Berlin

Hey guys,

AAAAARRGH! (That's me screaming by the way) This week has been a rather difficult one, and I am so glad it is over, although it means my mock week is only 2 days away! *eek* Anyway, on to the post! 

As you may remember, I went to Berlin last week, and it was a really amazing 4 days! We visited a lot of different museums, memorials and sights! I got a chance to practise my German, before I had to do my coursework speaking piece. We visited different memorials dedicated to different events in world war 2, like the Kinder Transport statue and the Jewish Holocaust Memorial. Also, museums, like the East Berlin Museum (which was very cool!).

But we also saw some iconic locations, like:

Potsdamer Platz 

Checkpoint Charlie
(I had a picture of the other side of the sign but it was way too blurry to put in) 

The Brandenburg Gate 

The remnants of the Berlin Wall

The TV Tower (which we went to the top of, 203m high, and it was absolutely AMAZING! I really love being able to see for miles and the views were amazing!)

By far, my favourite visit was to the Olympic Stadium! It was so huge but so amazingly made! The original stadium was built in 1934-1936 for the 1936 Olympics, but it was remodelled in 2006 for the World Cup. They added a partial roof to the original structure and improved facilities so they could accommodate more visitors but also make it safe at the same time.

We went to see the swimming arena, which was open aired! I can't imagine how cold it must have been to compete in it (as it was frozen over while we were there!) but as it turns out, the pool is actually heated during the summer months and it can be used by the public! However, the stands are slightly dangerous now so they can't be used. I've never seen an open aired Olympic swimming pool before, so I thought it was pretty cool!

There are also warm up rooms and changing rooms below to stadium itself. Only the athletes are allowed onto the tracks in the warm up room but there is also space for the press to set up their equipment or hold a press conference. Our guide told us how it is still used frequently, as children take part in an athletics club there and practise sprinting and hurdles. 

The changing rooms themselves weren't all that exciting to me, as they just had benches, a whiteboard and the areas for each person to keep their stuff, but, through the next door was a huge hot tub! They use it after training or football matches, to massage their muscles. There was also a funny story about how one team took soap into it and the bubbles ended up reaching the ceiling and getting into the vents; they now have a sign, banning the use of soap!

The stadium is going to be the venue for the final of the FA Cup! So, when it's on TV, I can look at it and say, I've been there! I've stood in the changing rooms and seen the giant hot tub! 

The only drawback of the week was that my feet were so painful after the 2nd day! We averaged out at walking about 10 miles in a day but had to wake up at 6am every morning too, so that we could have breakfast and be out at 7:45! I'm not even up that early on a school day! We had such jam-packed days that we didn't get back to where we were staying until 10:30pm! It was so fun that there was barely time to miss my family! (That sounds bad, but it was the case!) 

(I'm sorry to the person in this last picture, I have no idea who you are but I hope it's ok for you to be in it!)

I had such an amazing time, and if you enjoy city breaks then I definitely recommend Berlin as a great city to visit! There is plenty of history to learn but also plenty of different things to do; like bowling or visiting the TV tower!

(The flights were also one of the best parts for me too! I really love flying and planes in general!)

I've got to that point in the post where I need to add a quick explanation at the end. Next weekend, the 21st and 22nd of March and the 18th and 19th (I think) of April I will be doing my Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions. It may mean that I wont be able to post on the Saturday but I will try super hard to get a post done so that I can either post it on the Friday or the Monday after. I'll add some more details about it in next weeks post but until then, have a lovely weekend!

Until next time 

Grace

X

Water Marbled Jars

Hey guys!

Wow! This week has been absolutely amazing! As I mentioned last week, I was in Berlin from Monday to Thursday and it was brilliant! Apart from the painful feet after walking over 40 miles! I haven't had time to download my pictures yet so my post about it is going to be next week instead. So, for this week's post I decided to try something new, water marbled jars. I've seen people do this with plant pots and I've done my own marbled nails before but never really tried a jar.

You will need; a few nail polishes in any colours you like, as you can see I had quite a few in the blue/green ranges. Some types of nail polish don't spread out very well so are not the best to use, it's a good idea to test them out beforehand so you know which ones to use. You will also need an old bowl or bucket that you don't mind getting nail polish on, a toothpick to create a pattern and a clean and dry jar. You will probably also want some paper towel nearby just incase there are any spills or you want to clean the toothpick.

To start with you need to fill your bowl with water that is room temperature as I've found that it works the best.  You should open the bottles of nail polish before you start as you have to work fast so the polish on the water doesn't dry before you create a pattern.

To drop the paint you need to either gently touch the water surface with the brush or drop the polish from about a centimeter above it. This should cause the polish to spread out into a big circle, it will be quite pale so if you want to darken the colour a little, you can add a few more drops. You can then drop the other colours on top to create circles inside each other.

Once you have added the amount of colours you want, you can then drag the toothpick through the center to create a pattern of your choice.

Then, drip the jar into the water, over the pattern so that it sticks to the glass.

Well, this is what's supposed to happen! I really don't like what my jar looks like because I couldn't get the polish circles to spread out on the surface, even though I tried several times! If you have this issue, you can clear the polish off the jar  with some nail polish remover so you can use it again for something else or try a new one!

I'm not sure this idea really worked all that well but I'm sure it will work better for you guys! I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Until next time

Grace

X

Last Minute Valentines Ideas

Hey guys, 

So, its a little last minute for a valentines idea but you never know when you might need a last minute token gift! These ideas can be used for children but also for adults wanting to give a sweet or different type of gift. I don't really get Valentines day, it may just be because I've never really had or done anything special for it! *awkward silence* Shouldn't every day be one where you show the person you love just how much you do?

The first idea was one I found on Pinterest a few weeks ago and I thought it was so cute! It's definitely one for kids in school to give to their classmates but I still think it can be a good idea for teens or even adults.

For this one you can use black card but as I didn't have any, I just decided to colour in some white card. You will also need black pens (one thin for detains, one thick for quicker colouring), possibly a white or silver pen if you're using black card and a bouncy ball of any size you choose.

First you need to draw and cut out a heart shape that (depending on the size of the bouncy ball you have) can range from a quarter of a piece of card to a whole piece.

You can write whatever you want on the card but because it was space themed for me I wrote 'You're out of this world!' It's a little cheesy but oh well! 

The way I found to get the ball to stay on the card was to create 2 slits in a cross and then cut out a circle about the same size as the ball. it should stay but you can add some tape over the back to secure it more. This craft is more about, you decide what you want it to look like.

I decided to add a second craft idea to this as I don't particularly like just having one in a post, especially if it is quite a short idea. 

This one is a valentines cracker. It can also be remodelled for any other holiday, like Christmas or even a birthday party. You could fill it with sweets or little toys and give them out for party bags as a slightly different and quirky idea to others. I may make some for my friends at Christmas and fill it with snowman poop (tic-tac mints!)

I ended up making my cracker into a triangular prism one as it made it much easier for me to glue it together. First you need to fold a piece of card into 4 equal segments and draw 2 parallel lines at each end of the card, these will be the guide for where to draw the diamonds.  You will need to draw and cut out 4 diamond shapes, plus 2 half ones at each end. Draw them so that the center of the diamond is where the fold is (from where you folded the paper into 4 segments).

Once you have cut out the diamonds you should be able to fold the card around into a triangular prism shape. You may want to decorate it before gluing it together as it is slightly easier! (as I found out the hard way!) I decided to add some 'ribbon' to tie it up (I just used some strips of paper and curled them with some scissors.

I really liked both of these ideas because they can be changed around and can be used for any other occasion too! I also love trying to make new things and will be checking on Pinterest for more! I have multiple boards dedicated to anything blog related and I absolutely adore all of the pins I have found so far! I know I said I didn't like writing short posts but this one may be a little longer than I expected it to be! *oops* I hope you like it anyhow!
On Monday I'm going to Berlin for a trip with my school! It's safe to say that I am very excited and this half term break could not have come sooner! I'm also going to try and compile a post in the next few weeks with different places I visit but the photos probably wont be all that great since I cant take my blogging camera! I can't wait to share it with you guys!

I hope you have a lovely weekend and week! 

Until next time

Grace

X

A New Contender?!

Hey guys,

I never really want to do a review two weeks in a row, I prefer adding some craft ideas to change things up a little. However, today I seem to be having one of those days where I can't think of any ideas to write about!

When I was last in Primark I found another lip balm that reminded me of my EOS one, it was this P.S. one and I automatically knew I had to buy it and review it! (I did a review of EOS vs Balmi a few months ago if you would like to check it out).  So, I thought I would review this one as an even cheaper alternative option. 

I particularly liked the colour of the packaging for this one as it is one of my favourite colours. It's also a little bit tricky to open, like the Balmi one but I prefer the packaging of the Primark one. It is quite nice to look at, well, I think it is, and also has a nice texture to it like the other ones. It has an effect almost like a cut diamond which I think is very pretty!

Inside the lip balm is in a conical shape which makes it easy to apply and the balm itself is very smooth and pleasant. It is Shea Butter which actually smells very nice but it doesn't actually have a specific smell or taste such as strawberry or mint, like the Balmi ones, however, that's definitely not a bad thing. 

I've used this for about a week now and  it has been leaving my lips feeling very hydrated and moisturised afterwards, it does feel a little heavy when you first apply it but the feeling does soon wear off. 

If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to an EOS or Balmi then I definitely suggest this one as it was only £2 but is still good quality! I don't know how long they will be in stores as items get moved around a lot and new ones are always appearing so I suggest getting one sooner rather than later if you are going to test it out.

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Until next time

Grace

X