Tuesday, 11 October 2016

Beautifully made brushes and a delight to use



The set of brushes came boxed prettily and I'm pretty sure these will make a lovely gift to someone. There are 10 different shaped brushes in the set. The brushes has a velvety handle on them which feels nice to the touch and a rose gold tone. The brushes are full and filled with soft fine bristles that actually feels nice across the skin. There are brushes for different applications of makeup.


For the bigger round brushes, I use them for foundation, loose powder and for blusher, contouring and highlighter. The smaller ones I used for concealer, eye shadow, eye liner, eyebrows and for finer contouring. The thinner brushes for eyebrows I had to get used to maneuvering and needs more practice. I think it's because it's a different angle approach but the brush is stiff the way I like it for an eye brow brush so perfect for what I want it to.


The foundation brush and concealer didn't leave me with any streaks so a really good result. I used one of the medium brushes for blending and it did the job well. The brushes are finely made it's really lovely to touch. They are also easy to clean and dries up over night ready to be used again.


I am quite impressed with the quality of these brushes and I think they will last a long time. I haven't seen one fiber shed.


Buy it here

Saturday, 17 September 2016

Great nutrient extractor smoothie maker without costing a limb





Amazing nutrient extractor/blender, I would give it 6 stars if I could


The nutrient extractor came nicely packaged and boxed with lots of accessories with it. The nutrient extractor set consists of the powerful machine, 2 different sized jugs at 600 mls and 350 mls sizes, 2 different steel blades for milling and chopping/blending, spill proof drinking lid on the go, a storage lid to keep the smoothies fresh while kept in the fridge, a lid ring for easy handling and pouring and an instruction manual with bonus recipes. Both the jugs has a rubberized portion to provide a good grip for better handling. The machine itself feels a good weight and looks like a robust machine. The bottom of the machine has rubberized feet that adheres to the worktop which is essential for keeping it in place. The vent is also at the bottom of the machine. It'll be best to read and go through the instruction manual before starting but everything seems pretty straight forward. And yes I do read the manual on occasions. So, the manual says to use the machine at a maximum of 2 minutes every use and let the machine col down again before using it. Because the machine has a strong and powerful machine, it's understandable that a small machine will need a break after every 2 minutes. To be fair, I was not sure about it at first but when I actually started making our smoothies, it literally took less than 5 seconds to make it! Yay! The first time I made the smoothies, I made 4 different varieties. It took about 5 seconds for each and so 2 minutes is a long time and a lot of smoothies before it needs a break. I did use fruits only the first time. The second time, I added some vanilla ice cream to the fruits to give it a milkshake edge to it and that went faster than it was made! Suffice to say that this is my whole family's favorite machine at the moment and is sat on the counter top not taking too much space but getting a lot of attention. Hence the 6 stars rating if I could. Also, the jugs are so easy to clean. In between use, I just rinsed it with water and it was ready to use again. When done, it was easy to clean with hot and soapy water. I haven't tried it on the dish washer but honestly, it took another 5 seconds to clean. Amazing!

The instruction manual has a few recipes at the back. I just bought our favorite fruits and blended it. I made different combinations using bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and pineapple with a little bit of water. You might want to either freeze your fruits first so it will be cold when you blend it or you can put in a few ice cubes with the fruits. With the fruit milkshake, I added vanilla ice cream with the fruits and they lapped it up! I can only imagine if I started using chocolate in with it!

The great thing about this machine is that you can also use it for milling. The 2 blade cap is for milling coffee beans, grains, nuts or for herbs. You can use the milling attachment for making your custom nut and seed protein mix which you can add onto your smoothies for the added oomph. You can also mill some of your customized spices together for steak rubs and seasonings. Chilli and sea salt with garlic combo and other recipes which you easily google. The possibilities are endless! The 6 prong blade is for the nutrient extractor for blasting through the fruit and getting all the nutrients from every part of the fruit you blend.

So for all of these, the price is an additional positive as it's a lot cheaper than the famous alternative. This machine is sturdy and robust. It's quality made and delivers efficiently. Ugh, I cannot gush enough about it so I definitely and highly recommend this nutrient extractor multi function machine.


You can buy it here.. and let me know how you love it!

Tuesday, 19 January 2016

Crocheted Bead Bracelets and Set

Crocheted Bead Bracelets and Set

It's been hectic at work and home lately.
These little babies keep me sane at times.
A bonus that my daughter appreciates them and managed to get orders from friends too!

I did some other patterns and color combinations on the beads that I have. I haven't photographed all of them.

Here are some:

A set for Mary. Custom lengths too!
  

This one is my favorite. It proved popular amongst my friends too. I made a long chain to create a focal point in the middle. I'm going to put a knot in it! But as these things go, I made the ones for friends first before I  finish mine. 



This one is custom made for Faye.
Mary liked it too but I ran out of beads so until then, off to finish the other orders. 


What do you think? 
Happy crafting!

May xx

Wednesday, 30 December 2015

More DIY Crocheted Bead bracelets!


Hello all!

So, Christmas and Santa has come and gone! Phew! That was a lot of food and family time. Precious times when we all get together and realize how lucky we are to have all the gorgeous family members we have. 

I have been lucky to be off for 6 days over Christmas! That was something I haven't had for months! 
What else can a girl do than take this down time as an opportunity to craft! Ha!

Crafted I did! See!! 
Warning: lots of photos of these beauts :-)  
Also, please forgive the unedited mess. 






















If you liked them, let me know! My better half said these beauties can definitely be gifted... 

Now off to work I go tonight for 6 nights in a row. Now that is something to ponder and heave my chest. Like last year, when midnight strikes I will be on the phone with my kids and husband doing the countdown with them armed with my coin purse and a healthy space to be jumping on and screaming "Happy New Year!!!" In the hospital, finding a space to do that is tough and so I found it in the back stairs! No one around to mock me or shush me and far enough from everyone that I can still celebrate new year jumping! Breathless and happy is a good way to start the new year. It could be better by spending it with family but hey, I can come home 8 hours later and find them most probably comfortably asleep and warm which makes me happy.

What's your new year's celebration tradition? As a family, we normally have cheese and biscuits for midnight... Yum!

For the New Year, I wish you all overflowing love and happiness and good health!

May xxx

Thursday, 24 December 2015

DIY Crocheted Rope Bead Bracelet

DIT Crocheted Rope Bracelet

Another one of my crochet rope bracelet.
It's made using slate grey and clear silver lined bead.
Pattern is 1a1b, rounds of 6.
It's quite pretty if I may say so myself! 









I hope you like it! 
Merry Christmas everyone!

May xx

Saturday, 19 December 2015

Easy Diy Pearl Bead Ball Tutorial

Easy Diy Pearl Ball

Hi guys! I've been absent lately. Work and life seems a bit hectic sometimes that when I get minute to myself, I tend to sit tight and breathe... just breathe. Maybe with my eyes closed too sometimes :-)

Anyway, after that collaboration with Ashley and running out of big blingy crystal type beads to accentuate the crocheted rope beads that I have been making, I thought it would be nice to make my own bead. Perusing the web and pinterest, I found this! I have tried a few and it didn't quite work out.. but this one was a breeze! Although I'm not sure how to end and close and secure this ball, I winged it and it seems firm and secure.

Materials:

any round bead, same size
wire thread

I tried using a cotton thread but it was a crochet type thread and that was a nightmare to thread through a beading needle. Wire thread made it soooooo much easier to thread the pearl beads without ending up cross eyed!

So, here are the pictures of the step by step! Enjoy!











Slowly pull tight.

I twisted the end of the wires together.


I pulled it through the whole bead a few times going in different angles and soon as I'm happy at how secure it was (which was quite a few), I cut the twisted wires as close as I can so it doesn't show. 


Here they are! Aren't they adorable? These are so versatile. They can be used as stud or dangling earrings, a pendant with the chain fed through, a bracelet using one or a few. Endless possibilities!
Enjoy!

May xx

Wednesday, 9 December 2015

Pearl and Amethyst Crystal Friendship Bracelet DIY


Pearl and Amethyst Crystal Friendship Bracelet DIY

My daughter and I collaborated on this bracelet as a result of trying to figure out a nice present to give out to her friends for Christmas but not too hard on the pennies.

I had the materials already as spares so really, this DIY is free!

But just in case you need to get the materials, we used:

silver ball chains and connectors
bead of choice. we used pearl and glass bead
silver bead caps
headpins
wire cutter
round pliers

And here it is!!



Although the glass bead looks like it's maroon in color, it's actually a deep purple. My phone camera usually produces nice pictures but it had difficulty showing on this one. Apologies. ;-)










It's a really simple and pretty bracelet which probably took me a few minutes to do one. I made 4 in less than 10 minutes! It didn't cost me a penny either! Yay!

This would be great for a stocking filler too! Ashley and I called it our version of friendship bracelet since she is gifting it to her friends.

Enjoy! 
May xx