want to have ago at making a wreath, you can buy these on ebay (here and here) but if you're trying to be really thrifty like us, why not have ago yourself? BBC have posted a great article and video which you can view here with step by step instructions on how to make your own.

Credit:Pintrest

Credit: Pintrest Ahh, the humble pinecone. So simple, yet so elegant!! If you've got some spray paint knocking about anywhere, grab some pine cones and a bit of ribbon and, well, are instructions needed? If you're feeling like you want a bit more glamour, don't forget the glitter!

Credit: Pintrest Now, I'm not sure about you guys, but if there's one thing I love about Christmas, it's the food. Not only do I love the eating part, but the baking part too! I saw this and thought what a great idea, I'm sure we all have some christmas biscuit cutters knocking about (if not they are incredibly cheap to buy, some examples are here and here) And when you've made all the biscuits you need to feed the masses, grab some ribbon hang hand them from your tree!

Credit: Pintrest Finally, I saw the above and it kind of melted my heart! What an excellent, eye catching piece and, who doesn't love some hand/finger painting!! Can't wait for us to have a go at this! I throughly can't wait to have a go at making some of these and I will update you with photos accordingly!!

I'd love to know any other ideas you might have for some unique yet budget friendly decorative ideas! If any of you have pintrest, you can follow me here.

As a little side note, yesterday I started a new blog about my life as a graduate. If any of you can relate to the current struggles us graduates are experiencing, I urge you to please check it out as I'd love to hear your opinions on the subjects discussed. You can read all about it at agraduatetaleofwoe.blogspot.com.

 Lots of Festive Love!! xxxxx

Please check out my new blog

http://agraduatetaleofwoe.blogspot.co.uk


New Style Twigs posts coming soon...


:)

Nail it.

Hello blogging world...

 ...forgive me for I have sinned. It has been TOO LONG since my last blog post.

So, in a nutshell, I have moved out and away from the parents house in the hometown, moved into a new flat with the boyfriend in his hometown, started a new job... left said new job and started another newer job, dyed my hair blonde, dyed my hair 'ombre', dyed my hair ginge, dyed my hair blonde again, watched my hair disintegrate from said dying, bought some mugs, bought some cushions, paid some council tax (bastards), paid back some student loan (bastards), tried to become a domestic goddess (failed), decided that living off fast food is instead the way (totally gained, cry) and now....

Well, I think I've settled down a bit (sort of... Ok, no). But besides this domestic bliss (if you define bliss as boredom/madness), I have been getting busy with the nail varnish and wanted to share a few creations :)

Pug nails!
One of my besties sent my these lovelies as a 'Go on Son!' sort of gesture when I got my new job. They looked amazing! Anyone who knows me will know that I am a worshipper of all things pug and I wore these loud and proud! The stickers are from Ebay.

 

Leopard Ombre Nails
I smudged these a bit when I put on a top coat boo :( But I love them!

 

Tye-dye Nails
This is one of my faves and was really easy to do, lots of compliments on these! Most people thought they were nail wraps!

 

Water Marbling take one
Wow! I was so impressed with how these came out, but dear lord is it a messy process. Again, a lot of people commented on these. My second attempt however...

 

Water marbling take two
... came out even better in my opinion!!!

WAH inspired nails
Finally, this design was inspired by a trip to Topshop in Oxford street in which my friend and I drooled over the nails in the WAH nail bar. We couldn't bare to part with £30 to get ours done (hey...this is a recession guys!!!) so I decided to give one of their designs a go myself. I think it came out quite well!!! I do quite a few different designs every week, some come out quite well, others look a bit tosh! I will try to take some more pictures to share with you guys, nail posts are some of my favourite posts to read. If anyone is interested in what makes/colours I used then please drop me a comment (my nail varnish box is too far away/too full for me to go through and find each and every one I used right now!) Similarly, if anyone is interested in how I created the designs then I'd be happy to do a tutorial. 

 Happy Sunday twigglets, over and out xxxxxxx

Just a little something

I read this earlier and it certainly made me realize how much time I waste in a day, but thought it was quite moving and wanted to share it with you. Counting down the hours until I go to London for a few days to visit one of my besties, I have only been to London once and it feels like a completely different world!

N xxxxxxxxxxx

Icky

Ladies and Gentlemen... I am back, I have returned, I am present in the blogging world once more.

In the past few weeks I have been super busy working all the hours legally allowed at my current job and saving like crazy to move into a flat with my lovely boyfriend and move to his delightful (perhaps?) hometown of Doncaster. And it seems like the days of being a social hermit have paid off as I have somehow managed to save enough money to move and also... GET MYSELF A JOB! Woo! That's not to say that it came easily, since the beginning of this year I have probably applied for nearly 50 even 60 jobs and most of the time I didn't even receive a response. I don't think anyone can predict how hard it really is to find a job (at least a decent one that's full time, with some prospects)after graduation. But anyway, hard work and perseverance pays off if you have faith :) and now I cannot wait for this new chapter of my life to begin!!!
Luke and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary this week and we went out for a (cheap) meal to celebrate :)

Dress: French Connection
Shoes: Miss Selfridge

We decided to be tourists in my hometown of Scarborough for a day. I think the town and the bays are beautiful, but it's incredible how much you take it all for granted when you live here, infact I only really do go to the beach and things when I have a visitor!

N xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Totally

Lost my blogging mojo


...Help?

The hat that got the cream

So then, whose up for a casual stroll wearing one of these bad boys! After reading about Philip Treacy recently in an article (sorry, I can't remember where!) I have come over all hat obsessed. Personally, I don't even wear your bog standard woolly hat in the winter never mind anything this flamboyant, but I cannot help but admire the shear creativeness and clever aesthetics as seen in these pieces crafted to look as if it were effortless. My personal favorite is the butterfly piece, so much detail and incredibly beautiful (but I also can't help but think that it could make a great light fitting hanging from my ceiling!)


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