Monday 31 October 2016

DIY Dracula Stationery Holder

Hello everyone
I love stationery. And I like Halloween. So I thought why not combine the two and make Halloween themed stationery. This DIY is easy, doesn't need too many items to make and you can personalise to anything. It doesn't have to be related to Halloween.

For this you will need:
  • A big empty, clean bottle (the bigger the bottle, the more stationery it will hold)
  • White and black paint 
  • Black and red sharpies
  • Masking tape
  • Scissors
 To make a Dracula stationery holder:
  1. Make sure your bottle is empty and clean. Decide how much of the bottle you want to cut from the top. Cut (carefully!) 
  2. Paint an opaque layer of white paint all over the bottle.
  3. Once dry draw the outline of Dracula's hair lightly in pencil. Cover the area you want to stay white with masking tape. Paint the rest with black paint.
  4. Once dry peel the masking tape off. Draw in Dracula's facial features in pencil (don't forget the fangs!). 
  5. Go over the pencil with black sharpie.
  6. Colour in the tips of the fangs red and add some blood droplets around them.
And that's it! This stationery holder doesn't have to look like Dracula, I also made one that looked like a cat. Hope you found this easy enough to follow along. If not there is a picture tutorial on my twitter ( @love_courtney_x ) Speak to you soon!

Love Courtney x

Monday 17 October 2016

Delicious Jam Buns


Hey everyone!


Today I am going to show you how to make these amazing and super easy jam buns. I was going to do cinnamon buns which are more Autumnal but I didn't have any cinnamon. So instead it's jam buns, but we can just pretend the jam is supposed to represent blood for Halloween.

For 8 buns you will need: 
  • 200 grams of self raising flour 
  • 50 grams of margarine
  • 75 grams of caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3 x 15ml of milk (you might not need the whole amount) 
  • Some jam (you can add as much or as little as you like)
Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius/ gas mark 5.
  2. Sieve flour into a large bowl.
  3. Add the margarine into the bowl, cut into smaller pieces and rub into the flour to form breadcrumbs.
  4. Add the caster sugar into the bowl and stir in.
  5. Crack the egg into the bowl and stir until you have a stiff but sticky consistency. You may have to add the milk at this point to get the right consistency.
  6. Lightly flour the surface and roll out the mixture. Cut into 8 even sized pieces.
  7. Roll into balls and place on a baking tray leaving space between them. 
  8. Make a small hole in the centre andfill with jam.
  9. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until well risen and golden brown in colour.
  10. Allow to cool slightly.
  11. Enjoy your delicious creation with a cup of tea (or any other beverage of your choice!) 
So there you have it, some easy but yummy jam buns which are great for Halloween. Let me know if you decide to make these. Speak to you soon!

Love Courtney x








Sunday 9 October 2016

Halloween Nail Art Ideas

   






Hello everyone!



As it is Halloween in a few weeks I wanted to do some themed posts. Today I'm going to show you some easy nail art to celebrate all things spooky! These would really nice as an accent or you could go all out and do them on all ten fingers.

Creepy Skeleton      


For this you only need 2 colours so this is good if you don't have a ridiculous amount of nail polish (like me!)
1. Apply a base coat.
2. Paint your entire nail in white. Do as many coats as needed to get an opaque colour. Wait until fully dry.
3. Using a black nail art pen draw two triangles. Then do 1 horizontal line with a few vertical lines coming from it. Wait until dry.
4. Seal with a top coat and you're done!

Blood Dripping


This could go with lots of Halloween costumes as it's not really themed it's just "blood".
1. Apply a base coat.
2. Paint an opaque coat of white polish.
3. Paint 3 red dots at varying heights then join them to the end of the nail.
4. Seal with a top coat and you're done!



Pumpkins

This was surprisingly easy to do. You could also use a red instead of orange if you wanted an apple.
1. Apply a base coat.
2. Paint an opaque layer of white polish.
3. Paint the tip of the nail with orange (or red!). Wait until dry.
4. Add some lighter orange stripes to the pumpkin to add dimension.
5. Paint a brown stripe coming from the semicircle for the stalk.
6. Then add a small green leaf.
7. Once fully dry add a top coat and you're finished!


Spider Web


 This nail art idea only uses 2 colours, black and white, which I think are staples in any nail polish collection.
1. Apply a base coat.
2. Paint the whole nail black.
3. Using a white nail art pen draw 3 lines all going from the same corner of the nail.
4. Join the lines together using semicircles.
5. Add a top coat and there you go!

Black cat

This is probably my favourite out of the 5 because I love cats and I think this is so cute. I didn't use a base colour but if you wanted to I would recommend a light colour like white or baby pink so the black stands out.
1. Apply a base coat. (Then apply your chosen colour if you are using one)
2. Paint a semicircle at the tip in black polish.
3. Using a black nail art pen draw 2 triangles coming from the semicircle.
4. Once dry draw 2 white dots for the cat's eyes.
5. Paint 2 black dots inside the white.
6. Seal with a top coat and your cute cat is complete!



So that was 5 easy Halloween nail art ideas. Let me know if you try any of them out. Speak to you soon!

Love Courtney x

Sunday 2 October 2016

25 Facts About Me

                                        Hello everyone !


Welcome to my first blog post. I wanted to do a little introductory post just so you could get to know me. So here is 25 facts about me.


1. My full name is Courtney Chloe Sands.
2. I was born on the 16th of July 2001. That makes me 15 years old.
3. I have two brothers (aged 10 and 17) and one sister (aged 20).
4. I have 3 cats, 1 dog, 1 hamster and 1 rabbit.
5. I love reading. I once read over 100 books in a year!
6. When I was 4 I went to speech therapy because I wouldn't talk to anyone apart from my parents and siblings.
7. I have a birthmark shaped like a love heart on my back.
8. I broke my elbow when I was 2.
9. I also split my chin open when I was younger and had to have stitches.
10. When I was 5 I fell at school and the grips from my headband went into my head. Until recently I still had the marks from where they stuck in.
11. I have an obsession with nail polish. I have an entire drawer full. And it's still growing!
12. I am in S4 at high school which is the first year of exams in Scotland. I'm taking seven subjects: Maths, English, Chemistry, History, Media Studies, Business Management and Drama.
13. Winter is my favourite time of year. I love Christmas!
14. I hate horror movies. I get scared so easily.
15. I have been on holiday to Blackpool, England at least 15 times. Once every year since I was born.
16. I have 4 piercings. All in my ears.
17. I have to wear glasses and braces.
18. I get nosebleeds all the time!
19. I cannot stand needles. The last time I had to get a vaccination at school I fainted.
20. I have broken 2 phones by shutting them in car doors.
21. My favourite band is The Vamps.
22. My favourite animal is a cat.
23. My favourite movie is The Breakfast Club.
24. My favourite food is pasta.
25. I am obsessed with Netflix. My favourite shows on there are The Vampire Diaries, Prison Break and Pretty Little Liars.


So that was 25 facts about me. I hope you now know a little bit more about me. Tell me 3 facts about you in the comments. Speak to you soon!
                         
                                              Love Courtney x