New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!

Oooooh it's just become 2009 here in the UK, how exciting!

lol I'm just watching Jools Holland's Hootenanny to bring in the new year.

Anyway, to finish the year right, you can reflect on 2008 both personally and from a worldwide perspective (Barrack Obama anyone?).

THEN, there is the most important new year's resolutions. For a few popular examples, go here.

Next we have an ingenious little idea from iHanna, which involves picking a word to spur you on through the next year. There are many to choose from (click on 'word suggestions') so it's super hard to pick just one, so I'll pick three :-)

Beginnings, Believe, and Adventure.

The reasons for my choices are:

a) This year I hope to learn all kinds of crafts including sewing and felting (I just ordered my first sewing machine - a Brother Innovis 10A - and I'm so excited!)
b) I want to open an Etsy shop with the intention of earning a living eventually from it. I should probably add 'good luck' to my word list lol

c) I want to go to New Zealand this year or next, with 'adventure' in mind. I absolutely would love to skydive and do the longest bungee jump in the world (eek)

d) And I would like my first tattoo this year too (don't tell my parents!).

It'll certainly be interesting to review these goals at the end of the year - I'm realistically hoping to fulfill at least half of the above.

I hope you have fun choosing yours :-)

How to Make: Moss Spheres

Cute little decorative spheres made from Styrofoam / polystyrene balls covered in a sheet of (faux) moss! Then you can add little items like butterflies and plant pots.

Find the instructions here.

Pea & Pesto Soup

I have pretty much the entire collection of Good Food books at home, and this pea & pesto soup with fish finger croutons is one of my favourites!

So simple...all you need is fish fingers, vegetable stock, frozen peas, potatoes and green pesto, AND it only takes 20 minutes from start to finish :-)

Natural Wooden Clock

This is a fabulous clock for any room!

All you need is these instructions, a wooden disk, a clock mechanism (with clock hands and battery), plus a few tools and bit 'n' bobs.

I love the brick blocks at the fron of the above photo too - cute!

Smitten Kitchen

Delicious recipes, including the yummy looking cheesecake squares pictured above.

To use the website, simply look through the front page and archives to browse recipes and then click the post title to be taken to the recipe page (took me a while to work that out you see lol).
OR

You can search for specific recipes with the search box in the left-hand column.

OR
Just click whatever sounds interesting in the left-hand colunn (under 'Recently').
Enjoy!

Alcohol Inks

Gorgeous effect created with alcohol inks on a tin gift box - and you can use this technique on most non-porous surfaces too.

See the tutorial here.

Blik Wall Decals

Fantastic wall decals (stickers) to transform any average room to something amazing! I personally love the 'Threadless' range, and want the 'Ambition killed the cat' decal shown above :-)

Cute Calendar Blocks

Gorgeous wooden block calendar, for an arty way to keep track of the date for years to come!

Go here for the instructions on how to make the calendar, using wooden blocks, decorative paper, glue (Mod Podge), stamps, an Exacto knife and some other optional bits and pieces :-)

Pom-Pom Stalks

Ultra cute and designer-looking ornaments made from pom-poms and wire coat hangers - easy peasy!

Click here or here for instructions.

DIY Hammock

Click here to discover how to make your very own hammock by using rope, a sewing machine, a king size duvet cover and some thread.

Then kick back and relax!

Magazine Coaster Xmas treat!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

I got some recipe books, plus some gorgeous craft books so I'm happy, happy, happy!

For a relaxing and easy craft at Christmas, you can make these coasters from magazines (or wrapping paper if you've got some left over)!
Go here for the tute :-)

Last Minute Christmas Items!

Natural Christmas decoration made with tree branches and wire - super cute!

Or for some fantastic and original Christmas tree cards, you can stick tissue paper and sequins down onto foil (or card) and cover with glue - then when it's dry, cut out a simple tree shape and stick on the front of a card - Voila!

Cookies and cakes are great last minute gifts, but for something a bit more special, why not make two Xmas cookies into a snow globe?! Go here to find out how.

Sorry these are a bit late, but you can always use these ideas next year!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Gift Tags

Have a look here for a fun idea about using cookies for gift tags! However, it does tell you to glue them using hot glue - meaning they cannot then be eaten, so what I suggest is that you wrap the cookie in a cellophane bag before using it as a gift tag!

One really useful product for any celebration is the above craft punch, which you can punch out gift tag shapes with super-quick!
You can stick book pages, sheet music, tissue paper, glitter, sequins, newspaper, magazine pages, wrapping paper or printed patterned pages to card, leave it to dry, and then use this stamp to create multiple unique gift tags really easily. You can even stamp out photos or pieces of your own artwork/doodles for something more personal.

Fo inspiration, have a look here.

Have fun!

Honeycomb Pleating Tutorial

The beautiful crafty technique of Honeycomb pleating was used to create this fantastic textured pillow! For the instructions, visit this site.

Paper-Doily Wreath

Absolutely gorgeous and delicate-looking wreath made from wreath forms, wire, doilies/bouquet holders/bouquet collars, white fairy lights and paint (optional).

Go here for the step-by-step tutorial.

Street Art

Amazing street art by Julian Beever.

The king of pavement art showcases his work - all of which are amazing 3D masterpieces. My favourite is definitely the one above of the water pipe and fountain...it's so realistic!

Exclusively Food

Yummy sweet recipes including the delicious lemonade scones and pavlova pictured above. *drool*

Marble Magnets

Great little project making cute marble magnets with your own images inside.
What you need:
1/2" and 3/4" round (strong) magnets
1/2" and 3/4" clear flat glass marbles
Silicon sealer (e.g. one made by the Crazy Glue people)
Little pictures (e.g. cut out from magazines)

I think it would be nice to have the faces of your family members on these magnets...and then display them on your fridge!

String Balloons

Giant balls of string made by wrapping crochet thread around balloons, using fabric stiffener to stiffen the thread, and then popping the balloon. Then if you want to, you can put lights in the centre to create gorgeous hanging lights to add a designer feel to any room!

For the instructions go here.

Readymade Magazine

A must-see site for any arty/crafty people out there who want a weekend project, love to make things for the home, or just want to browse for ideas and techniques.
- Click on 'videos' for step-by-step videos on how to make loads of cool things, from marshmallows to stools.
- Click on 'Archives' to see hundreds of ideas and instructions from past issues of 'Ready Made'.

Amazing resource, and all you have to do is sign in!

Click 'Subscribe' to order the issues of the 'Ready Made' magazines (great value)
And the shop also has a great range of fantastic products including craft books, a 'design-your-own-tote-bag' kit, t-shirts, wristbands, building plans and more!

My favourite make of all has to be the 'Sprout a couch':

Teacup Candles

Such pretty candles, which would make gorgeous gifts or wedding favours!

Go here for the instructions.

Fun in the Snow!

I have decided to create a collection of items for making the most out of your time in the snow. This is in tribute to the few flakes I spotted in England a couple of weeks ago - I got so excited because I LOVE snow, but as soon as it started it pretty much stopped :-(

So this is for people who are lucky enough to get proper snow!

First off, we have the IceBox, which is an (expensive) aid to help you make perfect igloos! Go here to buy or to browse awesome igloo photos (such as above).

^ IceBox in use.

To have a look at the different ways and techniques you can use to build an igloo go here.

For an awesome snow castle, visit this site (not just for kids I'm sure!): To create snowballs for the ultimate snowball fight, arm yourselves each with a Sno-Baller, which can create upto 60 snowballs a minute!

For Americans, you can buy yours here, and for UK residents, you can gets your here.

And to add a bit of colour to your igloo, just add a mix of food colouring and water to a spray bottle ! (see pics here)

If you run out of ideas, then try this website too :-)

Sparkle Scone Recipe

Divine-looking scones with rainbow sugar sprinkles - so cute with your cup of tea! Click here for the original recipe source.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup white sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold)

1/2 cup mix-ins (mini chocolate chips, dried cranberries, etc.)

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream

Toppings: Berry preserves (jam) and/or coarse sanding sugar

Method:

- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and "sift" them together using a wire whisk to combine and break up any lumps.
- Using a fork or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until you get pea-sized lumps. Stir in any mix-ins.
Combine milk and sour cream and add to dry ingredients, combine gently--careful not to overmix.
- Turn dough out onto lightly-floured surface and pat into a round shape with domed center. Use a sharp knife or pastry scraper to cut into 8 wedges.
- Use a teaspoon to create a small depression in the top of each wedge, spoon in some preserves (e.g. seedless blackberry).
- Sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar and bake on a cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes (or until lightly browned).

Firebox Gadgets

Popular gadget shop selling the weird and wonderful including (as shown above) a voodoo knife holder, the original Rolf Harris stylophone and a quirky birdhouse in the shape of a washing machine!

Fun Fragrances

Great website which offers scents including Play-doh, jelly beans, hot fudge, cannabis and snow! Just click on 'Fragrances' and then 'Fun fragrances' to find them. These make great gifts!
They also sell a whole load of normal health and beauty stuff too, don't worry! Other products include haircare, skincare, bath salts and other lotions and potions...enjoy :-)

How to Make a Steam Candle

Building The Amazing Steam Candle - The funniest movie is here. Find it

Simply follow the instructions in the video to make a candle which spins in water using steam for power. Nice light effects are produced.

Marshmallow Grill

Awesome idea for indoor toasted marshmallows...all you need is a few tools, toothpicks, a condiment cup, a cedar plank, nuts, bolts, bamboo skewers and marshmallows!
Find the tutorial here (read the comments at the bottom of the page for tips too) :-)

Gap Year + Travel Links VI

Natives
For season worker's who want a job on their gap year for a few months, such as working as a barman on the French Alps. Some provide free accommodation as well as paying you!
Round The World Flights
Really good website offering (as the name suggests :-)) round the world tickets.
Book Hostels
Good for finding hostels where you want to stay. Basic accommodation at cheap prices for you backpackers!
Find A Gap
Includes everything from cheap travel, accomodation, insurance to a massive database of Gap Year Jobs and Placements.
Engineers Against poverty
Volunteering work experience in low income countries.
Aidworkers
Website for international development / relief / aidwork.
Bunac
Very popular site offering jobs in USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South America.
Volunteer South America
Free and low cost volunteer work in South America.
Global Choices
Programmes are classified in 5 types: Working Holiday, Internships, Teaching Abroad, Volunteering and Courses. Countries available are Greece, United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, USA, Australia, India, China, Brazil.
Project Trust
Volunteer and travel. A choice of 24 different countries.
Volunteer Africa

Shorter volunteering projects in Africa.

Plastic Bottle Snowflakes

All you need to make this unique and beautiful garland is plastic bottles, clear beads and a length of string - and you can feel good about it because it's recycling!

Go to the tutorial here.

Lomo, Comic and Pop Art Photoshop Effects

Fantastic Lomo photo effect that you can create using Photoshop (and these instructions). Lomo photography is basically photography with very high colour saturation, and I think it looks amazing!

For a modern comic book look (I love this style!) you can follow this tutorial to create a photo like this:

And lastly, for a classic Andy Warhol effect (would be great as a present for a best friend or family member), you can go here for the guide.

Vase with Rub-On Transfers

Really beautiful effect created by adding rub-on transfers to a clear vase - so simple and quick!

Find the instructions here.

No Sew Moulded Ornaments

This starched felt ornament has been moulded using a clay cookie mould and then coloured in, to create a cute Christmas tree ornament.

There are so many possibilities for this idea - you could shape felt into loads of different shapes and use them for lots of different decorations or gifts. Go here for the tutorial.

Yarn Ball Wreath

Funky wreath made of styrofoam balls covered in yarn...really great for crafty Christmases!

Find the instructions here.

Stencilling Furniture

Gorgeous and eye-catching design for your furniture.

Created using stencils cut from contact paper, which are then arranged on the furniture and painted over with paint roller. Beautiful effect for such a simple technique.

Great way to save money too - you only need to buy plain furniture from now on!

Scroll down past the middle of this page for the tutorial.

Save Money with Big Crumbs!

Since it's the season for spending BIG, I thought I'd recommend Big Crumbs, where you earn money back when you shop at certain retailers through the Big Crumbs website.

The retailers include Ebay, Apple, Gap, Avon, Etnies, Dickies, Clinique, Buy Costumes and many more!

Click the icon button above to go to Big Crumbs :-)

Make a Glowing Tomato

Awesome video showing you how to make a strange glowing tomato!

It does use chemicals so be careful....but all items are quite easy to get hold of. Definitely a fun experiment for people who love a bit of home-made chemistry!

Improve Your Photos with Photoshop

Make your photos much more vivid and interesting with this technique in Photoshop.

It makes such a difference!

Shabby Chic Mini Dress-Form

Gorgeous little jewellery stand in the shape of a dress-form, made using a Barbie doll and clay as the base (although I'm sure you could sculpt the entire thing from clay instead if you prefer).
Such a cute shabby chic style, and would look beautiful on a dressing table.

Gap Year + Travel Links V

Go Gap Year
Funky website and fun guide to everything to do with gap years to get you prepared. Essential info on travel insurance, top tips, money, phone calls, what to take etc
British Council
FREE gap years...You get a grant from the European Union, which covers everything (food, accomodation, flights, insurance etc). You can go for any length of time (although 6-12 months is the norm) and you get to choose your project. Teaching, helping disabled, environmental issues, red cross, basically anything you fancy anywhere in Europe. (And "Europe" is more of a vague geographical description, you aren't limited to the 25 countries in the EU.)
Working Abroad
Volunteering and working abroad. Includes unusual choices such as Sweden (which looks great in the photos)
i-to-i
Might be more pricey but it has been running for years and has a huge range of countries to choose from. I think i might go for the conservation project in New Zealand actually :-)
ESL Cafe
Teaching Abroad.
Teach Abroad
Teaching Abroad
Pure Australia
Perfect if you are planning to have any time in Australia. Provides info on a massive range of useful topics.
Very GC
Another helpful and inspiring website for things to do in Australia. Nice photos.
Real Gap
Professional and very popular gap year site. Lots of inspirational projects including round the world trips, sports programmes, conservation work and paid jobs abroad.
Obami
Useful links and tips.

(If you are confident enough, and you are going to a typical backpacker's destination, you would save alot of money by not using a gap year company, and simply doing it all yourself. Obviously profit - making companies over-price things to make money, however sometimes it is worth it if you think you will need support and reassurance during your gap year.)

Au Pair World
Being an au pair abroad.
Au pair agency
Being an au pair abroad.

CESA Languages
Learn the native language in a place you travel to. You could learn Spanish for example in Madrid and combine it with Flamenco lessons!
Forum Info
REALLY useful and inspirational info on gap years from an individual on a forum. A few good links too.
One World 365
One of the best websites with a huge and interesting range of opportunities including placements such as archery instructor / lifeguard / sailing instructor at Camp America, plus travel tours, volunteering, teaching, seasonal jobs, community work...anything!
Link Ethiopia
Volunteering opportunites in Ethiopia. Highly recommended by a person who says tha the charity really look after you. You only need to give a contribution to flights and accommodation, but they only take a limited number of people every year since they are a charity.
Gap Year Worldwide
Lots of varied opportunities including ecotourism, work experience in Australia and New Zealand, working at an elephant sanctuary in Asia, doing a Gibbon rehabilitation project in Thailand, teaching, journalism and much more!
i Gap Year
Very useful tool where you can select the type of gap year you want and the country you want to go and it searches for available projects. Volunteering, travel, and jobs available, including wildlife rehabilitation, working with children and construction projects.