Show Her #WhatSheMeans To You This Valentines Day With Shea Mooti

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

Have you ever wanted to send a special message to a loved one to show them what they mean to you? Shea Mooti has come up with a lovely idea which will allow you to show the world how much they mean to you this Valentines Day.

Shea Mooti is an ethical skincare specialist who create organic and natural skincare products that are aimed at Mother and Baby. Their products are made with Shea Butter and hand-picked natural ingredients which are safe to use on the most sensitive skin. I will be reviewing a couple of their products here soon but in the meantime I wanted to tell you all about the #WhatSheMeans campaign.

The #WhatSheMeans campaign is designed to celebrate women of all ages (including babies) on the run up to Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. The idea is that your loved one uploads a 30 second video clip to show the world #WhatSheMeans. They could indicate you are a perfect partner, a great mum, make fabulous meals, anything that shows how special you are. The best clips will be taken and put into a heart-warming on-line tribute to women everywhere.

I think this is a lovely idea and I hope lots of people take part and a truly special video results from it. You can view an example of the sort of thing they are looking for on You Tube.

If you want to submit a video you need to visit Shea Mooti on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/Sheamooticlub?sk=wall and click on the #WhatSheMeans tab. If you do enter a clip you will receive a voucher which will give you 10% off any purchase from the Shea Mooti store. I can’t wait to see the finished result.

For more information about Shea Mooti visit http://www.sheamooti.co.uk/

Dragon Hunting In the Rain

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

Given the title of my blog it is about time I wrote something about dragons. This year is the Chinese Year of the Dragon and I thought it this was the perfect opportunity. On Sunday we went Chinatown in the centre of Newcastle where the celebrations for Chinese New Year were taking place. This is an event that happens every year but strangely enough we had never been before. My son was keen to go as he had been learning about Chinese New Year in school and I thought it would be interesting so we went to catch a bus.

I will break here for a quick rant about the Sunday service on the buses. We had to wait over three quarters of an hour for a bus, it seemed the first one had come early and the next one was late so we missed the start of the dragon hunt. I was not impressed. We did manage to get to China Town just in time for the start of the procession of the dragon along the street.

My first impression was that it was very crowded and very noisy. As well as lots of firecrackers going off there were lots of drums and cymbals making music that the dragon was dancing too. We could hear the dragon but we could not see what was going on though the crowds.

My son was desperate to see what was going on and kept demanding I lift him up. I think that he forgets he is now eleven and nearly as big as me. I did my best to try and lift him but really I needed a crane for that job. We worked out way though the crowds to try and get a sight of the dragon. I was holding on really tightly to my son’s hand as I was scared that I might lose him, but he seemed to be really enjoying pushing his way though the crowds.

It was quite good fun, the dragon would go to each restaurant and shop along the street, stop for a while and perform his dragon dance. I assume the dragon dance was to bring good luck and prosperity to each shop along the way. We did manage to get quite a few glimpses of him but taking photographs was very difficult given that he was moving so fast. These are the couple of photos I managed to take where you can just see a little bit of him.

If you look by the two flags you can just see a little bit of the dragons ear. The flags were used to indicate the procession of the dragon along the street and were placed on either side of the doorway when he danced. The people in yellow are playing the drums and cymbals.

The next shot is a little better, I managed to get a picture of his head.

I have to say we had a really fun afternoon chasing the dragon down the street, even though it was crowded and started pouring with rain. We will definitely go again next year but try and get there a bit earlier.

Getting Crafty with Dylon Fabric Dye

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

Just before Christmas I was sent some of the Dylon craft range to try out. The craft range consists of fabric pens and paints which allow you to add a bit of glitz and glamour to your clothes or get crafty and create wonderous things. I had plans to make some Christmas decorations with them but things got a little bit busy and I never had time. At the weekend I decided I was going to have a play and decided to have a go at decorating some plain white pillow cases and making them a little bit more fun.

These are the different paints I was sent.

As you can see there was a variety of different products, a green fabric pen, white fabric paint and red and green 3D glossy paint which looked very intriguing. Looking at the colours I had available I decided I was going to paint a red rose onto the pillow case.

I am not very artistic so I found a template to work from before I started. I printed this out and placed it under the pillowcase. It is also advised that you place some sort of backing underneath the working area so I used an old magazine. I suspect this is to prevent the dye leaking though the fabric and causing a mess on the work surface. It is worth looking at the different instructions on the pack before starting. Some of the paints you can leave to dry, but some need ironing to fix. This may effect the order in which you use them so do plan ahead. All the instructions are really clear and easy to follow.

I started with the fabric pen as this needed to be ironed after application in order to fix it to the fabric.

I used it to draw the outline of the leaves and stalk onto the pillowcase. The pen was really easy to use, just like a big felt tip. The nib is tapered so you can either do big wide strokes or fine detailed ones, depending what you are drawing. I was quite pleased with the result. The pen dried really quickly so after a quick iron I was onto the next stage.

At this point I used the 3D glossy pain to fill in the leaves.

This was easy to apply from the bottle and you could use the tip of the bottle for fine precision. The dye needs to be left to dry for four hours or overnight. When it is dry it has a glossy look and raised edges and looks really well.

The final step was to use the red 3D glossy paint to finish the rose. This is how it turned out.

I was really pleased with the finished result and it has definitely brightened up my pillowcase. Dylon fabric dyes are a really simple way to brighten up clothes or add a touch of your own style to something and I shall try these again. I may even let my son try them on a white t-shirt as they are so easy to use. What do you think of my finished piece?

For more information: http://www.dylon.co.uk/products.php?category=sub-category&alias=craft

Other reviews you may be interested in: Snapfish – create personalised photo books and gifts

Fade Out White Anti Shadow Brightening Eye Cream Competition

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

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If you read my review of Fade Out White Anti Shadow Brightening Eye Cream here you would probably like to try this yourself. The good news is five lucky readers will be able to win a set. So how do you win? It’s really easy. Leave me a comment and say if you could have a wonder cream to fade something out of your life, what would it be? You can find Fade Out on facebook here You can also find the Fade Out Facebook page here http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Fade-Out/134469909993314 which may give you some ideas.

If you want an extra entry you can leave a comment on one of my other blog posts and nip back here and tell me where you commented.

The Rules

UK only
Closing date for entries Monday 20th Feb 2012 at midnight
Include a valid email address (it will not been shown)
One entry per household
The winners will be contacted by email and their details used for delivery only and not kept for any other purpose
Five winners will be chosen at random from all valid entries.

Fade Out White Anti Shadow Brightening Eye Cream Review

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

If you have been burning the candle at both ends recently, partying, or maybe you are just a stressed mum, you may be finding that you have dark circles under your eyes. You find that you are looking a lot more like a giant panda than a person. This is really not a good look. It is normal because eyes have soft delicate skin underneath them and can often be the first place that shows tiredness and fine lines and wrinkles. Knowing it is normal does not make it better but the good news is that now something can be done about it.

Fade Out White Anti Shadow Brightening Eye Cream is a tinted eye cream that is specially formulated to hide dark circles, even out the skin tone and hide imperfections. It does with with light reflecting particles that will reduce the appearance of fine lines . It also contains Vitamin A which will help to reduce signs of aging, hydrate the skin and assist with collagen productions which will help make the skin appear firmer and reduce puffiness.

I was sent some of these cream to try out and to see what I thought. The cream itself comes in a really handy little tube and has instructions to apply morning and night.

I squeezed a little bit of the cream out the tube and was surprised to find that it has a slight pinkish tint. I am not sure why I was surprised because it does say it is tinted but I was expecting it to be white.

I applied the cream to my eye area and I found that you did not need to use very much at all. A little tiny bit has a great effect, you can really see it lightening the eye area and it might have been my imagination but I am sure I could feel a tingly tightening effect just after application. After using for a week I am sure that the area around my eyes looks a lot better, less dark and wrinkly than it used to be. I really like this product, it does what it says it is going to do and it is not an excessive price either.

For more information: http://www.fadeout.com/products/eye-cream.aspx

RRP £8.99 for 15 ml

The Fade Out line up is available from Boots, Savers and Independent Pharmacies

You can also find the Fade Out Facebook page here http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Fade-Out/134469909993314
and it is worth liking it for details about new products and also giveaways.

Other reviews you may be interested in:

Qsilica Revive Nutrient Boost Face and Neck Moisturiser

Bodhi Body Moisturisers