2000 Hit Celebration

Hello all :)

So today the blog hit 2000 hits - which is super exciting. 

I found this super cute video on my Facebook feed today. I thought I'd share it in celebration. 

Enjoy and thanks for following - I really appreciate you all. 

:)

Posted by Luke Stones on Wednesday, 29 April 2015

Comping - Winning and Losing Competitions online

Comping - Competition entrant hobbiest

Well, I'm stuck at home for a few hours to kill before heading over to the dentist for a 11:30 appointment. So I thought I would attempt to claw some time back by doing something productive. In this case - hunting for freebies in combination with a winning buzz. 

Especially with the onset of the recession, comping as a hobby has grown massively. It is an opportunity - particularly if you are on a limited income and have spare time - to enjoy some of the glamour not usually in your price range. Or that, at least is what they tell you. 

So I thought I would spend some time over this week trying my luck online. 

The first place for all my searching is usually Google - the worlds largest search engine. 

This lead me over to Martin's Money Supermarket website. He's put together a super helpful guide for anyone who wants to give this comping thing a go. The best bit of advice is to create yourself a new email address - the best way to avoid your normal email box filling with spam! 

After looking through the guide, I then headed over to the to the forums to start on my competition winning spree. Quickly, I realised the easiest way to keep track of all the entries and daily comps was an old favourite - an Excel Spreadsheet. 

My first mistake - try to avoid time wasting competitions. Especially if you want to try and fit as many entries in as possible. Time wasting became a serious issue on the Dorset Cereal website. I got dragged into playing mini games with the promise of points to go towards a competition. Clever marketing wise - as it also encourages you to share and compete with friends - but not if your purpose is win. 

A really great place to get through a huge amount of entries quickly is the Take a Break website. It is packed full of a huge range of competitions. Will let you know if I win any! Most of them have a few months before the final closing date. But you can enter daily to increase your chances of winning.

The problem is deciding what is and what is not actually worth entering. Do I need a child's potty? No. I have no kids yet or any friends in the country with little ones. So totally a waste of time to enter. I also do not know what I would do with a bright pink laptop - I like to also know what the specs of the laptop are before I have one. 

I'm about an hour into my competition marathon. Having got distracted by Dorset Cereal comp site I have only entered 14 competitions so far. Don't think I've won anything yet. But will have to check the emails later on. Hopefully with brighten up the day post dentist?!? 

My current worry is that if I did win any of these prizes - where would I put them? Hopefully I will be able to upgrade a few things at home and donate some of my old - but useable - bits to the charity shop.

The question is why would you do this to yourself? Are you are one of those people who spend a lot of time on the internet. If the answer is yes than this could be something that you might want to investigate some time in. Supposedly there is a theory to doing this properly and winning a higher proportion of competitions. But I have no idea how much or if that would make any difference....

But if you do decide to take up this winning baton that please let me know.

Best of luck!

Harry Potter Craft Ideas

If you love Harry Potter and you love craft then bookmark this page.

I will be updating as I find more amazing ideas.

Blogs that you need to check out

I found this really amazing blog this week.

You can find it here.

It's full of fantastic free designs which cover most genres.

Another pattern blog & website that is worth a look:

You can find her funky designs to buy here.

Blanket ideas

Harry Potter - Dark Mark Afgan wool scraps through

You can find it here.

This blanket concept is a great way of using up all your scraps of wool. This has been designed to use any scraps - except for black that you use for the dark mark pattern. There is a block pattern on the blog. So go and get yourself a copy. Completely free as long as you credit the blog if you are selling the finished piece. 

Harry Potter Book Set Blanket

You can find the pattern here

This is a really funky and such an effective idea. Personally, I would alter the colours to match the child covers of the books. What would you do?

Clothing - Socks

Griffindor Pride Socks

This is a really impressive Harry Potter inspired pattern. Ideal if you are planning a Harry Potter inspired costume. Personally, I would make a set for use in the evening. 

If you're not of the Griffindor house - she also does a set for Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. 

Reddit - Push the Button

So I watched Click (a BBC tech program) today.

It was amazing. If you have a fascination with Drones and if you are a UK resident - I seriously recommend it.

Another random thing I had my attention pointed to was this:

You can find the button here.

Basically, if you have been a reddit user since before the 1st April you can press the button to stop the countdown. Currently, the timer has not reached 0. I have no idea why it was created. But it has the same response as a tamigochi toy from the 90s - everybody looks after it but nobody knows why....

What will happen if it does?

Nobody knows.....

Science Related Craft Ideas

*Bookmark this page - I will update as I find more amazing ideas *

My degree was in Forensic Science so, at heart, I am a total geek. So when I see science related craft ideas I can't help but get a little bit excited. My craft skills have definitely developed with the additional spare time I have gained since leaving uni. However, I have been a little out of practice with the science side of things.

So, in homage to my science degree, I present you with some of my favourite Science themed craft ideas.

1) Anatomy knitting pattern.

Does this remind anyone else of there Biology A level? I am not entirely sure if I would ever knit this. But it is stick a very cool idea.

To find out more about this amazing pattern set - believe me there are more - click here.

You can buy the pattern from the aKNITomy etsy shop here. 







2) I do also occasionally dabble in cross stitch.  This one is a really cute and quick pattern for all my fellow science nerds :)

You can buy the pattern on etsy here.

When I got in contact with the lovely seller to let them know that they have been included in my blog, they also showed me this other super cool idea!

You can buy the pattern for this super amazing idea here.

3)  This very clever bogger has been busily devising the chart patterns for a number of the the periodic table elements.

These could be really fun to use in different combinations - either to spell out a name or to combine for some of your favourite molecules.

Search Engine Optimisation Help

*Bookmark this - I will be updating it as I find more useful content to share*

Search engine optimisation is an important tool to understand if you want to boost your site up the pages of Google. Ever since becoming interested in marketing I have always been aware that it is important.

What I have also found is that many companies will phone you up and promise you huge returns for an extra £300 a month. There may be genuine companies out there. But the ones I have seen make little - if any difference to what your turnover would have been without them.

I would have this phase in mind  - 'No one knows your company and your customers like you do'. You know the questions they ask, what the trends are and have the best interests for your company. They want to make money for themselves and so will always be working at a profit. You want to make money for yourself and so doing this in-house will be the most cost-effective way to do this.

If you're starting this totally from scratch - I would first look at developing your keywords. These will be the baseplate of your marketing strategy. However, they will be worth reviewing every couple of months and trends do change.

Keywords

1) How to do keyword research by Rachel Sprung - 27th Feb 2015. Hubspot.

This blog is aimed at beginners to keyword research. So it will take you through the process without leaving you feeling to overwhelmed.

She also provides what seems to be a really useful SEO Keywords Excel Planner template document - useful if you are starting from scratch.

During the blog she also references the keywords Google Adwords tool. I had not actually heard of this before, so I went and found the video from Google about how to use it.  It will help you find keywords surrounding the ones that you have already thought of.

Watch the video below. If it does not want to work today click here to watch on Youtube. 

Pinterest for Business - Blogs worth a read

*Please Note - Save this page! I will be adding to it as I find more blogs that you need to read!*

Currently I am working with a lighting company. Visual design and imagery is a really important marketing strategy within the interiors industry. As an avid user of Pinterest for personal use, I felt very comfortable with the prospect of setting up a business page. With the shear amount of content on there, it seemed a natural part of the marketing strategy.

I inherited the page in June last year and started adding pins, liking and repinning with enthusiasm. Over the last year I have completed a professional certificate in social media marketing and discovered a huge host of blogs and helpful guides.

It was an important realisation when I realised there was a lot more strategy to operating this effectively then I had realised.  Figuring that I can't be the only person to find this out, I thought I would start collecting all the useful Pinterest blogs here.

Enjoy at your leisure.

1) How to start a Pinterest Board that Succeeds by Kesley Libert - 31st March 2015. Social Media Examiner.

This blog contains something that is often overlooked - especially by independent traders - Keywords. Having the correct keywords will have a direct impact on your target market's ability to find you.

Kesley takes you through some really simple and easy to follow strategies for developing your database of keywords. These can be used for all of your social media channels. In addition, if you are a retail store, you can also use them to optimise your products and your site's meta data.

DIY ideas for your children

The big plan is that in the next few years my husband and I will start to plan kids into our future. When then eventually arrive, I plan on making as much stuff for them as I can, So the plan is to try and collect and many ideas as I can in the next few years.

As and when I do I will collect them together here. Please feel free to email any ideas you find to me and I will add them. There is a comments box over to the right :)









Bibs

Denim Recycling idea

I have loads of denim around the house. So these denim bibs are super cute. My theory is that the material will also wash really well.

This ideas was found on: listinspired.com

Blankets

Simple knitted idea

The adorable thing about blankets is that these will last as the child gets a bit older. If, like me, you are a bit of a knitting beginner, then this pattern is something super easy for you. The only difficult bit is changing colour!

This idea was from: purlbee.com

Honey Bee Crochet Pattern

This super cute pattern caught my attention. You have to buy the pattern - but only for $5 here. But you have to admit if you can crochet then you need this in your life.

The best bit is the matching hat. It's super cute!

Shoes

Baby Shoes - Crochet Trainers

If you can crochet (something I still need to learn) this is a super cute idea. It looks like a really comfortable idea - especially if your little one hasn't started walking yet.

The perk of making these yourself is that you can make them to measure!

The idea and pattern can be found at: thecrafterlife


Play Spaces

Paddling Pool turned play space

If you have the space, this is a super simple idea to keep your little one safe.

This idea was found on: Diply.com

Hola Hoop Tent

I love this idea for a play tent. It's really cute and you could easily use what ever material you want :)

Found this adorable idea on: DIYtag.com

Toy Storage Ideas

Lego

This was one of my favourite toys when I was a kid. I think this idea for storing your kids lego figures looks rather awesome!

This idea was found on: Buzzfeed.com

Ideas for Grown-up Parties

Grown up parties can sometimes seem a little formal and dull. So ideas that inject some fun back into the room is always welcome!






What are you drinking from? 

You could be drinking from these jazzed up wine glasses. All you need to do is get some cheap wine glasses from any supermarket and dip the bottom in a glitter and glue mix.

I would love to recommend this as a general craft idea for your normal wine glasses. But my instincts tell me this wouldn't wash particularly well.

This idea was found on: listinspired.com

My wedding was totally themed with butterflies. I'm pretty sure everywhere that there was a space a butterfly of relevant size was adorned to it. If you have loads of them still hanging around the house then this is a super cute idea of decorating them. Not great to help distinguish unless you buy a multipack with different colours, but does look pretty.

This idea was found on: listinspired.com






Decorating the Room

I love this beautiful decorate idea. It looks pretty easy to make. This instructional video makes this a really easy project to have a go at.

This project was found at: little church mouse.com

Home Science Experiment - Blue Dye and Daffodils

I almost never have fresh flowers at home (this is the first time I've used this vase). So I couldn't miss the opportunity to give this idea a go. I remember from my school days doing this with celery. 

In terms of the final colour outcome, it depends on the colour of the flowers. So for a true final colour you might want to find some white flowers. However, Daffodils are a really cheap idea for Spring. 

The flowers absorb water through capillary action up tiny little 'pipes' within the structure. To add the additional colour all you need to do is add about 20ml of food colouring. It doesn't have to be expensive, just find a cheap one on the shelf at a local hobby store or supermarket. 

DAY 1

The daffodils came from Tesco's (2 x £1).  

Make sure you buy ones that are unopened otherwise it won't work as well. 

I had the food colouring in my kitchen drawer. 

Day 2

Came downstairs to find the daffodils had opened up over night. Some of the daffodils have started to absorb the dye. 

Day 3

Some more of the daffodils have started to open. Creating a really funky colour mixture. 

My kitchen is looking more and more like spring. 

If you are also looking for an Easter experiment this is super easy. 

Please ping me an email if you have a go at this :)