Gosh... doesn't time fly!

I just realised today that I haven't been here for ages. Hope you're all OK?

I have been mostly spending time in my crafty cave (when not at work or looking after Mini Mint) - I have rekindled my love of sewing, and for the last 18 months have made all of my, and Mini Mint's clothes.

My new 'craze' is recycling MY clothes, to make clothes for Mini Mint, who is now 10. I've recently lost a lot of weight (more still to lose) and have obviously ended up with clothes too big for me - so I've taken them to pieces and used the fabric. Last weekend saw me make 5 new T-Shirts for Mini Mint, from my old ones and last night I made him a pair of cargo pants, upcycled from my old pair. Whole wardrobe of clothes for £00.00.

As well as making T-shirts last weekend, I also sorted out my craft area, which was long overdue - it was previously full of conservatory furniture which we have just sold, giving me tons of space.

And - if I'm not sewing, I'm badging, Mr Mint bought me a badge making machine last year, after much whining from me, which encouraged me to set up a facebook page - Badge-a-Ria, where I sell custom badges and handmade bags of awesomeness.

WHERE I LIVE

I was born in Liverpool and lived there until I was 10 when my parents decided to move to a 'new town' that had been developed partly to rehome a growing Liverpool population that had outgrown it's pre-war housing stock. Part of their decision was based on my ever worsening asthma, they thought that moving to the 'green' new town would be a benefit.




It’s actually a very old town, the castle is believed to have been here since the 1070s. There is also a lovely priory that has become the largest archaeological dig in Europe.



And that's the problem - it's a small, old town, which had to suddenly take in 1,000s of new comers. 40 years on there is still resentment here. I joined a 'local' group on Facebook and quickly had to leave again as it regularly had posts bemoaning the 'incomers' and likening them to locusts. There is a fairly strict divide here. The 'Locals' tend to live in the Old Town and the incomers in the 'New Town'. Just to be contrary, I've mostly lived in the Old Town.



When we originally moved here with my parents, we lived on the divide between the two halves of the town, there was literally a six foot high, concrete fence segregating us from the Old Town. In the summer holidays and at weekends, at pre-arranged times, gangs of boys from the Old Town would meet gangs of boys from the New Town on the field next to our house and kick seven shades of crap out of each other - before going home, to meet again the following week.



My father used to have a market stall in the Old Town, which I helped out on at weekends and school holidays. We had regular customers from the Old Town, who were so insular they'd never even crossed the bridge that would take them to the next town over. They had everything they wanted, right where they were.



My parents were Irish, so my brother and I didn't really have strong Liverpudlian accents when we moved here, we were able to go to a local school, without too much bother. We know people who were bullied or beaten up for being 'scousers' (similarly, locals will tell you that they know people who were bullied or beaten up for being local) - it was a weird situation.



As for my parents' idea that New Town was a better place for asthmatic Tilly - yes, New Town has lots of green spaces, but it is also heavily industrialised. Local people suffer from permanently drippy noses, probably caused by the many chemical plants about.



Our town centre is a ghost town. There are lots of terraced houses, all crammed in on top of each other. It is full of charity shops and fast food outlets. There is a shopping mall type of set up in the new town, but while it used to have the big names, it too is now becoming a bit of a white elephant, with lots of empty units. There is high unemployment here, and the shopping centre is often full with groups of young men or women, with really thick 'plastic scouse' accents. They've never lived in Liverpool, but have tried to hang on to this bit of 'heritage' by talking the way their parents did, resulting in a weird hybrid accent that bears no resemblance to the real Liverpool accent.



A growing number of people are choosing to do their shopping out of the area, and then moan that there is 'nothing' in their own town - instead of spending their money locally and helping to develop their own environment.

The New Town that was built over 40 years ago is now showing its age, and is being redeveloped - money is being spent here, but I fear it's not enough. I don't know what's going to be here for Mini Mint when he leaves school.









I was tagged by the lovely Clara, you can read her original post here:

http://claraunravelled.co.uk/where-i-live/

ADVICE FOR NEW MUMS

This week, a friend on twitter asked "what advice would you give to new parents?"  I actually had three pieces of advice to offer.

Trust Your Instincts
It's really easy as a new parent to doubt yourself, to wonder if you're doing the right thing - you may ask for advice from various people, and be given conflicting responses.  And this can leave you wracked with self doubt, you want to do the best for your new child, but there are other people telling you you're wrong, or 'that's not the way I would do it'. 

Give yourself some credit. 

You may be new at parenting, but already you'll probably be in tune with your baby, and know when something is 'not right'. 

We had various health problems with Mini Mint, he never latched on for me to feed him myself, and I allowed myself to be bullied by my mid-wife (see point 3) into not giving him a bottle, but feeding him via a small medicine cup, so as not to give him 'nipple confusion'.  He ended up developing kidney problems at 11 days where he was admitted to hospital severely dehydrated.  Then, again at 25 days old because he was pooing blood (that is quite exciting in an 'OH MY GOD' kind of way).  We were admitted on a Friday afternoon, and were seen by a registrar at around tea-time who told me that it wasn't blood - but mucus (bright red mucus, really?) and to take him home and 'keep my eye on him'.  When I asked him what 'keep my eye' on him meant, I was told that if 'it happens again, bring him back in'. 

At which point I finally developed my mummy roar and refused to go home until we had seen a consultant.  We spent a long weekend in a cubicle on the children's ward, with no doctors coming in to us at all, until the wonderful consultant came in on the Monday, took one look at Mini Mint and diagnosed a milk protein intolerance.  We were given a modified formula, and within a week Mini Mint was a completely different baby.  Alert, full of life, gaining weight and just perfect.

I knew that something wasn't right, I stayed my ground, and we got the help and advice that was needed to help Mini Mint get better.  As a sidebar, it turned out the IBS I'd been diagnosed with myself when younger, was actually a dairy intolerance too, and it was hereditary.

LISTEN to all the advice you are given and USE what is right for you and your family.
When you're a new parent EVERYONE wants to give you advice, or tell you how THEY would manage X,Y,Z.  You may become overwhelmed with advice.  You sometimes get to the point where you want to snap at people to mind their own business, but... just listen. 

You don't have to follow through everything that you are told, if you think it's a load of rubbish, just nod, smile and say 'oh, that sounds interesting'.

Don't get into an argument about it.  Just choose not to follow that particular piece of advice.  Trust me, your life will be sooo much easier.

Don't Be Bullied
Parenting seems to unleash a barrage of 'know it alls' (me included, look at me giving out advice!), people will out and out tell you that they think you are doing it wrong, that you're a bad parent, that you are harming your baby, purely for making a decision that works for you and your family. 

In my case I would have loved to breast feed Mini Mint, but he was actually born in a diabetic coma, and was in SCBU for the first three days of his life. We never got to have that all important skin on skin contact in the first hour, he had to be fed via a tube for three days.  When I was allowed to have him on the ward with me, he just wouldn't latch on, it was almost like he was fighting me every time I tried to feed him.  I asked the staff for a bottle and said I would express milk and feed him that way.  They out and out refused and said he would get 'nipple confusion' if I started to feed him with a bottle.  They insisted that I feed him using a tiny medicine measuring cup, which I did, but actually ended up spilling most of it down his chin. 

When we got home I voiced my concerns to my midwife, and she backed up what the hospital said, and made me feel awful for even considering giving him a bottle, even though he would still be getting breast milk, as I was expressing. And I let them make that decision for me.  We ended up with a very poorly baby, who had to have regular check ups at the hospital for two years to ensure that his kidneys were not permanently damaged by the dehydration this caused.  After he was hospitalised I decided enough was enough and sent 'im indoors out to buy bottles and a steriliser, and Mini Mint improved dramatically.  Until my breast milk dried up at around 20 days due to the stress of being in and out of hospital, which led to the situation in the first point above. 

I let someone who had no connection to me or my family, bully me into making decisions I wasn't happy with, which caused distress to me, Mini Mint and 'im indoors.  But it also taught me a valuable lesson.  This is MY family, and the only people who should be making decisions that affect my family are me, or 'im indoors.  We will listen to your advice, and decide if it is going to work for us.  We will not let anyone brow beat us into making a decision we are not comfortable with.

Sewing

My mother in law came round earlier today, for her regular manicure, and obviously to dote on Mini Mint while she was here.

She coyly asked me if I still had my sewing machine (I do), and if I didn't mind, could I please alter two dresses for her the next time I'm using it.  Coincidentally she just happened to have the two dresses in her bag. :)

I needed an excuse to get the machine out anyway, I've been threatening for weeks to make a new cover for my point and shoot digital camera ('im indoors lost the original cover).

So, I rooted out my favourite Alexander Henry fabric (Baddanna) and some fleece, from my stash and ran up a quick little lined pouch.

Would anyone be interested in a tutorial for this?

OPI Under the Mistletoe and 18k Gold Top Coat

I had a client this evening who wanted something a bit more 'glam' than her usual manicure, as she has a 'bit of a do' this weekend.

We decided to go for OPI Under The Mistletoe (my new favourite) and last year's 18k Gold Top Coat (also from OPI).

Just the right amount of dazzle without being too over the top. (click for bigger).

Roo Beauty Storage

I showed you earlier this week, how I store my polish and nail art supplies at home.  The majority of my nail clients come to my home for treatments, but occasionally I am happy to go to their home instead - some of my clients are older or have mobility issues so it makes sense that I go out to them.

I used to tote around a huge wheeled trolley with all my supplies in, but it was back breaking getting it in and out of the car.

Then I found Roo Beauty and their storage solutions.  I already own a number of their polish rolls, which can hold up to 12 polishes at a time, but this week I took advantage of the Roo Beauty sale and decided to try out another couple of items.

The first item I went for was the Nail Polish Storage Set in soft jade, as it was virtually half price.  This was a soft case, and another polish roll.

 

I also decided to go for the Double It Imperial in black, as this has room for 18 polishes and loads of my manicure tools too. 

 

 

Between the two purchases, I now have a safe way to carry 50 polishes and tools, when I'm out on mobile calls.  Both cases have padded inserts that keep the bottles upright, and stop them from smashing together.



 

 

 



OPI UNDERNEATH THE MISTLETOE AND I SNOW YOU LOVE ME

Underneath The Mistletoe was THE stand out colour for me in the OPI Mariah Carey Holiday 2013 collection, as soon as I saw the promo literature, I knew that was the one I loved, and could picture which clients would go for it too.  In real life it is stunning, it's actually even prettier than the pictures, but is so difficult to photograph in our horrid northern light.

There is a real depth of shine to this making it very dimensional.  It applies like a jelly, looking good in one coat, but needing two for full coverage.  A coat of OPI Rapid Dry Top Coat and you've completed your look.

One of the other colours I liked the look of was You Snow You Love Me - a beautiful pearlescent white/gold shimmer - perfect for those who like a more neutral look, but also want to glam it up for the holidays.  While it's cute on its own, I decided to experiment and layer it over Underneath The Mistletoe, and was more than pleasantly surprised by the beautiful vintage gold look that showed through.  You can also see the depth of the shimmer a bit better on these photos (click photos for bigger).

Polish Addict Set Up

I have my 'nail stuff' (mostly) stored in a cupboard in our dining room.  It's ideal as we have lovely comfy chairs in there for clients, portable tables that I can pull up right next to them, it's nice and bright, and everything is in one place.

The polish is stored in colour groups, so they are easy for me to find - glitters and treatments are stored in their own separate boxes too.  Bottom right is where I store my 'take-away flip flops' for clients who book a pedicure, and then forget to bring open toed shoes with them for when they leave. (Picture below was taken this evening after a client had left, and hasn't been tidied up - messy puppy Click for bigger).

99% of the time I use OPI products, purely because they are the brand that I have found give the best longevity and shine on my own nails.  I'm usually very hardwearing on polish - I can paint my nails in the evening, and they will be peeling off in the car on the way to work the next day.  With OPI I can get upto 7 days on my own nails (depending on the polish) and have had clients say that they have had 10 days, if they were Marigolds when washing up etc.

For the perfect, long lasting manicure, I always use OPI Matte Nail Envy as a base coat.  Nail Envy is an amazing treatment in it's own right, it's helped me to grow my nails past their usual nubbins stage, but the Matte Nail Envy provides a brilliant key for polish.  After base coat, comes 2 coats of your favourite colour and then I finish off with OPI Rapid Dry Top Coat, which gives a brilliant, long lasting shine.  I always use OPI polish remover on clients, I have two types, acetone free polish remover for traditional manicures/pedicures and the brilliant OPI Expert Touch for removing enhancements or Gel Polish.



 

 

I store all of my OPI Gel Polishes in the OPI Manicure Case - firstly because it's pretty, secondly because I love the size of it, and the drawer underneath is perfect for storing the tools required for Gel Manicures (including my LED lamp) and thirdly, the case helps to protect the products from any UV light, ensuring they don't 'cure' in the bottle.

 

I carry out most of my nail treatments/manicures in my own home, but some clients have mobility issues and I am happy to do call outs to their home.  Keeping my products safe in transit is really important, bottles banging together can result in nasty, expensive breakages.  To that end, I've bought a number of polish rolls from Roo Beauty, these store up to 12 bottles of polish, even the larger OPI ones, and then roll up neatly to put in your carry case.  Today I also ordered one of their 'Double-It' cases and an 'Imperial Polish Holder' set.

 

Apart from seeing the finished result of a manicure/pedicure, the thing I love most about being a nail tech, is the deliveries.  The excitement of getting one of these in the post makes me giddy.

 





Pound Land

I don't shop in PoundLand very often, purely because it's out of the way for me, I went in recently to get supplies to top up Mini Mint's craft cupboard, and spotted lots of nail art bargains.

First up - I'd seen that Nails Inc had brought out one of these polish remover pots, while I liked the idea of it - ideal to keep in the drawer in work for any chipped polish disasters, I wasn't fussed on the price so gave it a miss.  And then I spotted this in PoundLand. I ended up buying two - I use one for 'normal' polish and one for glitters. 

The pot is filled with a sponge, which is saturated with polish remover (acetone based).  You stick your finger in the sponge, and  normal polish comes off with a couple of twists, and I had a go at the OPI DS Pewter this afternoon, and while it didn't take ALL of it in one go, it didn't do too bad of a job.

 

I also picked up some nail art supplies - again, obviously, all at £1.00 each.  The chain stickers are awesome - I'm actually on my second pack of those as I had three clients in a row that wanted denim and chain nail art.  (click picture to make it bigger). The gems come with a little buffer and orange stick to help you to position them properly, and can be stuck on with top coat - and then another coat of topcoat to seal them onto your nail.

 

 

 

I store my nail art in see through/PVC pouches that I also bought from PoundLand - I think there were actually 2 for £1.00.  I have one for nail tools, one for nail art and another for stamping plates.

 

 

N.B. These products were all bought by myself



 

Mummy Duties

Being mum to an eight year old boy, involves sitting in lots of church/village halls, with Kindle on lap, and earphones in.

Our normal week goes like this:

Monday - Karate
Tuesday - Karate
Wednesday - Swimming
Thursday - Piano Lesson and then Cubs
Friday - Homework/Craft Club.  Mini Mint will invite two or three of his friends round, we'll do outstanding homework, trawl through the craft cupboard and then run round the garden screaming and climbing over the play equipment.
Saturday - Family day.  If 'im indoors isn't working, we'll all do something together.  If he is - I let Mini Mint pick an activity, he usually chooses the cinema or a local playbarn
Sunday - Mini Mint goes to church with grandparents and I go back to bed.