12 Days of Sophmas | Day 12 | Merry Christmas Lovelies!

The 12 Days of Sophmas | Day 11 | Kitsch Christmas Greetings

Hi everyone!

Every year me and the family all gather in our Christmas jumpers and take a very tongue in cheek festive greeting photo that can be emailed to any people that we won't see over the festive period! This year, as Dan wasn't around and my lovely Thomas has become a permanent adopted feature of the family, he came along too which made for some hilarious photos as he is quite a bit taller than both my dad and his partner Rosie!

Anyway, here's a few that we took and from my little blog family, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and the loveliest 2014!

The 12 Days of Sophmas | Day 10 | Wrapping Inspiration

Hey lovelies!

Wrapping and decorating presents is quite possibly one of my favourite parts of the festive period. Theres nothing I like better than snuggling down with a christmas film, a bag full of wrapping materials and my tape dispenser. I like to have a theme every year and this year i've taken my inspiration for everyones favourite festive treat the humble candy cane and gone for a white and red colour scheme. I honestly don't think theres many other things that are more festive than a red and white striped candy cane!   I'm pretty pleased with the outcome so I thought i'd share some photos, it might even give you a little spark of inspiration for your own wrapping escapades!



I found these gorgeous papers from my favourite stationary haunt Paperchase (a one stop shop for the wrapping enthusiasts among us) along with some little extras like ribbon and bows picked up in M&S. I love the brown parcel paper with the white designs and with the addition of a red ribbon I think that it's worked pretty well. I also love adding little quirky bits like handmade decorations or sweets to presents for that little extra something so as they were the inspiration for my wrapping this year a candy cane had to go on as well! 



I don't tend to like anything metallic or blingy for the rest of the year but I think a bit of sparkle is needed at Christmas so I used a bit of this metallic ribbon for contrast! 



Mine and Dan's stockings were bought in the sale at House of Fraser last year and I love the red and white...also quite apt that the wrapping matches! 

The 12 Days of Sophmas | Day 9 | Felt Gingerbread People DIY

Hi lovelies! 

I can't believe theres only three more days left of Sophmas! So with that in mind I thought i'd show you how to make some really cute little decorations. They're super simple to make, don't take very long and they really are as cute as a button! They're little gingerbread people made of felt, super cheap to make and they look really sweet on the tree. You could even use them to decorate presents, theres an idea for you! 

What you'll need:

A couple of sheets of light brown felt (I got mine in Hobbycraft)
White thread
Red  thread
Dark brown thread
A handful of stuffing. 
Ribbon to hang



First, draw your ginger bread outline on the felt, fold in half and cut out with scissors. There are plenty of templates available online or you could even use a large gingerbread biscuit cutter to draw around. I freehanded mine as I thought it added to the handmade effect that I wanted. 



Next, stitch a little red smile using the red thread followed by two little eyes with the brown. I find that with the eyes it's easier to sew a teeny tiny star kind of shape, i.e sew a small cross shape, then another diagonally on top and you'll end up with a circular shape, I also added little eyelashes to this one.



Now for the details using the white thread, this bit is entirely up to you. Just think of what you would ice on a gingerbread person and go with that. Buttons are a must which I did by sewing little crosses. I did little lines across the feet for shoes and ones across the arms for little sleeves. As this one is a girly one I sewed a little bow onto her head and a few more little details like a collar and ribbon tied shoes. 




Once you've added all of the details that you wanted you now need to attach the two pieces together. Don't panic too much if your two pieces don't match up absolutely perfectly, the felt will have a bit of stretch in it so just give it a gentle stretch and it should all begin to match up! You'll need the white thread again. I used a blanket stitch (which seems really complicated but once you know how it's super simple, have a peek here if you aren't sure) all around the outside. 
Remember to leave a gap near the top of the head for the ribbon and somewhere to pop the stuffing in. 



Pop the stuffing through the gap you've left, this can be a bit tricky due to the little limbs (I found a pen quite handy for poking the stuffing into the trickier bits).



Fold your ribbon in half (I got mine from Sass and Belle) and pop it into the gap. Sew together and voila, a cute little gingerbread decoration! 

The 12 Days of Sophmas | Day 7 | The Perfect Christmas Party Look

Hi everyone!
So we're over halfway through this little Christmas series, and today is the day that I share my best friends idea of the perfect christmas party make up!

It's my first ever proper make-up/tutorial video and was super fun to film so have a little peek and let me know what you think of the outcome!

(Watch the video HERE)

The 12 Days of Sophmas | Day 6 | Gift Guide For 'Him'

Hi lovelies! 
It's day 6 of Sophmas! Today I have a little gift guide for you, but this time, it's one for the boys! 



1. Calvin Klein | Boxers 3 Pack | £36 | ASOS
Calvin Klein's are an absolute classic and something that I don't think many guys are without! This pack of three comes in at £35, a bit of a bargain when you think how much they are individually. Along with classic white theres a brighter red pair (perfect for the festive season) and a black. While it's technically a present for the man in your life, theres not a lot wrong with a lovely looking fellow in a pair of these, so for the sake of aesthetics, it might just be a little treat for yourself as well! 

2. Game of Thrones | DVD Box Set | £29.99 | Amazon
Game of Thrones is by far one of the best TV series i've seen in years. It's SO good and i'd definitely recommend it. It was my boyfriend that got me into it and in turn i've convinced a lot of my friends to watch it as well (Toms a huge fan!). It's one of those series that once you've seen the first episode you won't be able to stop so this two season box set is ideal for any G.O.T fans in your life!

3. Letter Mug | £6 | M&S
These mugs are not only adorable, but they're entirely made in Britain. They're a fab quality and I love the fact that theres an upper case 'A' on one side and a lower case on the other. I'm obsessed with letter anything at the moment, and I thought it would be quite a cute idea to have mugs with initials on especially if you're in a couple, one each would look lovely in the kitchen! They're also a brilliant size so perfect for a morning cuppa! 

4. Wooden Watch | £88.99 | We Wood
These watches are just so cool! They're made entirely of wood meaning that not only are they completely different from anything else on the market but they're super super lightweight. The watches come in a variety of colours depending on the wood that they're made from and some are made with multiple types to create a patterned effect. They're really well made, completely eco friendly and just look a whole lot cooler than a lot of other watches that are around. A fab really eye catching present. 

5. Pickmaster | Plectrum Maker | Amazon | £19.99
This is such a snazzy idea especially for the musicians amongst us! This little gadget allows you to be able to make your own plectrums. Not only that but they can be made out of pretty much anything made of thin plastic. From credit cards to blister packs they can be made of nearly anything, they'd never have to buy another plectrum again! It is quite literally a gift that keeps on giving! 

So hopefully that's given you a little bit more giftspiration! We're halfway through Sophmas but we do have another 6 days to go so keep checking back for videos and blog posts! 

12 Days of Sophmas | Day 5 | Making A Christmas Gift Hamper

Hi lovelies!

On the fifth day of Sophmas, Sopho gave to you, a christmas haaaamper guuuideeeee...
I feel all this festive cheer is going to my head a little, but if you can't type-sing at christmas, when can you?!



Anywho, at christmastime gift buying and more importantly gift wrapping is one of my favourite things to do. I think that I would quite like to be an elf. Yep. I said it. This year though I wanted to do something a little different for a certain somebody. My boyfriends mummy (who as far as I know doesn't read this, or so I hope otherwise this won't be a surprise) is a pretty fab lady. She's become a bit of an adopted/stand in mummy for me over the past few years and we do try and get her special little things for birthdays and christmas because she is the loveliest. Usually I spend hours and hours scouring Not On The High Street or Etsy for something that is perfect for her, but this year I thought to myself, why not just make our own. A collection of her favourite things, the things that we would usually buy her separately, but all of them in one place. How will you do that I hear you cry? A hamper my friends, a hamper.



Essentially we have a tried and tested formula for buying for Dans mum that includes gardening things, Yankee Candles, pretty smelling hand creams from L'Occitaine OR wine/champagne and chocolates, so this year i've gone on a hunt for these things but in miniture hamper size. I got some sampler sized Yankee Candles in her favourite Christmas scents - Sparkling Cinnamon, Christmas Eve and Cranberry and Manderin (these are also fab as they make the whole hamper smell DIVINE). I also picked a single tube of her favourite jasmine hand cream from L'Occitaine, we bought her the three cream gift set last year and there was one in particular that she loved so I just got one of those. Thats the idea basically, just single or smaller versions of your recipients favourite items. Think travel size products (Boots do a massive range of these) trial size perfumes or even sample size make up items. The smaller and cuter, the better!



For the gardening element, I picked up these cute gardening gloves in House of Fraser. They have little gardening quotes printed all over them and even if she just pops them in her potting shed as a little decoration they'll look adorable. Little quirky, personal items will make this kind of gift and they don't have to be expensive. Think paperbacks of their favourite books or little items to do with a hobby, make it personal and fun to them!





For a bit of indulgence we picked up a miniature heart shaped box of Thorntons chocolate, her favourite and a few extra fun things like a chocolate reindeer and a teeny tiny chocolate christmas pudding. Most of the chocolate companies do mini versions of their bigger boxes so have a look. Hotel Chocolat do some fab chocolate slabs which would be ideal and they come in a variety of quirky flavours!




She is also a big fan of loose leaf tea so while at the christmas market the other day I picked up a packet of locally produced Lapsang tea. She found a brilliant tea company at their villages Well Dressing Festival earlier in the year and after trying and failing to order some of that for the hamper I decided to add a bit of Devon in there for good measure and when I tried it it was delicious so theres that one too. Local produce or handmade items are ideal for this kind of gift, it adds a really thoughtful touch and supporting smaller businesses is never a bad thing!



On the subject of handmade, i've been making these little festive foxes (there is a DIY on the way very soon!) as a little 'thank you for having me for christmas' present and i'm fairly pleased with how they've come out, so he's been popped in the hamper too. When people know you've taken the time to physically make something it makes gifts so much more special, and plus, it cost next to nothing to create and looks fab!



For extra little things I found these cute white metal hanging hearts at a market in Tavistock, she has hearts hung all over the house and a few extra ones can never hurt so they're in there too. Little extra things that are inexpensive not only bulk up the hamper but they also just add an extra little element. You could even use little things like this to decorate the actual basket itself and they can be used by the person afterwards!


For the hamper itself, since recently moving, i've found myself to be a bit of a wicker basket hoarder so we're just going to use one of them. It's in perfect condition as its just had some of my hair products in on my dressing table and as I appear to have hoarded about 10 baskets over the years, I certainly won't miss this one! It's saved me about £10 and has meant that it's gone to a new and very good home. I filled the basket with some plain brown parcel type paper as i've gone for a brown paper/red ribbon theme for wrapping this year. I've also picked up some snazzy reindeer covered tissue paper from Paperchase that I may wrap all of the individual items in so that theres a little more actual unwrapping to do on Christmas Day! 

Hope this has been helpful! 

The 12 Days of Sophmas | Day 4 | Royal William Yard Festive Market

Hi lovelies!

Or Ho, Ho, Ho lovelies I should say... Tis the 4th day of Sophmas! A couple of Saturdays ago, me and young Thomas one of my bestest chummys, new housemate (yay!) and resident Sophmas elf went to one of our favourite places in the city, Royal William Yard to take a look around their festive weekend extravaganza.



We're big fans of their monthly food market (we won't even talk about how much cheese I purchased last time... I was a woman possessed) so we thought it would a fun idea to check out their festive offerings. Apart from being one of the most beautiful places, the yard is home to some of my favourite places to eat, Wagamama, Prezzo and The Bakery which has one of the coolest concepts i've seen in ages...thats for another day though. The festive craft market was held in one of the yards buildings that is yet to be converted, a lot of the buildings have been converted into enviably beautiful appartments and snazzy eateries but some are still in the planning stages so to see one of the areas that is usually reserved just for parking be turned into a hive of festive activity was fab.



There was everything from stalls selling handmade fudge, handmade christmas decorations and art to one selling vintage clothes. There was a fab variety and it was brilliant to find out some more about some fab local businesses and the personalities behind them while having an obligatory tasting session of lots of tasty produce... it would be rude not to really! All this was set to a festive soundtrack of a local brass band who filled the area with christmassy tunes as Father Christmas and his elves wandered around greeting children (we also saw him leave later on in a Renault Scenic with elf in tow, it's nice to see he's upgraded the sleigh, though a sleigh is probably much more economical anyway...)





After a wander around the main market we popped around the corner to the River Cottage Canteen and Deli, brainchild of Hugh Fernley Whittenstall of River Cottage fame for their Festive Fayre. In there we met some lovely ladies from Tea's Me, a local producer of fab loose leaf teas and got chatting over some mulled wine. The teas were incredible and I ended up purchasing three, one for my boyfriends mums christmas hamper, and two that may or may not  now be firmly placed in my own cupboards...they were far too good to give away. I'm a huge tea drinker and I think it's so worth the effort of a loose leaf tea as it tastes a million times better, plus with such lovely people passionate people that produce some amazing products locally, it makes it even better! It also means that I can sneak a bit of Devonian charm into Dans mums hamper which is never a bad thing!

Overall it was a fab little day trip, theres an accompanying vlog to this post if you want to see us in action (with a musical interlude from me than i'm sure Tom will agree is not to be missed) and that my friends was the fourth day of Sophmas!

The 12 Days of Sophmas | Day 2 | Festive Gift Guide For Her

Hi lovelies!
It's day 2 of the 12 Days of Sophmas! I usually am a fairly organised person, until it comes to Christmas shopping and it all ends up being in the last two weeks... it's the same every year. For those of you that didn't have everything done by the 1st of November however (you laugh, but theres people I know who were!) I thought it could be handy to make a few little gift guides. Think of it as giftspiration!

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love giving christmas gifts. From the late night shopping under sparkly lights with cinnamon coated treats to the wrapping extravaganza when I get home, I just love it. I thought that i'd start with gifts for 'her'. Whether thats your mum, your best friend or your favourite Auntie, hopefully i've covered all the bases!




1. Jo Malone | Cologne | £39  
Jo Malone is a brand that i'd always thought was the reserve of mums but after a recent trip to a counter I was most definitely proven wrong. Not only do Jo Malone fragrances smell absolutely gorgeous, but it's probably some of the best customer service i've ever had. Each fragrance can be layered in order to create your own signature scent and the sales advisors are more than happy to help you choose the best combination for you or whoever you're buying for. The products, even when you're not buying as a gift are presented beautifully in a white branded box with a black ribbon which means that half of your wrapping is already done for you! My personal favourite, as featured here is the Blackberry and Bay fragrance, it smells absolutely divine and lasts amazingly on the skin but the variety of scents is amazing so I definitely recommend having a sniff!

3. Chambers and Beau | Satin Rope Charm Wrap | £10 + Charms (which start at £10)
I bought one of these for one of my best friends, Gammon, last year for Christmas along with a matching one for myself and had an 'S' on one side of the charm and an 'L' (for Lauren...her actual name!) on the other. It's such a gorgeous item, fab quality and it comes in a variety of colours. It fits in perfectly with the stackable bracelet trends around at the moment and for the price, you really can't go wrong. It also comes beautifully presented in a little satin pouch inside a little box and you can choose your charm and what letters or words you'd like hand stamped onto them. A perfect little personalised gift.




5. Sass and Belle via The Distinguished | Love Print | £14
For the homeware fiends amongst us, Sass and Belle do some of the loveliest framed prints to adorn those walls in need of a bit of  facelift. It's a classic image given a little bit of a modern twist with a bright pink print. At £14 it's so reasonable and would look fab on a wall of mixed frames and pictures. 


Stay tuned for my next guide, for dads, boyfriends and the other men in your life! 

The 12 Days of Sophmas | Day 1 | Festive Favourites

Hi everyone!

First of all, welcome to the first day of my Christmas series, The 12 Days of Sophmas (see what I did there?!). As i've not been blogging for a huge amount of time and as it is my very first Christmas as a blogger i've decided against the 24 day Blogmas or Vlogmas that there is a lot of, and gone for the shorter 12 days instead! It's been a few weeks in the making and i'm really pleased with the outcomes this far, hopefully you'll all agree!

Today is a little video sharing some of the items that i've been loving in the run up to Christmas. Everything from a very festive shower gel (3 guesses which one... it's Fairylicious...) to some tasty festive treats... give it a cheeky watch and if you enjoy it, a thumbs up wouldn't go a miss!

What have you been loving in the Yuletide run up?

What Sopho Wore | Trip to the Christmas Market

(Parka- Jack Wills, Faux Fur Headband - Miss Selfridge, Sunglasses - Ray Ban,  T-shirt Dress- Topshop, Handbag- Marc Jacobs, Shoes - Converse c/o Styleclone & JD Sports)

Hi lovelies!

Just thought i'd share a little outfit of the day with you before my Christmas blog series is revealed tomorrow! I'm really excited about it and have been working on it for weeks and weeks so hopefully you will all enjoy it too!