No-Heat Hair Tips & Tutorials

Yup, back again. Not really been anywhere to be honest - hence lack of blog posts! Being of the same measurements as Mr Greedy and having to do a wee every fifteen seconds does not make for exciting around-town journeys.

With it being summer (well, hopefully it will hang on a few more weeks!) one thing that a lot of us have in common is wanting easy, low-fuss hair - often a bit more natural and tousled than in the winter months. I dye my hair red which is notorious for dulling with heat, so am always on the look out for no-heat curls and other easy overnight styles. Here are a few of my most recent online finds...

A time my no-heat curls worked and did not get rained
on. A rarity in Britain.

Button Revamp - New Old Top!

Hi all! I hope you're enjoying the bank holiday in all its glory. I was a little worried yesterday as I could see my breath and it was pouring with rain, luckily it's brighter today! I shouldn't really be blogging now if I was a proper blogger, as people don't read it straight away - but heh, you guys can read this whenever. If it starts raining again you can thank me for something to do.

Miss Selfridge via a Chazza

Cute Pocket detail

I was rummaging through my wardrobe recently and found this shirt, which I bought for about £3 from a charity shop a year or two ago. I love the pattern and cute pockets - it also lends itself to being styled with casual jeans or work wear, and can look very 50s gypsy style or hippy chic. Bargain! However, as you can see, it was all crumpled and folorn at the back of the shelf when I found it...

Poundland Haul

Sorry I've been away. I've been quite poorly recently unfortunately.

Never mind. Local Poundlands had a chance to re-stock. Here's a V-log about my latest Poundland and 99p Stores haul...

 Enjoy! And if you do YouTube, subscribe to my channel as I am planning to do more video stuff in future. Just don't expect expert camera action, it's gonna be more You've Been Framed than BAFTA material.

Attacking Things From Poundland With A Glue Gun

Ah yes, the weather has been foul so I have been doing things indoors. By doing things, I mainly mean reading trashy fantasy novels and watching YouTube tutorials whilst eating Pringles by the fistful - but eventually, occasionally, I actually get round to making the things I've watched. Yes, crafting. Or in my case, sticking everything in sight together with an overheating glue gun and hoping for the best.

S'cuse the nekkid nails.

Hats & Hair & A Chrimbo Fair

My jaded heart is starting its seasonal melt. I am becoming 'enthusiastic' Perdita again, yes, that annoying one who highlights everything in Time Out and texts a million and one people and constantly organises one after the other 'just a little gathering- you know- some mulled wine.' Christmas Perdita. She gets tiresome quickly, but I don't have to hang around with her, everyone else does. Ha!

Do You Make Christmas Gifts? Useful Links!

Yeah, it's November. With Bonfire Night and Halloween out of the way, my thoughts turn Christmas-wards. I always intend to make elaborate home made gifts for everyone, but sometimes time (and money) get in the way of creating complex applique designs or cards so complex they could be filmed for Grand Designs.

Often, if you're not amazing with the sewing machine it's those little stocking fillers which are best home-made. Gifts for work mates, neighbours, friends and kids. I find simple, low-cost crafting incredibly therapeutic and relaxing on a cold winter night. Working long days and often bringing work home, projects need to offer impressive results with either a quick make, or, if a longer project, small steps which can be split up over several evenings.

Also... they have to be cheaper than buying a (nice) example of said object from a shop. I am no longer a kid and people won't smile through gritted teeth "it's loooovely" if I present them with some chewed up can-you-guess-what-it-is-yet article; all the worse if it cost me a new mortgage via  Hobbycraft. Most of my craft materials are recycled, thrifted or scrounged from Poundland or - on a good day - Dunelm Mill.

I usually start searching for ideas in my old 70s books and online around now. Thanks to Pinterest (yes! I am on Pinterest! And I'm shamelessly plugging my boards!) I've rounded up and filtered out some of the best easy/thrifty/actually cool Christmas lists out there and am sharing them today (click the captions to link):

36th Avenue has the BEST range out there; it delivers exactly the level of thrift, ease and actual nice gifts I want. What is more, at the bottom they link to two further installments. So that's up to 75 gifts! now my family'sbig, but not that big...spoilt for choice.

This range of 24 easy projects from Tip Junkie has some nice bath items and paper crafts.They say they're for neighbours only... I'm gonna be a rebel and give them to people who don't live next door (but are neighbours in the metaphorical sense, I guess).

These ideas from How Does She are a little less 'hands on' but every bit as cute;printable labels and ideas for little baskets, sweets etc'. Perfect for making a simple little gift more special.

Finally - Cut Out And Keep is a great craft community with literally thousands of projects... if you want something specific, or want to search by material, it is the place to go.

See Felt Bows On Elastics and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Craft board on Pinterest for more ideas (including how to make sleighs out of 2 chocolate bars and some candy canes... genius!).

Crafty Bargain

As any craft-lover knows, crafting is back in vogue. This is fantastic for ideas- a quick search for blogs, Pinterest, or my favourite site Cut Out And Keep, brings up a wealth of content. However, as any fule kno, when something is popular, it gets expensive.

My bargain book: £1.49!

Ye Olde Worlde

Ha! No, I have not got into a new and extreme era of vintage, nor have I become a re-enactor of sword fights and the like. Although, that does sound fun in its own way...

Medieval Fun!

My latest low-budget day out is to Ruislip's Medieval Weekend, incorporating their ever popular craft and artisan food fair, managed by Duck Pond Markets.

Sew and Sew

His Lordship gave me a sewing machine for my birthday. A 1914 Singer in perfect working order with original case, to be precise.

Well, it was in perfect working order when he bought it; by the time it arrived at our flat, the case was smashed to pieces and the workings somewhat bruised...

Pleat Treat

I bought this handbag at a Church fete a couple of weeks ago, from the knitting stall. My friend snagged a sensible chocolate brown one with a tortoiseshell style handle but my £4 went on this beauty. My sister's first words upon seeing it were "That is so wrong. It looks like a merkin."

The bag hate makes me more determined to use it.

Well Fit

I haven't been out much due to the dreaded exam season. Endless paperwork and evening/weekend classes... happily they are now completed, students feeling confident, staff sorted- so my social life can start afresh with this bank holiday weekend. Huzzah!

Being housebound with paperwork of a weekend, naturally I used my full reserve of intellectual and creative power to avoid anything resembling an Excel spreadsheet until Sunday evening when it absolutely positively had to be done. Bad girl. Rebelling against years of 'no TV until you can show me your homework' as a child.

Improving a dress...

First off, a big thank you to Tea & Crumpets - I won a fabulous necklace in her giveaway! Whoop!

Now on to my toil this afternoon... I love a bit of craft and re-conning. I get my inspiration from various sites ( my current favourites are Cut Out And Keep and Violet Le Beaux's blog) - this improvement, however, was more out of psychological necessity than inspiration. I'd just got sick of looking at this sorry article in my wardrobe: