Relentlessly Purple

Baking Fun Using My Cupcake Toppers

christmas / 7 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 / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

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.

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!

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 / 7 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.

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 / 7 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 –

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.

Tooletries: Mighty Toothbrush Holder & Mirror Review

Product Reviews / 7 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.

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

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 / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

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 😉

Continuing Gabapentin

Physical and Mental Health / 7 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.

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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.

Have you continued Gabapentin after a trial? Did it help?

Purpling My World With Dylon Dyes – Part 1: Sack The Lego Supervisor

Crafts / 8 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I’m not really sure if many of you know this but I have a teeny tiny obsession with the colour Purple.. I know, I know, I hide it well! The problem is not EVERYTHING is in purple.. yet! So when I got my hands on some gorgeous Dylon Fabric Dyes in Intense Violet in exchange for an honest review I couldn’t wait to get started on purpling my world… I mean at look at them!

I LOVE the Intense Violet and just knew I had to dye the bedding we recently bought that I wasn’t keen on being white..

I was so eager to get going and purple thing’s that even under the watchful eye of the Lego Supervisor and Izzy I managed to make the ULTIMATE mistake. I DIDN’T quite read the instructions properly.. until the washing machine was on of course (I know, I know the Lego Supervisor is totally getting the sack for slacking!). So here’s a head’s up, when using Dylon dyes ALWAYS read the instructions fully to get the perfect result (One box covers a DOUBLE not king-size duvet cover!)

Of course having too much material in the machines & not enough dye doesn’t result in an even covering so instead I had this pretty awesome (but not for this project) tie-dye effect that I had to fix sharpish before my brother ran out to buy a King-size duvet and stole it from me!

After admitting my mistake I was sent out another 2 boxes of the Intense Violet machine dye to see if I could put things right again. This time I made sure I had definitely read the instructions before pouring the dyes & 500g of salt into the washing machine drum under the Mr’s supervision this time.. He had to be better than Izzy and the Lego supervisor.. Right?

This time I was happy with the result! My camera seriously doesn’t do it justice it is AMAZING in person and I cant wait to see it on my bed and purple my boring bedroom some more!

Purpling my world — Hanging to dry.. Now doesn’t that look better!?

Dylon fabric dyes are definitely an amazing way to colour your world your way.. Providing you read the instructions 😉

I still have the French Lavender dyes to use next so keep an eye out for part 2! Fingers crossed this time it all goes right the first time as these dyes are absolutely amazing when you read the instructions properly 😉 haha!

In the meantime don’t forget to check out Dylon’s Instagram & Twitter page aswell as their website to see other colours available!

Have you used Dylon dyes? What’s your favourite colour & best success? Let me know in the comments 😊

Also I just noticed that this is my 100th blog post!! And it’s a purple one!! Yay!!

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The Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Cookbook Review & Giveaway!

christmas / 8 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Most of you know we’re an oddball family and love all thing’s weird and wonderful so when I had the opportunity to review The Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Cookbook I couldn’t wait to see what it was all about! It looks rather interesting with the front cover stating ‘Everyday recipes for the living, dead and undead!‘ I have a feeling this one will be working it’s way into my brother’s stocking once I’ve noted down my favourite

This Cookbook is full of all kinds of gruesomely gory recipes for all the monster’s out there! It’s just like any other recipe book with specific sections for recipes such as Biscuits & cookies, Jams & Preserves, Savoury Snacks for Entertaining Monster’s, anything and everything you can think of that you will need for entertaining monster guests or just a little home baking is in this book!

For hundreds of years, the Hoxton Street Monster Supplies shop has been supplying quality goods for the monster community – and this, it’s classic recipe book, has been in use for just as long.

Now, for the first time, it has been adapted for use by humans as well as monsters. So wherther you’re entertaining trolls, hosting a vampire soiree or expecting zombie round for tea, you can make delicious treats to suit every occasion.

It’s so difficult to choose a recipe to start with, do I go for the Fairy Brain Fudge? Some Dragon Fuel for my beloved dragon friends? Gingerdead men look soo delicious too, then there’s the Strawberry Shortdeads.. argh it is just soooo hard to decide and we haven’t even got to the cakes yet! *Drools* Don’t they all sound scrumptious!? Think of all the Monster Tea Parties you could hold to show off your baking skills!

Along with all the monstrously delicious recipes there are also pages full of Advice & Wisdom full of all the important stuff, Golden Rules For Entertaining, Seasonal Humans (This one’s been a great help, now I know which Humans to go for during which months!), Common Ailments & Recommended Cures, How to Carve a Human and more!

I was totally unaware of The Hoxton Street Monster Supplies shop existing in London so I will definitely be taking my brother & the girls along to visit & pick up some Icky ingredient’s to help us as we work through the recipes! Head on over to the Monster Supplies website to find out more.

Do you like the sound of this Cookbook for yourself or know a Monster who would? Well I have 3 copies for my Monster readers, just enter the giveaway to get your claws onto one of these delicious cookbooks!

Handy Hobby Holster’s

Crafts / 8 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I received a Grey Hobby Pack by Holster brands which you can buy HERE recently to try out and review and I have to admit I absolutely love them! They have been so handy when I’m crafting and so easy to use too. I love how they can be moved about to where you want too.

I received the Lil’ Holster & Hobby Holster in exchange for my honest review and I am really impressed!

They come in a range of colours and I received these grey ones which is actually my second favourite colour and I am little obsessed with using them on my kitchen worktop whilst I do things like drawing.

The Lil’ Holster

They are basically handy little silicone pockets you can hang off of ANY smooth surface as long as it is clean and dry. The Lil’ Holster has draining holes in the bottom so it can be used by the sink I love using the Lil’ Holster for holding my Posca Pen’s I’ve recently won to stop tiny hand’s getting hold of them (again) whilst I’m drawing. You could literally use it for anything though.. I also found it quite handy to pop my glasses in at night as I often knock my glasses to the floor & struggle to find them haha!

They are so easy to use just lift the flap (they come folded) make sure the surface your using is clean and dry and press it down and your good to go! If your having trouble getting yours to stick simply wash it with soapy water and let it dry completely to remove the dust and dirt preventing it from sticking. They are dishwasher safe too! (Upto 120°c) Once they are stuck down it’s fine to get them wet, they still stay in place!

Hobby Holster

The larger Hobby Holster is amazing for crafting. Although I don’t have one (yet) they are ideal for holding hot glue guns as they are heat resistant up to 200°c! It also has a built in ruler which has been pretty handy with some of my crocheting recently as I can measure my stitches. We also used it to measure my brother’s coat rack as we had measured wrong to begin with and couldn’t find a ruler but needed to cut it down a bit!

Trying out the Lil’ holster and the Hobby Holster has been brilliant!

If you have a small desk & need somewhere for pens, stapler’s etc in. It’s handy for holding crochet hooks/knitting needles in too, these Hobby Holster’s really are handy little things!

How would you use your Holster?

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