The Jane Austen Collection From Arcturus Books

As a big old book worm, beautiful book covers are one of my biggest weaknesses in life, and I love collecting pretty editions that are a treat for the eyes as well as the imagination. 

Lately, I've been on a bit of a beautiful-book buying binge, and have treated myself to a couple of gorgeous clothbound sets and an armful of novels over the last month or so alone. I just couldn't help myself; I have no restraint when it comes to books!

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a sneak peek of some of my new reads on my Insta stories, bur if you missed them, don't worry; I'm going to start reviewing some of them here, too, starting with The Jane Austen Collection from Arcturus books today.

The Jane Austen Collection from Arcturus books features six of Jane Austen's most beloved novels including Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey, and they're without a doubt some of the most beautiful books I've ever seen. I fell in love with the collection after stumbling up on the prettiest photos of them on Bluestocking Bookshelf a couple of months ago. and I knew I had to have them in my life. I couldn't stop thinking about them until I was finally able to treat myself to the set last month, and let me tell you, they were worth the wait! They're even more perfect in person than they appear on screen. My photos do not do them justice.

Each book in this beautiful set of colourful clothbounds is a different colour in a range of pastels and muted-brights from dusky pink to light-teal, and each copy has a different patterned cover in a complimenting shade, with a pretty wreath design around the book title and author's name. 

I think my favourite designs are Northanger Abbey and Emma, although Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility look rather lovely, too. They're all absolutely stunning.

The titles on the covers are printed in a handwritten-like script in both upper and lowercase letters, with Austen's name printed slightly smaller in all caps. I think the font looks attractive on the front covers, but looks a little tacky and childish on the spines- probably since it's printed in such a large font. It doesn't put me off the books, but if I could change anything, I would make the font much smaller.

Like all of Arcturus' books I've seen, the books in the Jane Austen collection are smaller than the average paperback, which I love because I find them easier to hold in my arthritic hands for extended periods than larger, heavier books. They're not too heavy, either, as the novels are printed in a small font, which keeps the thickness down. Their unique size and colourful covers also ensure that they stand out on your bookshelves and add a pop of colour to your home, which is something I love my books to do.

I adore these gorgeous little books, and can't wait to start working my way through them. I've only read Pride and Prejudice before, so I'm looking forward to reading the other five for the first time. I  just don't know which novel to begin reading first! Any recommendations?

The Jane Austen collection is available to purchase separately and together as a set, and should be available from all good book stores. I stumbled up on the whole set for just £19.99 (RRP £49.99!) from Books2Door here, which works out at just £3.33 a book! Six pretty clothbounds for under £20 is an amazing bargain, and trust me, they were worth every penny! 

The set would make the perfect gift for any Jane Austen fan this Christmas, and an even better gift for yourself!

Will you be buying any books from the collection? 

Are you a fan of pretty books?

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The World In Stitches Modern Spectrum Mandala Cross Stitch Kit

A couple of Sundays ago, I finally completed the Spectrum Mandala cross stitch I began earlier in the year, and I'm so pleased with how well it turned out that I just had to blog about it.

This colourful cross stitch kit was from a small English brand called The World In Stitches, and it's the fifth or sixth of their kits I've cross stitched over the last year or so. It's the same pattern as the Spectral Mandala cross stitch I completed last summer, except that the colour spectrum is reversed, this time bleeding outwards from purple to red in ten different colours. 

I began working on this spectrum mandala in the new year, but it got neglected for a few months while I concentrated on some other crafts. I picked it up again in late June, and basically sewed the last three-quarters of it in just over a month. I think if I'd worked on it for an hour or so each day, it would've taken just two to three months to make from start to finish. It shouldn't have taken me eight months to make, that's for sure! I've been slacking.

While I abandoned it for a while, I had so much fun stitching the mandala and working with all of those vibrant, colourful threads. There was something really satisfying about watching my stitches come together and blend in to a rainbow, and turn in to a beautiful mandala. Colourful cross stitch projects are always the most fun! I was enjoying making it so much, I'm actually a little sad that I've finished it, but I'm looking forward to getting it framed, and having it hanging it on the wall.

The kit includes everything you need to create this beautiful cross stitch including 16 count white aida (fabric), pre-sorted DMC threads, two needles, full colour charts, and even a beginner's guide to cross stitching to help you get started if you're new to cross stitching. (All you need in addition is an embroidery hoop, a pair of embroidery scissors, and something to cross the chart off with as you go along, such as a pencil or a highlighter). Everything included in the kit is fantastic quality, including the paper the chart is printed on, which is amazing considering it's so reasonably priced. If you're tempted to buy one, and give it a try, I can assure you it's well worth a purchase.

I'd recommend this kit for intermediate and advanced cross stitchers who've had a little experience and already mastered the skill. In all honesty, it wouldn't be impossible for a beginner to stitch as it's broken down in to small colour-blocked shapes and the chart is easy to follow, but I think it would be a little overwhelming for a newbie because of the amount of stitching to do, and how intricate and complicated it looks. Unless you like a challenge, I'd definitely recommend starting with something a little smaller and simpler for your first go at cross stitching, like their geometric squares or heart kits, and working up to a bigger piece like this when you've mastered the basics. If you're confident with a needle and thread, however, I couldn't recommend this cross stitch kit to you more! I enjoyed it so much I stitched it twice!

You can find the Spectrum Mandala cross stitch kit from The World in Stitches on Amazon here and Etsy here, or if you prefer, you can purchase a PDF of the pattern separately on Etsy here.

Have you cross stitched or crafted anything lately?

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Colourful Easter Crackers

I've been having another crafting binge over the last few weeks. I've made some polka dot hoop art, been working on some spring wreaths, made some bandannas for my dog, and a couple of days ago, I put together some Easter crackers for our Easter meal on Sunday. I'm really pleased with how they turned out, so I'm here to give you a peek at them today.

My family and I always sit down to an Easter meal together on Easter Sunday, and this year I decided I wanted to make some Easter crackers for us to enjoy during our meal for the very first time to make Easter lunch that little bit lovelier. It's something I've wanted to do for years, so I knew I had to finally give it a go.

When I began thinking about making Easter crackers, I originally thought about making Easter crackers entirely from scratch, but knowing that would probably end in disaster, I began looking in to Easter cracker kits online instead. I soon discovered an online shop called Little Crafty Bugs, who stock a wide variety of craft supplies and an extensive selection of cracker kits for every occasion imaginable, and found exactly what I was looking for. 

While they do offer a range of Easter cracker kits, I actually found myself drawn to their plain coloured crackers, and decided to buy six of their single standard-sized crackers in six different colours- rose pink, sea blue, yellow, emerald green, lime green, and pastel yellow- to make our Easter table as colourful as possible. Well, you guys know how much I love colour!

My order arrived within a week, and I'm pleased to say, I wasn't disappointed. They were perfect for what I had in mind.

As I discovered, the crackers are all made from reasonably thick, good-quality card, and the colours are lovely and vibrant. Like traditional Christmas crackers, each cracker kit comes with a paper crown and a joke, as well as a cracker snap to give each cracker that satisfying pop when you pull them over the dinner table. I was surprised to find that they didn't come with ribbon or string to tie the ends of the crackers with, but as I was already planning to use colourful ribbons from my stash, it wasn't a problem for me. Just be aware that you'll need to source your own ribbon, twine, or raffia in order to make these crackers.

I was finally able to make my crackers this week, and it really couldn't have been easier. I had all six crackers made within fifteen minutes. I had originally hoped to blog a tutorial in advance with step-by-step photos, but I've been so under-the-weather lately, it's been left to the last minute again, and a tutorial won't be much use to you now. I only managed to snap photos of before and after, because my pain levels were too high, and I had to rush through it to get back to bed, but they were super easy to make, and I'll try to talk you through the process instead. Of course, it's probably too late to order these cracker kits in time for Easter now, but you could still make your own crackers from scratch by downloading a cracker template from the net and using some colourful card.

How To Make These Crackers

What You'll Need

1 cracker kit per person.

2 lengths of ribbon per cracker. (I used satin ribbons from Hobbycraft).

Scissors.

Mini Easter eggs, or whatever contents you desire. (I used a selection of mini Lindt eggs).

Confetti (optional).

What To Do

1. First, take your flat-packed cracker, and stick a cracker snap in place with Selotape length-ways down the centre of the cracker.

2. Push out all of the diamond card pieces from the diamond cut-outs.

3. Roll the card in to a cylinder shape, and slot the three tabs in to the three slots.

4. Take a length of ribbon, and positioning it under the diamond cut outs, cinch it in and tightly tie it in place. This will pull in the end of the cracker and create the traditional cracker shape. Cut the ends of the ribbon diagonally to prevent it from fraying.

5. Place a paper crown and a joke in to the cracker, and drop in your confetti and contents. I used a selection of mini Lindt eggs for mine, but you could add in whatever small treats you like.

6. Tie up the other end of the cracker by repeating step 3, and voila, you're done!

You could also decorate your crackers any way you desire. I was originally intending to embellish mine with some Easter fabric, pom poms, ribbons, and silk flowers, but once I made them, I decided I liked the bold colours with the contrasting coloured ribbons I used as they were, and chose to keep them simple. I think the colours make a great statement on their own, and they'll go perfectly with our colourful new Easter placemats and napkins we recently picked up from John Lewis. (I'm still hoping to source the matching table runner, but it's currently out of stock online).

If you like the look of these crackers but not the colours I chose, don't worry; the Little Crafty Bugs crackers come in lots of other colours and sizes, too, and you can also buy them in multi-packs of up to 1000! With so many different options, you should have no problem finding exactly what you need to match your table decor, and cater to your guests / family no matter the occasion. You can find Little Crafty Bugs' selection of cracker kits here.

I couldn't recommend them more. I love how great my crackers turned out, and I'm looking forward to surprising my family with them on Sunday. Here's hoping they go down well with everyone.

Will you be making your own crackers for your Easter meal or party this Easter?

P.S. Apologies for how atrocious today's photos are. I took them in low light, and just cannot make them look good. I'm hoping I'll be able to replace them with better ones over the weekend.

Hazel The Fox Cross Stitch Kit From The World In Stitches

Last month, I cross stitched another kit from The World In Stitches- a colourful little fox called Hazel.

No, I haven't gone mad and started giving names to cross stitched animals; the design is called Hazel The Fox, and she's a new addition to The World In Stitches' range of colourful cross stitch kits and patterns.

It's far more 'cutesy' than the designs I usually go for, but I've always loved foxes and I thought it was adorable, so I just couldn't resist snapping one up. She turned out to be a really fun project, what with all of those colourful threads to play with, and easy shapes to sew. I particularly enjoyed stitching her little rainbow tail! She only took me a week to make, which was refreshing after spending three months on the project before, and ideal if you want to make something quick and easy.

The kit is suitable for beginners and pros alike, and contains everything you need to make her, including 14 count white aida (fabric), pre-sorted DMC threads, a needle, full colour charts, and even a beginner's guide to cross stitching to help you get started. All you need is an embroidery hoop, embroidery scissors, and something to cross the chart off with and you're good to go.

Everything in the kit is fantastic quality, even down to the paper the charts and guides are printed on, so it's amazing value at just £9.99 from Amazon here and Etsy here, and well worth a purchase. You can also buy the pattern separately as a PDF from their Etsy here for just £2.50.

I really enjoyed making Hazel the Fox, and I'd happily recommend the kit for anybody who wants to learn how to cross stitch, or unwind with a fun and easy project. She'd also make the perfect Christmas gift for anybody who loves to cross stitch. If foxes aren't your thing, The World In Stitches have plenty of other beautiful designs, and you can shop their full range of cross stitch kits and patterns on Amazon here and Etsy here.

Have you cross stitched or crafted anything lately?

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The World In Stitches Spectral Mandala Cross Stitch Kit

At the beginning of May, I began cross stitching a colourful spectral mandala, and a couple of weeks ago I finally finished it! I'm really pleased with the end result after all that time and effort I put in to it, so I thought I'd give you guys a quick peek at the finished piece before it gets lost in my to-be-framed pile.

I bought the spectral mandala kit from an English company called The World In Stitches earlier in the year, along with three others, because I just couldn't resist the awesome colourful designs. Well, you know me and colour... I'm drawn in like a moth to a flame! Seriously, just look at all of those beautiful colours! So pretty.

The kit includes everything you need to make the mandala, including 16 count white aida, good quality, pre-sorted DMC threads, a needle, full-colour charts on good-quality paper, and a beginner's guide to cross stitching to help new cross stitchers get started. All that's needed is an embroidery hoop, scissors, and a pencil or highlighter to cross the chart off with, and you're good to go.

I began the project at the beginning of May, and it took me about three and a half months to complete, mostly by putting in an hour or two a day, with a few full afternoons thrown in for good measure. I assumed it was going to take a lot longer, so I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I made progress.

The design might look rather complicated, but it was actually really easy to sew as the design is broken up in to simple colour-blocked shapes in ten colours, and the chart is so easy to follow. All you do is concentrate on a small section at a time, and not the picture as a whole, and you'll be surprised how quickly it comes together.

I really enjoyed sewing this mandala, and actually found the repetition really therapeutic. I especially loved working with a whole rainbow of colourful threads- it's far more fun than working in neutrals!

My only bug bear was that the chart was printed on six sheets of A4 paper, so I had to stick pages together with double-sided tape to follow the chart accurately between pages, which was a pain in the backside. It would have been so much easier if the whole chart was printed on one piece of paper, even if that meant it had to be printed smaller, or a larger paper size had to be used. The pages are all numbered so it's easy to tell which part of the design is which, but it's so easy to make mistakes when the chart is split between pages, and I hated having to keep pausing to check I was in the right place every two seconds.

Thankfully, it was worth the extra effort. I really love the finished spectral mandala, and it's really going to brighten up the place when I eventually get around to framing it, and hanging it on the wall. 

Now I just need to get started on the Spectrum Mandala I purchased at the same time, which is the exact same design but with the colours in reverse. I'm working on some other projects at the moment, so I'll probably make a start on that one in the new year after I'm done with my Christmas kits.

Both the spectral mandala and spectrum mandala kits are priced at £17.49, and are available to buy on The World In Stitches' Etsy and Amazon shops. You can also buy the patterns separately for just £4.50 on Etsy here and here, or both kits together for £30.99 here.

 Have you crafted anything lately?

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50 Ways To Add More Colour To Your Life

It will come as no surprise that I love colour; anybody who knows me, reads my blog, or follows my social media accounts could tell you I'm pretty darn obsessed with all things colourful. I'm a self-confessed colour-junkie and I don't care who knows it!

Colour makes me happy, so I try to inject in in to all areas of my life from the clothes and make up I wear to the home decor I buy, the crafts I make to my blog photography, and everything in between. Anything to make my life that little more colourful! Life is too short to live in black and white.

I truly believe that you can never have too much colour in your life. A splash of colour can help to brighten a mood and lift your spirits, and even help you through those dark and dreary Autumn days. It adds personality to your life and your style, and plenty of fun to the most mundane of daily tasks. And most importantly, it can bring happiness to both you and the people around you, and remind you that you don't always have to take life or yourself too seriously.

I've always found it easy to add colour to my life, but I know embracing colour doesn't always come naturally to most people, so I thought I'd write a list of simple ways to add more colour to your life for anybody who wants to live a little more colourfully. 

So, here are my 50 ways to add more colour to your life:

1. Bake a rainbow cake.
2. Paint your nails in all the colours of the rainbow.
3. Dye your hair a fun colour- or take it one step further and go for the whole rainbow.
4. Paint a room or feature wall a bold colour.
5. Fill your home with colourful flowers. Sunflowers, purple irises, yellow tulips, hot pink gerberas...
6. Dress in colourful clothes.
7. Collect colourful art, and display them on your walls.
8. Paint something in colourful colours.
9. Experiment with colourful eye make up looks.
10. Organise your bookshelves by colour to get a rainbow effect.
11. Create an inspiring feature wall above your desk with bright and colourful postcards, art, photos, hoop art etc.
12. Scout out some colourful street art and take photos in front of it.
13. Fill vases and jars with rainbow coloured jelly beans, sprinkles or glass beads for fun, colourful decor.
14. Take baths with Lush bath bombs, and bubble bars.
15. Accessorize an outfit with a colourful bag or pair of shoes.
16. Invest in a colourful, statement piece of furniture or two for your home.
17. Collect rainbow-coloured things.
18. Crochet some colourful granny square blankets to brighten up your bed or sofas.
19. Wear bold shades of lipstick.
20. Add lots of colourful flowers to your garden or balcony.
21. Start a novelty bag collection and display them on your bedroom door, on a book case, or on your bedroom walls.
22. Accessorize your gadgets with funky colourful cases.
23. Make your planner, diary, or journal as colourful as possible with stationery, washi tape, and coloured pens.
24. Hang your favourite photos and pictures in colourful frames.
25. Brighten up your rainy day with a rainbow umbrella.
26. Add a colourful coat, hat, scarf, and / or gloves to your Autumn / Winter outfits.
27. String up multi-coloured fairy lights in your home.
28. If you craft, always craft in beautiful colours.
29. Enjoy colourful art at art galleries.
30. Fill your home with colourful home decor.
31. Eat a whole rainbow of fruit and veg.
32. Throw colourful confetti in to your photos.
33. Add colourful buttons to an old coat, or cardigan.
34. Give your computer a colourful screen saver, and use rainbow decals to jazz up your keyboard.
35. Buy sun catchers that shine rainbow beams of light in to your home.
36. Rock some fun colourful jewellery.
37. Make your Instagram colour-themed.
38. Feeling brave? Get a colourful tattoo!
39. Wear a different shade of colourful nail polish every day for a month.
40. Sew, cross stitch or embroider in colourful threads.
41. Instantly brighten your bedroom with a colourful duvet set, curtains, blankets, and pillows.
42. Rock a pair of colourful glasses or sunglasses.
43. Hang up colourful paper garlands, pom poms, and honeycomb decorations around your home.
44. Go to a Pride parade.
45. Send colourful snail mail and gift boxes to friends and family. And always wrap presents in colourful paper by default.
46. Use colourful stationery to brighten any task.
47. Give your blog a colourful redesign.
48. Add rainbow sprinkles to all your desserts.
49. Take part in a colour run.
50. Unwind with an adult colouring book, and the most colourful pens or coloured pencils you can find.

How do you inject colour in to your life?

Urban Decay Full Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette Review With Swatches

Colourful eye make up is one of my favourite vices in life, and it has been almost from the moment I began wearing make up aged eleven. While most people favour neutral shades like taupe, tan, and chocolate, I prefer and feel most comfortable wearing colourful make up, and love to wear the whole rainbow. Greens, yellows, purples... the more colourful the better!

So, naturally, when I first saw photos of the Urban Decay Full Spectrum palette ahead of its release late last Autumn, my eyes almost popped out of their sockets with excitement. I knew I had to have it, so I stalked the Internet until it became available, and snapped one up the morning it went on sale. There was no way I was risking missing out on it by biding my time, especially as I'd missed out on the Spectrum palette the year before, no siree. I couldn't check out fast enough. I'm glad to say, when it arrived a few days later, the love was instantaneous, and we both lived happily ever after. I've been meaning to blog a review of the palette ever since, but for some reason it's taken until now to put finger to key. Better late than never, though, right?

So, the Urban Decay Full Spectrum palette is Urban Decay's biggest, and most colourful eyeshadow palette yet, and it's the palette my rainbow-coloured dreams are made of. It features twenty-one eyeshadow shades covering the whole spectrum of the rainbow, from bold brights to matte white, bringing you all the colour options you could possibly need in one handy monochrome palette. It's quite simply a colour addict's dream.

The palette includes eighteen new shades, and three exclusives that have appeared in previous palettes, Alchemy from Vice 3, and Hatter and Metamorphosis from the Alice Through The Looking Glass palette, giving Urban Decay fans plenty of new shades to play with, and another chance to own some exclusives you may have missed out on first time around. I was so excited to see Hatter was included in Full Spectrum because I never managed to get my hands on the Looking Glass palette, but had been admiring that gorgeous vibrant green shadow from afar for ages; it's so beautiful and definitely one of my favourites of the twenty-one. Alchemy has become another firm favourite, so I'm happy to have a few recycled shades amongst the eighteen brand new colours. The eyeshadows also come in a variety of finishes, including mattes, shimmers, pearls, and metallics, and with so much variety, you're never going to run out of options with Full Spectrum.

The eyeshadows are conveniently arranged in a rainbow of ombré trios which are designed to be worn together for flawless results, so if you usually have difficulty pairing shadows together, you'll find colour-matching shades a breeze with this palette.

Of course, you aren't limited to wearing the same seven trios; you could wear a single shadow for a bold pop of colour, choose colours from one of the three colour groups, or mix and match to your heart's delight. You could even layer the white shadow under the other shades to make the colours even more vibrant! The possibilities are endless. Really, you're only limited by your imagination and willingness to experiment.

The shades included in the set are:

♥ Alchemy- a deep fuchsia satin.

♥ Gossip- a bright metallic pink with subtle floating pearl.

♥ Paranoia- a soft metallic blue-pink.

♥ Warning- a deep metallic copper.

♥ Seize- a bright metallic coral with subtle floating pearl.

♥ Jones- a metallic orange with subtle floating pearl.

♥ Midnight Blaze- a black matte with yellow-gold pearl.

♥ Calavera- a bright yellow matte with subtle floating pearl.

♥ Goldmine- a metallic yellow-gold.

♥ Hundred- a deep metallic forest-green.

♥ Hatter- a vibrant green with tonal micro-sparkle.

♥ Mean- a bright metallic lime green.

♥ Minx- a deep navy matte with floating tonal pearl.

♥ Blindsided- a bright teal blue matte with floating pearl.

♥ Metamorphosis- a vibrant periwinkle blue with micro-sparkle.

♥ Delirious- a deep plum matte with subtle floating pearl.

♥ Sketch- a metallic medium purple.

♥ Faded- a lavender with gold shimmer.

♥ Platonic- a black matte with iridescent glitter.

♥ Iced- an oyster silver with shimmer.

♥ Bump- a white matte.

I've swatched all twenty-one shades on the underside of my arm in palette order to show you how gorgeous, vibrant, and well pigmented they look on the skin.

Top Row

Middle Row

Bottom Row

It's difficult to choose favourites because they're all so beautiful, but right now I think I'm leaning towards Mean, Hatter, Goldmine, Gossip, and Seize. The shades are all to die for! Evidently, I love a good metallic. There isn't a shade I don't love in the palette, although Bump, the matte white, and Iced, the oyster silver, get a little lost on my super pale skin, and are best layered over other colours, or for highlighting the inner sockets.

Now, you may be looking at this palette feeling a little intimidated by all of that colour, but this palette really isn't as loud and as scary as it may look. Yes, it is a very colourful collection of eyeshadows, but only a handful of them are bold brights- the ones in the middle row- and they can be toned down with a blending brush, or used sparingly if you prefer. The shadows along the top are darker, smokey shades that could be a fun alternative to a black or navy smokey eye, and the eyeshadows in the bottom row are a little softer, and a little more subtle than those in the row above. You can create all kinds of look with this palette, and not just 'scary' rainbow bright ones; it's a surprisingly versatile palette. You can always start by experimenting with the softer and darker shades and work up to those striking brights once you're built up your confidence. For those of you who are already confident with colour, just you try to resist those brights! I promise you, it can't be done! This is the make up equivalent of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory!

Each eyeshadow in the palette is infused with Urban Decay's Pigment Infusion System, which is the propriety blend of ingredients which gives each Urban Decay eyeshadow its amazing velvety texture, rich colour, serious staying power, and blendability. It certainly delivers what it promises; the eyeshadows are highly pigmented with fantastic colour pay-off, so you only need to use a little product to get gorgeous, vibrant results that stand out on the skin and make your eyes pop. Most of the shades aren't quite as bold as those in the Electric palette, but they're still more vivid than most. The shadows have a wonderfully thick formula that really do feel like velvet on the skin, and as usual, the quality is amazing. There's none of that chalkiness you often get with colourful eyeshadows, with the exception of the white shadow 'Bump', which I find a little crumblier. 

I have to say, I'm so impressed with the results I get from these eyeshadows. They're vibrant, they blend so beautifully, and they even last a good eight or nine hours on my skin without sliding off and needing retouching- which is pretty darn impressive because I'm constantly overheated thanks to fibromyalgia, and most make up slides off my face when I overheat.

They also come off easily with both cleansing wipes and micellar water, although a couple of the brights, including Blindsided and Sketch, leave some staining on the skin that can take a day or so to fade. I'd advise wearing a good primer underneath, and perhaps avoiding these shades a couple of days before an important event or if you want to brave the world fresh-faced the next day.

Moving on to the packaging, the eyeshadows are packaged in a large, hard black plastic case with tonal spectrum-like lines running from left to right on the top and sides of the palette, with a statement rainbow faceted UD jewel embellishing the top. While the case is heavy and sturdy, I personally think it looks and feels rather cheap, and doesn't follow the same quality and tastefullness as other Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes. I know some beauty bloggers have been raving about how much they love it, but the packaging for Full Spectrum just doesn't wow me. It also scratches really easily, as you can see by all the tiny white dust-like marks around the branding.

Once I open the lid, however, my feelings warm again. The black of the palette really makes the colours of the eyeshadows pop, and being the colour addict that I am, I always get the urge to dive right in and paint my eyelids with all of those beautiful colours.

The palette's huge square mirror makes creating any look super easy and convenient. It's actually large enough to see your whole face in, which is fantastic, and quite unusual for an eyeshadow palette. Other make up brands take note; most of us want to see our whole faces when we're doing our make up! Put big mirrors like this one in your palettes, please!

Full Spectrum also comes with a full-sized, double-ended, crease and eyeshadow brush, which I expected to be a fantastic tool as Urban Decay's make up brushes are usually incredible, but unfortunately, I'm left disappointed. Neither the crease brush or the eyeshadow brush picks up or packs on much product; so it's pretty much useless for everything but blending. I have to use other brushes in my collection to get the results I'm looking for, which is a shame, but not really an issue for me as I own a good collection of good quality make up brushes already. Please don't let the brush put you off this palette, though; it's still worth it's weight in gold! The brush is the only thing I can really fault with this amazing palette!

All in all, I'm well and truly impressed with the Full Spectrum eyeshadow palette. The shades are all gorgeous and highly pigmented, the formula is wonderful, they've got serious staying power, and they look amazing on my eyelids. What more could a girl ask for? The eyeshadows are honestly some of the best, and most beautiful colourful eyeshadows I've ever used.

It's the ultimate colourful eyeshadow palette for anybody who loves colourful eye make up and for anybody who wants to start experimenting with it. There is so much you can get out of this palette, and those of you with amazing make up skills will be able to create the most wonderful, elaborate, vibrant looks with it. It's a colour junkie's dream! Sure, it's not for everybody, but if you love colourful make up, trust me; you need this palette in your life! Step aside from the Naked palettes and give Full Spectrum a try; I promise you won't regret it- I sure haven't!

Full Spectrum is available now from Urban Decay and all good department stores, priced at £43. Snap one up before it goes!

Are you a fan of colourful make up, or do you prefer to play it safe with neutrals?

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The World In Stiches Geometric Squares Cross Stitch

A couple of weeks ago, I showed you the geometric heart cross stitch I recently made, and today I've got another finished project to share with you from the same brand.

This is the geometric squares cross stitch from The World In Stitches which I picked up on Amazon a couple of months ago after stumbling up on it when I was window shopping to kill some time. I thought the design was so eye-catching and fun that I bought it there and then, and got to work on it as soon as it arrived. And you know what? I'm so very glad I did!

The design is a square made up of lots of little geometric squares in a whole rainbow of colours, which is so simplistic, but undeniably eye-catching. It's so different to anything I've ever made before, but I think that was part of the charm; sometimes it's good to shake things up and try something different for a change.

It was an enjoyable little project because not only did I get to play with colourful threads again, but it was super easy to make and hardly required any effort. I barely even had to think.

It only took me about a week to make by sewing in one to two hour sittings, but it could be completed in two or three days if you sewed in several hour stints. It's ideal if you want to cross stitch without months of commitment, like many cross stitch patterns demand.

Due to its simplicity, it's the perfect kit for beginners and should be easy for anybody to have a crack at without difficulty. The kit even comes with a beginner's guide to cross-stitching to help you get started!

You'll find everything you need to make the geometric squares cross stitch in the kit- good quality white aida (fabric), DMC stranded pre-sorted threads, a needle, the pattern on thick good-quality paper, a beginner's guide to cross stitching, and even an image of what the finished design should look like. You'll just need to get your hands on an embroidery hoop, embroidery scissors, and something to cross the chart off with as you go along.

I'm really impressed with the kit because everything included is amazing quality, and it's excellent value for money at just £8.49. It's rare to find cross stitch kits of this quality for so little, so it's a real bargain. You can buy the geometric squares kit on Amazon here, and Etsy here. They also sell the pattern separately as a PDF on Etsy here, if you'd prefer to use your own supplies.

I'm really pleased with the finished cross stitch, and think it turned out really well. Not bad for a week's work, eh? It's going to look great on the wall when I eventually get round to framing it! Hopefully I'll see to that sooner rather than later! In the mean time, I've already moved on to another cross stitch kit from The World In Stitches because I'm so impressed with their kits. I'm now working on a big spectral mandala, and I'm sure it'll make its way on to the blog in a few months once I've completed it. You can see the first progress photo of it on my Instagram here.

Have you cross stitched or crafted anything lately? Let me know in the comments below.