Granny Blanket! I started this a couple of months ago as a diversion from studying, the 'fiddling while Rome burns' tyoe of procrastination that can only be good! Well this is the result so far, by that I mean it's not finished until it's large enough to drape over a king size bed, which shouldn't be too long now.
I used a chunky crochet hook and a mix of Stylecraft and some Debbie Bliss thrown in. Running out of colours now as each round nearly uses a whole ball now....

Now that my studying is nearly out of the way I'm going to make up for it here and will start more regular posts. My topics will be Crochet, All Things Vintage, Cosmetics both home made and bought, my photography journey and anything else I can temt you with.....

Birchbox August Offering

This is my third box so far in my 6 month subscription. They seem to be improving after the unimpressive first Brazil world cup themed June box. So let's unveil - Arriving in the usual packaging inside everything was nicely packed up in a clear plastic make up bag.

Vasanti Brighten up facial cleanser was my best find, it has a nice almost babyish smell but the sandy texture is just what I'm looking for in a scrub, with all the outdoor activities of late my skin needs a good scrubbing and this is one of the best texture wise I have tried in a long time, really gets into those dead skin cells! It's a good size 20g tube.

Highlighter crayons have been on my shopping list for a while since I am experimenting with eyebrow make-up at the mo, so this Chella chinky stick in Ivory intrigues me. Full size and nice creamy texture, I will be using this to highlight under my brows.

N4 High Performance Leave in hair conditioner in a 30ml pump claims to detangle and so far so good, smells wonderful and if you need this quirk it's 100% vegan. I will be upgrading to full size on this one, has a throwback to childhood kinda fragrance.

Next up Nude Pro Genius treatment oil. I tried this out as the end to a home facial after a bit of sun peeling and it's very oily so great for massaging around and left my face soft.

Lastly, 2 identical 3 ml samples of Supergoop CC cream in light to medium shade which claims to self-adjust. A USA brand of light coverage cream, there are 2 of this sample not sure why but I won't complain as I've run out of foundation right now. This has a light cover.

All in all not a bad box for me as it's full of treatments so I won't give up on Birchbox just yet. Although have to say some people seems to get WOW products in their but I can't say I have yet...

Crochet

Having a time deficit these days for crafting, what with all the studying and life in general.
However, another New Year promise to myself is to get back into my crochet and I'm going to start carrying a ball of wool and hook about with me again as in reality there's always small windows to do some hooky.
I'm starting a blanket, granny squares to begin with and I have a nice stash of self coloured ones,

knocked up in the last few days. It takes me around 15 minutes to produce a 5 inch square and I'm aiming for 6 a day.

Hot Cloth Cleansing

New Year New Skin, new everything.
Seems that the beginning of a new year always brings that sense of having to start afresh and what better way that a new cleansing system.
I have been meaning to stop using wipes for a long time and whilst they are handy if going away I know that all they really do is move the make up and grime around your face and can never really get really clean.
From now on I am using hot cloths whether muslin or simple face cloths the principle is the same.

Recently, I decided to try and go organic as possible. Remembering that in my home town of Wick we have the producers of the wonderful Organic Surge.
I have been ordering and using their products for a while now especially the heavenly  Sugared Almond Shower Gel an aromatic, silky delight.
I've bought quite a few of their bundles and thought it was time I tried out a couple of the cleansers, the ones I use are Gentle Cleansing Lotion Skin Perfecting Face Polish and Daily Care Face Wash I honestly can't choose the best between them as they are all so indulgent and leave me feeling so clean and fresh.
I top this off with one of three moisturisers that I use Blissful Daily Moisturiser Super Intensive Daily Moisturiser and Overnight Sensation Night Cream. I honest can not recommend these products enough and they are all extremely reasonably priced for being organic.

Now I know I'm meaning to be organic but curiosity got the better of me and whilst in Superdrug on a hair roller mission I noticed their Naturally Radiant range was on special and at £2.39 I took a punt on the Hot Cloth Cleanser having read much good things about it.
It comes in a box with a muslin cloth. Now years ago I use to use the predecessor of this range in particular the Radiance Balm and remembered how it used to brighten up my skin and had a gorgeous fresh scent, so this also made it's way into my basket Naturally Radiant Radiance Balm at £2.89. The price more than anything did it for me as if I didn't like it then it wasn't too much of a waste.
So I trialled it last night, my preferred method is to use a fair dollop and give it a good massage before wiping off with really hot water.
Now on cleaning performance I would rate it well, however I couldn't helped being annoyed about the new fragrance which I can only liken to men's shaving foam smell, how disappointing, I also notice that once my face was completely dry it felt tighter and a bit drier than my usual Organic Surges. I then put the balm on and whilst it does give a nice shine it goes nowhere near what I need from a balm. I will still use it all up for the sake of waste and I was impressed with the cloth but won't be buying it in future.
I still haven't tried the other two main players Liz Earle or No7 so they will have to wait until I have used up all my other cleansers first.

China - not the country!

If like me your an avid collector of old china then I need your help. I have jam packed a cupboard full of the stuff, tea sets, dishes, bowls, jugs and platters. What to do with it all if you don't have a dresser to display? Answers on a postcard please?

Vintage Fabric Stash

I'm in love with fabric of all kinds and here is some of my latest finds. I was lucky to hear about a house clearance where free fabric was offered and I snapped up the whole lot, about 40 cardboard boxes full. As you can see some has the original price labels in old decimal.
What a rare find in this day and age, secreted away in my shed, sorted through, washed and pressed ready for transformation.