Collective Haul July 2014

Hey everyone, its Karina!

As mentioned in my previous post I have been doing a lot of shopping recently. So today I'm going to talk to you about the things I have bought. These were all purchased on lots of different shopping trips, not just one! All of these items vary from fashion to beauty to home, all from different shops like, New Look, Savers, Primark and more.

Firstly my favorite shop, Primark.
As I'm going to uni, I'm looking for homely bits and bobs to put in my room. I saw this cushion and instantly fell in love because it has the Eiffel Tower on it, and in case you didn't know I have an obsession with the Eiffel Tower and own many things with it on! Its very soft and comfy, I love the colours it's very girly, and the pattern is on both sides of the cushion which I like.

£4 - Primark

Another item of clothing I got is a top, but its like a beach kind of top because the back it cut open, it has a slit all the way down the middle at the back, this is good because you can just throw it over your bikini. Or if you wanted it just during the day you can wear a vest top or bandeau. I have been pairing it with a blue bandeau that matches very well (also from Primark, that I bought ages ago!). 

£6 - PrimarkSize - UK8

£6 - Primark - Size UK8

I own quite a few Primark vest tops, in lots of different patterns and colours. I saw this one and really liked it, because it's simple and will go with everything.

£4 - Primark - Size UK10

As I went to a festival the other week I was looking for a flower crown/headband. I liked this one as it is plain and simply and I can wear it other places as well as festivals, and it was very cheap.

£2 - Primark

Now the finally thing from Primark is my favorite. I saw it on a model and loved it, so I bought it! It is a playsuit in an Aztec pattern in black, white, grey and pink. It is has sequins around the neck line which adds a bit of sparkle and dresses it up. I also like that it is halter neck, as its different. I love it.

£10 - Primark - Size UK8

Then in H&M I saw these amazing floral shorts. I tired them on and loved them (Although had to get a size bigger as H&M clothes come up small on me). I ended up wearing them to the festival the other week. I really love them, they are so summery and add a pop of colour to your outfit. I also went to another H&M in my town with my mum and ended up getting a few things, mainly dresses, but I'm not allowed them yet as mum is getting them for me for my birthday! (August 6th).

£12.99 - H&M- Size UK12

£1.89 - Savers

I've also been buying a few beauty things. I wanted to repurchase the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer from Superdrug but they were out of stock in my shade! But I did end up buying a few hair products from Savers (a cheaper version of Superdrug). I got the Batiste Dry Shampoo, in Tropical. VO5 Ultimate Hold Hairspray. VO5 Heat Protect Styling Spray. I haven't had a chance to use any of these enough to get a good idea on how they work yet, but when I do I'll let you know what they are like, but I think they are all meant to be great products.

£2.49 -Savers

£1.99 - Savers

And finally New Look. Like I said early I was looking for a flower crown/headband, I actually ended up getting 2, but they worked out to be cheap as I had student discount and a gift card! The first one is a pink floral crown which will go well with the H&M shorts. Its comfortable to wear and doesn't slip off, the back is elastic and the flower part is actually wired, so you can bend it into shape. And secondly I got a beaded elastic headband which is like a carnival type style. I love the colours and they go with my brown hair quite well. I'm unsure on this though as I don't think ill wear it much.

£3.99 - New Look

£2 - New Look

And finally I got a Kimono. I've wanted one for ages but never found one I liked. I really like this because its black so it will go with a lot of things and I love the flower detail and the colours.

£12.99 - New Look - Size UK8

I did also purchase a few bras from Marks & Spencer and Debenhams, but you don't really need to know anything about them, haha!

Well that's it for my haul today, thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it. I was going to photograph myself wearing the items but decided not too, but for next time let me know if you would like me to do so. Also let me know what your favorite thing is that I've bought. And let me know if you bought anything recently?

LOVE
KARINA

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College, Birthdays, Cinema, Festivals and More!

Hi everyone, its Karina

I apologize for not posting anything for about 7 weeks, but I have been very, very, very busy. So today I'm going to talk about some of the things I have been up too.

Firstly I have finally finished my 2 years at college. Towards the end it all got very busy, stressful, exciting, sad, fun, scary and enjoyable. Once all our work from the final project was handed in, our final show was put up, which had been viewed many people and lots of people sold work. We decided to have a little party with our class to celebrate leaving, as our college doesn't hold a ball or prom for everyone. So we spent the day eating LOTS of good food and taking LOTS of photos!

It was a brilliant 2 years, we truly are a fantastic class, I've made some great friends, I will miss everyone and I have left with some lovely memories. Even our tutors Jon&Nicola were amazing. Now for the next step, university!

Another thing that I have been busy with is sports photography. I have a few friends in my local athletics club and their coach asked me to photograph a competition once back in April. But then that led onto more, more. Because the club, athletes and family members liked my photos and I got invited back for more. So I've now photographed at least 5 different competitions. This has been very time consuming but at the same time very enjoyable, brilliant experience and rewarding. I hadn't done much sport photography before but now im getting into it and would love to continue it. Here are a couple of my photos. I have hundreds more, if you'd like to see them then head over to my Photography Facebook Page, thanks.                          

                        

The other day (22nd June) it was a sunny day so my dad, brother and I went to one of our local beaches called, Walcott. Once we got there the sea was coming in, I've never been there when the sea is in so it looked different. But it was coming it so fast, it was crashing up against the walls, it was quite scary but fun and exciting at the same time. This was a great photo opportunity and I managed to capture a few good photos. Here are a couple, if you'd like to see more then head over to my Photography Facebook Page, thanks. We then walked along the beach and got an ice-cream, I had mint choc-chip, it was very yummy!

Also I went to the cinema with my friends from my Synchro Club. Can you guess what we went to see??.....Yep that's right, 'The Fault In Our Stars'. I didn't have a clue what to expect as I haven't read the book, but I was looking forward to it, even if I was going to cry! I'm not going to ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it or hasn't read the book, but it was a very good film and of course it was very sad and yes I did cry! We then went to Costa Coffee and chilled for a while and to stop crying, haha! 

Over the last few weeks its been some of my friends 18th birthdays. Firstly it was my friend Sophie, she had a lovely garden party, it was great weather and I had a good time. Secondly it was Alice's birthday, she also had a party but the weather wasn't quite the same! Although we still got to go outside and enjoyed a good game of badminton, it was a great evening. Finally it was Emily's birthday, 4 of us went bowling (including Zoe) it was really good fun and I won both games! We then had a lovely meal in Nando's. This photo is from Emily's birthday at bowling.

Finally on Saturday 28th June I went to a festival, and no it wasn't Glastonbury, sadly! I went to East Coast Live, in Chantry Park Ipswich. The line up was very good and I like everyone that's why I went. It was Rixton, Neon Jungle, Katy B, Union J, The Saturdays, The Vamps, Jason Derulo, Rizzle Kicks and Jessie J. It was meant to rain all day so we weren't really looking forward to standing outside all day. But it was brilliant because we basically had no rain, so that made the day much better. All the acts were amazing, I sang, I danced, I screamed, I jumped and had a fantastic day. Also it was spent with 2 great friends, I cant wait to attend more concerts because I just love them!

Well that's just a few things I've been up to, I've also celebrated my Nan's 70th, been camping, photographed a friends prom, been shopping, been to a fete, been to other beaches and been out for a few meals with friends and family.

What have you been up to?

Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it. My next post will possibly be a haul as I've done a lot of shopping recently.

LOVE

KARINA

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Zoe's Homemade Millionaire's Shortbread.

Hello everyone! It's Zoe!

First of all apologies for the absense. Both me and Karina have been mega busy doing college work and lots of other stuff! We've finished college now and we both plan to write regular posts now! 

A while ago I was bored an in need of something to do until I thought: I can do some baking! It's been a long time since I baked something and so I thought I would make my favourite, Millionaire's Shortbread. This recipe can be quite a tricky one as it's taken me several attempts to perfect. It's not for the impatient ones I'll tell you that! I am quite an impatient person so that will explain why it has taken so many attempts to perfect! Before beginning I had an idea to do a blog post on Millionaire's Shortbread so people can see how to make it! Everytime I Make Millionaire's Shortbread I will always use the Hairy Biker's 'Mum's Know Best' cookbook recipe. It is just the best one and it makes it so simple to read and is fully explained. So, here's how to make it! 

First of all, the base needs to be made. The ingredients you will need are: 

First you need to measure out the ingredients, mix the butter, sugar and flour to form a dough. (Make sure you wash your hands before kneading!)

Press the dough into a 23cm tin (the recipe says 23cm tin but if you dont have a tin of that size, just use one that you think would be suitable enough. Not to big otherwise the dough will go too thin and will burn in the oven and not too small because the dough will be too thick, it will take longer to cook and there won't be as many pieces when you cut it up!) You then need to cook it for 15 - 20 minutes at 190°C/Gas 5. (Keep an eye on it!) 

Meanwhile, You need to start the caramel. You will need: 

You need to pour the condensed milk into a big pan and add the sugar and butter. Bring to the boil and keep continuously stirring for 5 - 10 minutes. I say 5 - 10 minutes but you may want longer if you need it. You have to be so patient with it. It has to be a really thick mixture otherwise it isn't going to set. And I can tell you that from experience! Once it is done, take your shortbread you've baked and pour it over the top of it evenly and set it in the fridge for a little while. 

(The best bit about baking is licking the bowl. Yum!)

After you've left that in the fridge to chill for a while, you can melt the chocolate. You can have any type of chocolate you want (Nobody's stopping you from having two different types of chocolate and swirling it together if you like!) I went for some cooking chocolate because that's all I had in the cupboards. 

I melted the chocolate in the microwave although the correct way would be to set up a bowl over a pan of water on a low heat but it's quicker in the microwave. Put it in and take it out every 20 - 30 seconds to give it a stir until it's completely melted.) Pour it over the top and spread evenly. Set in the fridge again until it has completely set. (This might take an hour or so.)

Once it's set, go ahead and cut it into squares!

And then you're done! Now you can go and share it out with family and friends Or just keep it to yourself! After all you've made it. 

Hope you enjoyed this post about how I made these Millionaire's Shortbread! Let me know if you make some using this recipe and tell me how they came out! Good luck baking!

Until the next time,

Zoe

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Zoe's Art.

Hello everyone! It's Zoe!

Today's topic for my blog post I thought I would talk about art. I'm always drawing whether it is digital or on paper. I am not the best artist but i've got to say that I am not that bad! I took GCSE Fine Art and within doing this I progressed my skills in Art through different mediums. I used to be rather good at painting but when finishing GCSE's I didn't really have time to continue using paints so it's been rather a long time since I properly painted (as in using oil or acrylic paints) something! 

(KickThePJ - Pencil drawing)

AmazingPhil (Signed - Biro & Watercolour Pencil background)

Danisnotonfire (Signed - Coffee & Biro)

I did however carry on drawing! I am very self taught when it comes to drawing. It has been a case of trial an error over the years. Some drawings go well and I'm quite proud of them and others go really bad and I want to tear my hair out! I think I have progressed quite well when it comes to digital drawings over the 3 - 4 years i've been doing it! I first got a drawing tablet and photoshop when I started Fast Track Photography (a story for another day) and I don't think i've put it down since! It seems every single time I go on the computer I draw at least one thing. 

(KickThePJ - One of my first proper digital paintings)

(The first drawing I did in Paint Tool SAI - I switched to SAI because it was way easier than photoshop *in my opinion*)

(Wirrow inspired drawing)

WorldOfTheOrange (Liguorilicious inspired drawing)

KickThePJ from 'Smokey Saloon' (Not really an inspired drawing. Just a drawing style I tried out.)

At this particular moment, the things I tend to draw the most is cartoons. I used to draw realistic drawings (and still do!) but I've always wanted to try and find a style of cartoon that I could draw all the time. Alas, I am yet to find this. I have tried hundreds of different styles of cartoons and nothing has stuck that I felt most comfortable drawing. Apart from the 'Adventure Time' style of cartoon. I really enjoy drawing this style. It's quite easy once you get the hang of it! 

(KickThePJ - Requested by someone on my Tumblr)

(KickThePJ & Me)

(KickThePJ as Finn the Human and his companion Fuzzwald the Penguin)

(Dan and Phil - Drawn for someone for Tumblr's Dan and Phil Secret Santa)

You might recognise that I have quite a collection of YouTuber drawings. I guess I draw YouTubers (especially people I watch regularly) because I'm so used to seeing their face that I know what their face looks like pretty much off heart. So the more you draw them, the more you get used to drawing their face and the better you get at drawing their face? (If you get what I mean...?) So that will explain why quite a lot of the drawings are PJ.

As far as physical pencil on paper drawings go, at the moment i've been working quite a lot with ink and water colour pencils. I just LOVE using ink. Granted it isn't the easiest to use and can be temperamental (ink can spread. Quite quickly) but it's good to use. Here are some examples of my most recent work (again sorry it is all about PJ! You should see by now why I draw him so much because you can see quite a vast improvement *I hope!*): 

I really think that water colour pencil and ink go well together and can look quite effective. 

Well that's some of my art! Please let me know if you liked my art and I would love to also know if people are interested in seeing more of my work? Have a nice rest of the weekend whatever you are up to! 

Until the next time,

Zoe
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