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Showing posts from 2018

'Let's Decorate' - Daring Cardmakers Christmas Decoration Challenge

Happy Christmas Everybody! As I type this it is Christmas Eve and I'm just enjoying some quiet creative time to myself, before all the Christmas fuss and mayhem kicks in. I noticed the Daring Cardmakers Challenge Blog had one more crafty challenge for this year, and couldn't resist showing one of my favourite decorative crafts this year. I first tried out these origami star decorations last year, making a few to give to friends and presents. I really enjoyed making them up and decorating them, so thought I'd do a few sets this year. Unfortunately I can't find the source tutorial for them at the moment, but they are really easy to make, and there are so many options for paper/card combinations, and decorating the central circles that complete the star. While easy to make, it was tricky sometimes getting exactly the same fold and finish on both sides of the star when making them up, and I did pick the wrong type of card once, which wasn't really meant for fol

A Gift From Woolworths Book Tour - Q&A with Elaine Everest

Something old, and something new for this blog post - thank you to everyone who has been reading my previous reviews of Elaine Everest's novels. I have really enjoyed reading them, and am currently making my way through the pages of the latest book in the Woolworth's Girls series, A Gift From Woolworths. So Elaine is not a new author to These City Days, but her blog tour is! It's an absolute pleasure to join in the fun, so a big thank you to Elaine and Faye Rogers, along with ED PR for organising this, and here is the Q&A I did as part of the tour. 1) Did you always see the Woolworth's books as a series, or did it evolve into one? How far do you feel you can take the theme? The Woolworths Girls was originally meant to be a stand-alone book. I had a two-book contract with my publisher, Pan Macmillan, the second book being The Butlins Girls. However, readers took the characters and Woolies to their hearts and it became a series. At the time I did worry as I’d

Spring Fold Card - Make From A Magazine

I had a big clear out of my craft magazine pile recently, and saved a good few projects from magazines, including some concept card ideas to try. I have had mixed success trying out the first few projects, but thought I'd write about my first experience making a spring form card. The magazine tutorial I followed - this is what I was aiming for. Spring form cards are scored then folded in a certain way so that the main body of the card, like the name suggests springy, and bouncy. It looked like an easy project to follow, but there were a few stumbling blocks along the way. With these tutorials I often find that the pictures don't always give a clear indication of exactly what you need to do, and what angle to score at etc. Once you've come back to it with fresh eyes it's a lot easier to work out, but my first impressions were that I didn't know exactly how the card was supposed to sit on a surface when completed, and I wasn't sure which card would give th

Alexis Gerred Album Review

A 10 track album that tells the story of a songwriter with a clear identity and strengths, that occasionally veers off course, but always delivers on raw vocal talent, and memorable lyrics. This is what you can expect from West-End star and BBC Let It Shine semi-finalist, but the detail in his self-titled debut reveals even more. Vocally this album is a powerhouse of raw rock tones, subtle emotion, and a delivery that adapts well to the more pop and country inspired numbers. Alexis has a voice born to deliver a story and capture the attention of an audience, in a genuine and accessible way. The storytelling this vocal delivers is personal and relatable, slipping with ease through subjects such as mental health, parenthood, grief, and regret - but the lyrics are reflective, at times very uplifting, and the difficult subjects tackled with just the right level of emotion. The Highlights Sweet Angel was the song that launched the crowd funding campaign for this album, and it

Flash - A Tribute To Queen

Anyone that knows me will know how much I love music. It's my happy place, my therapy, the thing that makes me feel alive, and something that I can still enjoy as much as I can despite suffering from anxiety. Which means when I come across something new that I like, my enthusiasm is probably all too obvious, as it was this summer when I went to see Flash - A Tribute To Queen perform at Chelmsford's Fake Festival. I grew up on many of the Queen songs they perform, so nostalgia was always going to be a factor, although for me, with a tribute, that can only take you so far. Beyond this I could see and hear musical skill, vocal ability, and charisma. This is why you go and see a good tribute act, this is why a good tribute act works, and this is why I hope to be able to see lots more of Flash in the future. I can only judge on what I have seen and heard so far, but these guys come across as absolute pro's, and a strong unit that work together well on-stage. They respect th

Pink Parcel Subscription Box - May 2018 - Review

Hi everyone, I am a member of a free stuff group on Facebook and recently they posted up an offer where you could trial a Pink Parcel box for £1. I thought it would be something different to order and review for you all, and this box was the May 2018 version, I realise this is a tad late going up, but I think it's still worth giving you an idea of what to expect. What Is Pink Parcel? This is a period subscription box, and when you subscribe you receive a pile of sanitary wear and some treats to see you through the monthly woes. The different pricing options normally are: £12.99 a month - free delivery, cancel anytime. £35.97 for 3 months - free delivery, one off payment, save £1 a month. £64.95 for 6 months - free delivery, 1 month free, VIP extras, one off payment. £129.90 for 12 months - free delivery, 2 months free, birthday treat, one off payment, VIP extras. When you order you get to choose whether you'd like to be sent tampons, towels or a mix of both, an

Book Review - Wartime At Woolworths, Elaine Everest

Heat waves are wonderful things for helping you relax, switch off, and really lose yourself in a book, and that has basically been me recently, as I read, in record time for me, the latest instalment in the Woolworth's Girls series. Unfortunately I then got writers block when writing a review, so this has taken a while to get up, so sorry guys, but here is my thoughts. Wartime At Woolworths picks up the action in 1943, with war still raging around the lives of the friends and family in Erith. The blurb on the back declares that the Woolworths Girls 'face their biggest challenge yet' and that certainly seems true. The reality of wartime is that you never knew what was around the corner, and you can live life in fear of death and destruction. There's an unpredictability about it, but it takes a skilled writer to accurately portray that on the page and give the reader no sense of when something will happen and to who, and that's just what Elaine Everest did. She

Fake Festival Chelmsford - 7th July 2018

Saturday 7th July was a day of new things. It was the first time Fake Festivals had bought their touring tribute band festival to Chelmsford, and the first time I had been to one of their events. I'd bought an early bird ticket as soon as they went on sale - partly because I love day into evening events (never been one for clubbing until 2am) and I wanted to try something new. The other big draw was Flash- A Tribute To Queen, were performing. I've not spoken much about the music I've grown up with on here before, but Queen definitely featured and I was pretty excited to hear a tribute to them for the first time. The event ran from midday to 11pm - 6 bands with roughly 1hr 15 minutes each, and 30 minutes break in-between to reset. The festival area included a fenced off outside area with food vendors, glitter face painters (should've done that!), and some children's inflatables/play activities. The main festival tent had a fast serving bar at one end and the s

4 Ways To Help Care For Dry Hair

Hair, I love it and hate it, sometimes miss how it used to be, and often get annoyed at its weather beaten state in winter. Now I'm a reluctant 30 something with thick, sometimes dry and frizzy, brown hair. I’m not great at styling it, but have discovered some things that have made a difference when looking after it, so I thought I’d do a post on 4 of them. 1. Upgrading My Hair Dryer Years ago I used to have a basic, just does the job hair dryer, and got to the point where I needed something better that would really look after my hair. I was given an ionic hair dryer as a present, and instantly noticed the difference. The technology really did help smooth out my hair when drying, but now there’s a new kid on the block I am excited about. Nanoe technology claims to retain around 1,000 times more moisture than regular hairdryers, and products often come with 3 attachments, including a quick dry nozzle which I’d love to try – it emits strong and weak air flows to help look after

Daring Cardmakers Tropical Themed Card Challenge

Hello Everyone, Summer has officially arrived, the weather is pretty consistently good, it's my birthday this week (less said about that the better - reluctant 30 something), and I have a gig to look forward to in July, and am tempted by another in August. Meantime I have a few blogs I'm working on in drafts, but have had a bit of writers block, so instead have uploaded my entry into the Daring Cardmakers Challenge for this week. I've really enjoyed joining in with the themes when I can, and seeing how other people have portrayed them. This weeks theme is Tropical which is close to my heart, it always reminds me of my favourite tropical holiday to the Polynesian Resort at Disney World; I love that place so much! Copyright These City Days 2018 To make this card I used elements from a recent Hunkydory members kit, which is possibly one of my favourites they have produced. I absolutely love the colours and the different birds in the toppers, and had a lot of fun c

Dance Themed Stamped and Stencilled Card

Hi everyone, Just catching up on some blogging, and I have a brand new card to share today. I've been looking forward to sharing this one, as it's my favourite of the 3 I have made using the music and dance themed stamp set from Creative Stamping Magazine. The first idea for this card came from a Christmas themed idea in another magazine. I decided to take the layout idea from there, and then do some stamping and stencilling to create the finished card. You can see the original inspiration on my social media, but here's how I put together this card. Items Used: Creative Stencils - Stars * Nuvo Crystal Drops Navy Blue * Navy Blue Ribbon White Card Cosmic Shimmer Colour Cloud Blending Ink ( and applicator sponges/dabber. Colouring Pencils Black Ink  Pad * Acrylic Stamping Block Scissor & Double Sided Tape Foam Pads Glitter Card Music & Dance Themed Stamps (Creative Stamping Magazine). How It's Made: Stamp the dancing shoes stamp on a p

Alexis Gerred - Sweet Angel - Song Review & Crowd Funding Launch

Although Alexis Gerred has 10 years experience in the theatre, appearing in shows such as the Green Day musical American Idiot, and was more recently seen as a semi-finalist in the BBC hit show Let It Shine, he is untested as a singer-songwriter. So untested in fact, that very few people have heard any of his original music, until now.  Alexis, perhaps in part, fuelled by the response he received after appearing on Let It Shine, has written a 10 track album. It's all ready to be recorded and released, with your help! The album has been launched via a crowd funding campaign on the Indiegogo platform, where you can pre-order a digital or physical copy of the album, along with other perks, to help offset some of the costs of release. But as an unknown in the songwriting sense, Alexis had to make a splash to launch the campaign, and he has done that with launch song 'Sweet Angel'. I was veering between Iron Sun and Five To Five as ones to watch on Let It Shine, and pick

Fairground Themed Stamping & Handmade Card Projects.

A crafter can never have too much stash right? according to my family you can, but I had a good sort out of all my paper craft products and my stamp collection was a bit lacking, and some of them were of a similar theme. Time for something new, so I ordered the Fairground Fun stamp set from the For The Love Of Stamps by Hunkydory. This really appealed to me, as I have many happy memories of going to the fair when I was younger, and when it arrived I wasn't disappointed. I think I will get a lot of value from this set, as some of the individual images can be used on their own for different theme cards, there's possibilities to aim at different age groups, and create a fairground scene or two. I have made a couple of cards so far, and found the stamps easy to work with and good quality. My favourite of the two cards I will share details for below. This is an invitation idea, and instead of using the card blank traditionally folded, I folded in and under, which you can hopeful

Daring Cardmakers - Home Themed Card Challenge

Hi everyone, I hope everyone is well. Thanks so much to everyone who has commented or read my last post. I am fairly new to book reviews, but they are great fun to do. Last year I joined in with some of the challenges on the Daring Cardmaker's blog, and they are continuing this year so I had to have another go. It's great fun to see how everyone interprets a theme, which this time round is HOME. Items used: Nuvo Glitter Drops - Blue Lagoon White card base Blue patterned card Colouring pencils Black Ink Pad Kraft Card At Home Stamp (Kirstie Allsopp kit) Mama Makes Mandala Mania Stamps The inspiration for this card started off with the stamps; they were a cheeky purchase when I was a member of the Mama Makes design team. I'd cut a few out and coloured them but wasn't sure what to do with them, until I saw the Daring Cardmakers challenge. I thought it would be good to cut them in half and use them like curtains to frame a cut out window frame. I pieced

Elaine Everest - Christmas At Woolworths - Book Review

*Apologies for the lateness of this Christmas book review, it was released in the run up to Christmas, but I read a fair portion of it over the festive season. Im late posting, but it's never too late for a good book right?* Christmas is probably one of my favourite times to head to the book shelves in the shops, so many novels out with a Christmas theme. I'm like a moth to a flame, I just want to buy and read them all. There's just something about festive novels that makes them so easy to read. When I heard that Elaine Everest had plans to release a new novel, and a follow up to The Woolworths Girls, I was excited to read how the story had progressed. I was expecting good things after enjoying the previous novel, the review of which you can read here . Readers pick up the story in Wartime, with Maisie, Freda and Sarah all with husbands or family members off fighting, or involved in the war effort. This time round there is a greater focus on friends and relations,

Optiat Mouthwatering Mandarin Feel Great Coffee Scrub - Review

Hello and Happy 2018! It seems so bizarre to be wishing you all a Happy New Year, this festive season has gone so quick. Normally by this stage I would have watched a fair amount of Christmas TV and eaten lots of party food, and oddly neither has happened, but I am sticking to one post Christmas tradition, catching up on some blog posts. Today I am reviewing a scrub I got sent a while back from a brand called Optiat. This was one of two scrubs I was sent when there was a lot of attention given to plastic microbeads, their dangers, and what was being done to prevent the sale of products containing them. Optiat have produced a mandarin flavoured coffee scrub, with Arabica coffee grounds and orange essential oils among their ingredients. First impressions were that it was a fairly decent sized tube, though the smell was a bit confusing. I expecting either the orange or coffee to over power, and what I got was a balanced mix of the two, which was a bit odd. I wasn't an offens