A lantern of joy

Hiya,

Back at the beginning of May, it was one of my friends' birthdays. She was the friend that I made this for all the way back in 2014, and since I try to make different and more personal presents for each of my friends, I had to try and top it.

I ended up looking for ages and trying to think of something to get her, but I just couldn't think of anything, until I saw this little lantern and knew I wanted to use it.

In the end I decided to fill it with different sweets that she likes, which happened to be chocolate raisins and m&ms, which actually created quite a good contrast of colours. Before I put the sweets in I filled the bottom with all different colours of confetti made from hole-punched paper. I think I had the whole 'festival vibe' thing going on, because the confetti reminded me of festivals and summer.

To create the little parcels I found some little zip-lock bags and filled them so they were fairly full, but not entirely full so I could fold the end over and selotape it down to keep them as sealed as possible. To then make them look slightly more pretty and 'present-like' I tied small different coloured strands of ribbon around them and then stacked them all into the lantern.

Just to add an extra little touch, I made some tiny washi tape bunting to go round the top and make it extra cute.

My favourite thing about this present is that she can eat all of the sweets, and still have a lantern for tea-lights and other things. I also gave her a little anklet as an extra little gift with it and so she had something else to actually unwrap.

I thought this was a cute little summer present idea, and it probably would have looked slightly better with it totally full, but I just couldn't figure out how to make it still look great, whilst being very full and without the glass panels breaking.

I hope this inspires you to have a go at making something cute for a friend or family member's birthday, or just as a little gift for someone! I will see you all again next week! 

I love you all!

26 facts about me

Hey guys,

I think that this time I'm back to starting up writing again! Woop woop! I'm really sorry for messing you all around, and I totally understand if you have decided to never read my blog again, but obviously, I would love for you to stay a little longer! ;)

The other day, I was wondering what to post about today, when I realised that, in 2 and a half years of blogging, I have never done a post where you get to know me a bit better. I realised that actually, people really like getting to know all about the person behind the web page and what goes on in their head, I know I do! So, here are 26 random, and sometimes weird, facts about myself that I think you'll like!

1. My full name is Megan Grace Randell, so when I was calling myself Grace, it wasn't a lie, I genuinely prefer that name, but now that I'm growing up a little, I feel like I really need to grow to love my first name. Also, if you do know me, feel free to say hi!

2. I am 17 and a half years old, so not quite an adult yet, I'm just kind of sitting in the middle at the moment.

3. My favourite colour is blue. I like it so much that at least one item of what I wear each day is usually a shade of, or has blue incorporated into it. For example, today I have a blue flowery skirt, blue t-shirt and blue tights!

4. I am secretly a total maths nerd! I'm even part of what we call the A* group at school where we talk about current events and applying to uni in form time, exciting or what...

5. My absolute favourite thing to do is read. I love that feeling where you fall head over heels into a book, and don't surface until you have turned over the last page.

6. I'm about to do the expedition for my silver Duke of Edinburgh award, which is so cool! Also so weird, because I started this blog for the skills section of my bronze, and look where we are now!

7. I have a weird fear of bridges... I'm kind of ok with driving over them, but I hate walking across ones like the millennium bridge in London! They just really freak me out!

8. Weirdly enough, my next fact is that I love swimming! Told you some of them were weird!

9. I am originally from Watford, a town in north London, but now live in a pretty small village in Buckinghamshire.

10. My favourite foods are: chocolate, pizza, pasta and Doritos! Although, not all at once!

11. I can drive, I passed my test on the 15th of April this year after learning for just over 4 months.

12. I really love creating families and houses on sims, but never seem to find the time to play it after I create things!

13. I like a guy at school, but doubt I will ever tell them!

14. I am really great at folding towels because it is what I do the majority of the time I'm at work!

15. Cats are definitely my favourite animal, but I think turtles are a close second! Cats are just lovely to cuddle and sometimes they sleep on you, which is just adorable!

16. I am currently wishing I had a block fringe again, but, alas, it is too hard to look after when doing DofE, so it'll just have too wait.

17. I never believe that people actually want to be talking to me, I always think that they just think I'm being super annoying, and so when they don't reply I don't tend to message them again for a while.

18. I like hugs, but again, going back to the previous fact, I don't hug many people!

19. I am a little (ok, maybe a lot) weird with some of the things I do and say, but it's better to be weird than be boring!

20. Drawing cartoon-y monsters is one of my procrastination methods... although my friends probably think I'm crazy!

21. When I was younger, I used to sleepwalk a lot. My mum would wake to to find me sat on the side of the bath with a load of random things piled up around me!

22. I decided this year that I want to go to uni after year 13 and study product design! Which is a total change from wanting to do medicine this time last year, when I chose my A-levels!

23. I really want to write a book when I'm slightly older, but can't decide whether to try children's books or adult's.

24. I have a board on Pinterest that is totally devoted to Harry Potter, because I absolutely LOVE the series! I'm even going back to the Leavesden studio tour in August (hopefully there will be a post about it!)

25. My favourite place to be is in a little village called Albareto in Northern Italy. It's nestled right up in the mountains and it such a beautiful rustic place!

I mean, how could I not love it! 

26. And finally... I really love to make people feel good. Whether it be complimenting them, or cheering them up when they're down, I just love seeing other people happy, it's part of what makes me happy!

I hope you have enjoyed finding out a bit more about me, and what I like to do. Well done if you managed to make it all the way to the bottom, you can have a virtual hug and a gold star for the effort, since it was a pretty long post!

I love you all!

x

Friendship issues

Ciao,

I thought I would do something a little from now on, and start each post with hello in a different language each week. I also was wondering about making it a little challenge each week. I tweeted it over at @_littleblog so would love it if you would vote to let me know what to do. The other different thing I was doing differently is this post is going to be a chattier one dealing with some issues I've been having recently.

I thought I would do a post about it because I am 99% sure that almost every one of you reading this has experienced it, or will experience it at some point in your life. (If you don't, then I would really love to know your secret!) The issue is friendships.

I am an incredibly lucky girl because I have a lot of really amazing friends, and they're all lovely people (when they want to be). However, they do have a habit of arguing non-stop for a long time and yes, sometimes I'm a part of it, most of the time I am just on the sidelines and have to deal with most of the flack.

They will argue about silly little things, like someone said something bad about someone else, so they say something bad about the first person behind their back, rather than confronting them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not all-good, I do say bad things about people, but I also like to tell them when I don't like something they're doing. (Although, sometimes I'm too scared to, I'm scared to create an even bigger issue).

I just wanted to let you know that it's ok to step away. Whether you're the one arguing, or you're just in the background, it's ok. Sometimes I feel like I just need a break (usually at the end of term, so that's all good!) Even if you are in the middle of a shouting match, you can just walk away. It's definitely what I used to do, and it will probably show who your real friends are. Obviously don't be really rude and just blank them if you're having a conversation, say 'I need to step away for a minute to calm down', just to avoid any big issues.

I hope you all have a lovely week and don't have to deal with many issues. There will probably be a small post this week about what I am planning to start with the greetings in different languages.

Love, Grace x

A Year of Happiness

Hey guys,

This December I will be 18. I decided around October last year to keep a memory jar, but didn't want to just start on a random date. I had one in 2013 and it ran from January 1st to December 31st, this one, however, I wanted to do from my birthday for a year. It meant I could write every happy thing that happens in my life throughout the year and read them all back on my birthday this year. I did a similar memory jar in summer 2014 (here), the only real difference being the size of the jar! In an effort to be more positive and optimistic, I decided to use a huge jar that my friend gave to me full of gummy bears. It has just sat there for almost a year and a half without much use, but now it is perfect.

After it became my memory jar (ignore the post-it for a label, I couldn't find any stickers!), it sat on my windowsill for 2/3 weeks looking a little plain. Also on my windowsill is a jar full of sharpies in all different colours, so I put 2 and 2 together, and realised, the sharpie wouldn't come off if I drew on it!

Having a memory jar is a good idea if you really struggle to remember the happy things happening at the moment. Even if it is just something as small as getting out of bed, trying a new food, going out or reading a really great book. Anything, small or large, that makes you happy, is a thing to write down for the jar. If you need some motivation that day, or week, then choose a few slips and read them, to see all of the things that have been good recently.

I challenge you all to start a memory jar and stay positive with all of the things you write, whether it lasts for a month or a year, it will be worth it!

I hope you all have a lovely week!

Love, Grace x