Georgia Furness

I got the idea to make trinket dishes from this blog post, with these gorgeous palm leaves painted on. I had ordered some metallic sharpies and I'm a little obsessed with stars and constellations at the moment, so the two came together and this was the result. I am absolutely over the moon with how they came out and I can't wait to give them to the special ladies I've made them for. I made a lot of white ones, with my original plan to do the palm leaves, but I happened to have a black clay pack too, they actually turned out to be my favourites. The white ones require painting to keep them bright white, whereas the black stayed smooth and matte and I loved the finish - something I'll note for next time. 

You'll need :: 

Fimo Oven Bake Clay - in any colour you fancy.

Metallic Sharpies 

1. Split your square block of clay (if you're using the one linked above) in to two and roll it into a ball. 

2. Using a rolling pin, flatten out your ball into a disc shape. Try to keep it moving between rolls, so it doesn't stick to the surface and you won't change the shape too much when you pick it up. To create a 'dish' shape I then cupped it in my hands to push the sides up slightly. I tried a few methods and this worked best, so do what works best to achieve the shape you want. 

3. Once you're happy with the shape, pop it in the oven following the instructions on your clay packet. 

4. When you clay has hardened and cooled, it's time to get creative! Paint, draw, write, do whatever you fancy! I personally think the metallic sharpies were very effective and easy to use! I also used an alphabet stamp kit to print initials on the dish too. I have photoshopped this out (for present privacy!) but think it adds another personal touch. 

You'll need :: 

An Orange! 

Kitchen Towel

String (if you're hanging them as decoration)

1. Simply slice your orange into thin slices with a sharp knife.

2. Lay out a piece of kitchen towel and place your Orange slices on it, press another piece of kitchen towel on top so soak up any excess juice. 

3. Pop them on greaseproof paper on a baking tray and put them in the oven on a low heat at 80-100 degrees C for around 3 hours. I tend to do this by eye, if they still feel a bit tacky and need a bit longer I'll add more time on. 

4. Once they're ready, you can do whatever you'd like! 

This year, I'm making a photo album/memory book for my grandparents, full of happy photos from their 60th Wedding Anniversary party earlier this year. You can be as creative or a minimalistic as you wish with this, so it's a great present idea. I love to get stickers, coloured paper and pens to make it a bit more special and interesting. You could buy a scrapbook and stick each photo in to be really artsy with it, but for ease I have opted for a self-adhesive photo album so I can place everything in and not have to faff about with glue. This present is a little more time consuming, but worthwhile for the end result and smiling faces when they flick through and have something to cherish forever. 

This album is from Boots (all photo albums half price at the moment!) and I use Snapfish to get my photos printed. 

Do you make homemade presents at Christmas? I'd love more ideas! 

(Toffee Vodka, Wild Cocktails - Amazon, Copper wire lights - Primark (only £2.50!), Pomegranate Noir perfume - Jo Malone,  Star Sign Trinket Dish - Anthropologie, Glossier products)

F O R   T H E   G I R L S 

These are some of my favourite nail colours to wear throughout December, each one screams 'Christmas' to me and I just rotate between them all, sometimes layering the glitters on top of a solid colour.

Deborah Lippmann 'Ruby Red Slippers' 

This is a black nail varnish with bright specks of red glitter throughout, it looks gorgeous on and it creates a lot of depth with the layers of chunky glitter.

Barry M 'Almond'

I wear this shade all year round, it's a beautiful grey/lavender shade. Its subtle but looks very chic. 

Nails Inc. 'Kensington High Street'

This is my Winter favourite, it is the most gorgeous berry/wine shade I have ever seen - I've not yet found a nail varnish to live up to this colour, they're either too red or too purple, this is perfect.

Nails. 'Snowflake'

This gold and white glitter is perfect as a topcoat over a coloured nail varnish, if you want it to pop layer it over a dark shade, or if you want it to be slightly more subtle, go for a shade like Barry M's Almond.

American Apparel Silver Glitter (Similar)

This is a beautifully intense silver glitter, it sparkles like nobodies business! Again, it's perfect at as a top coat or a couple of layers on its own to make it more intense. Although they have discontinued the American Apparel one, there are so many similar silver glitters about. 

I use the Nails Inc. NailKale Superfood Top Coat and the incredible Seche Vite as a top coat, it leaves it super glossy and it lasts for days. 

What shades do you go for around Christmas?

Lots of us spend a lot of December days being weighed down by bags full of gifts for loved ones and after traipsing around all day you can feel a lil' bit knackered!

For that reason, it's so important to me that I'm super comfy - wearing clothes that are comfortable and shoes that won't rub and can withstand a good bit of walking up and down the high street. (Obviously the most comfortable way to do Christmas shopping is in your PJ's, on the sofa with a laptop... but you've got to face the crowds at least once!) 

This little outfit I've put together if the perfect mix of comfortable and chic, perfect if you've got a long day ahead of you out and about in town, but you still want to look nice.

 I've simply put on a cosy roll neck jumper, with my favourite high waisted jeans and paired it with a longline camel coat and a pair of Over-The-Knee black boots. I love wearing OTK boots, but usually with a heel to add a bit of height and elongate my legs, but they're not practical for shopping. So these are a great alternative, I loved wearing these all day - they were super comfortable and really pulled the outfit together. 

- o u t f i t   d e t a i l s -

Camel Coat - New Look

Roll Neck Jumper - New Look

Black Skinny Jeans - Bershka

Black OTK Boots - Primark (£15)

Black Bag - Primark 

Hoop Earrings - ASOS

Lipstick - Charlotte Tilbury 'Glastonberry'

Hair curled using Babyliss 'Tight Curls Wand'

What are your go-to's when you want be comfortable, but chic?