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Side Hustle Business

How to start an online shop when you don’t have any stock

If you want to start a side-hustle business selling your designs and products but don’t have the premises for a physical shop, online retail could be the solution. All you need are plenty of creative and unique designs and, wait for it, no actual stock..!

DIY furniture makeovers

How to upcycle an old side table into a chess-board coffee table

Today, I’m putting an old side table to good use by upcycling it with paint, sticky vinyl and acrylic to create a multi-purpose piece of furniture that serves as both a handy coffee table AND a games table! Want to make one for yourself? Here’s the project…

Special Occasions

Meaningful gifts that mum will enjoy way beyond Mother’s Day…

Mother’s Day is coming up on 31st March so I thought I’d blog some gift ideas in advance to give you time to head to the shop or put in your orders online. There’s something for all tastes and budgets in my gift guide so I hope you’ll find something that your mum will love…

Happiness

How to take care of yourself while chasing your 2019 goals

Sure, it can be tempting to rush into the new year and complete your 2019 goals as quickly as possible but if you’ve been going ‘all in’ so far, you might be close to burn-out by now. Here’s some inspiration for self care, wellbeing and making positive changes to your life…

LOW-COST RECIPES

The #FoodSavvy challenge – How I reduced my food waste in February

For the entire month of February, I took on environmental charity Hubbub’s #FoodSavvy challenge to try to reduce my food waste within 4 weeks. Did you know that in Norfolk and Suffolk alone up to 113,000 TONNES of food waste goes in the bin? Here’s how you can reduce your food waste too…

DIY

5 Ways to reduce heating costs during those ‘in-between’ months

Winter may be winding down, but that doesn’t mean you’re ready to fling open all the windows yet! There may still be a few more weeks of cold days (and even colder nights) to come. But heating your home during the bitter chilly winter months shouldn’t cost your entire monthly budget and there are lots of ways you can save money on your home heating. Here are five tips to help you to maintain your radiators AND save money on heating costs while keeping your house warm and cosy…

Bathroom

14 Days To A Tidy Home – how I got on with this fun cleaning challenge

How do you fancy joining in with the 14 Days To A Tidy Home Challenge? I thought I’d share a quick update with you to let you know how I got on with the challenge and perhaps inspire you to join in and get a jump start on your spring cleaning too. Here’s the 14 Days to a Tidy Home Challenge day-by-day to get you started:

Side Hustle Business

5 Handy hints to help you design & make your own t-shirts at home

Whether you are doing it as part of a new business venture, a side income or just for a bit of fun, making t-shirts at home is a fun and incredibly creative activity. It’s now easier than ever to get involved in the process as you can use printable transfer paper, iron-on applique, heat-transfer vinyl or compact screen printers to turn your design into something you can wear.

Books

Book Review: The Joy of Missing Out + Win a copy of the book!

If you’ve ever felt that FOMO feeling, the Joy of Missing Out could be the book for you. Written by Danish philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann, it’s a celebration of living life in moderation and shares the joy of occasionally missing out on the constant temptations of consumer society.

Art & Photography

Framing art prints and posters for my monochrome bedroom

Has the new year given you a burst of enthusiasm for getting your home organised? That’s how I’ve been feeling this year and I’ve been trying to sort out all the things that I’d been putting off during 2018. This week I’m tackling the artwork I’ve been collecting – it’s finally going on the wall..!

Blogging

3 Reasons why blogging is important for your business

If you’re an entrepreneur, blogging is a great way to market your side-hustle business – it’s cost-effective, it boosts your company’s search-engine ratings, and can help you attract consumers. Still not convinced? Here are 3 reasons you need to start a blog today…

THRIFTY LIVING

Valentine’s Day his & hers gift guide – presents that couples can share

This year I’m not keeping my Valentine’s gifts a secret from my husband. That’s because I really wanted to share them with you in my ‘his & hers’ guide. There’s something for him and for you in this collection of products so you can ensure that you’ll get something for Valentine’s day that you really want – after all, you chose it for yourself!

Money Saving Tips

4 Great reasons why you should consider shopping local in 2019

Sometimes it’s hard to avoid spending money with corporate companies. They often offer attractive deals and then there’s the fact that many big chains are conveniently on your high street – or on your screen. But, when you’re presented with the choice, here are 4 reasons why you should choose to shop locally…

THRIFTY LIVING

6 Interesting things you probably didn’t already know about London

Did you know that there’s so much more to London than just Buckingham Palace and Big Ben? London is a city brimming with mystery, with hidden secrets and unique quirks that make it a place people love to live, work and play in. So, step away from the guide book for a moment and read on for 6 things you probably didn’t know about London

Days Out

3 Sports to boost your health in 2019 (without realising you’re exercising!)

If boosting your health this coming year is important to you, have you considered taking up a new sport? Trying something different can give your new years resolution a kick-start – you’ll hardly notice that you’re exercising as you get to grips with a new skill or sport. If you’re hoping to get more active this year perhaps today’s blog post will help. I thought I’d share the sports I’m planning to take up in 2019, which might inspire you to do the same.

Home buying

Guest post – 3 Things to look for when buying a holiday home

Many of us harbour dreams of one day buying our own holiday home. Not only can it be a treasured home away from home, a place to escape to when your everyday routine gets tedious, but it can also be a fantastic investment for the future. This post details the most important things to look for when buying a holiday home, to ensure that your get the very best value for your money and get to enjoy your property for years to come…

Festive

How to make a funny stalk of sprouts Christmas decoration

Christmas trees? Nah! Santa? Who? We all know that the real star of Christmas is the sprout. Whether you love them or loathe them, they’re the most hotly anticipated visitors on the 25th December and I think they deserve to be celebrated. So I’ve DIYed my own stalk of sprouts, with fluffy green pom-poms and a big stick. Here’s how to make this most-festive-of-all-decorations for yourself…

Festive

How to DIY your own neon christmas lights

Here’s another DIY festive décor project for you – a glittery light-up neon snowflake. You can hang it on the wall to create a fabulously festive feature or use it as a lamp on your bedside table.

Beauty

Six super-easy and affordable ways to brighten up your smile

Smiling is good for you. When you smile, a little burst of happy hormones is released into your brain, which gives you a mental lift. It also helps you to make friends as people are drawn to happy folk and smiling is contagious. With the new year coming up, why not make it your resolution to have the healthiest smile possible? Here’s how…

Money Saving Tips

5 Simple and super low-cost ways maintain your vehicle this winter

Cars are incredibly expensive investments. While many of us scrape enough money together just to purchase the things, subsequent costs follow; insurance tariffs, repair costs and maintenance fees. Here are 5 handy ways you can cheaply maintain your car.

DIY

Lighting up my home for winter using smart technology & smart bulbs

If you want to learn more about creating your very own smart home (without rewiring your whole house!) today’s blog post is for you! I’m sharing my honest experience of smart lighting for the first time, plus I’ve got a Phillips Hue Starter Kit to give away to one lucky reader in my competition so read on to find out how to enter…

DIY

5 Ways to make your rental property warmer & more efficient

Now that the cold winter months have arrived it’s time to make sure our homes are warm and cosy. Landlords now have to make sure their properties are more energy efficient – good news for us renters as it could save us valuable pounds! Here are a few DIY jobs you could do to make your rental home a little toastier…

Days Out

4 Sustainable (& fun!) reasons why you should buy a local Christmas tree

If you’re planning to have a real Christmas tree in your home this year, why not choose the eco-friendly and sustainable option of buying local? I took a tour of a Suffolk tree plantation on Friday so here’s why you should consider getting your festive tree from a local producer…

Personal development

5 Things you can do online today to improve your future career

With every type of information, product and service available on the internet, it’s never been easier to take control of your life and future. Online services can make your life admin easier and even help you change your career so here are five important things you can do online to boost your future life and business…

Personal development

Land your dream job by adding these transferable skills to your CV

If you’re on the hunt for your dream job, it can be difficult to see how your experience matches a job description. Soft and transferable skills are all just as valuable as a first-class degree so here are some of the most desirable transferable skills you should include in your application, as well as some of the amazing careers where you can make use of them…

THRIFTY LIVING

Two advent calendars you won’t forget to open in the morning

If you’ve slightly outgrown chocolate advent calendars (I mean, it could happen…) these are the alternatives for you.  Make the count down to Christmas fun and bloomin’ delicious at the same time. These two calendars are just screaming out to be opened first thing in the morning so you definitely won’t loose keep track of the date this December…

THRIFTY LIVING

3 Tips to create DIY YouTube video content on a tight budget

Fancy vlogging or creating DIY videos? It’s definitely possible to produce professional-looking and impressive video content on a tight budget – you just need to know how to go about it, and the following tips should help with that…

Cruelty-free Life

5 Easy (money-saving!) ideas to make your home and life more sustainable

Everyone wants to do their little bit to help the environment and there are so many effective, yet simple changes that could be done around the house that could help the world become more sustainable. Here are just 5 great ideas that you could do on a day-to-day basis that will really contribute to a better planet. Oh, and some of them will even save you some money too..!

Books

DIY Project: How to make a chunky woven storage box

How to weave your own chunky woven storage box from cardboard and wool. Plus a review of Weaving Within Reach craft book – The projects in the book range from homewares to fashion accessories, kitchenware, gifts and soft furnishings. As you can probably tell from the wide range of projects, there’s something to suit every ability and it even shows you how to make your own makeshift loom to get you started.

Home buying

3 Ways to improve your credit score before buying a house

The property market is starting to be driven by first-time buyers, bucking historical trends. With that in mind, here are 3 simple ways that you can boost your credit score while you’re saving for that deposit, so you’ll be ready to apply for a mortgage when you find your first home…

Happiness

2 Simple swaps to stay healthy in the run-up to Christmas (+ beyond!)

Are you ready for Christmas? (Yes, I said it!) All the food, the indulgence and the mulled wine? I’m looking forward to it already, although the health-conscious me is already feeling a little wary. So I thought I’d share some ways that you can get ready for the festive season by cutting back now, to ensure a healthier, happier new year. 

DIY

Will your next home be a shipping container?

In a move to combat the issue of affordable homes in cities, it has been suggested that recycled shipping containers could be the perfect material to construct safe, liveable and comfortable tiny homes. But, just how true is this claim, and how likely is it that your next home could be a shipping container? Here’s just how usable shipping containers are and how they are currently being used…

Money Saving Tips

5 Money saving tips for going away travelling

It does cost money to go travelling but not as much as you might think, especially if you apply these 5 thrifty travelling tips that will help you to see the world on a budget..!

Money Saving Tips

Getting to grips with smart technology in my home

I know I’m probably way behind everyone else in saying this but I’ve never tried any smart home devices. So, when EDF Energy gave me the chance to try out an Echo Dot this month, I was excited to get started. In today’s blog post I’m letting you know how I got on and whether I intend to turn my house into a smart home anytime soon…

Books

Step-by-step tutorial to make a macramé daybed

Macramé is everywhere these days, isn’t it? I can barely open up Pinterest without pinning countless designs for plant hangers and knotted wall art. Today I’m sharing a step-by-step guide to making your own macramé daybed – it’s a rather impressive project but it’s one that you definitely can make at home.

THRIFTY LIVING

How to buy a new handbag without breaking the bank

I was watching How to Shop Well for Less last week and couldn’t believe how much it’s possible to spend on a handbag! I’ve never spent more than £15, I’m sure! But maybe I’m the exception and many people might not be able to find the bag of their dream on a budget. Here are some ways to shop while staying thrifty…

Art & Photography

Guest post: The most iconic and creative WWI posters

2018 marks 100 years since the end of World War I. From 1914 to 1918, this conflict embroiled most of Europe, along with Russia, the US and the Middle East. In the UK, people from all backgrounds pulled together to contribute towards the war effort, from fighting on the frontline to working in munitions factories. But with communications far less efficient and slower than what we know today, posters became an essential component of mobilising morale and letting everyone know how they could help.

Beauty

How to boost your health & beauty regime for autumn

September seems to be the natural start for any new regime, doesn’t it? I guess it’s the new academic year that makes this month feel like a fresh start. Plus, the seasons seem to change the moment that September hits and that’s when we need to address parts of our health and beauty regime to keep ourselves happy, healthy and looking great throughout the autumn and winter. Here are some easy swaps I’ve made this September to cope with the changing seasons to come…

Bedroom

How to prepare your spare room for Airbnb hosting

Offering holiday accommodation in your spare room is a great way of making a little extra cash. But how do you do it? Here are some easy ways to keep a spare room useful for yourself AND comfortable enough for Airbnb guests.

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