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Showing posts from 2017

DIY Christmas Nails for the lazy featuring Kiss Nails & Leighton Denny

Upcycling isn’t just for furniture. I’ve spent weeks searching for the perfect press on nails with a Christmas vibe but either everywhere was sold out or they just weren’t right.  So I took matters in to my own hands.   My goal was simple: Cheap, quick, low effort and sparkly Christmassy goodness - this ruled out doing my own extensions or going to a salon!  I took some Kiss Acrylic French nails, reshaped them slightly to give a slightly more almond curve than true round. I then topped with Leighton Denny Twinkle Twinkle and my a stash of Christmas decals that I’ve had for yonks; they came in a  Colour Club  set many many years ago - can’t we please marvel at how far I’ve come since that post?! I’m going to point out that using five year old decals is not the best option, they were brittle as f*ck and a bit of a nightmare to apply but my mind was set and after a few attempts I got there. To add an extra strong finish I cured with two layers of Gelish Top It Off from

Stocking Fillers To Add A Bit Of Glam This Christmas.

Everyone has a different perspective on what makes stocking fillers. As a teenager who lived on borrowed makeup, Sun In and glitter hair mascara, I used to force a smile out when I opened the inevitable box of “smellies” from the bodyshop - please tell me my family aren’t the only ones to call Beauty Products this? Nowadays they are genuinely my favourite part - if you need a wish list I’ll happily  oblige !  With that - and various different budgets - in mind I’ve put together a list of ideal stocking fillers to suit Beauty loving women of all ages! Lets start with some tools of the trade shall we? EcoTools have been around for a decade and have since been a go to pharmacy brand for ethical brushes. Environmentally friendly, vegan, and a bargain too. I picked this anniversary set up in the Gordon’s Black Friday sale and as I write this they are currently on  sale  at 14.99.  Last year  I featured the original Alpha H Liquid Gold on my round up of Christmas ideas. C

Christmas on a budget - Decorating a home when your heart is big but your purse is small and space is tight!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS. If you look at previous Novembers on Faeriwood.com you may have seen my grumbling about Christmas coming too early and needing to stay in it's place. Well I'm older and wiser now and infinitely less grumpy. My tree goes up mid November - as I take my Halloween decorations down - and it just makes me happy to see all that festive glitz in my home. Of course it's difficult to fill my home with all the festive glitz and glam that I feel inside when I live in a one bed flat which is full the brim, thanks to my hoarder notions. Since moving out on my own I have been using a tiny hand-me-down 3ft Fibre Optic tree. I moved in December and it was the first addition to make my house a home. Christmas is an anniversary; a celebration of everything I have achieved since making that crazy jump. I always get a little bit retrospective for this reason. This year I decided that left over decorations from my previous house and a miniature hand-me-down tree just wasn

A very crafty day out: Annie Sloan workshops at The Craft Loft

In Newcastle, Co. Down, hidden above Annetts Childrenswear is a hidden gem. The Craft Loft is the love child of Phyllis Annett who after years of helping to run the successful childrens clothing shop with her husband - his family's business for several generations - was looking for a new  creative outlet; something that would bring business and life to the upstairs of their gorgeous converted townhouse.  And so The Craft Loft was born. Myself and a few other Northern Irish bloggers were invited down to sample one of the various workshops offered by Phyllis and her family. Whether you want to paint a piece, learn how to decoupage, upholster furniture, or build your own lamps, Phyllis and her family have a number of wonderful classes for you to take all based around the use of the famous Annie Sloan chalk paints and fabrics. I opted for the Paint A Piece class because I wanted to start with the basics of chalk paint and furniture decoration but also because my flat is

A hearty autumn meal and BBC Good Food Show Competition

As October draws to a close the clocks have turned back and the dark nights have settled in. C arved pumpkins are glowing on doorsteps and, as I walk home from work, the air outside smells of burning wood fires and home baked goodies; as if all of Belfast collectively decided that tonight was going to be as cosy as possible. I love this time of year.  In the aftermath of Halloween and the looming onslaught of pre-Christmas sales it’s easy to get a bit fed up of November. I mean what is there to do? And with no such celebration as America's Thanksgiving over here what is there to eat?!? Well thankfully there is still a foodie event to keep us going through what could have been an utterly boring culinary month... The BBC Good Food Show returns to the Belfast Waterfront Hall this November (10 th  – 12 th ) and thanks to lovely folks at MCE we have an exciting opportunity which means that you could be seeing your favourite TV chefs such as Nadiya Hussain (Friday) and The Hai