Kirsty Allsopp Bath Bomb Review

Hello Ladies,

So as i mentioned in this post my lovely HB brought me the Kirsty Allsopp bath bomb kit. I'm a big fan of Kirsty, so i was over the moon to have a chance to try out one of her kits. She has a lovely range of them which are available to purchase in Hobby Craft, and probably loads of other places! 

So i thought i would write up a little review for you all! 

The kit comes in a beautiful box, the outer packaging is a sleeve, so once this is removed your left with the lovely floral and polka dot box. Mine has now been upcycled into my embroidery floss box.

Inside you get everything you need to make the bath bombs, including 2 little heart moulds.

The instructions are adequate but are basic, and it took abit of trial and error to perfect my technique! The problem i encountered was the heart bath bombs falling apart when i tried to ease it out of the mould

Hmm... doesn't look quite like the ones from Lush does it?!

So here are a couple of tips!

Fill the moulds high, it makes it easier to compress the bomb and helps prevent getting an 'inverted' back to your heart.


Leave the bath bomb in the mould for at least 2 minutes, i found that when i tried to remove straight after pushing firmly on the moulds that they crumbled every time!

Beautiful Rose bath bombs!

Once you have eased them ever so gentle out of the moulds you need to leave them to fully set, i set mine aside on a plate and left them for about 24 hours.

I found the kit provided enough ingredients to make 12 bath bombs. So i set aside a few for myself and the rest i have packaged up as little gifts for friends and family this Christmas.

I used little cellophane bags which i brought on ebay to put two baths bombs in. Tied them with some pretty pink string and added a little rustic clay star and luggage label. Simple but pretty packaging I think!

And of course i had to immediately sample them in the bath!

And they were fantastic! I mean seriously lovely! the smell is glorious, my suggestion - run a hot bath with the bathroom door shut, it traps the scent in the room, and when you walk in its blissful.

Overall i think this little set is great, especially if you have been thinking about delving into the world of bath bomb making, as its an inexpensive way of trying this new craft without a massive financial outlay.

The packaging makes them a fantastic Christmas gift.

Ive added a few onto my Christmas wish list! I'm especially hoping jolly old Santa will drop the candle making one down my chimney!

If any of you have tried any of Kirsty's sets I would love to hear all about your thoughts on them!

Toodle-Pips

L x

My week in Crochet

As I sit in front of my open fire on a massive bean bag, sipping my glass of red wine and watching lord of the rings, I cant help but smile at how terribly content and happy I feel!

I have been crafting like a crazy woman over the past week, with Christmas fast approaching I seem to have an endless list of makes on my 'to do' list! I have decided that the best idea is to save all the items I intend to gift to friends and family till last and concentrate on orders I have, shop stock and getting ready for the two Christmas craft fairs I am doing! So much to make and so little time!

I do solemnly swear that next year I shall start my festive makes in September!! (honest i will! wink wink!)

Here is a glimpse at some of the things I have been working on this week

I have been busy making lots of brooches... hearts, bows and flowers! I think they would look lovely pinned on peoples winter coats!

The flower pattern is from one of my (many) Mollie Makes Magazines

The heart is made using this pattern over at Crochet make me Happy.

And lastly the bow is made using the pattern I posted on my first blog post!

I then simply used my good old trusty hot glue gun to stick a brooch clip onto the back of each!

I think they look so lovely all bunched together!

I know the colours aren't exactly 'wintery' shades, but its always nice to brighten things up! Plus I'm just in love with pastel shades!

I have also been making up bags of pine cones, fragrant orange slices, crochet acorns, crochet berries and handmade willow stars!

I'm simply in love with these little bags of goodness! Lots will be going into The Hive shop in Pelynt, Looe, some for the Christmas Craft Fairs, and then I think I may make some as little Christmas gifts for friends and family!

And speaking of gifts for the family....

My hubby treated me to a delicious Kirsty Allsopp set for making bath bombs. Its glorious. Ive made a batch of them which I'm going to gift out this Christmas. Check out my review on the set!

Ive also finished off a Christmas blanket, it is a wonderfully soft polar fleece blanket which i have added a red crochet boarder and appliqued on a stag. Lovely for getting cosy on the sofa with on these increasingly chilly evenings!

I've also been working on a rabbit pattern, I plan to make lots of these cuddly little fellas for the Christmas Fayre's.

Hope you all have a craft filled week too!

Toodle-Pips

L x 

Top 5 Crochet Blogs

Hello lovelies, Hope you are all having a relaxing and tranquil weekend. Ours has been a peaceful one mainly spent snuggled in front of the fire with a few new films and lots of crafting! Today I would like to share with you some of my favourite crochet blogs.  Now I'm sure you are aware that there is a vast number of crochet/craft blogs out in blogland, and undoubtable some lovely ones that I am yet to discover, so having someone point out a few great ones is always useful, right?

 

1. Pink Milk, if you read my last post then you will already know how much I love, love, love this blog. It's my favourite. I love the use of colours, the delicious yarns, the fantastic photography and especially the great crochet patterns and tutorials.

 

 

2. Annaboo's House is another wonderful crochet blog. Sarah has actually just written her first crochet book for beginners, which will be available to buy in the new year, read all about it over on her blog.  She also has a fantastic collection of free crochet patterns/tutorials and some lovely ones to buy from her via her Etsy shop. I have made loads of Sarah's crochet design's and her patterns are always accurate and easy to follow. One of my favourites is this little kitty doorstop I made, which is available for free on her blog.  

 

 

 

3. One Sheepish Girl is a blog that I have only recently discovered. She has the most amazing crochet and just as amazing photos of it all! I look forward to getting to know her blog better!

4. Hopscotch Lane Check out Becky's beautiful crochet blog, there are some fantastic patterns, although you do have to purchase them, they are well worth the money! I brought the doll pattern awhile back and altered it to a ballerina theme doll, which my little girl adores!

 

5. Attic 24 is a wealth of knowledge! You wont believe the amount of free patterns the extremely talented and generous Lucy has written and shared. Just take a look through the list on the left hand side of her blog and pick a pattern to get started on! At the bottom there is a little 'buy me a coffee' donate button, which I have donated to on several occasions, only seems fair considering the amount of freebie patterns I've had from Lucy!

 

I hope you will all enjoy these blogs as much as I have!

 

Which crochet blogs do you love? I would love to hear from you! Its always fun to submerge yourself in a new craftey blog!

 

Toodle-Pips! 

Lx

 

Welcome to my new blog!

Hello and welcome! My name is Lisa, I'm a 30 something who almost 3 years ago uprooted hubby and our three little bumble-bees from our city life to move 200 miles away to the blissful Cornish countryside. 

 In my search for a more peaceful and content life I reconnected with my childhood love of crafts. I just love to craft. I have been known to be somewhat of a fickle character and so no craft is off limits! However I do have a special affinity for crocheting, its a real passion of mine! I've now been crocheting for about 3 years, and along the way I've also picked up a few (and I mean few!) sewing and knitting skills. My main resource for learning new crafts and finding patterns and inspirations has of course been the internet. How I ever lived so many years without pinterest in my life is beyond me! So if you haven't checked out Pinterest let this be first tip I pass on to you, go on and have a browse, just be prepared to loose hours of your life to it, its highly addictive (not chocolate addictive, but still its up there!) But apart from my best buddy pinterest my other main resource has been blogs. There are some incredible blogs out there, the likes of which I could never dream of competing with, they are a wealth of knowledge, but not only that, when you start to follow a blogger, its like forming a friendship.  I truly hope that some of you will at some point view me and my little blog that way, like a good friend.

So the new blog and what you can expect... My little blog is going to be a place where I can share my crafting addiction with you, I hope to share free tutorials I find and hopefully write some of my very own. I'm thinking top 10 lists of free patterns, pay for patterns and craft blogs, Craft magazine review (I'm a devoted buyer of Mollie Makes, Craftseller and just recently Simply Stylish Knitting) and more craftiness than you can shake a stick at.

I thought I would start things off with a list of some of my favourite free crochet patterns/tutorials, which, with the ever impending seasonal festivities creeping up on us quicker than a small boy with a water bomb, have a suitably Christmassy (is that a word?!My spellcheck seems to think not!) feel to them.
Make them. Gift them. Or just fill your house with them!

 

1. Over on the Make and Take blog you can find this sweet little bow pattern

 

They are super quick and easy to make, and if your unsure of how to do a Half Double Crochet (HDC) they have a video tutorial to show you. These look fab on clips for the hair and make super cute little stocking fillers. I have short hair so I've made myself a festive red one and fixed it to a little plastic alice band for my hair!

 

2. Up next is this glorious Acorn pattern,

 

This site has loads of crochet patterns on it, so its well worth a look, I've made millions of these little fella's, and they sell like hot cakes! I've made some into a garland and left loads just to be brought as singles, they look fab in a bowl with pinecones.

 

3. Lulu Loves Mouse Pattern is another firm favourite for me, my little bee's just love these little mice. How sweet would it be for a little one to find a family of them hidden in their stocking or scattered amoung the presents under the tree! I'm also thinking they would make great presents for cats!

 

 

4. Now who doesn't love bunting right? Over at my all time favourite blog Pink Milk there is a great crochet bunting tutorial, which is easy to follow, its actually one of the very first tutorials I ever attempted. Heather's use of colour on her blog is a delight and she takes some seriously scrummy photos. All round I am just a lover of Pink Milk! I'm thinking the bunting could be made in shades of red, green and white for a Christmas feel. If your feeling adventurous you could even applique onto them.

There are lots of other fab patterns and tutorials, so go check her out, after you finish reading mine of course!

 

5.  And lastly I thought I would finish off with a combination of 2 of my favourite things, cushions and hearts!

 This tutorial for a heart cushion at Mon Makes is easy to follow with lots of photos taking you through each stage. I have made a pretty pink one to go in my little doggies basket. But again you could easily change the heart to a festive red for your Christmas Living room or bedroom!

 

Well that's it, the end of my first blog post! Eek! I hope you have enjoyed spending some time with me and I haven't rattled on too much! I would love to hear from you, so please leave me a comment! Now go forth and create!

 L x