FREE CANDLE-THEMED DESKTOP WALLPAPER.

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As Christmas is approaching, I thought I'd spread some festive cheer by giving away a winter-themed candle wallpaper. This is actually a photo I took for my Graphic Design A Level a couple years ago, and I figured it would be a nice one to share at this time of year. To download it, left-click on the image below, then right-click and choose 'Save Image As...'.  Finally, set it as your desktop background and enjoy!

NB: This image is intended for personal use; please don't claim ownership of this image or attempt to distribute it for a profit. Thank you.

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THROWBACK TO THE SUMMER I WENT TO PRAGUE.

I've been reminiscing a bit recently, specifically about holidays I used to go on with my family when I was younger. It got me thinking about some of the beautiful European cities I've visited: Prague, Venice, Barcelona... I think every city has its own unique aesthetic and atmosphere about it, and I believe sometimes the most memorable scenes or moments we experience on trips like this aren't always to do with the main tourist attractions. When we delve a little deeper into the culture of such historic cities, I feel like that's when we can say that we have truly made the most of our time there. 

I put together this little post of some old Instagram photos that I took in Prague in the summer of 2012. I like to think that I managed to capture a small essence of the sheer beauty of this city in these images.

Have you ever been to Prague? What was your most memorable moment?

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DIY PROJECT: PERSONALISED PAPIER MACHE 'L'.

Today I thought I'd share a really quick and easy DIY with you all. It's a super cute way to personalise your room by proudly displaying the initial of your name.

All you need is:

A papier mâché letter - I got mine from Hobbycraft for £2
Old magazine pages
Pritt stick
Mod podge
Paintbrush

So literally all you do is cut or rip up the magazine pages into small pieces, and bit by bit layer them onto your letter using the Pritt stick. If you don't like the pattern of one of the pieces you've stuck on, just layer right over it! Finally, remember to give your final design a thin coat of mod podge with your paintbrush, just to make sure everything is sealed into place. If you wanted to, you could even come back to it some time in the future and layer over the whole thing if you were wanting to give it a different look, like using exclusively black and white images, or perhaps pages from an old book. The magazine pages I used for my letter were pretty vibrant and summery, which gives it a sort of tropical vibe.

This method of sticking lots of little pieces onto the letter is a lot easier than wrapping the whole letter in one single piece of paper or material. It doesn't have to look super neat, and you can do it easy peasy whilst watching your favourite Netflix series. Translation = watching the entirety of Pretty Little Liars all over again! If you wanted to, you could actually make one as a gift for a friend, by covering their initial in images of things you know they love. It's fairly inexpensive to make and it gives your present a bit of a personal touch - I actually did give one to a friend, and it went down a treat!

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MY TOP 5 FAVOURITE PLACES TO SHOP ONLINE.

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Amazon
Everyone knows about Amazon, so I'll keep this brief. They sell basically anything you can think of and prices are nearly always lower than on the high street. Oooh and Amazon Prime - it's a godsend! And, if you're a student, a Prime membership only costs half as much, plus you can grab yourself a 6-month free trial when you first sign up!

ASOS
It's just brilliant. It's my ultimate one-stop shop for buying clothes and accessories online. They offer so many different brands, and prices are actually really good when the end-of-season sales get going! Bonus tip: if you're a student, sign up with UniDays to get a 10% discount off of every order!

The Works
This store is seriously underrated in my opinion. They offer stationery, books, and craft supplies, and their prices are incredibly cheap. I very rarely venture to Hobbycraft anymore because I can get a lot of my craft stuff from The Works for a lot less money. The Works also has a Rewards Card scheme for collecting 5 points per £1 you spend, and they always have loads of online events going on, like Double or Triple Points and Free Delivery Weekends.

eBay
I've only just got round to using eBay for buying things, because I always thought it was for exclusively second-hand items, but you actually can buy things brand new (and sometimes they can be even cheaper than Amazon)! The added bonus of eBay is you can set up your own shop to sell your unwanted goods to make a bit of money on the side too.

Ohh Deer
This one's a bit of a wild card and more of a niche store, but if you're into cute stationery and adorable greetings cards, then this is the shop for you! Think Paperchase but slightly more adult. They also sell cushions, coasters, phone cases, T-shirts, etc. that are mostly designed by independent artists. Like The Works, each £1 you spend earns you 5 points, each point equating to 1p, which you can deduct from your next order. Ohh Deer also offers a 10% student discount through UniDays, so it's definitely worth checking out!

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ADORABLE NECKLACE BY ORELIA.

I received this cute little necklace in my most recent order from ASOS. I'd been after a piece of jewellery by Orelia for a while now, but I was waiting until I'd found the perfect little necklace before committing to the purchase. If you have a look at the brand's own website, you'll see that their products can be a bit on the pricier side, but their selection of jewellery is very minimal and quite classic, so things aren't likely to go out of fashion. I really love this brand for this exact reason - their pieces are so timeless, whilst still being quite contemporary at the same time.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

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