I’m back. Here’s a brief snippet of my life lately.

This last week I pushed myself really hard to get ready for a craft fair in Luton selling RagnBow wares. This was my first ever craft fair (one to tick off the goals list) and I was really pleased with how organised I was. I’ll be blogging soon about how to prepare yourself and products for a craft fair – kind of like a little checklist of what you’ll need.

Last weekend I managed a long walk and some exploring as I’ve been feeling a tincy wincy bit better. Hopefully a sign of good things to come. And a few weekends previously…it snowed! I went out in  the woods opposite  my home with Mick who absolutely loved it. Sometimes I think he’s not a real cat.

*fun fact – this wind turbine in heath and reach is actually the biggest in the UK.

And below, this is a close up of the bow ties on my stall at the Luton Designer Makers Fair at the Hat Factory.

What have you been up to recently? Did you get out in the snow?

What defines a strange girl I hear you ask. A strange girl is someone who isn’t fussed by conventional gifts like blingy jewellery, UGG boots or a designer handbag. She probably dresses more ghoul than glitz most of the time.

If your special one ticks any of the above boxes then you have yourself a strange girl. I’ve put together some gift ideas for things that she’ll like to unwrap on Christmas day:

1. This Vintage Skeleton Lampshade from Rosie’s Vintage Lampshades will make her room look chic yet creepy.

2. Who doesn’t love candles? This goat leg candle by D.L. & Co is both macabre and decorative.

3. Bunnies are cute, but bunny skeletons are better. This beautifully detailed rabbit skeleton wall hanging by OXHIP is handmade and reasonably priced.

4.  Strange girls like jewellery too but not your generic gems. These moon and star stud earrings will show her that you appreciate her uniqueness.

5. If she’s crafty, get her this origami stag brooch from Etsy seller Sketch INC.

6. Kat Von D’s make up range has finally made bold, alternative colours available to purchase. I love the Adora colour from the studded kiss range. And it’s vegan and cruelty free.

7. Everyone expects to get socks at Christmas. But don’t go for tacky Christmas socks – these 3D beetle print socks are loud and strange enough to out do any other present she receives.

8. I’m loving terrariums right now. Especially this mini glass skull terrarium. Better than your average pot plant.

Do you know a strange girl? What are you thinking of getting her for Christmas?

“When we’re together, darling, every night is Halloween”

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. All Hallows Eve. Black is in abundance, the shops are covered in cobweb and everything is just that little bit spookier. I definitely look forward to October 31st more so than Christmas.

Every year I have to restrain myself from buying all of the decorations and keeping them up year round. So instead of turning my house into something from The Nightmare Before Christmas, I thought I’d put together a blog showcasing some of the cutest and spooky Halloween decks that you can get for you house and Halloween party. And who knows; perhaps you’ll love them enough to keep them up year round?

Creepy Cobweb Serving Dishes

 

These tri-colour spider web serving dishes* could easily become part of the “guest china”. Why use paper plates and bog standard bowls when you can buy some Halloween themed crockery? You can get tbese for a very reasonable price from Aldi.

Why not put some sweets in to dish out to any trick or treaters?

Spooky Scented  Candles

Candle light should be the only light on Halloween night. This delicious smelling patchouli Witches’ Brew candle* encapsulates autumnal smells and will spread a sweet aroma around the house. Available from Yankee, I love the witchy design and the scent lingers long after blowing it out.

These candles are from PartyLite and we’ve enjoyed lighting these around the house for the past month. The wax is in black and white  so they’re perfect for a Halloween party – or to add to Gothic decor in a room. They’re from PartyLite’s Forbidden Fantasy Luxury Collection* with six combinations of decadent scents including:

• Magnolia and jasmine forms a deep, lasting bond with black plums and currants.
• Dark chocolate and cocoa bean captivate with a squeeze of sweet orange liqueur.
• Blackberries and black currants wrapped in the warm embrace of spice, cedarwood and tobacco
• white grapefruit and violet meets the lustful allure of musk and rosewood
• White florals  with rich fruits and musk
• light florals with  warming amber and sandalwood

All six smell good enough to eat.

These candles are so exclusive that you can only get hold of them through Independent Consultants. But if you don’t know your local consultant, you can search by postcode on the website to locate your nearest representative.

Cute Ghostly Bunting

This Halloween garland* so fun to put together. Everything from the card to the string is all provided so all you need is a pair of scissors to assemble it. Simply pop out the ghoul, cat, bat and pumpkin, tie them to the length and drape them for all to admire.

You can purchase these from My Little Day as part of a Halloween Birthday Kit. There’s so much more cute and amazing stuff on their site. You’ll probably lose a couple of hours looking through all of their stationary and decorations as you’ll never have seen anything like their products before – I warned you first.

Frightening Figurines

I love this silly skeleton. It’s a DJ skeleton* which plays a mix of the Munsters’ theme tune and other spooky sounds. And you get purchase this from everyone’s favourite budget supermarket….Aldi! It’s really well made and takes AA batteries. It’s something you can keep and bring out again again each year. Only £7.99 from any Aldi store.

Terrifying Wall Art

These artistic pieces of wall art are available to buy from Not on the High Street. The cute bow tie skeleton is something you can have fun assembling and the wall bats can be stuck anywhere in any formation allowing you to create your own wall display.

Moderately scary masks (more cute than fear inducing!)

Really cute and simple masks* from my new favorite store, My Little Day. If you’re not enthused by Halloween these bat masks are the perfect accessory for any fancy dress. And they’re great to hand out at parties. There’s eight in a pack.

Are you going to any Halloween parties? Have you made your own decorations?

*products with an asterisk were gifted but all opinions are my own.

I had never been to Wells-Next-The-Sea before until my boyfriend introduced me to this little gem on the Norfolk coast. Ever since 2012 we’ve gone back each year  and seen many things change; pubs have changed hands, new shops have opened up and more houses have been built.

Despite how often we go, I haven’t ever tired of the environment. I suppose that’s because it’s somewhere I associate with my boyfriend and we always manage to discover new places and things to do.

And after a stressful few months it was great to get away for a full week, relax and take in some well needed vitamin D. Wells-Next-The-Sea is famed for it’s long, golden beach and it looks beautiful all year round and especially at sunset.

Burnham Deepdale

We usually fill our time walking and cycling around Norfolk. There’s still so many walks we haven’t done, including a trip around the Burnham Deepdale circular which takes you in land and then loops back around to the beach and marshes, where everything still seems very traditional – almost stuck in time.

 Blakeney

We attempted to walk to Blakeney Point across the beach to see the seals but didn’t quite make it! I still managed to get some good shots though! And then we went into Blakeney village which has a good mix of art shops and pop-up shops as well as picturesque harbour:

I think next year I’m going to set myself a photography project theme and aim to take pictures that portray that idea. There’s only so many pictures of the beach you can take after all!

Holiday Memories

As a fun summer art project, I was contacted by This is Money regarding their Jam J-art project to put together some holiday memories. They sent me a jam jar and some monies to buy some trinkets and souvenirs from my trip. I had to do this for Wells because I really wanted to make something that would encapsulate the beaches and the landscape, so that I could take the seaside back home.

Here’s my holiday memories jar…

What’s inside my Jam J-art:

• Sand from Wells-Next-The-Sea Beach
• Clam shells from Ian’s dinner and from Blakeney Beach
• Lobster, Octopus, crab and minature boat toys from Wells souvenir shop
• Real crab claws from Blakeney Beach
• Pheasant feather from our Burnham Deepdale walk

I’ve put together a seaside scene that represents some of my fondest memories. Taking sand from a beach I’ve walked many times as well as actual artifacts from experiences from that trip. The jar is now on constant display in our bedroom as reminds me everyday of my most favourite place in the UK.

Have you taken part in the Jam J-art project? Hoe do you like to remember your holiday?