Author: Suzi Stamp

Saturday Shout Out – Wood Create!!!

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Shout Out to Wood Create!!!

Today’s shout out goes to Wood Create, a new to me blog that has been running for just under 2  years!

Wood Create is a blog about gardening and home improvements that offers lots of inspiration and ideas for your home and garden.

Ben, who runs Wood Create, talks about some of his favourite posts…

My favourite post also happens to be my most popular. How to build your own veranda. I get lots of views and interaction from this post which is very rewarding to know that people are interested in what I do and to know I’m helping similar minded people.

My second favourite post is ‘How to build your own shed from scratch’. I loved carrying out this project, documenting each step and then writing about it for my blog. Again it was great to provide content for like-minded people who are taking on similar challenges to me.

Lastly, ‘£50 credit and 4 more reasons to choose renewable energy company Bulb’. There’s something in this one for everyone, including me. Renewable energy is the future, vitally important to the planet and this company offers great rates and credit for referrals. Win, win. 😊

A fun fact about Wood Create, which is also really lovely is

This is a family run blog and shop in which we all get involved, even our kids who are 4 and 6 years old. Everyone has something to share on the blog and we all get involved with making and creating to add new and exciting content for all to read.

I have really enjoyed reading the posts that Ben has written, especially building your own shed for under £500!  I am thinking about adding a shed to my garden at some point and this has been so interesting and helpful to read!

You can find Wood Create over at

Instagram

Twitter

Etsy

If you haven’t already, please go and check out Wood Create, it really is a fab blog packed full of interesting projects!

Bloggers Bash

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Today’s blog post is being written on a coach as I make my way from my home to London for the weekend!

I’m pretty excited about this trip as, not only am I getting to spend some time with my brother, his wife and my niece and nephew, I’m also going to be attending the Bloggers Bash!

I was up super early this morning, 4:30am and getting ready for my trip, made myself a flask for coffee for the journey and headed to the bus stop, (with thanks to my lovely friend for the lift down), to await the bus that would pick me up at 6:05am.

Luckily the bus was on time, and so far the journey has gone without a glitch. It’s been raining pretty much non stop since last night and showers are forecast for the day and for tomorrow which is a bit disappointing as it’s June and we should be having hot, sunny weather by now. Personally though, I don’t mind travelling when the temperatures are a bit cooler as it can get a bit unpleasant if it’s too hot!

What are your plans for the weekend? Are you going to the Bloggers Bash? Let me know in the comments!!!

Top 10 Good Blogger Habits

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Top 10 Good Blogger Habits

As a blogger, there are so many habits that you should form in order to improve your blogging experience, your reader’s experience and to make blog life a whole lot more interesting.  Today’s Top 10 focuses on my all time Good Blogger Habits.

  • Be consistent.  Whether you post once a month, once a week, or every day, make sure that you post consistently.  Your readers are more likely to return if they know when to expect a blog post from you.
  • Spelling, punctuation and grammar check.  Bad spelling, grammar and punctuation can stop so many people from reading a post, and with so many different tools available to assist with checking that it is worth running checks before posting.  I am currently using Grammarly which has been really easy to install and use.
  • Images.  I love looking at images contained in blog posts and there are so many do’s and don’ts when it comes to adding an image that it can sometimes be hard to work out what image is best.  My basic rule is that the image should be clear, well lit and not contain too much clutter and that it should be relevant to the post.  Do not add images that are not relevant just because you think a post needs it.  I would much rather read a post with no images than one that is peppered with irrelevant pictures.
  • Connect.  Find other bloggers who write about things that you are interested in or that write in your niche, join in with conversations in the comments and take part in some things that other bloggers run.
  • Be true to yourself.  Write about what you are interested in.  Your hobbies, interests, ambitions, skills, what you live for.  People are much more interested in a post that is written with a passion behind it than a post that you have forced yourself to write that covers something that you have no interest in.
  • Share what you are comfortable with.  If you are not comfortable sharing certain topics with friends and family then don’t share them online.  Only ever write what you are comfortable with everyone and anyone knowing.
  • Schedule.  When you have an idea and the urge to write, sit and utilise that.  I often batch write 3 or 4 posts at a time and make use of the schedule button as I never know when I may not feel like writing.  There really is no shame in scheduling posts in advance.  (Here’s a secret… I wrote this on saturday08/06/19!)
  • Categories and Tags.  Make use of categories and tags.  My one rule is that each post should have one category and up to 10 tags, no more.  I have categories for each type of post that I have and then use the tags to add more info about the post.
  • Check your appearance.  Not so much your own appearance, but your blog’s appearance.  Check how it displays on tablets, mobile phones and computer screens.  So many people use an array of devices these days to read blogs so it is worth making sure that everything on your blog displays perfectly across all devices.
  • Have fun.  Fun is a huge factor in blogging.  It is what keeps me coming back time and again to write and create posts and content.  Remember that it is your blog and you can do with it what you want.  And when the fun starts to wain think of ways you can bring the fun back!  (Ask questions of your audience, read other blogs in your niche to see what they are writing about, use a search engine…there are lots of ideas out there if you start to look!)

I Heart Revolution Review

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Eyeshadow Review

About a month or so ago I was perusing my local Superdrug aisles looking for some inspiration for a new makeup look.  I had decided that, as summer was coming I wanted to freshen up my makeup, the easiest way being through eyeshadow.  My eye was drawn to the I Heart Revolution display – it is a very eye-catching display that is chock full of fun looking makeup in so many different colours!  I spent an age looking at all the different things that they have available (and have added a ton to my wishlist!!!) and finally decided to purchase the Unicorn Eyeshadow Kit.

Take your eye game to the next level. Starring nine dreamy shades from soft lilac to sparkling silver in matte and shimmer finishes, this magical palette is perfect for getting your beauty look down from day to night.

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There are 9 shadows in a white plastic pallet which has a clear, hinged lid.  The shadows are a mix of matte and shimmer finishes, 4 that is shimmer and 4 that are matte and one that looks a bit shimmery but applies more of a matte (the dark purple in the bottom right corner).

I love the packaging, it is nice to have a pallet that uses white as the casing rather than black, the clear lid is printed with metallic (almost mirror finish) pink wording and little stars.

The theme of “Unicorns” is apparent in the shadow which features raised unicorn heads on the shadow.  It all looks very cute.

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The shadow doesn’t come with any names but here is a brief description from my own perspective…

Top Row (L to R)

  • Matte lavender
  • Pearlescent white
  • Matte bright pink

Middle Row (L to R)

  • Metallic bright silver
  • Matte pale baby pink
  • Metallic pale yellow

Bottom Row (L to R)

  • Mattte mid-tone pinkish purple
  • Metallic pale blue toned purple
  • And lastly, the undecided matte/metallic deep purple
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In natural light

I swatched the shadows, using one swipe of each colour (the order is the same as given above) and you can see that the colours are fairly bright and apply evenly.  I did struggle to capture the matte pale baby pink and the metallic pale yellow which is a shame as in person they appear much brighter!

The application, as I said above, is fairly even and all apply with the same consistency.  I have found that they have not creased at all during a days wear (average of 8 hours), they blend easily and remove really well.  In the past, I have had issues with bright pink shadow pigment staining my skin but I am pleased to say that there are no staining issues from these!!!

I have surprised myself with how much I have been reaching for this pallet and that I have used all of the colours, normally with ant pallet I have a tendency to use the same 2 or 3 shades and ignore the rest!

I have used this shadow pallet for work, home and going out looks and some of my favourite looks are to use the matte pale baby pink over my whole lid and then complete the look with a swipe of eyeliner and some mascara.  The bright pink teams well with a silver inner eye and the deep purple used in the socket area.  I have used the metallic pale yellow all over my eye and then the matte bright pink in the outer corners of my eye with the silver on the inner corners.  The metallic pale blue toned lavender tends to get paired with either the silver or pearlescent white to accent the eye.

Have you got any favourite makeup pallets that you use?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

 

 

Diary, Planner and Journal Review

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Diary

We are now half way through the year now and I have changed so much about how I organise and plan my time in general, my blog things and other aspects of my life that I thought I would do another re-cap on my diaries, planners and journals that I am currently using.

I started out the year with 6 different planners and diaries that I was using ( you can read all the posts here or click the tag in the word cloud on the right of the screen).

At the start of the Year 2019
As of March 2019

Along the way I have been working out what works for me and what doesn’t.  While I loved the idea of the spiral bound home planner (similar here from Hobbycraft) I found that it was not really working for me as it was just too big to carry around with me.  I realised that, as I was back in work and spent a fair deal of time away from home, that having a planner that I could only add to when I was indoors was not the best option for me.  I found that I was thinking of household things that I needed to do and writing them on post-it notes and sticking them into my Filofax and never getting around to adding them to my home planner.  I do have a few ideas of things I can do with this planner though so that it doesn’t just go to waste…I’ve been thinking of making it into a kind of scrapbook of memories for the year.

I am also not really using my “the Bright Side” diary either.  I started using this diary as my blog diary, so I could keep track of my posts and blog schedule and it worked for a time.  I have found though, that while I loved the size of it as the time, it’s now a bit too small for my needs.  I still love the format though and would consider buying another one next year for general dates and birthdays and reminders instead of for blog management!

Anyway, enough about what I am not using… let’s take a look at what I am moving forward with…

 

My Filofax Malden in personal size is something that has stuck with me and I don’t envisage that going anywhere soon!  I like that you can add pages and take them away, have sections for notes, add dividers and all manner of other things.  It is such a flexible system that can work in so many ways!  It comes everywhere with me and I use it to record appointments, make notes, write in my household chores, everything that is important goes into this.

I have also switched to a bullet journal for all my blog things.  (You can read about my set up here).  I used to use a bullet journal a few years ago (I had a dedicated Instagram page for it) but it all got a bit too overwhelming for me as I was pushing myself to be creative on all the pages and make them all arty and pretty.  I did love the flexibility that it allowed me, adding different trackers, space for notes and planning and lots of other things too, and this flexibility is perfect for what I wanted in a blog planner.

I am still using my Happiness Project Journal and writing down a line a day and my Gemma Corell blog ideas book.

What planners, journals and diaries are you using this year?  I’d love to know so leave me a comment!

Saturday Shout Out

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SATURDAY

Saturday Shout Out gives you all a chance to meet some new bloggers, find new blogs to read or get your blog noticed a bit more.  It is my way of thanking the blogging community for being so supportive of me and my little blog and introducing new blogs that you may not have seen or read before.

What this means…

Every saturday I will choose one blog, share a bit about it along with your blog link.  I will also share your blog to my Instagram account and my Twitter account.

If you are interested in taking part then drop me an email to my.colourful.life@outlook.com  with Saturday Shout Out as the subject line and I will send you a form to fill out!

Weekly Roundup 02/06/19 – 08/06/19

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Weekly Roundup 12_05_19 - 18_05_19

  • Sunday 02/06/19

It rained much of the morning and didn’t really cease until gone 2pm.  I used that time to sort through some blog things that had been bugging me and working on some post ideas.  In the afternoon, once the rains had stopped, I decided to do some work in the garden.  I dug up a strip of grass that was against the wall at the bottom of my garden, turned the soil and sowed some wildflower seeds.  I also decided on a location for my lavender plant and managed to get that planted out too.

  • Monday 03/06/19

Back to work today…it feels like the weekend went far too quickly!  Still, the next weekend will be here before we know it!  I was awake super early this morning and headed to work for 8am.  My day in work went ok, we are nearing the end of the payment month so have work that needs to be compelted before the deadline though I managed to clear my desk and leave at 3pm!  I came home and pottered about for a bit before my friend came over.  We went to Morrisons for some food, came home and cooked and then watched Always Be My Maybe on Netflix.

  • Tuesday 04/06/19

Work was ok, the day sort of came and went.  I came home and sat reading some blogs while having a coffee then decided to make some food (Jacket potato!) and watch Dumplin’ on Netflix.  I had a pretty chilled evening and had an early night too.

  • Wednesday 05/06/19

I woke up tired and felt like I hadn’t been asleep for very long and that I could have happily slept for most of the day.  Work stressed me out today, it was too noisy in the office and we still had lots to do to finish the payment cycle.  This stress affected me all day and I was a bit grumpy by the time I got home.  When I got home from work Roxy and I went and lay on the bed and I had a little sleep for an hour or so.  I woke up still feeling grumpy, came down and had a coffee.  My friend turned up and we went up to the shop and got icecream and cake to cheer me up.  I did start feeling better after that.  We then watched Black Mirror before my friend had to go home.  I then sat and watched an episode of Good Girls before heading to bed.

  • Thursday 06/06/19

I woke early and had a shower as I really didnt have the energy to shower before bed last night and got ready for work, headed in with the sun shining and in a much better mood than yesterday.  We have now finished the work for payment and there wasn’t much to do, just tying up loose ends and getting around to things that had been put to the wayside like filing and sorting paperwork.  An email was sent around asking if any of the staff would like to become a workplace mediator – to help resolve conflicts in the workplace without escalating to a higher level, I really like the idea of this so I filled in the application and sent that off. The role would run alongside my main job and be an A’s needed voluntary position. The day went fairly quickly and at 4:15pm I left work with my friend and walked over to my car.  I had to pick my meds up from the pharmacy on the way home and was plesantly surprised that they had got my full prescription ready and correct!  I spent the evening working on my bullet journal and watching Good Girls.

  • Friday 07/06/19

 Work came and went today, the whole day seemed to pass by really slowly and I was glad to see 5pm roll around! It was a grey, dull day with lots of heavy rain, we even had a few thunder storms. After work I headed home, my friend came over and we chatted, watched the new episode of Black Mirror, An episode of Good Girls and The Society on Netflix. It was a really lovely evening after what hadn’t really been the best of days.

  • Saturday 08/06/19

This morning I woke around 9am, Roxy wasn’t in bed with me which isn’t unusual, sometimes she likes to take herself off to the spare room or downstairs to have a snooze on the sofa. I lay and read some blog posts for 20mins before Roxy realised I was awake and came padding in for cuddles. We got up around 10am and went downstairs to have breakfast and coffee. I decided to work on some up-coming blog posts and schedule them in before I go away next weekend. Mum called me to ask if I fancied going down for tea so I showered and got ready to be there for 5pm. It was nice to spend some time with my Mum and Dad. After food, I headed home around 9pm and finished working on a post then watched an episode of Good Girls before bed.

Mystery Blogger Award

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Mystery Blogger Award.png

What is the Mystery Blogger Award?

“Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion.
– Okoto Enigma

The Rules of the Mystery Blogger Award

  • Put the award logo/image on your blog
  • List the rules
  • Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
  • Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
  • Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
  • Nominate your favourite bloggers (*I changed this from 10 – 20 people…)
  • Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
  • Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
  • Share a link to your best post(s)

My Award

I was gifted this award by Mel who blogs over at Decor Craft Designs.  Mel’s blog is chock a block full of crafty ideas and inspiration for fun projects, if you haven’t visited her blog then head over and take a look!

I love these awards as they give me an opportunity to share snippets about myself with you guys and also to ask some questions of my own!  I am really touched that Mel has gifted me the Mystery Bloggers award and that she thinks my posts are ingenious, my blog captivates, inspires and motivates!  Thank you so much, Mel, for the Award!

Three Things About Myself

  • I’ve recently gotten into gardening and have loads of ideas and plans for my garden!  I’m excited to see how they all come together!
  • I used to love a night out on the town, coming home in the early hours and not going to bed until the morning but now that is my worst idea of fun!
  • I’m forever thinking of things to do and my list seems to be getting longer and longer!  I am blaming Pinterest for this as I get inspired by so many things on there.

Mels questions

  • Do you have a kid’s toy you still love to play?

I have a lot of my old toys from when I was a kid but I don’t play with them anymore, they serve more as being ornaments now than toys.  I do still have my watercolour paint set from when Iw as a kid and still play around with that though!

  • What is your best character?

My best character would have to be Eeyore, even though he is pretty sad much of the time he always is included in what his friends are doing.

  • Which city/country you can’t wait to re-visit?

London!  My brother and his wife along with their children live there and whenever I visit they take me out to visit lots of different places!  London is such a fab city and there is so much to do and so much history there!

  • What part of your home that you’ve been dying to renovate?

At present, my garden, though I am working on that!  The other place I’m dying to renovate is my spare room though I am still undecided on what colour to paint it or what to do with it.

  • What junk food do you love so much?

Crisps and ice cream, though not both together!

My Questions

  • What is your favourite colour and why?
  • What one thing do you wish you had known before you started your blog?
  • What is your favourite time of the day?
  • If you could do anything for a day, what would it be?
  • What is your most favourite uncool clothing item?

My Favourite Blog Posts

My nominees

Thank you again, Mel, for nominating me a Mystery Blogger Award! Hope you like my answers and my best posts!

For those who are nominated, I hope you read your nomination and accept it, congratulations!

Saturday Shout Out – Lylia Rose

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Shout Out to Lylia Rose!!!

Lylia Rose is a blog run by Victoria and is a new to me blogger who responded to my Saturday Shout Out ad.

Victoria currently has three blogs!

Lylia Rose a blog about money and lifestyle.

Healthy Vix which is about health and wellbeing.

Travel Vixta which focuses on travel, days out, campervan holidays and adventures.

Victoria has been blogging at Lylia Rose since April 2013, so just over six years and has since set up two more blogs so she can be more niche focussed on each one.

I set up Healthy Vix in January 2018, so it’s almost a year and a half old.

My newest blog is Travel Vixta which I only started in November 2018 so it’s my baby at six months old!

Lylia Rose is a lifestyle blog with a money angle. I used to post about a lot of different topics on Lylia Rose, but since 2018 I have decided to focus on money related posts. It still covers a variety of topics such as being self-employed, blogging for money, how to make money from home, side hustles, saving money and running a home based business.

I am very passionate about healthy living and I regularly go to the gym, eat a plant-based diet only and love natural beauty. I set up my second blog Healthy Vix to focus on all things healthy from a vegan diet to natural, eco-friendly living tips.

My final blog is Travel Vixta. I did originally post all my travel content and reviews on Lylia Rose, but I decided it would be better to have it all in one place so my third blog covers all our family travel, days out and campervan adventures, as well as travel tips and advice.

Here are some of Victoria’s favourite posts that she has written

Me and my blogs are that they are my job! I am a full-time blogger and manage to make an income from blogging every month. I was able to turn my hobby into a business which always amazes me.

 

You can find Victoria sharing her latest posts on Twitter and Pinterest, as well as have a sneak peek into her life and interests on Instagram.