By now, you all must know how fond I am of receiving surprise packages in the post. I love signing up for box swaps and trying out subscription boxes. Lucky Dip Club is a new venture by Leona of Thrift-ola (and formerly the beyond awesome Lady Luck Rules OK) whereby you are sent a themed box each month containing surprises such as jewellery, stationery, a DIY kits and personalised items. For the first box the theme was Vintage Florals.
The packaging is such that it fits through your letter box – no dreaded red card of doom – and gives a nod to the theme inside.
I was really crushing on the yellow tissue paper! So bright and cheery! The box arrive on a dull Tuesday afternoon after a tough couple of days at work so even just opening the box really lifted my mood.
Cute kitty badge! Leona included a little handwritten note to say that this was a wee extra for entering her Instagram competition.
I love this personalised handmade initial badge. I think I’ll pop it on a tote bag.
The companion piece to the kitty badge! This is a dinky pocket mirror that comes in a handmade drawstring pouch.
Some stickers and a pack of temporary tattoos and nail decals. I’ll definitely use the nail decals for their intended purposes but I’ll probably do something different with the tattoos – probably decorate a journal with them.
Cute little magnets. I couldn’t think where I could put these at first – my fridge has a cupboard door attached to it – but then I remembered my Helmer! So they’re decorating my nail polish drawers.
This vintage playing card entered us into another competition! My card didn’t get picked but I thought that this was a really nice idea and an added surprise a week after the initial joy of receiving the box.
Lastly, a DIY kit which included a roll of fabric washi tape and cocktail sticks so that you can make your own mini flags. This is a fab little kit that shows that anyone can get crafty and that you don’t need a lot to get started.
So that was my first Lucky Dip Club box. I am so happy with it I decided to buy a rolling subscription – my first one! The theme for June has been revealed – Tutti Frutti! I’m imaging a riot of colours, pineapple print (very in) and some mouth-watering treats. It’s already sold out but keep an eye on the website for the launch of the next one on 1st July.
I’ve already made the washi flags, check back this evening to see how I got on!
Would you sign up for Lucky Dip Club? Come and join us!
Clearly, Instagram is my most used app here, I am totally addicted to it! I’ve done a post on Collect which is how I’m doing Photo A Day 2014. I also really enjoy using the A Beautiful Mess app, Dubble and Flipagram to play about with my photos.
My goodies came individually wrapped in comic book wrapping paper – awesome! I thought that this was a lovely touch, wrapping items can be time-consuming so I really appreciated the effort.
So much exciting stuff! It was immediately clear that my partner had thought about what I said I liked.
I had said that I loved cats, cute stationery and everything nautical and voila – there it was! Kitty paws, anchors, whales!
Can never get enough beauty bits! I’ve never tried Avon nail polish so I was happy to see this bottle of ‘Chilling Teal’. The colour itself is right up my street but also it seems thin enough to use as a shimmery topcoat, possibly over a dark navy. Will have to try and report back. I also received Rose & Co Rose Petal Salve, a multi-purpose balm that has currently been rescuing my dried up cuticles.
Lastly, some sweet stuff. I was super happy to see the drinking fudge. I’m saving this for when I really need something indulgent and special. Think it will fit the bill pretty well. As for the chocolate, there was no saving that, it was scoffed straight away. Yummy!
It’s tough being a mermaid. All that combing your hair, singing and luring men to their deaths can really take its toll. So sometimes you just need a good, relaxing pamper night. Here’s my guide to a home spa menu for mermaids and mermaid-wannabes alike.
All good pamper nights begin with a long relaxing soak in the tub. You can lights some candles, pop on some soothing whale-song if you want to go the whole hog and just relax and enjoy the scented water. I used the Big Blue bath bomb from Lush (I made this one myself at an event there) and a body wash by Elemis, the lavender scent perfectly complemented the salty, citrusy freshness of Big Blue.
I love the single sachet face masks from Montagne Jeunesse, there’s one for every occasion and this Dead Sea Mud Pac was perfect for my mermaid-needs, drawing out impurities without drying my skin. Here you can see the half dissovled Big Blue with its chunks of sea salt and seaweed turning the bath into an ocean lagoon.
My number one choice for mermaid hair is the Lush Seanik shampoo bar. Not only does it smell amazing, with jasmine and citrus but it leaves your hair feeling squeaky clean and soft. It contains sea salt with gives your hair some bounce but not in such a quantity that ut would dry out your hair. For extra texture a few spritz’ of Bumble & Bumble’s Surf Spray is unbeatable. Instant beach hair.
When it comes to appropriate scents, Yankee Candle has many to choose from. You can go for something floral – beach flowers perhaps, something warming like Midnight Oasis, or stick to the fresh, sea air scent of Coastal Waters like I did. This would be the mermaid who likes to chill by the rock-pools choice.
For me, no pamper evening is complete without a fresh coat of paint. On my nails that it. For mermaids, the automatic association is something blingy – glitters in blue, green and purple to mimic a shimmering tail. But sometimes we need something a little toned down. The life of a mermaid is not always sunshine and surfing y’know and Mermaid’s Tears by OPI embodies the more melancholic (yet still beautiful) aspect of the mermaid legend.
The last thing to do is to get tucked up into a warm bed with a good book or movie for company. And a cuddly dugong of course. Dugongs are the real-life animals that inspired the legend of mermaid and are perhaps even more awesome than the mythical creatures themselves. This is Derek, he helped me pick The Life Aquatic, such is his impeccable taste.
And with that I’ll drift off to sleep and dream of the ocean.
Do you love Valentine’s Day or do you hate it? I personally love it, even if my other half doesn’t. It is a farce of a ‘holiday’ that puts unnecessary pressure on some people but the way I see it, it’s an excuse to treat yourself. Whether you are single or coupled up with a non-believer, it’s always good to have a reason to treat yourself. So I knocked together a wishlist of sorts. Do I expect any of these items lovingly wrapped up on the 14th? No. I might buy them for myself earlier.
First things first – avoiding last minute “whaddya mean it’s black tie?” panic. This Darling Skater Dress with Polka Sleeves from ASOS would do the trick nicely. And Hallelujah – it has sleeves! Down from £59 to £38.
Urgh, yeah New Years resolutions and all that. I need some decent trainers and I like these Nike Air Max Triax 94s from Schuh. I like Nike as they tend to be quite narrow and I have narrow (but long) feet. Down from £87 to £56.99.
I love a slouchy jumper to wear to work, but the ones I have are looking a bit worse for wear so need replacing. I love this BDG Waffle Boyfriend Jumper from Urban Outfitters, especially the colour. £20 down from £45.
Because you can never have too many cat themed t-shirts. This CAPTURE by Hollywood Made t-shirt at ASOS is £18 down from £55. What an adorable bargain.
Look, Smurpho loves it too! 5 reasons I rate this app:
This app costs 69p, which I think it worth it as it’s a bit of a lifeline for me at Christmas, I do tend to get carried away with Christmas shopping and seeing the budget I have set and what I have spent helps me keep it under control.
