New Year's Essentials 2016+How to Keep Resolutions

Hi guys! Currently, it is New Year's Eve where I am and I'm very excited! A new year means a fresh start and lots of new opportunities! So it's time to make the most of it! Write down your resolutions so you can achieve great things throughout the year and celebrate! I have a few recommendations for products to buy to prepare for the new year so grab a blanket and cosy up for a blog post!

My first recommendation is the SprinkleofGlitter Diary for 2016! I absolutely love this diary! The design of the pages and cover are gorgeous! I love the unique style of the diary! I think it's great that there is an activity on the left page and normal diary pages on the right, it adds an extra something to your normal every day organisation! There is a great space for writing your new year's resolutions and the best thing about this feature is that it reminds you halfway through the year to look back on them! This is great because if you haven't done so well in the first half of the year, you can still have a go!
 




My second New Year's recommendation is the Chocolate Box Secrets book by Cathy Cassidy! It follows on from her book series but you don't need to have read her series to have this! I also love the design of this book, just like the diary but I also love how creative it is! This book has DIY projects, recipes, tips and more fit for every season! I love that there are projects for you to do whenever you are bored during the year! Seasonal arts and crafts are my favourite to do because they are great ways to celebrate the passing of the year!





Now it's time for my tips on keeping resolutions! I know how hard it is to keep resolutions but this year I'm determined to keep at least one of them! These are quite simple but hopefully they'll work for you!
Tip #1. Reward Yourself:
Sometimes all you need is a bit of motivation! How about reward yourslef for milestones in achieving what you want in 2016? Rewards include things such as treating yourself to something you've eyed for ages, watching one of your favourite programs (that would be Friends for me), meeting with a friend or something that sounds totally great to you! Remember this reward shouldn't clash with your goal. For example don't treat yourself with some gummy bears when you've been doing so well with your healthy eating/exercises. This would just tempt you back into your old routine.

Tip #2. Keep on Track:
This sounds SO obvious but it's an important one! Don't miss your chance to do well for your resolution. What I mean is if you have a schedule for your resolution (for example do gentle exercise once a day) don't skip a slot unless you need to. Even if you persuade yourself that you can do it the day after, it is very tempting to give up something once you have had a break. Think about how you feel after a school holiday, you don't want to go back do you? It's like this when you have a break from the progress of your resolution!

Tip #3. Come Back to Your Resolutions:
Like I mentioned in the recommendation section, I think it's great that in the diary it gives you a chance to look back at what your goals were! Even if you don't have the diary, you should do this! This is because you get reminded of what you wanted at the start of the year so that if you didn't do so well, you can still try your best to have a come back! This doesn't just have to be in the middle of 2016 either, it can be several times through the year! Also, to help you even more you could write where you're going wrong with your resolutions (i.e if you have a trouble with keeping to schedule or if you get distracted) and any other small goals you have to be even better at this!

I hope this post has been helpful for you! Have a great new year and achieve everything that you want most! Let me know what your new year's resolutions are in the comments and let me know if you have the two products I mentioned in this post! Remember to just have fun! Happy new year! :D

How to Draw an Elf

This picture is a link to my tutorial on How to Draw an Elf on scratch! Click on it to see howto draw the picture above!I hope you enjoy this Christmas drawing tutorial! Check out my other projects on my scratch profile! Also, if you like this drawing tutorial, you should check out this studio of all my tutorials!

3 Gift Ideas for Girls

Hi guys! Christmas is just around the corner and I know that a lot of you are in need of some gift ideas...and fast! So today I'll be showing you 3 great gift ideas for girls. I've decided to stick to the gifts I know best so this post is only for girls that you need to buy for but you can easily change some of these ideas to suit anyone you know! Here are the ideas:

Idea#1: Gift Sets: Gift sets are an easy yet ever so good way of getting a gift for a special girl in your life! I particularly like gift sets from LUSH because not only are they beautifully packaged and full of surprises, but they also have a wide range of different prices so you can spend as little or as much as you want! If you would like a slightly different gift set you can find loads of beauty gift sets in Boots, so it's worth a look!

Idea#2: Filled Jars or Baskets: I see jar and basket gift ideas all over pinterest when searching for gifts! They may be a very common gift to give but they be easily personalised to suit whoever you give them to! If they have a hobby (such as baking, art or beauty) you can build the gift around that! For a baking jar/basket you can fill it with icing, cake decorations, cookie cutters, baking tools, cake mixes or whatever you think they would enjoy! For an art themed jar/basket you could fill it with high quality pens/pencils/paints, artist rubbers, good paintbrushes, chalks/pastels, sketchbooks (depending on what you use-jar or basket), etc.  For a beauty enthusiast you can fill the jar/basket with lipbalms/lipsticks/lipglosses/liners, mini eyeshadow palettes, eyeliners, etc. Another idea for filling jars or baskets is to chose a colour and buy anything and everything of that colour! It could be their favourite colour or perhaps red and green (for Christmas)! Yellow is a popular colour for the jar/basket filling because it symbolises happiness. If you can't think of a theme, why not do a hot chocolate jar with hot chocolate mix and toppings?

Idea#3: Book Package: If you know someone who loves reading then you can create a book package for them! Start by buying them a book that you don't think they will have (or one they have asked for) and then build the gift around that! You could buy or make them a special bookmark and slip it into the book for a surprise! Another idea is to put a set of slim sticky notes on top of the book before wrapping it so that when the receiver opens it, they can see them and use them to mark important parts of the story! As an extra gift, a gift card to a book shop could be put inside the book with a little note so they can buy more books! You can look for quirky reading accessories in many highstreet shops that a bookworm would love, so have a look around to see what you can find!

I hope I've helped you with my 3 gift ideas for girls! Let me know what you are giving to people at Christmas so we can all share ideas! What is your favourite idea from this post: 1, 2 or 3?  I'll be posting more things for Christmas in the upcoming weeks so keep checking back!

PS: Do you like my new Winter template? I'll be changing it seasonally! :)