Magical Letters From Santa’s Answers

christmas / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple
Magical Letters from santas answers

 

Magical Letters From – Santa’s Answers

Magical Letters - Santa's Answers
How amazing is this personalised letter?

 I order a letter from Santa for the girls every year but wanted to find them one that really added a touch of Christmas magic. Santa’s Answers have definitely helped add a touch of magic to Christmas for Eva this year!

I order a letter from Santa for Eva every year but this has been my favourite one yet. The letter is beautifully personalized and I absolutely love the design. There are a range of packages available from a personalized Santa’s Answer letter all the way up to the Deluxe Package I received which came with a letter, 4 colouring pages, Christmas stickers, Reindeer food and a signed photo of Santa himself!

Santa Letter

Ordering your letter

You can choose from 3 different letter styles, and add your child’s name and age along with a load of other information when ordering. This helps Santa’s Answers personalise the letter perfectly for each child. The more information you put in such as presents on their wish list, accomplishments, reasons why they are on the good list and a lot more.

The Letter arrives in an envelope addressed to yourself to check the contents before sealing in an envelope with you child’s full name and town on.

 

 

I love the deluxe package, especially the signed photo and reindeer food. The letter was written so well with the information given which makes it much more believable. I chose the Santa’s Stationary letter but there are 2 other beautiful designs to choose from too. The colouring pages and stickers will keep any child happy for 5 minutes too!

Do you order personalised Santa letters too? What do you think of the letter we received?

Relentless Accident & Eva’s New Scarf

Crafts / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple
A relentless accident calls for wool shopping!

I had a Relentless accident last week.

Knocking a full can of relentless all over my wool (new & used) and all over my latest WIP’s.

I felt devastated and angry, upset and annoyed with myself. I had ruined Eva’s scarf and all the wools Izzy had chosen for her blanket..

Some of you may have seen a little bit of my melt down on Twitter. I was having one of those moments when you turn into a child again screaming & crying and blaming myself for being so stupid for having a relentless accident, not only did I lose my WIP’s & wool but an entire can (minus one sip) too!

Luckily the lovely Tracey from Hooks & Dragon kept me chatting, giving me tips when I was thinking about washing and drying it all & helping me calm back down. I went from a screaming crying mess to just a sad one!

Eventually between my meltdowns and stomping around to try and find a way to fix it all the Mr suggested I just replace all the wool instead of trying to clean it. To anyone else they would have just said yes but me? I went off again about how I couldn’t do that because it costs MONEY! You know, the thing I seriously HATE spending. especially if it’s on stuff for me.

Eventually I gave in.. after all it’s technically for the girls not me since I’m making thing’s for them!

 

A few days later I finally managed to get out and buy a few new balls of wool.. I only picked up four colours as I figured I can pick up one or 2 more each week until I build my stash back up again.

A relentless accident means new wool

One of the balls was a replacement for Eva’s scarf. A pastel, mostly pink multicoloured wool from the QD Paintbox range. I love how it works up and can’t wait to get it finished!

Eva's Scarf

What do you think so far? I’m considering adding something on.. Maybe a flower? Any (easy) suggestions?? 

Emoji and Minecraft – Encouraging Kids to Read

Book Reviews / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Have you seen these awesome new Emoji and Minecraft books available on Amazon yet? They are absolutely brilliant for encouraging kids to read, based on their favourite Minecraft characters & Emojis to tell the story.

I’ve been lucky to review the first in each series written by P.T Evans. I love how well laid out they are. The writing is printed clearly and well spaced which makes it easier for children to follow with their fingers. With familiar Emojis and Minecraft images throughout the books children will love them!

Emoji and Minecraft books

The Minecraft books are aimed at 6 to 10 year old’s and the Emoji books are aimed at 7 to 12 year old’s, however Eva loves both the Emoji & Minecraft books at 6 and wants to get the rest in the series.

 

Children love Emojis, they find them amusing and fun. This series will encourage any reluctant reader. The writing is well spaced and with fun images as well as a fun storyline too, they will be hooked.

 

Minecraft is everywhere now and even Eva keeps begging me to buy her Minecraft stuff after playing it at her friends house and watching youtube videos about it. Even I know Stinky Steve! Children who find Minecraft exciting will love these series and they would make a brilliant gift for any reluctant reader!

With 4 books in each of the series these books would make lovely little gift sets for Christmas and birthday to help encourage any reluctant readers to enjoy reading.

 

To find more books by P.T Evans check out their Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and Instagram. You can find the books on Amazon at very reasonable prices.

What do you think? Have your kids read any of the Emoji and Minecraft books yet?

Baking Fun Using My Cupcake Toppers

christmas / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

The girls had some baking fun yesterday making cakes after I was given a £15 off code to try out some of the Toppers from MyCupcakeToppers in exchange for a review of them.

 

After looking through MyCupcakeToppers site I picked out some lovely Minnie Mouse & Disney Prince Real Icing toppers (12 for £6) that I knew the girls would love.

 

For our Minnie Mouse & Disney Princess cakes the girls made a mix for 12 chocolate chip cakes each. They quickly got their mixes made up, poured into the cases and into the oven.. so they could lick the bowls of course!

We loved the cakes and all helped ourselves to a few since we made 24 in total. The real icing cupcake toppers were amazingly yummy, even the Mr who isn’t keen on cake toppers really enjoyed it and munched through quite a few cakes!

The real icing toppers are absolutely brilliant and the printing is amazingly clear, they make the girls messy (but tasty) cakes look lovely.

I will definitely be ordering again in future for special occasions. I love how many design choices were available on the site. If you can’t find a design you like you can upload your own images or fill out a form with details of what you would like and the in-house design team can see what they can do for you too!

Want to make some too? Check out our recipe below.

You will need:

110g(ish) Caster Sugar

110g(ish) Butter

2 eggs

110g(ish) Self-raising flour

1tsp(ish) Vanilla extract/flavouring 

2ish handfuls of milk chocolate chips (plus a few to ‘test’)

1 tub of chocolate frosting 

A pot of sprinkles you completely forget to add

Method:

1. Preheat oven 180°c. Cream butter and sugar and add vanilla extract. Beat in 2 eggs.

2. Fold in the flour & throw in the chocolate chips.

3. Fill 12 cases halfway and bake for 10ish minutes until brown.

4. Let cakes cool (and sit on your hands to stop yourself eating them warm) before adding the frosting.

5. Pop the Real Icing sheets in the oven (once it’s cooled/cooling so it’s just warm) until the icing is easily removed from the sheets.

6. Add toppers to your cakes and ENJOY!

What do you think of our recipe will you be trying it out or do you have one of your own we could try? 

How lovely are the cupcake toppers? What design would you go for? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RFIDsecur Shielding Card- Keeping Anxiety at Bay

Product Reviews / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple
RFID Shielding card

An RFIDsecur shielding card protects your contactless ID’s and credit cards from data theft and fraud. These are things that cause a huge amount of anxiety for a lot of people when using contactless cards and carrying them around.

RFID Shielding card

Wondering why it causes anxiety?

Fraudsters use remote scanning devices which enables them to steal your credit/bank card number, expiration date, pin entry data and transaction history

Anyone who follows my blog will know I have anxiety and I do worry about using and taking my cards out in public but now RFID Cloaked have come up with a brilliant safeguarding solution, I feel much more confident when carrying my cards!

RFIDsecur shielding card inbetween two contactless cards

RFID Cloaked have developed the shielding card which 0.3mm thin and slots in perfectly next to or in-between cards in your purse/wallet for the Kickstarter project. One card alone will protect 2 contactless cards at once which is brilliant for me as I tend to have the Mr’s contactless card in my purse a lot as he doesn’t use a wallet, aswell as my own contactless card. 

This ultra thin credit card sized shielding guard blocks both NFC and RFID frequencies (13.56Mhz and 125Khz). It doesn’t interfere with retail protection systems. The card is designed and made in the UK and is flexible. tough ough and provides security for all types of card, Door Access ID cards, through to contactless payments cards.

Personally I think this is a brilliant project. It could help so many people who have anxiety carry contactless cards without worrying. I think the RFIDsecur Shielding card is a fantastic way of easily protecting your cards from fraudsters.

Racing In The Blood Part 1: The Seduction of Speed by Max M. Power

Cars and Bikes / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I recently received a copy of Racing In The Blood Part 1: The Seduction Of Speed By Max M. Power to review. If any of you follow my Instagram you’ll know the Mr & I love cars & racing.

I love the pictures on the front cover and back of the book by Andrew Whitson it really draws you in to take a closer look at the book.

If you love reading in depth stories about racing then this is definitely the book for you!

The introduction – The Birth and Development of Motor Sport is really interesting to read. It covers the repeal of the Red Flag Act in 1896, the first motor race in 1895 in France along with more facts and information on races, speeds and more.

wp-image-2046169391jpg.jpg

The rest of the book is full of stories about Frank Cartland and George Marshall. It explains how they ended up following the same paths racing the dangerous racetracks at Le Mans and Brooklands, the people they met, the things they did outside of the racetracks and everything in between.

With 30 chapters covering the twists and turns of racing following Cartland and Marshall on and off the track it is a fairly long but interesting book and includes circuits maps and photo’s of Brooklands in 2016.

This would be an ideal christmas present for racing enthusiasts who are interested in the history of the world of speed and want a little more detail than the basic facts. If your interested in the book you can buy it here from the Auto’s UK website.

Eva’s Blanket Is Finally Finished (For Now) 

Crafts / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

You may have seen me crocheting Eva’s Blanket if you’ve been following my blog  or especially my Instagram. I’ve been crocheting a colourful granny square blanket, letting Eva choose each colour/shade as I go. I’ve been working on it for quite some time now doing a few stitches most evenings, even taking it on the bus with me to work on!

The finished product –

Eva's blanket - finished

We ended up adding 16 different colours/shades to Eva’s blanket and she is absolutely over the moon for it to finally be finished (for now) and able to use it around the flat and on her bed.  Last year I knitted Izzy a soft fluffy blanket but it took quite a bit of time and hurt my hands although I did enjoy it. Crochet seem’s much easier, faster and calming to be honest.

I had one very happy girl last night, Eva settled pretty quickly snuggled up under her blanket and when she woke up this morning it was the first thing she grabbed to bring through to the living room where she snuggled up on the sofa until breakfast!

Eva's blanket - in bed
Sneaky photo of Eva snuggled up falling asleep

I’m feeling quite pleased with myself to be honest. It’s such a lovely feeling finally completing such a big project and seeing Eva so happy with the result! Eva wants me to continue adding on to it as she grows so I haven’t added a border.. yet!

I’ve already started on my next project too! A colourful scarf for Eva using the same wool she asked me to finish her blanket with. I tried knitting the scarf but was unhappy with how it looked. Instead I’ve gone back to my trusty hook and crocheting her a scarf!

 

Have you finished a project lately or are you currently in the middle of one? If you love crafting don’t forget to link up with #CraftingIsMyTherapy too.

Me You and Magoo

 

Tooletries: Mighty Toothbrush Holder & Mirror Review

Product Reviews / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I’m reviewing The Mighty Toothbrush Holder and The Mighty Mirror from the Tooletries range after recently reviewed these Handy Hobby Holster’s. These are available to buy here along with plenty of other useful items! They are THE perfect solution for my small bathroom!

 

Tooletries use Aussie Grip Technology so they stick to any smooth, dry surface such as bathroom tiles & mirrors. The silicone makes them so easy to clean. They really are handy for any bathroom.

Mighty Toothbrush Holder

The Mighty Toothbrush Holder

Having a place for everything and a little dish for jewellery or contacts is so handy. I love how easy it is to clean and thanks to the drainage holes my girls can no longer fill the holder up with water! It’s so easy to reposition and it frees up so much space. I was mighty impressed with the Mighty Toothbrush Holder. I honestly thought it would fall with everything in it but it’s held up perfectly.

 

The Mighty Mirror

The Mighty Mirror is shatterproof, anti-fog.. I love that I can move it lower for the girls when needed and higher for us. The mirror is ideal for shaving where it can be moved around and stuck almost anywhere easily.

 

For people like us with a small bathroom, students etc they are a perfect space-saving christmas gift idea. There are 5 different colours to choose from, you could mix and match or go for the same colours to create a unique style. I am definitely going to order a set  for my brother, as soon as I figure out which colour

Tooletries

 

Which colour would you go for? What do you think of Tooletries? Can you think of someone who’s bathroom could do with one of these?

*I recieved these items for free in exchange for my honest review on them.

Making A Grown Up Blogger Decision

Rambles / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I have no idea what I'm doing

I’ve been a bit quiet on the blog over the last week.. And I have some news.. I made a bit of a grown up blogger decision, with a fair bit of pushing from Tracey from One Frazzled Mum and Phil from Public Void Apps .. I’ve gone self hosted & moved over to relentlesslypurple.com!

I’ve still got a LOT to learn about this website stuff but I am remembering little bits & pieces and learning as I go and I seriously can’t thank Phil & Tracey enough for their help

I’m still looking for THE theme and keep tweaking things and changing my mind but I’m so impatient and excited I just couldn’t wait to share it with you all!

So what do you think so far? Do you have any tips or improvements you think I should make? Any theme suggestions? My site is for my reader’s and I am a bit of a noob haha! Providing it has some purple I’m happy 😉

Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday

 

 

Continuing Gabapentin

Physical and Mental Health / 9 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Some of you have been following my posts about my Gabapentin trial. I was given enough tablets to cover 6 weeks building up from 1 300mg tablet a day to 6 a day (2 tablets 3 times a day). 

I’ve now finished my trial and had to book a Dr’s appointment to discuss how it had gone and wether or not I should continue. So I thought about the benefits I’ve had since starting them and thought I’d share them with you.

  1. It takes the edge off the pain, it hasn’t stopped it but it gives me enough relief that I can ignore the pain better and do a little more.
  2. Sleep! I do have the odd rough night still and wake a few times but it’s not as often as before so I’m less tired during the day too.
  3. I can get out of bed in under 5 minutes now instead of 20 minutes with a LOT of moaning and I get to drink my morning tea whilst it’s hot haha!
  4. A short walk to down doesn’t leave me crying. (Although I tend to over do it at times which I am still trying to work on..) So I’ve been getting out more.
  5. I’m less snappy! Pain makes me quite angry and emotional/upset and it makes everything seem 100x worse & I stress constantly! You could literally ask me where something is and I’ll have a full blown meltdown but it’s happening a lot less now!
  6. My appetite has come back. I know the tablets are known to cause weight gain but so far so good and I’m eating two meals a day and actually enjoying it plus a few snacks in the evening!
  7. I don’t feel like screaming constantly. The pain still gets to me but not to the point I want to scream and cry like a toddler.

So far I’ve not had many side effects apart from falling asleep early on the sofa when I’ve had a busy day which I’m willing to deal with if it means I can do things in the first place. I’ve been able to a few things I’ve not been able to like joining the Mr or going into town which is only a 10 minute walk away.

I still struggle to carry things so I am going to get a shopping trolley so I don’t always have to take Izzy with me to get more than a few light bits.

After spending so long determined not to be on medication daily having to stick to timings etc and working out I’d be on over 400 tablets every 28 days was a bit of a struggle to accept but being able to do a little more has made me realise following a schedule isn’t so bad!

My anxiety about going out has eased a little now I know I can go into town and make it home without getting so stressed and upset from the pain.

So far I am happy with the results and decided to continue taking Gabapentin especially after spending a day and half off of them and hurting so much all over. I’m definitely benefiting from them which is something nothing else I have tried has managed to do.

Gabapentin - Shake your meds
Have you continued Gabapentin after a trial? Did it help?