Saturday 26 February 2011

Featuring... B Organic Skincare

B Organic Skincare was founded by Aycin, mother of one beautiful little girl, and began trading in June 2010.  B Organic Skincare was created out of necessity.  Her daughter was born with severe eczema and for several years she suffered with it. So much so that Aycin and her husband, would "often hear her crying in the night and we would find her bleeding where she had scratched in her sleep". Something that many parents with eczema sufferings will relate to and the associated heartache as you struggle to make them comfortable. 
Frustrated at the short-lived relief prescribed products would provide and organic products that still contained damaging chemicals, other than SLS and Parabens which are absent, Aycin set about researching the matter herself. After reading about how other cultures deal with skin conditions and speaking with experts, Aycin created what she believes is the gentlest organic skincare and bath products range, made with the best certified organic ingredients she could possibly find. Their products are not only organic, but free from so many nasty chemicals. All our products are suitable for sufferers of eczema and sensitive skin.


The Soothing Body Balm is their star product and best seller. It soothes and nourishes eczema  and any skin irritations including nappy rash. They receive amazing reviews on their gentle organic products, but the Soothing Body Balm will be receiving some awards very soon. It is suitable for babies and adults, can even be used on the face. It should be called magic balm as it works wonders.
B Organic Skincare will be available nationwide in the Pharmacies and Health Stores very soon. In the mean time you can shop directly from their website www.b-organic.co.uk



Tuesday 22 February 2011

LFW giveaway

So we got an AMAZING goody bag and well not everything in there is my cup of tea, thought the sunglasses are seriously the most awesome glasses EVER due to my lousy sight i cannot wear them however much i tell myself i can!!
h and m clutch

beauty goodies

m and s sunglasses
i am going to be running a give away for each of these awesome LFW goodies, all you have to do it follow my blog and comment why you think you should win them, but you can only choose one per person! The best/most imaginative and/or funniest will win :)
good luck ladies


L x

LFW.. I was there!!!

SO I'm pretty much recovered from the awesomeness that was London Fashion Week! Ok that might be a slight exaggeration as i only attended The Look Show but still i totally fell in love with the champagne lifestyle even if it was only for a few hours!!!
I wasn't completely alone, i met the beautiful Rose from @tmntanning whilst in London, it was nice to have an ally!
Fashion has always been a huge passion of mine and even though i don't do the whole trend watch and follow along like a sheep i love having a good nosey at what inspiration i can take from it and adapt it into my own personal style and look. There wasn't an unglamorous person there, well apart from possibly me, and people watching was high up on the list of activities, along side sipping champagne of course!! Celebs where pouring through the door like a leaky tap and quite honestly the whole CELEB thing doesn't really float my boat. As much as you can admire someone for doing a job like theres i don't see what all the fuss is about! I was stood right behind Shane ward for a good 10 mins before i realised i recognised him, he could of been anyone quite frankly.
Though the one thing i am jealous of is their wardrobe!!
I mean check out that jumper, its defo on the want list!! handmade by her mate too..a designer of course but still AWESOMENESS!!
Shall i do some name dropping now while no ones looking...









I'm sure none of these famous faces need an introduction :)







The one thing i did notice while i was there though was the serious lack of jewellery!! But maybe that was just me.
So here's a few snaps from the catwalk show... for me it didnt really do it for me! i was totally uninspired but the lack of imagination shown and everything was the same style and cut just in a different colour! paper bag trousers seemed the key piece for spring and summer on the high street but for me personally i look like a bag of potatoes!! They didn't suit me last year they hell as like aren't gonna suit me this year! I liked the cute preppy look with the Polo's and cardis... something i CAN pull off so ill be keep my peepers open for pieces i can steel!!

 look geek chic!!



So that's pretty much it! I had THE best time.. i met some really lovely people and it was most defiantly an experience i could easily repeat, so for all organisers for next years shows... I'M FREE TO ATTEND!! I do wanna say a huge thanks to Lana Lain i didn't get to meet the lovely lady on the day... we seemed to pass like ships in the night but without her i wouldn't of gone so a huge thank you sweety and to the lovely Rose, thanks for keeping me company.. i haven't laughed like that in a LONG time!! :)


L xx

Wednesday 16 February 2011

London Fashion Week

So there I was checking my emails early last week and there it was, shining like the holy grail..You have won Look Show tickets!! AGHHHHHHH!! i bet you all heard me scream! Now from this, what would seem rather insignificant email, has brought about a multitude of problems and headaches. Firstly my plus 1, which of course in this situations has to be your best friend! my best friend is a teacher, a teacher who works at THE LOUSIEST school and due to their CRAPPY POLICIES she had to RAIN CHECK me. You don't RAIN CHECK London Fashion Week?! I almost cried into my tea... So i picked myself up, dusted myself off and asked about, surely someone was free on the 18th Feb. turns out no, every man and his bloody dog had a prior engagement that day. Ill say it AGAIN....YOU DON'T RAIN CHECK LONDON FASHION WEEK.  But as it turns out that was the least of my worries. Then came the row with the hubster. It wasn't the row i expected, mostly the rowing was from my side cos i didn't agree with his .. shall we say.. ADVICE! Apparently attending London fashion week for.. as he says.. a jolly that would not be beneficial for MY business therefore should not spend the £75 and a whole day to watch some girls in mirrors and tin foil! You'd think after 6 years he would of got the general jist about fashion!! But after DISCUSSING (cough) it we called a truce and i told him i was going! So then we got to the time, ticket price and mode of transport. I chose train, he figured plane, a toyed with the bus but eventually we all agree train! £75 and 3 hrs but needs must... ITS LONDON FASHION WEEK!  Sat here now .. (this is totally off subject so be warned).. writing this makes me wonder if ill be THAT girl that EEKKS at absolutely EVERYTHING! I'm not an armature,  i have attended the Birmingham Clothes Show Live 3 years running so i basically know what to expect but the giddiness of a day off alone in London with clothes and champagne.. it doesn't look good!!
ANYWAY.... after choosing times and stations i eagerly awaited my tickets.  They came Saturday, after almost deciding i wasn't going to attend... I know i know... ITS LONDON FASHION WEEK! but its like a squillion miles n hours on the train on my own and coming back is by the skin of my teeth if i make the train on time! But when i saw those tickets with my name and CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION on i figured, what the hey!!!
So its now Wed morning and nerves are starting to kick in. Ive decided to buy tickets on the day now, but I'm more concerned about my outfit! I have absolutely NOTHING to wear!! i can scrape together a dress or skirt combo but the shoes avaid me. My big furry Ugg boots are the comfiest shoes i own but hardly high in the fashion stakes, they where bought for warmth and comfort not style and elegance! So I'm sat here quietly crapping my pants that, as per usual, ill be the weird kid no-one wants to talk to, am i bothered? not so much, I have spent the last 28 years being the weird kid no-one talks to. Do i want to impress the hardcore fashionistas? WELL... maybe just a little but ill hardly be loosing sleep over it. So raise your tea to London Fashion Week and this nerdy kid that will be attending... ill keep you posted!

L xx

Thursday 10 February 2011

Featuring Tanya miller from @cardswithadiff

Tanya, a very lovely lady agreed to let me run a feature on her and her gorgeous handmade cards, if your not already follow her @cardswithadiff

I am a lactose intolerant 40 something year old who has been married for years and lives in Chorley.  I work full time and craft in every spare minute I get.

I have two rabbits (one is an indoor bunny) and a budgie and a tortoise.  As I absolutely love Coronation Street all the animals are (and have been in the past) named after Coronation Street characters.  The rabbits are called Leanne and Graham and the budgie is called Fred and the tortoise called Vera.




I love card making and knitting predominantly, having had a fascination with all things paper from an early age.  Mum remembers me sitting in my playpen with a catalogue just ripping the pages out and making a mess!  Mum went to art college when she was younger so I think this is where I maybe get my arty-ness from.

I absolutely love the colour pink and have recently done a blog posting about it.

I am in the process of creating a craft studio in the spare big bedroom.  All the walls are painted candyfloss pink!  I am just saving up a bit of money to buy a desk and then a lovely rug for the floor and get dad to put my shelves up (because hubby is against all things DIY! lol) and then it will be all systems go.  I presently craft all over the house, predominantly in the living room but would love a dedicated room to call my own where I can leave everything out and get organised. 




I started making cards when I visited a craft shop about 15 years ago and got bitten by the bug.  I don't think there were many card makers out there then, as people were interested in cross stitch at the time.  I decided to make cards and also do a bit of a cross stitch and then as time has gone on I have developed a keen interest in knitting - knitting socks and shawls mainly for family and friends and the odd baby item here and there.

My inspiration for the cards I make comes from the world around me although I do watch a lot of craft programmes on TV and avidly search the internet for all things paper/card making.  I have travelled abroad quite a lot, especially the Caribbean, and after seeing turtles on a beach in St Kitts and visiting a butterfly park on two visits to Aruba that is why butterflies and turtles feature on some of my cards.




Most of the images I use in my cards come from CD's (which all have angel policies and are completely copyright free for me to use and sell).  I especially like CD's produced by Joanna Sheen as the images on them are timeless.

I spend most of my free time visiting craft shops in the local area looking for papers, ribbons, glitter and gems that I can use to jazz up my cards.

I opened by Folksy shop in August last year and although I haven't had many sales yet, I am hopeful now that I have a blog and have joined Twitter that the sales will come, because my views on my Folksy page have gone up as a result of doing so.  At the moment I only sell on Folksy and to friends and family but have in the past done a few craft fairs in the local area, but have had to stop doing the main craft fair I did every month for six months due to changes made by them which means all stalls are outside.  I suffer from ill health (Fibromyalgia) and my body would not let me stand outside for hours at a time in the wind and rain and cold.  Brrrr.  Lol.   I will continue to look for other suitable venues to sell my wares and in the meantime will continue on Folksy, as we are a friendly community who offer support and guidance to all.  My plans for the future are to open another shop on Folksy selling handknitted socks for babies and adults, doing more craft fairs, and also to try lots of new things for my cards including parchment craft.  I would say that my favourite cards in my shop are:


http://www.folksy.com/items/1250525-Handstamped-Medallion-Butterfly-Card?shop=yes
http://www.folksy.com/items/1249945-Watercolour-Painted-Poppy?shop=yes  (which is a one-of-a-kind handpainted card by my mum)
http://www.folksy.com/items/1056937-Wedding-Card-?shop=yes
http://www.folksy.com/items/749437-Turtle-Decoupage-Card?shop=yes
http://www.folksy.com/items/1337861-Butterfly-Card?shop=yes

I also have a blog http://www.cardswithadifference.blogspot.com

My favourite shop on Folksy is Onestoppampershop.  I bought some candles from her at Christmas (chocolate fluff) and they were divine and I also recently won some of her candles on a blog giveaway (orange and cranberry) and they too smell beautiful.





Thank you Tanya for taking the time to write this fabulous post... if you want cards with a difference, visit @cardswithadiff


L xx

Sunday 6 February 2011

And we have a winner..

The ever so lucky @cutieandcheeky has won the 6 disc Jamie Oliver at home series.. looking forward to hearing from you :)

L x

Thursday 3 February 2011

My 12 Dates with Jamie Oliver...

The lovely people over at Buzz magazine have asked me to spend some time reviewing the Jamie at Home DVD series.. Who am i to say no??
If you're wondering who Buzz are its the free supplement in the Sun newspaper which is out once a week. Its cram packed full of fashion, food and celebs!! There is soap gossip and spoilers and some fabulous interviews and a full weeks worth or TV listings, and best of all its FREE! :)
If you are on Twitter, follow them here The Sun Buzz mag


The Jamie at Home, 6 DVD with 12 episodes DVD series will be on promotion in the Sun newspaper from the 5th-11th Feb and 1 DVD is available everyday in the paper. Simply collect the token to redeem the DVD instantly from all Tesco stores on the day of print. The promotion kicks off on the 5th in the Buzz magazine then every other day in the Sun newspaper for the week.
And 1 lucky reader will win the whole 6 DVD set when you simply follow my blog and The Sun Buzz Mag !! Just pop back and comment to say you have done both :) the lucky winner will be chosen at random on the 5th Feb so be quick :)


I watched my set of these fab DVD's and I had forgot just how great he is to watch! He is always informative about the ingredients he uses and you see the odd celeb chef pop up every now and then and his garden is AMAZING!! if only my veg patch looked like that haha
There are 2 episodes on each disc, all fabulous seasonal dishes and easy to make.
Disc 1 is Furred Game and Pastry
Disc 2 is Leeks and Winter Veg
Disc 3 is Eggs and Lamb
Disc 4 is Asparagus  and Peas and Beans
Disc 5 is Strawberries and Summer Brassicas
and Disc 6 is Summer Salad and Rhubarb.
so what you waiting for.. even if your not a budding armature chef, wasting several hours watching Jamie cook clearly isn't a waste of time ;)

I'd like to thank The Sun and Buzz magazine for supplying the 6 DVD series for my lovely readers :)
For more Jamie Oliver books and DVDs stop by amazon