{That Time I Tried to D.I.Y a Juju: Part 1}

We all love Juju hats, yes?  Well, I do.  I love everything about them - they have feathers and they are a fun addition to any wall.  I also love Louise's (from Table Tonic) juju's.

(Source: Table Tonic Shop)

The only thing I dont like is the price tag.  Some prices range from a couple of hundred up to onwards of eight hundred dollars.  Now for me, that is a cheap holiday down to Brisbane for the weekend.  And well, I love holidays too, and would much rather spend that couple of hundred on a holiday.

So don't laugh, but I tried to make my own juju!  It ended up being a F.A.I.L. (as I expected!) I googled a few tutorials and ending up doing a mix up of the ones I could find.  So here goes:

I used a wooden round base, double sided tape and of course feathers.  For the end middle bit I had thrifted a bunched up feather thingy that was on top of a ladies hat.  I considered using glue, but thought that might have been a bit too messy and I wanted the feathers to be flufflyish and not hard and stuck together.  I worked the feathers around and around and around until I got to the middle bit.  This is where I glued the bunched up hat feathers.



And this is what it ended up looking like - F.A.I.L.

Now that I've slept on the idea overnight, I think I might have figured out another way.  So I will give this new way a try and will let you know if it FAILS too!!

Some good DIY Juju tutorials I did come across are:

RefreshRestyle

FlutterFlutter

Live from B5

{London 2012: The Olympics}

Did you all stay up late/get up early to watch the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games?  I got up early, but fell asleep and missed the middle bit.  But I did watch it all again on the replay that was later in the afternoon (a much more civilized time).

It was spectacular.  Every four years I look forward to seeing what each country will put together to entertain the world, and I must say London did a fantastic job, and is probably one of the best ceremonies I have seen.  As for all that sport for the next 16 days?  Well I might watch bits and pieces here and there (hubby has already declared he is sleeping on the couch for the duration so he can watch it ALL.  And he probably will, he watches any sort of sport)

But it seems every Olympics there is always kerfuffle about the uniforms our athletes wear.  Green and Gold.  I agree that yes, Australia is recognized for the green and gold, but is that because there has hardly been anything else?

(image source: Australian Olympic Team Outfits - Past and Present - smh.com.au)

The only uniform that I didn't really mind was the blue ombre style uniform that was worn by our athletes back in 2008 for the Beijing Olympics!

When I think of my Australia I think of bright blue waters, white sandy beaches, the oranges of the outback and the sparkly lights of the night time big cities.  So why not incorporate that into the uniforms?

(source: iheartsunnydays on Polyvore)

Denim jeans, orange shirt for the guys and navy blue and white chevron skirts and orange blazers for the ladies.  With some sparkly opals thrown in somewhere.  Surely thats more Australian than green and gold?

What do you think of the Australian Green and Gold?  What colours remind you of Australia?

Enjoy the Olympics if you are watching :)

{Five Favourites For Friday}

(photo source: stellacake)

Things iheart...

Who doesn't love a good pizza?  Check out this quick and easy recipe from stellacake (and have a look at my cheeky nephews too!)

Love blog buttons and Pinterest?  Check out THIS widget that displays your latest pins on your blog from the wonderful and ever so helpful Marie from Code It Pretty.  See mine over there ------>

Buying a Peplum?  Peplum - WTF?? I heard this word being thrown around this week on twitter and had absolutely no idea what it was.  Now I know.

I find myself obsessed with these seashell chandeleirs

And lusting after glass frames from Nkuku

Have a wonderful weekend!

{Early}

I'm not usually an early morning person.  I used to be years and years ago, but not lately.  I more of a night owl - this is when I come alive and function properly.

This morning was the first time in many years that I had gotten up before the sun.  Not because I wanted to, but because I had to.  I have since been tired and grumpy all day, but the one good thing about being up that early was watching the sun rise.  Alone.  On the beach.

A beautiful sight to see.

The next time I will be up and about on the beach that early will be in November. But I wont be alone.  Our town is going to be over crowded with scientists, overseas visitors, athletes and just about every man and his dog for the Solar Eclipse.

I hope my spot on the beach will be there then for me!

{Sunday Poll: Pegs}

My mum HATES it how I leave pegs on the washing line, and every time I see them I feel so guilty.  I just don't understand why this annoys her so much.  I like leaving them there because it is easier for me to quickly hang the washing out, without having to dig around in a basket all the time.  And well, because I hate washing.....(in fact I hate any sort of housework!)

Lucky for me, my mum lives over 3,500kms away.  But I do take them off the line and put in the basket she brought when she comes to visit!

Are you a leave the pegs on the line kinda person, or do you pack them away neatly after every load of washing? 

I'm sure there has to be a Dolly or Cosmo quiz about this somewhere!  Off to check, just in case this is a sign of some sort of personality disorder that I need to see a psychiatrist about.

{Five Favourites For Friday}

Did you know there is only 157 days until Christmas?!  Where has this year gone - it has simply flown by.  I swear it goes that little bit faster each and every year.

Some recent favourite Christmas ideas from Pinterest are:

Source: bhg.com via IHeart on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via IHeart on Pinterest

Source: creativedecorations.com via IHeart on Pinterest

Source: acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com via IHeart on Pinterest

Source: iheartsunnydays.tumblr.com via IHeart on Pinterest

Do you think its too early to start thinking about Christmas?  Or are you like me and usually leave it until the very last week before (bad habit I've gotten into for the past few years!)?

See more of my Christmas Inspiration on Pinterest here.

{Bling: Made By Me!}

I have a really, really bad habit of collecting beads, bracelets, charms and things when thrifting.  I have now accumulated a rather large collection for some reason.  If it shines or dangles its mine.  I don't know when this obsession came about or why.

They are taking up too much room, and my glass jar is overflowing with these bits and pieces.  Today I decided to do something about it!

Source: spelldesigns.com via IHeart on Pinterest

Source: thenativestate.com via IHeart on Pinterest

Inspired by the beachy boho creations of Spell & the Gypsy Collective (have you seen their shop and blog?), I came up with my own little creation.

I plaited together some leather strands and added different charms that I had collected.  I'm thinking I still need to add some more to it, but for my first ever piece of handmade jewellery I'm quite proud of how it turned out!  I might have caught the bug too, and have plenty more charms and bits n'bobs to create a few more.

{Where Can I Find You?}

What ever did we do before Social Media take over?!  Back in the days of when I was growing up, there were no smart phones, computers or internet and if you weren't home the phone would just ring out. 

Nowadays, we have answering machines, mobile phones, 24 hour internet access and social media to let the world know what we are doing, where we are, and what we're eating.  It seems strange and a lot different from growing up.  If you weren't home you were uncontactable but now we can't seem to hide!  Not that I'm complaining, I'm very much guilty of letting everybody know just about everything about me through social media.  Are you the same?

If I ever go missing, (and fingers crossed I never do!) please use the check-list below before getting worried!  (Linky buttons can be found at the top of my sidebar)

Instagram:  Get worried if I don't post at least one photo a day!  This has me totally addicted.  You can find me @iheartsunnydays  or if you don't have a smart phone or iPad for Instagram access find me through Statigram. 

Twitter:  I swore to myself a few years ago I would never become a 'Twit' but 6 months ago I gave in and started tweeting. (Purely through frustration with Facebook - another social media craze).  It took me a while to get into it, but find myself hooked.  Lets be 'Twits' together, tweet me: @lizzy_sunnydays

Pinterest:  Since Pinterest came along my Favourites Bar on the now abused and often ignored laptop has never been cleaner!  Instead of adding things that catch my eye to my favourites and then spending hours and hours trying to find what I favourited, I have embraced the idea of 'pinning' everything instead.  Find me @iheartsunnydays 

Tumblr:  Although not as fun as Pinterest, I also post pictures on Tumblr.  Beachy and decor eye candy can be found here and casual comfy fashion inspiration can be found here

I also take part in a Photo-A-Day challange run by the brilliant Chantelle from FatMumSlim.  To see my enteries check me out on Instagram or find my new #photoaday Challenge board on Pinterest.  (Linky button now on my sidebar)

Blog:  Right here of course!

A big check-list I know, so if you can't find me on one social media site, I'm more than likely on another!

Linking up with gorgeous Natasha's -  Say G'day Saturday Social {Media} Linky Party.  Come on over and say G'Day

{Five Favourites For Friday}

Some favourites links that I've found this week.  Why not check them out this weekend?

1.  Do you tweet?  Why not expand your social media reach and promote your blog through Twitter? Read this guide to tweeting post written by the lovely Carolyn of Desire Empire.  Once you join, try going through your followers list and your blog roll to find people to follow.  You'd be surprised how many people you know are tweeting!  (And follow me @lizzy_sunnydays !!)

2.  Speaking of Social Media - are you linking up to Natasha In Oz's new "Let's Get Social {Media} Linky Party".  Starts Saturday 14th - Get the nitty-gritty details here.

Source: paperfashion.net via IHeart on Pinterest

3.  I'll be reading:  New to me blog PaperFashion - I'm loving the whimsical illustrations of Katie Rodgers (Beach Paintings shown above)

4.  Love Jonathan Adler?  Take a sneak peek into his office on MadeByGirl

5.  I'll be Day-dreaming about:  The Greek Islands thanks to this post by Maya over at Completely Coastal

Have a wonderful weekend :)

{Thrifted Finds}

There has been not a lot of thrifting going on here for me for the past few months, and the few times I have gone I have come home with zilch...absolutely nothing.

But I have had two lucky trips, and found two things that been on my list for a very, very long time.

**A set of four A4 sized seashell prints**

**Pink Pyrex**

Can you imagine how happy I was to come across these super finds?  This is my very first piece of PINK pyrex and I absolutely love it.  Its not often I can find items from my list, but to cross off two things in the past month - well, that's just lucky, right?  Now I'm asking the thrifting gods for 4 matching frames for my shell prints!

Do you thrift with a list, or just see whats around?

{Broken Nails and Teabags: OR Is Pinterest the new Google?}

I hate my fingernails (even though I have a Pinterest board dedicated to nail art - you know, just in case!)  Toe nails I don't mind and I paint them all the time.  But my fingernails, especially the two thumb ones, keep splitting at the sides.  Normally I just cut them off and suffer with short nails for a few weeks, but this time the thumb nail on my right hand split a bit too far down to just cut off.

Enter Pinterest.  Pre-Pinterest I used to google just about everything.  Now I search Pinterest for anything AND everything (Sorry Google, I still love you). 

So what did I learn?  Tea Bags.  Yep - tea bags apparently fix broken nails!

Cut a small square (big enough to cover your break/split) out of the tea bag.  Using a base coat nail polish, paint your nail .  Whilst still wet, place tea bag square over your split.  I then did another layer of base coat.  When dry, top with whatever polish tickles your fancy!

NOTE:  I had to repair both thumb nails - on the good one I used a blue glittery polish and you can't see the bag at all.  But the one on the left hand (on the right in the picture above)  I used dark polish and the tea bag sticks out way too much.  Plus I smudged it....quite a bit.  So don't use dark polish - unless you can paint your nails properly, which I can't!!!

Now I'll just have to wait and see if the tea bag bit hardens when dried and stops things getting caught it in (yesterday I was trying on a top in a shop and may have accidentally pulled a thread, or two, with my split nail!) 

......And I have to repaint my other nail.

Where do you search for answers on the Internet?  Is Pinterest the new Google for you?

{Oh How I've Missed You}

About a month ago, I received some really nasty comments on a few of my blog posts.  My first instinct was to just give up so I deleted everything. 

Since then I have had time to sit and think about what was important to me.  I really do miss blogging, so I have decided to get back into it.    Even if only one person reads my blog and I make them laugh, have a similar interest or inspire them then it is all worth it.

I can't believe now that I took the stupid and immature comments to heart so much, but my instincts took over and I took flight instead of fight.  

One special friend (you know who you are!) said to me "just ignore the trolls" - so that is what I intend to do from now on.  If you don't like what I write or post about, then don't respond with your stupid comments.  Grow up - not everybody has the same opinions as you.