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    Lifestyle

    My Goals for 2021 and the Next Short Story

    22nd February 2021
    by

    Last year was awful, and I want this year to be better. Since it would be a lite naïve to hope that outside factors would make it better – doubt this will be our last lockdown to be honest- I’m determined to make the things I can control more productive. I have three big aims this year: write at least five books. Relaunch my makeup channel, and become a lot more food self sufficient. For those five books, three can be short stories, and this is the first of them. I was in a bit of a slump at the beginning of the year, which is something that happens to me every winter, so I set myself a few small projects to get myself motivated before I started on my goals.

    Once I got my energy back I got started on the short story, and as luck would have it, I saw a writing competition for a short story here. One of the things I love about short stories is how they force you to keep your writing very tight. There is no room to trail off in one hundred different directions, you need to take a real minimalist approach to what you are writing, but also carefully choose your words to make the story rich and detailed despite being short. I’m used to coming up with my own story ideas, but entering a competition was a great way to stretch my writing muscles and build something over an idea I hadn’t come up with. Normally my story ideas come from the end of the story. I get a scene or a phrase in my head which is the last chapter, or at least the closing end of the story. This time I got to practice without that and try and train myself to keep the story within the parameters someone else had set. It was a really fun challenge!

    You can read the story here

    Lifestyle

    2020 Giveaway

    28th December 2020
    by

    Let’s try and end 2020 on a slightly better note. This year has been awful, so I’d like to do a small giveaway to hopefully let it end on a better note for someone. While it is a smaller giveaway than the large giveaways that I used to do on KlairedelysMakeup, I’m planning to do a lot more of these next year and hopefully I can do larger ones too.

    How to enter:

    • Leave a comment bellow (one comment) on which of the giveaway prizes you like the look of the most.
    • The winner will be chosen on the 1st of January.
    • If the original winner has not replied to my email within a week of being emailed I will select a new winner.
    • Once the winner replies with their address I’ll send their prize to them. No need to pay anything for postage regardless of where you live.

    You can find me on Patreon / Instagram 

    How To

    Christmas DIY Tree Fairy

    20th December 2020
    by

    I’ve been wanting to make this little tree fairy ever since our first autumn in our home and saw all the maple leaves in the garden. When I was little my family always called them helicopter seeds because of how they twirled down to the ground when they fell. Originally the plan was to just use maple seeds for this tree ornament, but when I saw the Honestly leaves, I thought the combination of the two would be just perfect, and I have to say, I absolutely love how this turned out!

    What I used: 

    (Amazon links are affiliate links) 

    Acrylic paint • Baby Mould • Paper Clay 

    I have at least one more variation of this idea planned before Christmas. It’s actually easier than this one and is transparent without using any kind of resin or special equipment. In fact, you probably already have what you need in your home already.

    You can early content here on Patreon

    How To, Lifestyle

    Making My First Proper Christmas Wreath

    12th December 2020
    by

    This year has been awful. Pretty sure that is a universal feeling at the moment, so this year I want to go all out with the Christmas decorations. All the colours, all the wreaths and all the Christmas cheer I can get.

    It’s the first time making a proper wreath and, I have to say, I’m really quite pleased with it! I recently decluttered my craft supplies and set myself a challenge of using up all the random items I had (like feathers) some of which I’ve had sitting there for eight years! Some of them are already in the front door wreath and the rest will be added into the other garlands I’ll be making around the house.

    I also have to make the crib decorations (a stable and some mountains with adjustable parts so I can change it each year). It’s going to be a busy but fun few weeks!

    You can find me here on Patreon 

    How To

    Making Fake Cotton Flowers

    10th December 2020
    by

    Last year I made an absolute abomination of a Christmas wreath that was barely little more than old jewellery necklaces knotted together in a clump. It looked awful. So this year I’ve bought a proper metal frame for a wreath and started making the props I would need for it. One of the things I wanted to include so that there was a contrast with the spiky fir and holly leaves were some cotton flowers. Only problem is that it’s not exactly a native plant – far too wet and cold all the time. If I wanted it I would need to make a fake version, so that’s what I did.

    It’s quite easy, quick and should be an affordable way to add another beautiful detail to your decor.

    You can find me on Patreon here 

    How To, Lifestyle

    DIY Winter Haircare Balm

    8th December 2020
    by

    Back when I did the Camino de Santiago one of the few beauty related items I brought with me was a tiny tin of home made hair balm. It was much simpler than this, just beeswax and evening primrose oil, but it was an absolute lifesaver. That year there had been a series of forest-fires in Portugal (which my sisters ended up getting caught up in a few of them), it was very, very hot, but after two weeks of the heat I had a ton of new growth and barely any split ends.

    For some silly reason, after I got back, I stopped being in the habit of applying a balm to the ends of my hair, and I definitely noticed the difference. So this year, since I want to start growing my hair waist long, I’m determined to get back into taking a little more care of my hair and I thought I’d start by making a slightly improved version of the original hair balm I made.

    What I used: 

    (Amazon links are affiliate links)

    Melting Pot  • Castor  Oil • Lanolin • Evening Primrose Oil •

    Beeswax • Patchouli Essential Oil • Lemongrass Essential Oil

    You can find me on Patreon here 

    How To

    DIY Christmas Decorations – Red Berries

    6th December 2020
    by

    After how utterly crap this year has been, I’m so ready for Christmas! Last year I promised myself that I would ramp up my Christmas decorations, and so far I’m on track to reaching that goal. I have several different garlands planed, a large front door wreath and many, many diy’s in the works. As usual, my Patreon supporters are about a month ahead for content, but over December I’ll be releasing all the Christmas DIY tutorials for people to recreate.

    One of the things I need to challenge myself on too is to keep the budget for these as close to zero as possible, and try to re-use or use up supplies I already have. I have two different ways to make berries, this way which I’ll be showing you today, and another which I’ll include later for slightly smaller berries using just wire, flour, water, slat, sugar and paint.

    You can find me on Patreon here 

    How To

    DIY Haircare – Apple Cider Vinegar and Nettle Rinse

    3rd December 2020
    by

    I’m sure I’m not the only one this happens to, but one of the things that always happens to me post-partum is my hair get’s really waxy at the roots. Not oily, waxy. It feels awful and last time it happened I experimented with various vinegar hair rinses to deal with it. This time I’m prepared, and I thought I would share it with you.

    What I’m using: 

    Apple Cider Vinegar – I have a tutorial on how to make this here. Some people have asked if you can use white vinegar in your hair instead. Personally, I wouldn’t advise it. White vinegar is a lot stronger than apple cider vinegar and is too rough on your hair, in my opinion.

    Bay Leaves – Astringent, bactericidal, antiseptic, fungicidal.

    Nettle leaves – If I was going for the proper traditional part of the plant to use here I should really be using the roots, but I only just planted my nettle patch and I’m in no hurry to dig it back up again until I have a LOT more growing where I want them too, so for the moment I’ll be using a few of the leaves in stead. It’s rich in silica, sulfur, and iron (all great for the hair) and full of antioxidants.

    Sage – If you’re into herbal remedies, sage is one of those absolute essentials to have. I know some people like to cook with it – personally I think it tastes disgusting – so I mainly use it for skin and haircare. It’s an astringent, antiseptic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory.

    You can find me here on Patreon 

    Food, How To

    My Favourite Gluten-Free Shortbread-esqu Cookies

    1st December 2020
    by

    Long story short, I’m starting to be able to tolerate sugar less and less in my diet, and I’m NOT happy about it.

    I’m already really limited in what I can eat with gluten, soy, cinnamon, clove, aubergine, aniseed and nutmeg being complete no-go’s, and now it looks like sugar is trying to join the club. I’m trying not to make a bad situation worse, so for the moment I’m on a strict no-sugar streak except for special ocassions. You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to Christmas, there’s a pack of cookies with my name on them! But in the meantime, I’ve actually managed to make something delicious which is sugar-free and doesn’t taste like cardboard.

    What You’ll Need: 

    250g Butter

    250g honey

    2 Eggs

    250 g Tapioca Flour

    250g Almond Flour

    250g Oat Flour

    250g Desiccated Coconut

    If you want to add a few more ingredients to this you can also add 1-2 ripe bananas (they have to be ripe) and vanilla extract. Of course, if you’re not sensetive to sugar feel free to substitute the honey for sugar or brown sugar. You can also double or half this recipe without any issues. I’ve tried this recipe where I’ve doubled or even tripled the amounts and it’s tasted just as good.

    How To

    DIY Gift Guide: Herbal Bath Salts

    29th November 2020
    by

    Now that my herb garden is more established, this year I’ve been able to make a lot more gifts for other people which are almost entirely homegrown and homemade. It’s always been my plan since we bought our own home to try and aim for as much self-sufficency as possible, and since the budget is absolutely tiny this Christmas, I couldn’t be happier that I made sure to get my herb garden going when I did.

    This DIY is really quite simple to make – maybe too simple – but depending on how you wrap it, it can still be a wonderfull home-made gift to give for Christmas which is quick, affordable to make, and feels luxurious.

    You can find me on Instagram here