Cookie Recipe// Christmas

Cooee, 

So I have found a super easy recipe for cookies. Now they are not very Christmassy but they can be made christmas through decoration and adding different spices. 

 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED//

 

1 Cup of Sugar ( I use caster) 

1 Egg 

1 Cup of Peanut Butter ---- Or any thick flavouring, I love adding Chocolate Spread 

1) Preheat the oven at gas mark 5 and grease proof the tray

2) Add sugar and egg

3) Add flavour ( For me peanut butter) 

4) Stir and mix well until combined

 

5) Once finished, make mixture into small balls and place on tray. 

 

6) Cook for roughly 9 minutes ( my oven is quite powerful) or until cooked. 

TOP TIP- They may look uncooked however, they do cook once out of the oven. 

There you are! The simplest cookie recipe which takes all of 5 minutes to prepare. 

Let me know if you make them and what they turned out like

Gee x

Secret Santa Ideas// Christmas

Cooee, 

Oh the joys of secret santa! Its the one thing that I hate most of christmas period and no matter how hard I try not to get involved in them, I some how manage to get involved.

I have 2 this year and they both have different budgets. This gave me an idea to help other people out who are looking for ideas!

1) Little beauty Items// I have got one of my secret santa's a Ted Baker Lip Balm which was £5! A luxury item for quite cheap!
2) Smellies// Body spray or perfumes- all great gifts and what girls especially always have in their handbags. H&M and Superdrug have a great selection!
3) Keep sakes// Tiger have got lots of cute items for next to nothing prices- I have got two of my friends who are in my photography class a cute camera photo album
4) Writing Sets// I have got a teacher who one of my secret santa's and she always has a notebook with her! TOP TIP// Always look out and listen for ideas if you are stuck!

5) Personal// This is one of my presents from my mum and it was FREE! A perfect idea!

So there are some of my ideas for your secret santa dilemmas! I hope that helps and comment below any more ideas to help other people out :)

Gee x

Wrapping Ideas\\ Christmas

Cooee, 

 As you may have noticed, Christmas is fast approaching! I started very early gathering and organising all the presents I needed to get and last week I finally finished.

So I thought what better time than to write my first christmas post! I have got a theme this year for how I am going to wrap and present my presents. I wanted to do something special for my friends as this is the last year that we will be together properly before its university time!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED// 

Brown wrapping paper// I got mine for a £1 for Wilko ( a supermarket-like store) in the parcel and post section
Labels// Wilko again! You get get these pretty much every where
Ribbon// Tiger as some great christmas wrapping ideas and items! Mine is white snowflakes and I have fallen in love with it!!
Christmas decorations// Tiger again! 2 for a £1!

and of course your chosen present!

Its quite easy- wrap your present and wound the ribbon around making sure that you add your label and decorations!

I love this idea and its an extra little present which they can keep forever! Let me know what you are planning on getting people for christmas

Gee x

A Week In Pictures

Cooee,

So I thought that since I was going on a mini break as well as going out with some friends that I would show you my week in pictures.

My week started off with travelling to York to visit my family. It took my roughly 5 hours of travelling on my own.  Then once I got home, I went out with my friends to the fun fair/ theme park Dreamland.

 At Kings Cross - I nearly missed my train!!!
 

This is the prettiest bus stop I have ever seen!
 

We went to watch the new film Paper Towns

 

The lanes which lead to .....

My first time eating at Bills- Would recommend!

Went on a quick shopping trip which lead to me finding a cute park

The next day (once I was home) I went to Margate's Dreamland, a fun fair/ theme park

I thought that the food court looked very old fashion with food stalls and band stands

Me and the girls enjoying fish and chips

There was lots of photo booths so we decided try and fit 5 people in the shot

Here is me with everyone's cameras and hands trying to get some good pictures of the view

Waiting for the girls to get a drink, we decided to check out the children's ride

Here are all our photo booth photos! If we are in the area, I would recommend going as the beach is one of the nicest and it was a great day out!

I understand that this was a it different from my usual posts but I wanted to remember this week as it is coming to the end of my summer holidays.

Gee x

 

 

Fashion Design at London College of Fashion

Cooee,

 

So I was lucky enough to study for a week at LCF. I took part in a short summer course studying fashion design. I thought that I would talk about what I did and my experiences in case anyone is interested in studying fashion in London. LINK TO THE UNIVERSITY

 

 

 

DAY 1

 

 

 

 

Travelling with all my equipment was very interesting to say the least on the train and tube. But once I arrived, I met some lovely people who were all interested in fashion. Although I do talk to my friends who like fashion , it was lovely to speak to people about the latest trends and all that fashion textile stuff which my friends might not understand.

 

The idea of the week was to explore the process of creating a portfolio which we could show to our chosen universities and build upon after the course.

 

We started by exploring different magazines and finding what we liked and create a core mood board. My chosen theme for the week was print and pattern. I am currently exploring print in my a levels and I thought that I could use my teacher for help. My teacher for the week was Eve Lin who has studied at the university as well as has her own label which is highly successful. She is the most down to earth person I have ever met and her fashion garments are beautiful. (LINK)

 

DAY 2

 

 

 

We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum which I have visited plenty of times and I will ever get tired of visiting. We had a couple of international students who hadn't been before and I believe that enjoyed it as much as I did. I got to look around and make sketches of things which linked with our theme.

 

 

 

In the afternoon, once we had lunch in South Kensington and Eve gave us some over seas pineapple cake, we went back to the college to add to our mod boards.

 

DAY 3

 

 

 

We continued with our mood boards developing the colours. Then we were put into groups in order to create a  new board with a different theme. Then we had to find a line ( the line is the masking tape) then using this line, we created a square (each side was the line). Our task was to create a garment. We decided to create a top with a low back on our model ( who we named Meryl).

 

We also did some speed drawing ; drawing the human figure at different angles in two minutes. I personally hated this as I was rubbish but it was a great skill to develop. It was to prepare us if we were to visit a fashion show as the garments would not be in front of you for no more than 30 seconds.

 

We then used our mood boards to create garments using magazine clippings. At first, I didn't like mine so I decided that I would find resources at home which I could use to improve them. The idea wasn't to make something wearable but something which could be developed. I found this technique every interesting and I wish to carry on this.

 

DAY 4

 

McQueen Coat and Belt-- Coat Goals!

 

 

Due to a tube strike (IT WAS A NIGHTMARE!) we decided to walk around London exploring different areas which we , as a group, had not visited before. This included Soho (during the day ) , New Bond Street and so on. Also we visited an interesting market ( cant remember the name) of different high end fashion designers , personally I didn't like the atmosphere but the garments were beautiful.

 

DAY 5

 

 

 

It was our last day and we were all sad as it went past so quickly but we finished off our magazine garments. We spend the morning finishing six different garments ready to present them to each other. We had to explain the process of how we got to our six garments. Everyone in the class had a completely different theme so it was interesting to learn about how they got to where they did.

 

Eve brought us some snacks and we had a talk about the week as well as followed each other on social media. The people who were in the class were lovely and we all wanted to stay for longer.

 

I would 100% recommend the course and I have learnt techniques which I didn't know as well as I now know where some of the best fabric shops are. It has also confirmed my plan to study there for my university course.

 

Let me know if you are interested in the course or any of the other courses which the university offers.

 

Also any questions , don't hesitate to comment below

Also check out my Instagram to see some more pictures from the week - @Gee_Grain

 

Gee x

Revision Tips

Cooee,

So it exam season for many people including myself (A Levels) and I thought that I would do a list of revision tips which I have found work for me as well as my friends. Just to mention that theres no one way to revise as many methods work for different people and that no different from me and my friends. For myself, I have to read everything over and over again , making important notes if necessary, however, for my friend Zoe, she makes multiple mindmaps of information.

So here are a collection of different tips for different types of learners;

1) Plan your time effectively.

I have on my wall a two month revision plan. Yes! this is mentally but I know from my GCSEs that this helped me make sure that I knew what to revision and when all my exams were.

2) Don't revise for two long.

2 hours max revising time with an half an hour to an hour breaks in-between. This allows your brain to have a cooling off period. Also 15 minutes per unit/topic is also good too.

2a) Add exercise into your breaks



It helps take your mind off worrying and if you have been revising all day, it will be an effective way to get rid of energy (in a good way).

2b) Drink lots of water.

Remember your health shouldn't suffer because your revising. Water is a good way to keep yourself hydrated.

3) Collect all your notes ready for revising.

By doing this you aren't worrying that you are wasting time looking for your notes or textbooks.

4) Mind maps. (Visual Leaner)

After specking to my friend, mind maps are a good way to put all the important information in one place.

4a) Colour Code (Visual Learner)

When your in the exam, you will remember the colour and then the information along with it.

5) Podcasts ( Auditory Learner)

For my science GCSEs, I found a collection of podcasts which were people teaching you science. They were free to download and I would listen to them on my way to school. *LINK*

6) Notes (A practice Learner/ Visual Leaner)

A couple of my friends learn by re writing notes or typing them up. Personally for me this doesn't work but I know that for some people it might. By re writing notes, it means that you are recapping everything.

7) Past Papers/ Questions

By finding these, you can see how the exam or test will be laid out meaning that you have a better understanding. Also you can practice papers and check the mark schemes. TOP TIP- exam boards usually re word past questions.


8) Don't panic.

I should follow this one. Don't worry, I know that everyone is going on about how important it is , which it is but remember you can only do your best and it is good enough.

I hope that some of these help you if your taking your exams.

Good Luck,

Gee x

What I got for my 17th Birthday

Cooee,

I am writing this on my actually birthday which would be yesterday , 15th February, for those reading it. I'm so grateful for everything I got this year and I've been well and truly spoilt. I have amazing family and friends who know me so well. I was lucky enough to go on a shopping trip with my mum who got me lots of presents then. So this is a half haul , half what I got. Disclaimer- I'm not bragging or anything and I'm extremely grateful for all my items! 

Beauty items; 

 

Smash Box Photo finish primer

Smashbox Brow Tech 

Urban Decay Brow Box 

Urban decay On the run ( I was not excepting this at all and I nearly cried!)

Lush King of skin 

Body shop All in one lip & check

Body shop 'champagne' eyeshadow 

Mac 217 brush 

Mac 'Girlie' shadow ( I was on a hunt for this shade and it's not want I wanted actually but I love it all the same)

Primark Gel Effect Top Coat ( I love this!) 

From my friends I got a MAC gift card !! ( I cant believe they did this so if they are reading this then  I Love YOU)
 

Fashion items;

 

French connection Blouse ( I fell in love with this top!) 

H&M skirt 

Primark Dress ( I'm trying out a BoHo Style at the moment)

Primark Cosy Tights ( Forever needing these!) 

Primark Sunglasses 

Primark Sweat Pants ( I used to hate these and hadn't owned a pair until last year when I got converted and now I live in them when I'm home) 

Zara Chelsea Boots 

Other bits;

 

Instax Share ( I have wanted a Polaroid printer for ages and my dad was nice enough to get me one) 

A shelf with has built in Bluetooth speakers ( I didn't even knew that this was a thing but it's so useful!) 

Paper chase cup ( I'm going to use it to take a tea to school in the morning) 

Golddigga Sugar Purfume ( I love the the gold one so my nan thought that I would like to try the newest one) 

Portfolio (For my textiles A Level course!) 

Tanya Burr , Love, Tanya ( I love Tanya's videos and my mum got me her book) 

I believe that's all. I'm so so so grateful for everything and couldn't have asked for better family and friends. 

Let me know if you had a birthday this week or if you have tried any of the products meantioned 

Gee x