Is it just me or has 2020 been one of the most stressful years of your whole life?! The constant worry, the changing rules, remembering masks and hand sanitiser, homeschooling the kids, working from home… The list of additional stressors seems endless. With this in mind, I’ve been trying to do some things recently to improve my self-care, and it’s definitely helping. Here are just a few of my new rituals:
Continue reading “Self Care Rituals for Stressed-Out Mums”
Given the fact that it’s been a REALLY sucky year for most of us, Christmas will be a nice distraction from everything else. This year, us and our extended family have decided to keep the gift giving to just the kids of the family, so that we can make it all the more special for them. However, that doesn’t stop me from creating extra special Christmas cards for everyone, and this year I’ve even learned a new skill to help me – quilling!
When I was researching the type of card I wanted to make, I stumbled across some festive greetings using quilling. For those who don’t know, quilling is a paper craft with uses coiled strips of paper to create shapes and patterns. I had a quilling kit when I was a tween and I loved it then, but I’d basically forgotten everything I’d learned by the time I tried it again. I also planned to use a graffiti font on the card, but my printer went kaput, right at the most inconvenient moment. *eyeroll*
As well as quilling strips and some papercraft tools, I used an 8x8in blank greetings card, some tacky glue (it’s stickier and dries fast for crafting), a gold marker, some gold edging stickers, mini Christmas bells and some Christmas pompoms. I also used a compass, ruler and pencil for sketching out the rough shapes before I stuck anything on.
I started by making the quills for the tree by coiling a whole strip tightly, then allowing it to unfurl a little. I then glued the loose end in place with a tiny dot of glue, held it until dry and then pinched one end of the coil of paper to create the shape. To create the star and tree pot, I shaped them after coiling in a similar way, and then I used the gold marker to write the message on the front. Finally, I just stuck all of the other bits on in the right place!
It took me a little under half an hour, from sketching out the final design to everything being done, and I think the overall effect is well worth the effort! What’s more, I really enjoyed making the card and I can’t wait to make a whole load more to send to the special people in our lives. I’m thinking of making a different design on every card, but that might just be a stunning case of me biting off more than I can chew, as usual!
I absolutely love making handmade gifts and cards for people. Now that I have a new skill, I’ll definitely be doing more of it. Have you ever tried quilling? Are you making handmade cards or gifts this year? Leave me a comment below telling me all about it, especially if you have inspiration for my next design!
Image by spider0702 from Pixabay
There is no way you can avoid ageing; it’s going to happen no matter how many anti-ageing creams you buy or how much plastic surgery you have. However, rather than getting down about it, you can enjoy the ageing process and embrace it because there will be plenty of positives to it, too, more than you may think.
One of the things that upsets people most about ageing is how their skin looks, as in some cases, it can make them look older than they are. When you are younger, it’s essential to take care of your skin, and no matter what age you are now, quit smoking and sunbathing because this won’t do your skin any good at all. As you get older, your skin loses its elasticity and can start to sag and wrinkle. There are many creams, and lotions, and face washes you can get to combat the signs of anti-ageing, but the main ingredients you want to look for are ceramides, coenzyme Q10, green tea, vitamin C, and hyaluronic acid, as well as wearing a high SPF sunscreen to reduce sun damage. Zo Skin Health have an array of skin enhancers, and as everyone’s skin is different, it is important to choose something that will target your specific problem or skin type.
One of the most important things to do in life at any age is to eat a nutritious diet and get regular exercise, but as you get older, this will lower your heart rate and keep you feeling younger. It’s not just what you eat you need to watch, but it’s everything you put into your body. So when it comes to food go for a diet which is low in saturated fats and make sure there are lots of fruit and vegetables, oily fish and whole grains included. It’s also essential to have small amounts of low-fat dairy and lean meat too. Don’t forget that you need to keep hydrated too so make sure you drink lots of water to avoid getting dehydrated as this can leave you feeling tired and confused. Tea, coffee, and fruit juice will also help you to stay hydrated but you should avoid sugary fizzy drinks.
While this is important at any age, it’s so important that it needs to be reiterated. If you don’t get enough sleep, then you will likely feel tired and grumpy. But not only this, but sleep has so many other benefits. It helps to reduce your stress levels – which, let’s face it, you need as little stress as possible at any age but particularly as you get older. Another benefit is that sleep can actually improve your memory and who doesn’t need that as they age? Good sleep can also lower your blood pressure, can improve your immune system, and help you to maintain a healthy weight, all of which are extremely important as you age.
I know that 2020 has been a bit of a weird year and it’s definitely caused problems for people who were planning to move to a new home, but for many newlyweds new, uni students and anyone else who managed to actually get their own property this year, they’d definitely appreciate some swanky homewares for their Christmas gift.
One thing that I’d strongly recommend is that you make sure you check to see if there is a voucher code for the website before you buy anything at full price. With that in mind, I’ve put together a little gift guide to show you some of the things that I think any new-nesters would love:
Something I’ve noticed about more modern properties is that they don’t always have an airing cupboard, unlike older houses which needed somewhere to store the bulky water tank. This means that people struggle for places to store things like bed linen and towels which can take up quite a lot of space. That’s why these storage bags make a great gift for someone who’s just moved into a new place – they look great and are the perfect place to store linens, coats and other stuff you don’t need every day.
A laundry basket is often one of those things that people forget to buy when they move into their own place and end up keeping their dirty clothes in an old IKEA bag or something similar! This laundry hamper is not only practical but also looks really nice and would be the perfect thing for any home.
There’s nothing better than receiving something warm and homemade for dinner that a kind friend or family member has made for you when you first move into your own home – and what better to deliver it in than a gorgeous thermal food carrier?! This casserole carrier looks great and is perfect for anyone who loves cooking or does a lot of potluck dinners with friends and family!
Not every kitchen has fitted appliances and purchasing all of your white goods plus a cooker for a new place can cost an absolute fortune. That’s why this double infrared hot plate would be brilliant for a couple, single person or even a student who doesn’t have their own kitchen (check their Halls of Residence rules though, as some don’t allow hot plates). It’s got two rings for cooking and performs just as well as a fitted hob.
This may seem like an odd one, but you’d be really surprised at the amount of people who don’t own a decent ladder. When you move into a new place, a ladder is essential if you want to get into the loft, put up light shades and hang pictures, cleaning gutters or anything else that requires a lift! This telescopic ladder is great because it folds up super small and doesn’t take up a lot of space.
Remote controlled gifts have always been a hit with my kids and they’ve had everything from cats which purr to tarantulas which scare the living daylights out of Maureen as they skitter across the floor. With this in mind, we’ve been looking at some of the remote controlled toys which are on offer this year, ahead of the Christmas season, and we thought we’d share five of our favourites with you, in the hope of inspiring your festive purchases:
Powered by a strong motor, the rc car can drift and reach upto a speed of 18km/h, giving you a thrilling drift experience. Equipped with two 6V 600mAh rechargeable batteries that provide a total power play of 50 mins and designed with an easy-to-learn remote controller with quick and precise response, this remote controlled car is the best gift choice for beginners.
As well as being controllable via a remote, this funky little robot can actually sense gestures through a sensor on its chest and will resond to your hand waves and swipes! It’s also programmable, giving kids the option to input up to 50 motion commands so that they can see their own imagination in play. It’s easy to charge via USB and can give up to an hour of play on a single charge.
If you’ve got a kid in your family who is dinosaur obsessed, then this remote controlled T-Rex is the perfect gift! Not only can the robot dinosaur fight, he is also a talented performer; he can dance with different prerecorded music. You can use remote control to switch between two modes: slide & walk, woth multiple other functions to offer tons of fun to your kids.
Perfect for the smaller kids in your family, this robot dog is the cutest remote controlled pet around. The pooch can be programmed by the owner to perform a number of tasks and is easy to control – he’ll walk, dance and do all sorts of other fun things. It’s the ideal gift for anyone who wants a dog but doesn’t want to deal with cleaning up after a real pet!
This remote control car combines the classic RC format with something new and exciting! The stunt car doesn’t just go backwards and forwards – it can flip, spin and do all sorts of exciting stunts. Perfect for girls and boys age 6-12 who love anything a little bit crazy! Designed with an easy-to-learn remote controller with quick and precise response, this remote controlled car is another great gift choice for beginners.
