THE PLAYLIST OF WOMEN.

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I haven't published a music post for quite a while, so I thought it was about time I shared a playlist I've been loving recently: my girl power playlist! I love each and every one of these songs, and the women behind them are just brilliant!

I Can Be Somebody - Erin McCarley

R U Mine - ROZES

You're Such A - Hailee Steinfeld

Pierre - Ryn Weaver

Slow It Down - Jill Baylon

Here - Alessia Cara

I Love It When You Cry - Moxie Raia

Chewing Gum - Nina Nesbitt

Willows - Vanessa Carlton

Arm's Length - Kacy Hill

Bom Bom - Justine Mauvin

Midnight River - Vaults

Helplessly - Tatiana Manaois

Army - Ellie Goulding

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WALL TAPESTRY FROM SOCIETY6.

Recently, I placed my first order at Society6. After a fair few hours(!) of pouring over all the pretty artwork appearing on my computer screen, I eventually settled on this small wall tapestry, measuring 51 inches tall by 60 inches wide.

The mandala design is by an artist called Nika - I just adore the colours and the intricate patterns in her work, especially this one! I managed to nab this wall tapestry during a 15% off + free delivery event so it was a tad cheaper than the base price on the website.

I really think wall tapestries are a great alternative to traditional framed wall art if you're not afraid to go big and make a statement with it. I hung mine in my bedroom at my parents' house and every time my mum comes into my room, she's always saying how much she likes it - I'm pretty sure she's gonna steal it as soon as I head back to uni!

Have you ever bought anything from Society6?

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DIY PROJECT: GIFTWRAP STORAGE BOXES.

I've got a really quick and easy DIY to fill an all-too-common rainy afternoon for you all today! Giftwrap storage boxes are a great idea if you want to make those functional but plain-looking shoe boxes a tad more appealing.

YOU WILL NEED:

Shoe box
Wrapping paper
Scissors
Mod podge
Paintbrush / foam paintbrush
Coloured paint (optional)

Choose just one or alternatively two complementary wrapping papers to wrap the box and the lid. Paint a thin layer of mod podge onto the box before placing your wrapping paper on and smoothing out any wrinkles or bubbles. You could even paint the lid a block colour to contrast with the wrapping paper if you wanted, but make sure to add enough coats and leave it to dry before using it.

You could even go for some festive wrapping paper if you were wanting to make some Christmassy storage boxes. Let me know what you make!

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COLLARLESS SHIRTS ARE THE BEST.

Coral shirt - Marks and Spencer - £29.50

I absolutely love these kinds of shirts, especially at this time of year in the UK with our ever changing weather! They're a light and airy material perfect for the hottest days of summer, which are then easy to layer up in spring and autumn. I find them slightly less formal than a traditional collared shirt, so they're also easy to transition from day to night if need be.

Flowery shirt - T.K.Maxx - £12.99

Red shirt - Primark - £10

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STEAL OF THE WEEK: BOOKS FROM CHARITY SHOPS!

When I went camping with my boyfriend recently, we pootled along to some nearby towns and villages to see what we could find in the charity shops. Tom tended to browse through the bric-a-brac and furniture, whilst I would mostly gravitate towards the books. And I came away with a fair few!

Five of these books I picked up for £1 total(!), and the other paperbacks ranged in price from 75p to around £1.30. The hardback Andrea Levy novel was £2, but the cover is super pretty and the blurb sort of enticed me to buy it.

What's the best bargain you've ever found in a charity shop?

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WHAT TO BUY THOSE WHO ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO BUY FOR.

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We've all been in that situation: you're struggling to think of a gift for someone - someone you know very well but who seems to have everything they want or need - and every time you ask them what they want for their birthday they respond with a reluctant "Oh.. I don't know.." and you're left with little to no hope of buying them something they'd actually like.

But there's no rule that says you have to buy them a physical gift, so why not give them a day out to remember? There are so many websites nowadays through which you can pay for an experience day for someone and gift it to them so that they can choose a date that's suitable for them. Some examples of the kinds of days on offer are spa days, an afternoon tea for two, driving experiences, cooking classes, brewery tours, chocolate tasting events - the list is almost endless! There's bound to be something out there that your loved one will enjoy. Recently, my family all banded together to get my dad a supercar driving day for his 50th, which he absolutely loved, and my brother and I got our parents an afternoon tea voucher for their Wedding Anniversary, which also went down a treat!

Below I've linked a few of my favourite sites for these kinds of experience days, so check them out if you're struggling to find the perfect gift for someone!

Virgin Experience Days

Prezzybox

Buy a Gift

Red Letter Days

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MY TOP 5 ONLINE SHOPS FOR BUYING INDEPENDENT ARTISTS' WORK.

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Ohh Deer

I've raved about Ohh Deer before on this blog and I ain't about to quit now! They sell a massive variety of products featuring work by a load of different artists including Gemma Correll and Andreas Lie (my faves), and they offer a 10% discount for all you thrifty students out there. The site will often have events like 'Free Delivery on orders over £10' or an increased student discount for a limited time too - you can't really go wrong shopping here.

Society6

At Society6, they sell an even wider range of products than Ohh Deer, although I find them to be at slightly higher prices. However, if you make your order during a free shipping or discount event, things become a lot more affordable. Being a larger company based in the US, international shipping is also required for us Brits, but in my experience it's well worth it. I ordered a wall tapestry from Society6 and it came much earlier than estimated, and the piece itself was gorgeous. 

Wraptious

I discovered this website on the back of a greeting card at the gift shop at Wollaton Hall, and when I went home to check it out, I was not disappointed. Based in the UK, Wraptious is a smaller company that sells more animal-centric products by incredibly talented artists. And what's more is that all UK orders qualify for free shipping(!) and for the rest of the world they offer incredibly affordable rates. 

U Studio

A small studio focussing more on greetings cards and gifts, they offer adorable products featuring clever designs and witty quotes. I actually noticed this shop whilst walking around Bristol, and I'm very glad I made a note of it as they also offer free shipping on all UK orders (woohoo!).

Redbubble

Possibly the most well-known of these five sites, Redbubble has over 400,000 independent artists contributing to a massive creative community. You can find pretty much anything on there, from a T-shirt of Pikachu dressed as Batman to a drama llama-themed iPhone case. What more could you possibly ask for?!

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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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MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: DEBUT ALBUM BY OH WONDER.

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After releasing a brand new song at the start of every month for a whole year, Oh Wonder finally released their debut album a week ago. Packed full of beautiful harmonies and incredibly stunning lyrics, the album has this relaxing yet somehow other-worldly air about it. Their sound is incredibly unique and pretty impressive for a band that only started out just over a year ago. The majority of the songs on the album are very moving, but there are still a couple with infectiously catchy melodies that you can have a little jam to. If you haven't heard Oh Wonder's music already, then I'd definitely recommend that you check them out.

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MAKING MONEY AT HOME: ONLINE SURVEYS!

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As a student, I'm always looking for ways to either save money or make a little bit on the side. I recently stumbled upon a list of online survey websites and spent some time signing up and testing a few of them out. I wanted to find out for myself which ones were the best in terms of money earned per minute spent answering questions, as well as how much money I had to accumulate on my account before being allowed to withdraw it into my actual bank account. So this post is my list of tried-and-tested all-time favourite online survey websites - I hope you find these useful!

OnePoll
This is a great site for quick surveys if you only have a couple minutes to spare. Surveys can last between 1-5 minutes and usually reward you with sums of 10p - 20p per survey. The withdrawal threshold is £40, which is fairly high, however you get a head start towards that total of £2.50 just for signing up.

Opinion Outpost
This is the site with the lowest withdrawal threshold of only £2.50. This means that you only have to make £2.50 on the site before you can get your hands on the money! This site uses PayPal is its main redemption method, which means you can actually have the money pretty much immediately after you click 'Redeem'. Surveys can last roughly between 5-25 minutes, although I have had a couple of surveys 40 minutes long! The time you spend on a survey is generally reflected pretty well by how many points they award you for completion.

Panelbase
This site also offers surveys of a variety of lengths, and rewards for surveys can range from 10p - £3. The redemption threshold is £10, however the site doesn't allow withdrawals via Paypal, only withdrawals straight to your bank account, which can take up to a week to come through.

SurveyBods
This survey site works in a slightly stricter manner than the previous sites. They have this '3 strikes and you're out' system to make sure people answer surveys honestly and don't just click through as fast as they can. The withdrawal threshold of this site is £15, but I've found that I don't receive as many surveys from SurveyBods as the rest, so it might take a little while to reach that sum. However, they do have this little status system, which awards your account with a Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum or Diamond badge depending on how many surveys you've successfully completed, which is a nice little touch!

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A bonus feature that these kinds of sites offer are tickets/entries into monthly/quarterly prize draws, going up to grand prizes of £5000 in some cases. The more surveys you take part in, the more entries you get into these prize draws, and thus the more chance you have of winning!

Another good aspect of these websites is they send you emails inviting you to surveys as they're released. This kind of thing might not be for you if you don't want your inbox getting clogged up, but if you're willing to put up with it, it's a modest way to earn a bit of cash when you've got some spare time to kill.

And it's fairly common to get screened out from surveys if you don't fit the criteria they're looking for, or if they've received sufficient entries already - so don't be disheartened, just move onto the next one!

Since I started answering surveys just over a month ago, I've managed to make and actually withdraw into my bank account £30 from the various websites. But the thing is, I still have about £20 spread over the different sites saved up to be claimed once I reach their respective withdrawal thresholds - ka-ching!

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RELAXING PLAYLIST FOR THE END OF SUMMER.

As summer is coming to a close, I thought I'd share a playlist of relaxing music to help ease anyone who reads this back into the daily grind. Whether you're going back to school, university or work, it's important take a bit of time out to relax. So please enjoy this set of songs that I've compiled for exactly that!

Skipping Stones - Claire de Lune

Surrender - Digital Daggers

Satellite Call - Sara Bareilles

In My Veins ft. Erin McCarley - Andrew Belle

Wicked Game - Gemma Hayes

Between The Bars - Elliott Smith

Hourglass - Catfish and the Bottlemen

This Far - Kina Grannis

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - XYLO

Livewire - Oh Wonder

We Were In Love - Ta-ku

I Will Meet You There - Ofelia

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DIY PROJECT: UPCYCLED MAP-COVERED PHOTO ALBUMS.

Over the summer I decided to have a go at updating an old photo album of mine. It was one that I had acquired when I was quite a bit younger (and very interested in fairies, as you can see below).

I found a pile of old National Geographic maps whilst tidying the house, and thought it would be a great idea to use one to redecorate this photo album. So I gave it a go with the materials that I had lying around the house, and it actually worked out wayyy better than I'd predicted - my parents were really impressed and told me that the finished album looked really professional. So here is how to make your very own map-covered photo album.