DONE LIST // JUNE 2016

If you caught my Done List May 2016 post, you'll know that in a bid to be a bit healthier and more mindful with my list writing, I've started a monthly 'Done List' sharing snippets of the past month. These snippets might simply be things that made me happy, things I've done, things I've made or things I've achieved.

If you caught my Done List May 2016 post, you'll know that in a bid to be a bit healthier and more mindful with my list writing, I've started a monthly 'Done List' sharing snippets of the past month. These snippets might simply be things that made me happy, things I've done, things I've made or things I've achieved. And what a busy month it has been since then! June was super stressful and exhausting; with long long commutes to London (#SouthernFail), clinical case report writing, a persistent sinus infection and frantic hen and wedding art and crafting. Although it was a bit of a struggle (and sadly July isn't looking much easier!) and there were many 'to do' lists written, there were several things worthy of taking a moment to reflect on and add to my June 'done list'...

1. Persisting through the disasters to finish my pom pom wall hanging

2. Jetting off to sunnier climes with my sister (this time Spain!)

3. Date night with the boyf at the Curry Leaf Cafe

4. One of the besties is simply THE best study buddy

5. Still practising my hand lettering and loving it as I go

6. Feeling completely in awe of what an amazing job one of my oldest and dearest friends is doing with her gorgeous newborn baby

7. Decorating and filling nine hen party gift bags (blog post coming soon!)

8. Taking a sunny stroll along the Thames with friends 

9. Discovering lychee and elderflower ginfusions

How was your June?

Let me know in the comments below!

♥

DIY // POM POM WALL HANGING

This is a DIY that I made and photographed absolutely ages ago but never actually got around to posting on here. It's probably one of my favourite, and definitely one of my most elaborate projects, to date. I made it around the time I discovered you could make pom poms with a fork and came about after I found some command hooks. Renting in a flat is always a bit of an issue when it comes to decorating, but with these little stick on hooks (which promise not to pull paint off when you remove them) you can hang whatever you want, wherever you want. Perfect for filling up those bare walls whilst keeping them nail free and perfect for filling the space above my bed with a DIY project! 

I have to admit that I had a couple of disasters with this project along the way; the first involved dropping the finished thing so that it became a huge tangled mess which needed completely rethreading, and the second involved a wonderful friend of mine trying to help me untangle it before accidentally dipping it in her cup of tea (it was hilarious!). So I really feel like I've been through it with this project and feel even more pleased than normal that I managed to complete it!

Pom poms  |  Cotton thread  |  Needle  |  Superglue  | Pole or bamboo cane  |  Craft knife  |  Paint

1. Cut off approximately 35 inches of cotton from the bobbin. 

2. On the cotton, mark 2.5 inches in, and then every 5 inches until you reach 32.5 inches.

3. Tie a knot where the first mark is, several times and in the same place.

4. Thread your cotton through a needle at the other end and secure it with a single knot.

5. Push your needle through a pom pom.

6. Pull the pom pom down the thread until it is near the knot.

7. Add a dab of super glue to the knot.

8. Pull the pom pom all the way down against the knot.

9. Repeat steps 3-8 until you have a total of 7 pom poms on your cotton at 5 inch intervals.

10. Repeat this process until you have 7 garlands, each with 7 pom poms on. Cut off any excess thread below the first pom pom.

11. Take a pole or bamboo cane and carefully trim it to approximately 35 inches in length.

12. On the pole, mark 2.5 inches in, and then every 5 inches until you reach 32.5 inches.

13. On each mark, create a small groove to hold the thread in place.

14. Paint or spray paint the pole if necessary.

15. Tie each garland to the pole on each of the grooves.

16. Tie a length of wool to each end of the pole and hang.

I'm so pleased I persisted with this project. At one point, I really was ready to throw it all in the bin. But it's finished and I love it. I'm really impressed with those hooks as well (you'd think I was being paid to say this haha!) but a few months later and it's still hanging. Fingers crossed they come off as easily as they promise...!

As always I love to hear what you think so please do leave a comment below!

♥

DONE LIST // MAY 2016

I love lists and write them all the time. But the thought occurred to me the other day that most of the lists I write are about things that I need to do or things that I want to achieve. Even blog post ideas - lots and lots of them - that sometimes I don't have the time or energy to actually produce. I write them again and again, either as a reminder of all my 'ideas that are too good to forget' or as a way of motivating myself. 

And this got me thinking; how helpful is it to consistently make lists of things I have yet to do? 

How psychologically healthy is that?

Sometimes I wonder if 'To do' lists do more to reinforce my inadequacies and highlight the distance between my current position and where I want to be, than they do actually motivate me. And if I'm reminding myself of this, consciously or subconsciously, what room is there to appreciate where I am right now? Or how far I've come? I'm certainly not saying I'm going to ditch my 'to do' lists (I would be lost without at least some!) but maybe I can be a bit healthier with my list writing; more mindful. 

To help me do this, I've decided to start a new monthly 'Done List' post showing snippets of the past month. These snippets might simply be things that made me happy, things that I've done, things that I've made or things I've achieved.

Hopefully the first of many, here's May...

1. Pom poms make everything look better so naturally this cushion is now my firm favourite

2. A fun filled weekend in Lisbon indulging in the best custard tarts

3. Drinking tea out of my homemade monogram mug after a long day at work

4. Walks and afternoon tea in the sunshine with my parents

5. Cuddles and unconditional love from my cat

6. The Friday feeling

7. Practising hand lettering

8. Living by the sea on beautiful sunny days

9. Finding beauty in the most unlikely of places

What do you think of 'Done lists'?

How was your May?

Let me know in the comments below!

♥

5 FAVES FRIDAY // DIY HEN PARTY IDEAS

1. Wedding Advent Calendar by Something Turquoise

2. Balloon Wishes for the Bride by Studio DIY

3. Unicorn Pinata by Oh Happy Day

4. Ribbon and Lace Backdrop by Oh Lovely Day

5. Photo Booth Props by Thinking Closet

It's hen (or bachelorette) party season and so if you're anyone's maid of honour this year, you might be well into hen party planning mode. With just three weeks left until my sister's hen do, I've been frantically searching the internet and pinning ideas almost everyday as inspiration for those final little details (that so often make all the difference!). These five are just some of my favourite, which I picked very carefully, so that I didn't giveaway any spoilers to my sister before her party. Afterwards, I'll be sure to post some of the things I've been up to!

Happy hen party planning!

♥

DIY // ANTHROPOLOGIE MONOGRAM MUGS

I'm probably about to completely live up to the 'British stereotype' but I just can't help it. For me, there really is nothing like a cup of tea. It's a hug in a mug. A pep talk before a big day. A comforting blanket after a rubbish day. And there's nothing better than having a fresh brew in a pretty mug. The Anthropologie Monogrammed Mug is an absolute classic, and DIY's of them have done their rounds on the internet time and time again. So, I'm probably a bit slow to the uptake, but I recently realised that I had a monogrammed-mug-sized hole in my life and so set about to create some of my own.

Plain white mug  |  Sharpie  |  Tracing paper  | Pencil | Scissors |  Scotch tape

1. Take your plain white mugs and make sure that they are clean. For this I just washed them as I would any mug (by hand, we don't have a dishwasher!) and made sure they were completely dry.

2. Print your chosen letter in the Roman Print font and place tracing paper over this before tracing the monogram with a pencil and ruler. My printer is currently out of action and so I adjusted the monogram on my laptop screen until it was the right size for mug and placed my tracing paper over this before lightly tracing around the letter.

3. Turn the tracing paper over so that the monogram is facing down. Using the pencil and ruler, trace the monogram on the other side of the tracing paper. I then carefully traced the either side, using a ruler. This is the side that will come out on the mug so you want this side to be neat.

4. Cut around the monogram leaving approximately 0.5 cm of blank tracing paper around it. To make transferring onto the mug a bit easier, I cut around the tracing so that I could then stick it temporarily to the mug.

5. Fix the tracing paper to the mug with tape where you would like the monogram to be transferred to. This will stop the tracing paper moving about and ruining your tracing!

6. Using a pencil and some pressure, trace the monogram again so that when the tracing paper is removed a faint outline is left on the mug. It's really hard to see in this photo but there's a very faint outline on the mug - promise!

7. Using a black sharpie pen and a ruler, go over the faint pencil lines. I don't have the steadiest of hands and unfortunately the only sharpie I had to hand was quite thick, so I used a ruler to help keep my lines straight.

8. Remove any mistakes with your nail or some nail varnish remover before leaving your mug to dry for a day or so. Before it dries, tidy up any mistakes. I just used my nail and found that it came off easily but I've read else where that nail varnish remover is good for this.

9. Place your mug in your oven and turn the oven on to 180°C. Bake for 30 minutes. Now I chose this temperature and time from averaging some of the 'recipes' that I read elsewhere however I have more recently come across instructions to use a much higher temperature and to bake for longer. If you're braver than me, give it a go!

10. Switch the oven off and only remove the mug from the oven once the oven is completely cool. I read somewhere that it can be better to leave the mug in the oven to cool down with the oven which I assume is so that it does so slowly.

...and that's it!

Now this mug is by no means perfect and if I were to scrub at the monogram with the rough side of a sponge I'm pretty sure I could eventually get it off. But I've been happily drinking my tea from it and hand washing it (carefully I admit) with no issues. I'd love to hear about your sharpie mug creative endeavours and particularly if you do it any differently.

Let me know in the comments below!

♥