Handmade Christmas Gifts

6th Jan 201912th Feb 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Now that Christmas is over and the presents have been given I can share with you the things I made as gifts this year!

Wax Melts

I made these for my Mum using left over candle wax, they are scented with cherry Bakewell scent. I used silicone ice moulds to create them and, while it was an experiment to see if it would work, they turned out perfect so I was really pleased to be able to gift them to my Mum.

Candles

The purple one is baby powder scented and I made that for my lovely neighbour. The red jar one is cherry Bakewell which I made for myself, the layered one in the same picture is bubblegum scented (which I also kept as it was leftover wax from another candle), the candles in the glass mugs are scented with Tranquility, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Cornish Coastline and Cherry Bakewell which I gave to my brother Ben and his wife Egle. The three jar candles are vanilla custard and cherry bakewell scented which I made for my 3 step daughters. The jar candle on its own is bubblegum scented which I made for my little brother Richard.

Pencil Boxes

I made these for my twin niece and nephew James and Ellie. I had bought them time telling watches in pink for Ellie and blue for James to help them learn to tell the time but when they arrived they were just in plastic sleeves. I wanted to be able to gift them in something that was a bit more special so I purchased a load of gems and plain wooden pencil boxes from Hobbycraft along with some Modpodge and set about creating them. I already had the Hello Kitty and Nemo flat back bits in my stash along with glitter so it was applying the modpodge and glitter, another layer of modpodge, gems and another coat of modpodge and leaving to dry before placing their watches inside and wrapping.

Journal

I made this bullet journal/diary thing for Mum because she is never without her diary. Even when I was small I remember her always having her diary to hand and writing all sorts of memos and things into it. I made her this so she can log everything she needs to and carry it about day-to-day. I included a future log, a monthly overview for each month, weekly shopping and to do lists, a recipe for each month, a section for reflections on each month and lots of other things. I even included a different holiday for each day using images that I found online (though I can’t seem to find a link…) I think she really liked it!

What did you make as gifts for people this Christmas?

What I Did – How I Celebrated The New Year

4th Jan 201912th Feb 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a good evening seeing out the old year and welcoming the new one in. And I hope you all had a lovely first day of the year too!

I celebrated the arrival of the New Year with my neighbour drinking prosecco and cassis then singing Auld Lang Syne at the top of our voices in her front room before we came back to mine and sat talking and drinking far too much Eggnog!

When I woke on New Years Day I got up and started to prepare veg for lunch as I’d invited my Mum, Dad and brother (Richard) up for food. I cooked mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, broccoli, maple roast parsnips, peas, carrots, stuffing, yorkshire puddings and a quorn roast. Richard is allergic to mycoprotein so I cooked him a sweet potato and spinach nut roast.

I had already set the table the day before and added a scented candle to each place setting that I had made (Mum’s was Baby Powder fragranced, Dad had a Sticky Toffee Pudding one while Richard and I had a Fresh Linen scented one). I used fairy lights to dress the table and a candle stick that I had bought from Ikea.

For starters I served beetroot and spinach burgers, which had a vegan cheese middle, on a bed of salad with a vinaigrette dressing. For dessert I served a vegan chocolate Torte with soya squirty cream. Mum bought up a bottle of wine which we shared and we also had Belvior Raspberry Presse.

Once we had eaten we all sat and chatted, Dad and I had coffee that I made in my french press (Hot Lava Java coffee – yum!)

Once everyone had gone, Roxy and I had a little snooze then I got up and started working on some artwork for the 64 Million Artists January Challenge that I had signed up to after Christmas! The challenge is to create a piece of artwork based on prompts that are emailed to you daily for the whole of January which you can then upload to social media using the #TheJanuaryChallenge. If you are interested in signing up then click here.

Why I Don’t Care for Modern-Day Self-Care

3rd Jan 201928th Mar 2023 | Suzi Stamp

You only have to search the likes of Instagram and Pinterest for self-care and you are met with a barrage of posts about hair care, exercise, make-up, face masks, luxury bath products, fashion, jewellery and all sorts of other things that to me are less about self care and more about “treat yo’ self”. It’s all sorts of flowery, feel good stuff that in itself is fine but is not really what self care is all about.

There are loads of self-care journals on the shelves now too, many giving writing and creative prompts for you to fill in as and when you choose.

And while these things can help us feel good about ourselves and assist in feeling happier and more positive on a day-to-day basis, they don’t really address the issues we face when we have mental health issues.

When you are in the pits of a mental health illness (for me that would be anxiety, stress and depression) disorder/illness/issue the last thing on your mind can be to pick up a journal and write or create. Your only instinct is to survive and get through the episode and out the other side. Housework, basic hygiene, eating and even sleep cease to be important and having someone tell us to take a bath with a luxury brand product is not helping in any way, shape or form. When it is too much effort to even get out of bed and make a drink and see to our basic needs this is where I have to disagree with modern-day self-care.

I read something, a list of self-care “tips” when I had my anxiety attack the other day which gave really “helpful” advice such as “Get more sleep” and “Have a deep and meaningful conversation”, “light a scented candle”, and even “Close your eyes and rest for 5 minutes” and I got really angry. If I could get any more sleep I would, trust me. I have tried and failed and having some poncey list telling me that this will help just infuriates me. As does the advice to have a deep and meaningful conversation, for me, when I am in desperate need of self care, talking to someone, let alone having a meaningful conversation is laughable, I just want to be left alone. Lighting a scented candle, when I’m having a period of anxiety just magnifies the anxiety I already have so that really isn’t helpful. And I’m sure whoever came up with “Close your eyes and rest for 5 minutes” has never experienced stress or anxiety or any other condition where being able to rest would be great if we could totally unplug our brain and our racing thoughts.

And then I started thinking about what self-care really is, it’s about being a friend to yourself, the best friend, the one who tells you, honestly, that you stink and forces you to take a shower, wash your hair, brush your teeth or do the washing up. I’ve been there, and I have had no care for washing, brushing my hair or teeth, staying in pyjamas that I’ve been wearing solidly for a week, having no energy or motivation to do anything except lay there and avoid everything. And I’ve been the one that has forced myself to go and shower, and it may have taken me an hour but I’ve done it, and, do you know what? Just that simple act of standing under running water and getting clean has helped me feel a teeny bit better.

So, heres some advice.

Eat regularly, don’t worry if its healthy or not, even if it’s a bag of crisps or a few haribo at least you have eaten something.

Drink. Water is the easiest. Set an alarm on your phone and try to take a few sips through the day.

Brush your teeth. Just this small act has made a huge difference to how I have been feeling.

Tackle one task at a time…if the bins are full then empty them. If the sink is full then take your time and wash everything. If the counters are grubby then clean them.

Change your clothes, if not everyday then at least every other. It really feels like the greatest accomplishment.

Force yourself to shower or bath, even if its only 10 minutes, it will help.

Self care isn’t about long baths, lie ins, scented candles, journals or anything like that. It’s about existing and really getting to the root of the problem, being your own best friend and doing what is best for you. So, sorry to all you modern-day self-care lovers, but that stuff aint working for me when I’ve hit a real low.

Recipe of the Month – January

1st Jan 201912th Feb 2019 | Suzi Stamp

In my opinion there is nothing better, at this time of the year, than settling down with some toast and a lovely, hot bowl of soup while your favorite programme plays on the tv. Today I am sharing my favorite Vegan Tomato and Bean Soup recipe that is easy to make, nutritious and filling. The recipe was found on http://www.veganrecipeclub.org.uk and they have some really wonderful recipes on there to cover almost every type of meal imaginable! It’s such a fab resource of recipes and would be super helpful to any of you attempting Veganuary this year!

Heres the recipe…

900g/2lb plum tomatoes (Or you can cheat and use two tins of chopped! If so, start at no. 4) *
30ml/2 tbsp olive oil
275g/10oz onions, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
900ml/1½ pts/3¾ cups vegetable stock
30ml/2 tbsp sun dried tomato paste (or just blitz about 3-4 whole SDT with water)
10ml/2 tsp paprika
15ml/1 tbsp cornflour or ½ tbsp arrowroot (arrowroot is GF) – mix to a paste with a little cold water
425g/15oz tin cannellini or other small white beans, rinsed and drained
30ml/2tbsp chopped fresh basil**
salt and freshly ground black pepper

* I always use tinned tomatoes just because fresh tomatoes seem to get eaten as soon as they are purchased…

** I don’t always have fresh basil to hand and have used dried basil in its place, but please check the date when you opened the dried herbs as they can lose their potency once opened.

Additional things I sometimes add are oregano, thyme or vegan Worcestershire sauce.

Method…

If using fresh tomatoes you will want to prepare them first. To prepare them we need to peel them and then chop them. To peel them it is easiest to place them in a bowl of hot (just boiled) water, then plunge them into cold water after around 10-20 seconds, then peel with a sharp knife. Then cut into quarters.
Heat the oil in a large pan, I use the pan that I am going to make the soup in because I hate washing up!
Add the onions and garlic and lightly fry before adding the tomatoes and the tomato paste into the mix. I usually add the tomatoes once the onions have softened and become transparent.
Add stock and season with salt, pepper and paprika.
Bring the mix to the boil then leave to simmer for 10mins
Add the cornflour (this will thicken the soup slightly)
Drain and rinse the beans and add to the mix, stir through
Taste and adjust seasoning, add basil then serve!

This recipe will serve 2 people easily!

Happy New Year!!!

31st Dec 201812th Feb 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Happy New Year to all my readers!!!! Lots of Love from Suzi at My Colourful Life

Happy-New-Year-Clipart-2018

This Month On The Blog!

30th Dec 201812th Feb 2019 | Suzi Stamp

I’m all set to welcome in the New Year! And along with a New Year I’m all set to share some new posts with you in January!

Get set for posts covering…

My Recipe of the Month – a gorgeous warming tomato and bean soup

What I Did – How I Celebrated the New Year

Minimalism – What Is It?

Project Make – How to Make Candles

A Quote

How I Stay Creative

Candles and Other Alternative Lighting

My Blogging Goals

and

My Hobbies and Interests

I hope you will come back and enjoy the posts I have written!

Anxiety/Panic Attack

30th Dec 201812th Feb 2019 | Suzi Stamp

I woke up, I’ve been in bed, sleeping since around 11:30, it’s 3am now. I woke up unable to breathe or move, my heart racing, shaking and feeling really panicked but I don’t know why. I mean, I do know why, it was an anxiety/panic attack, but I don’t know why it happened. I’m still feeling shaky now but my heart rate has come back down to normalish, and I can breathe again. It was probably the worst one I’ve had. I feel like I need to turn on all the lights on the house and get up. I need a glass of squash, juice or anything but I’m not feeling up to doing that just yet…. and I’m writing this here because everyone I know is asleep and I don’t want to worry them, but I feel that writing it down will maybe stop it from happening again. My jaw is aching where I’ve been grinding my teeth in my sleep and I’ve managed to catch my tongue at some point which now feels really uncomfortable in my mouth 😐 and I’ve got a bit of a headache (though I’m not sure if that’s residual from yesterday). And I don’t know what to do, I’m too awake to attempt to go back to sleep and worried that it will happen again. Maybe getting up is a good idea?

Monthly Goals

28th Dec 201812th Feb 2019 | Suzi Stamp

I think it’s always a really nice idea, at the end of a month, just to sit down and think about some things that you want to achieve in the following month. I am going to share with you, today, my little list of goals I want to achieve this month. I have split my list into 4 sections covering my blog and social media, home, art and craft and personal. Here are the goals I’d like to achieve this coming month.

Blog and Social Media

Stay on track with my blog routine. December was a mad month for blog posts, I more than doubled the usual amount of posts because I wanted to share so much about Christmas and Christmas Ideas but now that is all over I’m going to try to get back to my usual routine of posting on a Tuesday and Friday.
Share more on social media. Especially Facebook and Instagram. Though I have got these platforms, I haven’t been using them a great deal for one reason or another so this month I am setting a goal to share at least one blog post image or the link to the blog post to these sites.
Change my blog domain. Upgrade my blog extension from a wordpress.com extension to a co.uk or another extension to make it easier to share my site across social media platforms and make it easier for people to find my blog.

Home

Defrost freezer and deep clean fridge. I really like to do this in the New Year, not only do I get to have a nice clean fridge and freezer I can also take stock of everything that I have got in there, decide what needs using up, what I could do with getting rid of and what I need to stock up on!
Wash Sofa Covers. I tend to do this job every few months and love how fresh my room smells once the covers are back in place.
Create a cleaning timetable. When I lived in my other house I had a cleaning timetable in place but since moving I’ve not really had one. A cleaning timetable helps me to remember to do things like make sure the right bins go out on the correct day. This month I want to create a new timetable and write it into my home planner and (try to) stick to it.

Art and Craft

Make some more candles. I made some candles the other month and would like to make some more as it was really fun and a great way to relax and it means I will always have something to gift as presents. I’d also like to research methods of making candles as there are so many different techniques!
Start making cards again. I used to make lots of cards and even started to sell them for charity a long time ago. I’d like to get back into making and giving my own cards to friends and family as it is a bit more personal and special than buying shop bought cards.
Start a scrapbook/journal. This is something that, again, I used to do years ago and am thinking that I would like to start doing again. I have a La De Dah Journal already which would be perfect as a scrap journal. There are lots of different papers you can buy to add to the journal and so many different ways to use the pages that it would be the perfect choice for what I’d like to do.
Work on Lettering. I bought a dot grid book a short while ago so I could start working on my own lettering and create my own alphabets to use in my journal. I think that cold, dark, January would be the perfect time to start on this project.

Personal

Finish reading The Snowman. I started reading this book back in September just before I got diagnosed with stress and anxiety. Since then, because of my medication and symptoms associated with my mental health, my concentration levels have meant that reading a book or watching a tv show have been hard work. I’d really like to finish this book by the end of January.
Plan another craft event. I really enjoyed hosting my Crafternoon in aid of Mind and it got me thinking about maybe hosting a craft group every few months where I can get my friends together and we can learn new crafting skills together. After talking to everyone that came to my event it seems that this is something that they would all be interested in.
Arrange another trip to London. My brother and his family live in London and I really want to go and visit them again so this month I will try to make some plans to visit in the near future (hopefully end of Jan or Feb sometime!).
Go out for the day. Since I have been unwell I have really struggled with basic things like shopping and running errands let alone visiting friends and going places. Leaving the house in general has been a daily struggle as my anxiety seems to build so much that I can’t seem to even step outside my front door. This month I would really like to make a change to that and am going to plan a day out somewhere, even if it’s to the local shopping centre or park.

What is on your goals list this month?

What I Did – How I Celebrated Christmas

27th Dec 201812th Feb 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Roxy and I got up super early on Christmas day more because I’d gone to bed at 9:30 the night before rather than down to excitement. I made a coffee then we started to open the pile of presents that Sam had left for us.

Roxy waiting patiently to open the presents

After we had opened our presents I finished of the gifts for my niece and nephew and packed the gifts to take to Mum and Dads.

At 7:30 I started to get ready to go to Mum and Dads, first I tonged my hair and clipped it up to set then got dressed and did my make up. While I was finishing my makeup Dad text and said I could come down when I was ready.

I left the house at 10 after packing the car with their presents but had to turn round whan I was half way there as I had forgotten my medication. I arrived at theirs just before 10:30am.

We had a coffee that Dad had made, and waited for my little brother, Richard, to arrive. In between him arriving and present opening Mum, Dad and I made crumpets for breakfast and were in the middle of eating them when Richard arrived.

We opened our presents after breakfast, Mum loved the bullet journal I had been working on for her, and Richard loved the candle I had made for him (I will be sharing all the presents I made in a future blog post!)

We sat and chatted and watched Arthur Christmas before we had dinner which was really nice. we ate around 3:30pm.

Dinner was lush, I don’t eat meat so Mum had bought and cooked a lovely walnut, cranberry, sweet potato and spinach nut roast thing for me, we had roast potatoes, roast parsnips, sprouts (my fav!) and carrots with stuffing and a yorkshire pudding! It was really lovely and super filling.

Once we had eaten dinner we went and sat down and watched “What We Did on Holiday” which has got Billy Connolly in it. Sam and I were texting through it as he was in London with his family.

After the film we had pudding – Sticky toffee pudding and custard – it was amazing!

Not long after, I came home and Roxy and I chilled for a bit, watched tv and then went to bed! It was such a lovely day!