Pinterest Post #7 - Arts & Crafts

I've always been into my arts and crafts from a young age and now I'm studying Interior Design at university whilst creating a scrapbook of my photography, making candles and baking in my spare time. I think it's fair to say that I'm still very much into them. So I've picked my top 5 things to make from my Arts & Crafts board to show you below.

D.I.Y Chalkboards - This is such a great idea, using an old mirror of photo frame and painting it then inserting a chalkboard into the middle (I know you can even buy chalk board paint or paper if you don't have an actual chalkboard).

Sock Monkey - I think this would make such a good gift if you wanted to hand make something - and it looks a tad better than the sock puppets Phoebe made in friends, right? 

D.I.Y Book Covers - I don't know about you but buying pretty stationary and notebooks always motivates me to use them a lot more than the plain boring ones, so how about buying a cheap plain notebook and covering the front in your own fabric?

Hot Chocolate Spoons - I've seen these in shops quite a lot recently but I never thought they were worth the money when you can buy a whole tub of hot chocolate for a similar price or even cheaper. So I'm going to keep this idea on my to-do list and see how they turn out making my own.

Tea-Cup Candles - I think I might have mentioned this in one of my previous posts but a new hobby I've taken up this year is making candles. It was actually after I'd seen these tea-cup candles and although I haven't made any in tea-cups as of yet, I do plan on doing it soon and they would also make great gifts!

Let me know if any of you decide to re-create these ideas, you can find me on twitter @AbigailsWorld94.

Abigail x

AbigailsWorld

Cute Duvet Covers

I've been really into homeware sections of stores lately, to be honest, I always have! I love looking at cushions, candles and accessories for the home. Having quite small bedrooms both at home and away at university my bed (as in most bedrooms) takes up the most space and is the centre point of the room. I love adding throws and cushions to decorate it (we all love a comfy cushion, right?) which made me realise I tend to have quite plain duvet covers, so for today's post I thought I'd share with you some (not so plain) duvet covers which I've been lusting over recently.

Next - Designers Guild Mokuren Duvet Cover - I love the mixture of both monotones and bright colours in this duvet cover, it seems perfect for Spring, especially with the cute flowers.

John Lewis - Logan Blue Duvet Cover- Although this duvet seems quite plain still, I am a fan of the nautical/blue stripes which this duvet reminds me of, and I think it'd be nice for if you were looking for a unisex duvet cover.

Matalan - Toile Print Reversible Duvet Cover - I think this duvet cover has a bit of a vintage feel to it, and I really like how it's reversible too! I think it'd look great in a crisp white bedroom and you wanted to add a little bit of colour!

Yorkshire Linen Co. - Hounds Red Duvet Cover - You're either a dog person or a cat person and I'm definitely all for the dogs! I love the print of the dogs on this duvet cover, and with the white background it would fit in well with most bedroom designs.

Debenhams - Multi-coloured floral print 'Bliss' duvet cover - The bright florals on this duvet cover really stand out to me, I'd love waking up under this in the Spring/Summer months.

Which one's are your favourite?

Abigail x

Plum Crumble Recipe

I first found this recipe here but decided to make a few changes to make it my own and it still turned out to be amazing! I wish I still had some of this left it was that good. So here's how you can be very happy eating this too.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small dice

1 large egg

About 6 regular plums


Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to around gas mark 6 and cover a tray in either foil or baking paper.
• Slice the plums around the center and then twist to separate them into two halves and de-seed them and slice into pieces.
• Set aside the plums as they won't be needed straight away.
• Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, except for the plums and egg.
• Mix these together with your fingers (or whatever you prefer) this will be used as both the crumble base and topping.
• After these look to be mixed together enough, add the egg and mix together in the same way again until you get a much more crumble-looking mixture.
• Then you can use about three-quarters of this crumble mixture for the bottom of the crumble so fill your tray with about three quarters of this and press down so it sticks together.
• Next you can add your plums, I liked to place the slices over each other so they gradually covered the whole of the base, but you could also scatter these to mix it up a bit.
• And finally add the rest of the crumble mixture on top of the plums, BUT don't press down on it this time, leave it scattered but covered as much as you live for a nice crumble topping.
• And then place in the oven for around 20-25 minutes or until the crumble top is looking golden.

Then ta-daaaa you have an amazing tasting plum crumble! Let me know if you decide to re-create this recipe, I'd love to see the results!

Abigail x

Pinterest Post #6 - My Bucket List

This week I thought it would be nice to write a post on something a little which you don't see too many blog posts about, and that is what's on my bucket list. There are so many things I'd like to do some day but just to name a few here are five of them in no particular order.

Go to Italy - If you read my travel post last week you will know that Italy is the place I'd like to visit the most abroad if I had the chance to choose anywhere, so no doubt that wouldn't be on my bucket list somewhere!

Ride in an airplane - To go to Italy I'd probably have to get in an airplane, also something I've never done before believe it or not. I can't quite imagine what it would be like to be that high in the sky, although it probably seems like nothing to some of you, there's not a reason why I haven't been in a plane before, I've just never needed to as I've never been abroad before either.

Play in a human hamster ball - How amazing would that be? It looks like so much fun and reminds me of some shows I'd watch on tv when I was younger.

Learn to play guitar - I do actually own a guitar although I've never gotten around to learning how to play it properly so that's something that I'd like to do at some point. I remember teaching myself jingle bells on it one year but I'm yet to get a bit further than that!

Learn how to drive - Another thing that I'm yet to get around to doing, how difficult will it be? I'm hoping to maybe get around to it this summer so wish me luck!


Abigail x

Gluten-Free Banana Pancakes Recipe

I'd been looking for recipe on banana pancakes for a while, but most of them had a lot of ingredients which I didn't have in. That's until I found this three-ingredient recipe plus it's also gluten-free so that means even a lot more of you can make this too! Now the only thing that I didn't have which would have been useful would be some syrup, so I decided to add cinnamon instead for a bit more flavour but because of the flavours of the bananas I really don't think you need to!

Ingredients:

One and a half banannas

2 eggs

half a tsp of baking powder

(optional) cinnamon

Method:

• Firstly I mashed the bananas in a bowl with a fork - not too much though as I still wanted there to be some physical pieces of banana in the pancakes.
• Next I added the baking powder and eggs and mixed them all together with the fork, and then added a tiny bit of cinnamon at this stage.
• Next step, in a frying pan place about a tablespoon or two of the mixture (you don't need nuch at all) and then leave for a minute or two for one side to cook and then flip it over to the other side, and cook for however long you want depending on how well done you like them.
• Repeat the last step for the rest of the mixture, I got about four out of mine using these quantities.

Then you're done and you now have some tasty banana pancakes to eat! I did also add some more cinnamon at the end, but it's not essential. I might even use some syrup next time myself.

Let me know if you decide to give it a go - especially as it's almost pancake day!

Abigail x

Pinterest Post #5 - Travel

Travelling is something I don't get to do too often with still being a university student but something I'd love to do a lot more. Although I've never been abroad before I know there's some places I'd definitely like to visit some day, so for today's post I thought I'd share with you my top 5 places I want to travel abroad to from my pinterest board here.

Italy - Italy is probably the place I'd like to visit the most. I'm not sure why, I'm currently trying to learn the language too and I love their food (everyone likes pizza though, right?) Lake Como is pictured (no.1) and it's little streets like this which I imagine Italy to be like, it also reminds me of the film 'Letters to Juliet' which is based on Italy and the whole Romeo and Juliet love story and every time I watch that film it makes me want to go there.

France - France is another place I'd love to visit. In particular the Eiffel Tower (image no.5 - just incase you weren't sure....) and even Disney Land. Although if I ever do get to visit France one thing I'm not too sure about is the snail eating - would definitely choose Italy over France when it comes to their food!

Bora Bora - Everyone dreams of going to a place like Bora Bora, it looks so tranquil, a place you could sit and relax all day long and enjoy the view and let go of all your worries. When it comes to thinking of places to go to abroad I never really choose the typical beachy holiday destinations as I'd much rather go and see sites then lay around on a beach but with Bora Bora I'd definitely make an exception.

Australia - Did anyone ever watch the show 'H2o' as a child? The show where the three teenage girls would turn into mermaids if they touched water and all had a power each? Well I did and I think that's one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Australia so much, the Sydney Opera House is also an amazing piece of architecture I'd like to see. I think the wildlife and animals would be great to see there too, although I'd probably be quite scared if I saw a crocodile.

Fiji - Image no.2 shows the heart Shape Island, Tavarua Island in Fiji. In these images I think Fiji can look quite similar to that of Bora Bora but, one reason in particular that Fiji is in my top 5 is that there is also an underwater motel which you can stay in. How amazing is that? You're on the ocean floor and you can even feed the fish from pressing a button in your motel room, imagine literally waking up to that (here).

You can see more from me on pinterest here, see you over there.

Abigail x

MUA Haul and Swatches

So last week I popped into Superdrug to see if they had the much talked about Make-up Revolution Chocolate palette, they didn't and naturally I ended up purchasing five MUA products instead. I mean, what can you do? In my defense I did need a new eyeliner and concealer, and with MUA being such good quality for such a small price - you can't really blame me! I managed to get all of these items for a mere £6!

First up are these two lipsticks which cost only £1 each! And I think they are actually some of my favourites, dare I say it even better than the Rimmel Kate lipsticks? I'd purchased an MUA lipstick a few years ago so I knew they'd be fab, what I wasn't aware of was that they also have matte lipsticks, and when I saw this wintery shade I had to buy it! The two that I purchased above are, Nectar (link here) which I'm looking forward to wearing in the spring/summer and Wild Berry (link here).

So although I did head into Superdrug for an eye-shadow palette, originally, I did actually need to buy a new concealer and eyeliner. When it comes to liquid eyeliner my favourite form to use is in this kind of felt tip/pen, however I usually end up paying around £7 for one at least! This fine tipped "Extreme Felt Eyeliner" was only £2! And look at just how fine the line is, definitely a bargain! This concealer is a new product by MUA (link here) and retails at just £3, when I popped into Superdrug it was however on offer as FREE when you spent at least £6, as I did. This is a highlighting concealer, one that you'd use under your eyes rather than on blemishes and it also has a little bit of glitter in it, which I can't say I'm too keen on but as you can see when it's blended in it's barely noticeable so I'll have to let you know how I get on with this product.

And saving the best until last is this MUA Twelfth Night Eye-Shadow Palette. Although I think I'll still buy the Make-up Revolution Chocolate Palette which I was looking for in Superdrug I think this palette is absolutely gorgeous. There are so many colours to choose from, in this palette the purple and greys stood out the most to me and for the price of this palette you really can not go wrong! Originally £4 now on offer for £2 I think you all need this in your lives.

My favourites to use from this palette so far have been 'Ice', 'Frost' and 'Plum' which I used to create one look. I am looking forward to trying out the more metallic and shimmery shades such as 'Myrrh' and 'Oudh', and for a more neutral day time look 'Fir' and 'Hush' could create a lovely look.

I think 'Hush' could even be used as a highlighter on the brow bone, and although 'Plum' doesn't swatch as brightly as it is shown in the palette I still think it's a lovely colour, especially at this time of the year.

'Oudh', 'Frost' and 'Myrrh' are definitely the three shades to use if you want something brighter and metallic whereas I think 'Fir' and 'Coal' will be used a lot more from day-to-day.

What are your favourite MUA products?

Abigail x

Pinterest Post #4 - Jewellery

Back for another post on the wonderful world of pinterest, this time I've picked out my 5 favourite pins from my jewellery board.  I'm always on the look out for some nice rings but I'm yet to find any that really stand out to me, each time I'm in a shop and see the jewellery collection I can't help but go over and have a peak! Here are some of the pieces I've been lusting over online recently.

Origami Crane Earrings - Although I own quite a lot of earrings, I think it's fair to say that these would stand out a mile from the any I own. I think these are incredible, I can't imagine having the patience to hand-make these, they must have been so fiddly - but worth it.

Rose Gold Initial Bracelet - I never tend to wear many bracelets, I own a couple of charm bracelets which I do like to wear but I'm never brave enough to wear them out and about through the fear of losing them. It doesn't matter what size I get, for some reason they tend to always slip off my wrist and over my hand. This bracelet is so cute, especially with the initial and I particularly love that it's rose gold.

Art Deco Ring - I bet this ring caught your eye didn't it? (Top Left) I think it's probably the most beautiful ring I've ever seen! Those blue tones with the silver ring are magnificent, we all wish we had a ring like this now, right?

Gold, Pink and Grey Crystal Quartz Ring - I use to collect different kinds of gems and stones when I was younger and this ring reminded me of those. Putting them into a ring is a brilliant idea, I'd love to try this but I wouldn't know where to start with making my own. The chosen pink and grey crystals in this ring match perfectly too.

Dinosaur Ring - I don't know what it is but I've always been a fan of dinosaurs. From watching tv shows like walking with dinosaurs and then onto Primeval growing up (although it's not really just about dinosaurs) I've always really liked them. So this ring was no doubt going to be in my top 5 picks, I even own at least two pairs of dinosaur socks, I just think they're amazing - maybe even roar-some? Too far?

Abigail x

H&M Homeware Wishlist

Today is the 1st February, the start of another month! This past month has gone so fast, it only feels like only last week that I was buying Christmas presents. But as you know a new month means a whole new wish list - and this months is all about h&ms homeware section. I knew that h&m had a homeware section but I wasn't aware of how much it had grown lately until a friend of mine mentioned it and I had to check it out, as soon as I did I was bookmarking my favourite pieces ready to write this post!

Tea Cup Tea Towel - If you know how much I love drinking tea (it's slowly become a daily necessity) then you'll know why I like this tea towel so much, and look how cute those little teacups are!


Ceramic Jar with Bird - Storage jars like these come in handy so much, I have some that I'll use to keep in things such as teabags (I mean, what else?) or even in my room, you could even keep some make-up or something that you like to collect in it. I also like how the pastel colour also looks quite worn and vintage and of course the little bird handle on the lid.


Storage Basket - Clearly I'm a bit of a storage geek, two storage items in a row but this could come in handy for if like me you live in student accommodation and don't have too much furniture in your room, I have to keep some things together piled on top such as duvet covers and towels so I think this would be great to keep some of these in to keep them separate and more organised.


Floral Towel - This towel is so pretty, much more than the plain ones I currently own.


Moss-Knit Blanket - I really like the neutral colour of this blanket and the fabric and texture looks so soft and very different to the fleece style blankets I currently have in my room, it also looks like a very grown-up blanket too (I'm not even sure what I mean by that myself).

Bird Candles - Over Christmas I started a new little hobby of making my own candles (maybe a post coming soon?) and these bird shapes are so pretty, I want to be able to make some like these one day!

Tea Light Holders - Again, with my little recent candle obsession these would fit in so well with my room. And I also really love the rose gold finish on the inside of the holders.

Fleur Cushion Cover - I'm also a little bit of cushion collector, they're just so comfy and you can just throw them onto your bed anyhow and they'll look fab! I even still have a very old Busted cushion (the band) that must be about 10 years old!

Rabbit Paper Plates & Rabbit Paper Cups - My favourite animals are rabbit and anything with rabbits on I just, well, need really. Well, I don't but they're so cute aren't they?!

What do you think of h&m's homeware collection?

Abigail x