My ASOS Wishlist

Click the images to take you to the product!

All currently in my "saved items". I feel like I desperately need the bag though, & it's only £20! I also need pink dresses in my life. And velvet wedges..and big sparkly jewellery...and lace peter pan collar tops. Ugh ASOS you take too much of my money, haha!

OOTD - Vintage Cute

Blouse - c/o Simply Be // Cardigan - H&M // Skirt - H&M // Shoes - ASOS // Bag - Welsh Gift Shop // Brooch - Stolen Thunder // Hair Bow - ASOS // Velvet Bow Brooch - Handmade

Simply Be recently sent me this pretty Frock'n'Frill blouse to review (along with 2 Rise dresses that I shall show you soon!). I apparently didn't manage to get the greatest pics, but it is winter now, so going without knitwear of some kind would be silly :P I think in this picture though you can kinda see the pretty details that made me fall in love with it though?

Bows & lace, where can you go wrong? I got it in a 28, as I have had past experience with Frock'n'Frill, my bird print topis by them (as seen in the pic on your left), so knew to go a size up. I probably could have got away with a 26, if it wasn't for my hips/belly, it's a little snug there, but as I plan to wear it tucked in it's not a problem! The colour is pretty & it's well made, so I would give it 8.5/10, a point & and a half being knocked off for sizing discrepancy.

Also managed to wear out my tapestry brogues, seriously these things I find so hard to match up & wear with things!! Think they work with this outfit though, my bag helps ties them in. Any suggestions would be great though, I need help! Plus I decided to wear my hair up, for the first time in like ever! I did milkmaid braids, & actually really like them. I normally hate putting my hair up, my hair is usually something that I hide behind (I have enough of it, haha!), so it was good to try something new & be a bit brave. Even if my neck was a bit chilly. Note to self - next time, experiment in the summer!

NOTD, & Nail Rock Nail Wraps Review

Firstly, my nails of the day. I saw this design on my tumblr dash (source here), & just had to recreate it. Last time I attempted florals it looked like this, so I was pretty pleased with how these turned out, haha!

Also, I wanted to do a review of these Nail Rock nail wraps, that I got in this months Glossybox (no I haven't signed up, but this months box appeared unexpectedly on my doorstop so thought I'd make full use of it, haha :P)

Anyway, upon first sight they look pretty good right? I think I applied them pretty well, I've seen other people struggle far more with nail wraps. They were pretty hard to apply, it took me a good 30 mins to do them, it does require some skill. I mean, they are supposed to be the easy way to have nail art, but they really aren't all that easy! It would have been quicker for me to just paint my nails, plus they wouldn't have look like this then at the tips:

Ugh! I couldn't stand them, they were all bumpy & ridged because nails are curved, not flat, so these wraps wrinkle round the edges. Anyway, I ripped them off, because I knew they'd just start to peel up within hours. I don't think this problem would just be limited to this brand, to be honest. I think most would be the same. Maybe the ones you have to heeat would work better? I don't know, but after wanting to try out some wraps for so long, I'm, glad I didn't actually spend money on these!

Have you tried out nail wraps? What did you think?

Spots & Dew Drops

(Shortened) Dress - Style 369 // Ballerina Wrap Cardigan - Very // Shoes - ASOS // Bow - New Look // Ring -Welsh Giftshop // Watch - Xmas Present // Silver Bow Necklace - Handmade

Yesterday we took the dogs to the park again, their favourite walk ever! Didn't really wear the most warm of outfits, although I did have a coat on too when we weren't snapping outfit pics! Next time I'll remember that it's late November, & I really should be wearing more than a thin 3/4 cardigan & summer dress! Jumpers & scarves for me!

Anyway, it was all misty, had been since the night before, so everywhere was beautiful, with lots of dew dropped cobwebs. I had to keep stopping every so often to take photos of the pretty-ness! Which is why this post is fairly heavy with nature-y goodness :P

Handmade necklace - I recently discovered silver art clay & I am in love! Wish it wasn't so expensive, but it is fine silver, which basically comes in a clay form so you can shape it yourself. Means you don't need a workshop & tools to make proper jewellery, just a bit of skill & a gas hob to fire.

Until next time ♥

Button

Just thought I'd quickly share some experimental photos with you, I was trying out this tutorial, on how to make differently shaped bokeh (that's background blur!) & snapped some of Button, as he was near to hand & fairly willing to help out :P

I think they turned out rather well, might have to try this with Tallie & Dillon too, hehe!

NOTD - Mad Striperz

I recently got sent this Mad Striperz nail art pen from Mad Beauty to try out & review. I picked this mint colour, which is really more of a sky blue than a mint, but lovely all the same.

I've been meaning to get some more nail art pens for ages, but never really knew where to get good ones. I have 2, one in black, one in white, from Model's Own, which do have a dual tip, but after my black one's brush mysteriously disappeared one day!!! (& not having had a reply from Model's Own about it), I've kind of gone off them. These Mad Striperz come in far more colours, are much bigger (8.8ml), & are even slightly cheaper (£5.90!).

I was a bit iffy about trying it out to start with, sometimes with unknown products they can be a bit crap, I thought the polish might be thin & not able to cover the base colour very well. I was mistaken, it was very good & completely solid, but not too thick & hard to manage. I really like having a nail art pen that isn't black/white, so when I next have the spare cash, I think I will invest in some more of the colours they have to offer. Coral Shimmer & Silver Sparkle are on my wishlist!

What do you think? Does anyone else know where to get decent nail art pens from? I've seen the cheapies on eBay, but I'm not sure if they would be very good to use. You do normally get what you pay for!

OOTD - Dalmatian Pink

Coat - ASOS // Shoes - Next // Bow - New Look // Ring - Handmade // Brooch - Fifi Lapin

Crappy shot of my nails, but they are a shimmery colour with konad lace tips!

This is what I wore whilst out with the dogs & my family. New (pink!!!!) coat from ASOS, which I love so much. I bought it as soon as it appeared on site, which may have been a bit rash, but when do you ever see pink coats, esp in plus sizes? Didn't get a good shot of my outfit underneath, plus it was too cold to go without a coat really.

Managed to sneak this pic of Mum, her bf, & the doggies whilst they were being dried off! Button never gets that muddy, he hates dirt, so only Dillon & Tallie were wrapped up in towels - they don't look too happy about it, do they?

Until next time, xxx

Crafty (Christmas) Post - Doll Edition

I know, I know, it's probably still too early to be thinking about Christmas. But this year I wanted to make most of my gifts, so really need to start now!

I used to make everyone's gifts when I was little, I would start in September, & encourage Charlotte, my sister to do the same. We would paint shells for paper weights & other random bits & pieces. They weren't the most beautiful things in the world, as you might image, but we were only small, I think I started doing this at about 7/8 years old.

In more recent years I have fallen into the habit of just buying meaningless presents from shops, rather than actually putting time, effort & love into making gifts like I used to, despite my ability having increased! So this year I have decided to make (nearly) everyone's presents.

I've started with my youngest cousins gifts, a pair of ragdolls - one for both brother & sister! I've only finished the girl ragdoll, but have plans to start on the boy in the next few days. My cousins are aged 3 & 5, so I hope they'll like them!

She took about 5 hours to finish, but I think she was worth it! Do you like her? I probably won't show you more of the gifts I am making until after Christmas now, except for the boy doll, because I know that some of my family read my blog & I wouldn't want to spoil their surprises! I don't think there is much chance of my 3 & 5 year old cousins reading this though, so I can show you these pics without worrying!

OOTD - Watches & Lace

Dress - Very // Shoes - ASOS // Watch - c/o Old England // Cardigan - Dorothy Perkins // Collar - Romwe // Bow - New Look

Thought I wear some the new things I showed you in my last post. Speaking of new things, how cute is this pocketwatch that Old England sent me? I've actually wanted one of these style watches for ages, & now I have one, yay! My Mum is pretty jealous, she loves old fashioned style watches too. I can definitely see me wearing it with a lot of my outfits, I really want to put together an Alice in Wonderland themed outfit with it!

Pretty scalloped hem on my dress :)

I Heart Shopping

A few recent-ish purchases:

My new dress from Very, available here. When Lauren (Pocket Rocket Fashion), tweeted about some of the lovely new dress in the So Fabulous collection at Very, I immediately rushed over to the site to check it out, & discovered this beauty! Normally I don't even bother checking So Fabulous, because it usually isn't that great, as is usually the way for plus size collections. I normally order from their South range, which just happens to go up to a 24, which often can work for me. This dress is a 28, a size up from my usual, which just shows the inconsistencies with sizing, even in the same shop!!!

It is still very pretty though, even with the neckline being different from the pic. I love the inclusion of this diamante belt, I can rarely find cute belts in my size, for some reason ASOS ones don't fit, even though they should, so I am lacking in the belt department.

My new sewing box! Just because I have 2 sewing boxes already doesn't mean I don't need another, right? :P I found this in Wales, in a little knitting shop. The lady cooed over little Dillon for ages when we checked out, which he loved!

Cute collar I posted about here. It's from Romwe, my first order with them. They are based in China, but offer free worldwide shipping, so I really couldn't say no to this adorable petal collar!

Last but not least, a cat tapestry bag, which I also found in Wales, in a cute gift shop in Betws y Coed. I love anything animal related, so this was another great buy.

I also bought this skirt from ASOS the other day, but it is much too big around the waist, by at least 2 inches! My advice is to size down, maybe even twice, unless you want it to be slung low on your hips. It was also nearky to my ankles, & would have needed a good hem, even on me @ 5"8. I'm definitely returning it, which is a shame. Never really had many sizing issues with ASOS before, so am fairly disappointed. Might buy this dress instead, because even if I got the skirt in a smaller size it would probably still need hemming. And as I have a list of clothes already to alter, I can't be bothered with another, haha!

Have you bought anything nice recently?