Bilbo and the Butterfly

I took a stitching project with me when I visited my parents the other day. Their little foxy dog was intrigued with my wooden butterfly pendant.

Stitching on pre perforated wooden objects is fun because you can immediately utilise the project without having to frame it or stitch it on to something else. This makes it especially good for jewellery and other accessories like key chains etc...

It can present different challenges to stitching on fabric though as there is no 'give' with the material. You cannot manipulate your needle and thread in the same way as you would with fabric. Starting off and finishing off can be a bit more of a fiddle and I think overall, you have to sacrifice a bit more thread to the project.

I'm very happy with the end result of my colourful butterfly pendant though.

 

 

Red or Dead or My Undying Love for Henna

I love Copperhead, one of the new shampoo bars from Lush Cosmetics; created to add shine for darker hair tones with red Persian henna for shine and condition and cocoa butter to soften the hair as well.

Coffee and roasted cocoa extract blend with Fairtrade vanilla absolute and vetiver oil to create a rich intoxicating fragrance, that is equal parts exotic spice market meets decadent chocolate temple.

I've used shampoo bars before, they are great for travelling as they are so light, make no mess and last for ages. However, as my hair is long, fairly thick and quite curly, I've found them a little too drying for regular use in the past. They can make my hair a bit fluffy.
I usually use Lush's 'Cynthia Sylvia Stout,' a liquid shampoo that adds weight and is good for shine but I wanted to try the henna shampoo.

I was initially a little sceptical about Copperhead, the henna aspect intrigued me; I'm a redhead and I use Lush's Rouge Henna to enhance my natural colour, creating a darker but brighter end result; but I wondered how much difference the shampoo bar could make with so little henna going on to my hair for such a short time.

I was wrong and was really impressed from my first use at how shiny my hair was afterwards and the cocoa butter really seems to have helped counteract the tendency to make my hair fluffy. In fact, after a few uses, I was asked by several friends at work if I had recently dyed my hair as it was so shiny. 

It's definitely become one of my favourite Lush products already and I think it will be one of my staple products from now on. 

I just hope they bring out a few more products in that delicious aroma.

More henna love below with the gorgeous mehndi I had done in Pushkar in India...

Totoro To-to-ro

The end of 2014 saw some big changes for me, biggest of all, moving house. Amidst all the upheaval of house moving, house unpacking and work being the busiest it is all year, I didn't find time to work on all the stitching projects I had planned.
However, with the year still fresh and currently rather sunny where I'm sitting, in spite of the rain, I've felt the urge to start crafting again.

What better way to be seduced back in to stitching than with this adorable little guy?

 



I'm a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki films and I love the sweetness of 'My Neighbour Totoro;' it may not be as sophisticated or dynamic as some of the later epic tales like 'Spirited Away,'  'Princess Mononoke,' and 'Howl's Moving Castle;' but it retains an understated charm that bears repeat viewings.
Totoro himself of course has gone on to be the definitive Ghibli icon and regardless of whether or not you buy in to internet rumours of dark, tragic implications throughout the film (denied by the director,) it's hard not to fall for the mountainous ball of fluff.