Sleepless Nights with Benefits!

Yes that's me, a bit red eyed and out of sorts - but with good reason :)

Since Friday 17th May until Sunday 19th May, I took part in the fantastic Blog Workshop.

The workshop took place in the wee European hours and at first I didn't think I would be able to take part.

As it so happened, I was still awake on Friday at 11:30pm and so I thought I would stay awake for an extra hour to see what it was all about.

Well after Friday, I changed my entire sleeping habits (going to bed at 3:30am each morning) so that I wouldn't miss a moment :)

It was fantastic!

The speakers were super, the sponsors were amazing and the team at Your Life after 25 arranged the entire workshop wonderfully.

They also offered some amazing Giveaways that we could all take part in!

I can warmly recommend their courses, not only did I get to learn all about the blogging basics, but I could network with other bloggers wanting the same thing - all in all a great success.

As A great round up of the conference we all got to take home a Uber Discount and a Rafflecopter trial blogger subscription for a month from two of the wonderful sponsors :)

As I am not going to be able to make use of my Uber Discount, I would love to offer it to you, my readers.

Ride in Style with Uber - your on-demand Private driver.

I am offering you the chance to win a $20 Discount coupon on your first ride with Uber.

Good Luck :)
This Giveaway is open World-wide!
Just enter yourself in the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tutorial Thursdays - Time To Have Fun :)

Welcome back to Thursday fun on Marigolds' Loft.

Today I am going to show you how I created this clock.

So let's get started!

For this craft you will need:

A MDF Clock face

Serviettes with motif

A fitting clockwork

Gonis Basis Decor* (A white base paste that has a good cover)

Gonis Finisher* (A Water-resistant lack)
Gonis Dekopointers* (A decoration pen for the finishing touches)

* I am a distributor of Gonis Products and use them because I love their amazing quality. If you cannot find these products in your vicinity, you will have to substitute them, hence the descriptions in brackets.

1. Separate the two halves of the clock face.

2. On the back piece (the face) fill out the space with some Basis Decor*

I filled out only as much as I needed to so that the front piece would cover the remaining bare bit :)

3. Cut the serviette to cover the Basis Decor*. Remove the back layers of the serviette so that you are only working with the top layer.

4. Place the serviette on top of the wet Basis Decor* and smooth slightly.

5. Once dry, use the Finisher* to adhere the serviette to the MDF backing.

6. Once fully covered allow to dry completely.

7. Using the Basis Decor* cover the front piece of your clock face.

8. Cut out the serviette motifs that you would like to adorn the front of your clock with and remove their back layers. Place the motifs where they will be on the finished clock.

9. Using the Finisher* adhere the motifs to the MDF plate. Cover the entire piece. Allow to dry.

10. 11. Once both the faces are dry, insert the clockwork and secure in place.

Glue the two MDF pieces together and decorate with Gonis Dekopointers*.

There you have it!

What have you been up to this week?

Thank you so much for all who linked up their lovely posts last week,

there were so many fantastic posts from last week, I loved visiting each and every one of you. 

This week I had a very hard time indeed choosing which of your lovely posts to feature here. 

I eventually settled on four amazing posts. 

3 of them are wonderfully foodie and the other a super sewing craft which I am sure we can all make good use of in this day and age!

This weeks featured links are:

1. How to make fresh Cashew-Basil Pesto by Kaitlin @ Life's Little Mischiefs

2. Apple Nachos by Katie @ The Crafty Blog Stalker

3. Coconut and Lime Milkshake by Linda @ With A Blast

4. A Great tutorial on how to sew a sleeve for your E-reader by Blissful Sewing

Well-done ladies and thank you for sharing your wonderful Crafts with us all.

I have pinned your crafts on the PinBoard and added them to the Tutorial Thursday Album on my Facebook Page :)

You will also be featured in this weeks Newsletter

(If you have a Facebook Page or account, I would very much appreciate a share :))

Don't forget to grab your button if you haven't done so already :)

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Now it is your turn - what have you been up to this week?

Please feel free to link up your crafts below.

They do not have to be tutorials, I would love to see any crafts.

:::NEW:::
I have started a new Sunday Linky Party for Social Media/Blogging Tips and Tricks - If you would like  to link up your tips and tricks on this topic you can link them HERE

Rules for todays' Craft Linky Party:

• Firstly, your link must be craft related! Please do not link up goodies which are on other topics. 

• Grab my button below and showcase it somewhere on your blog OR create a visible link.
• Do not Link if you are selling something. 
• Be sure to only link the relevant Blogpost and not your whole blog.
• Please be so kind and visit at least 2 other posts linked below, it is always nice to receive visitors, this is a linky party after all! :)
• In linking below you are giving me the permission to use of your image if it is being featured the following week. If I am unable to use your image I can unfortunately not feature you.
• Please do not link up stuff you have already linked up before!
• Please note: I will remove content that does not abide by the rules mentioned above. 

Do you have your own Linky Party happening? I would love to hear about it!

Link it up HERE

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Have a great Week.

x

P.S: Do come by tomorrow to enter yourself in a super giveaway :)

Wet Wednesdays

Brrrr - is winter back? I think so!

It is raining continually here at the moment, which wouldn't be so bad if the temperatures didn't plummet every time it got cloudy!

Apparently they have predicted snow for Friday - SNOW at the end of May, my poor garden :(

See what has become of the big ball of Pink? 

Yes, what a relief, I am finally on the sleeves of this project - the end is in sight once more :)

All in all it is a really easy pattern to follow, so I am not complaining, I just haven't had the time to sit and knit very much over the last couple of days.

Over the weekend I visited the amazing Blog Workshop, which was super (I will be telling you all about it on Friday - there will be a giveaway included, so do come by for that :)) but this ultimately left me with little waking hours to knit at all!

Reading-wise: I am finishing up the Housemaid's daughter, and am still enjoying the book very much. 

I hope you will be coming by tomorrow to link up all your crafts for the week on this weeks Tutorial Thursday Linky Party.

This week I will be showing you how I made this clock.

Have a great rest of your week.

See you soon.

x

I will be sharing this post over at Tamis and Ginny today.

Co-Hosting Friend Connect Blog Hop :)

Today I am thrilled to be co-hosting the Blog Hop with Melissa and friends :)

So without Further ado....Let's Party!

It's Tuesday again which means it's time for the Friend Connect Blog Hop!

It's the time to meet new friends and find new blogs. You can choose to follow the cohosts in whatever way is best for YOU! Here are some of my favorite ways: GFC, BlogLovin', HelloCotton, RSS, Twitter, Facebook.

Ok, so let's get to the party, shall we?

RULES are simple:

1. Follow your host 

The First link below

2. Follow your co-hosts 

The Next 8 links below

3. Link up below using your main blog url not a specific post.

4. Make sure to visit some of the blogs in the link up and follow them 

and if you want to leave them a comment, I'm sure they'd appreciate that as well.

5. Tweet about this blog hop

Tweet

6. Share about this blog hop by grabbing a button and putting it on your sidebar!

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I have cohost spots available! Email me if you're interested at melissa@thelifeofanotsoordinarywife.com

Guest Post - Are Home-Made Gifts Really A Good Idea?

Today I have a new guest blogger over to visit :)

Welcome Bren, nice to have you over.

Some people may be skeptical of the whole idea of creating their own unique gift. Possibly because they aren’t really into crafts or they simply don’t have enough time available. However, this is an ideal option if you are on a tight budget or you have forgotten someones birthday. There are numerous gifts you can create from the comfort of your own home. Here are some ideas to help you on your way.

Create your own throw pillow

Though it may seem like a difficult project, it's really simple and can be done with ease. All you need is some basic sewing skills. Creating a pillow for somebody will show a lot of appreciation and be a great keepsake. Not only could you use the pillow for comfort, but it will be a great gift to hold onto for future years. This isn’t just cheaper but the person receiving the gift will be blown away by the dedication and skill you have put into creating something unique for them.

Make some homemade soaps

Purchasing nice smelling soaps is too easy to do. Why not consider creating your own unique aroma? The best part about crafting your own soap is you get to pick what ingredients go into making them. You can purchase inexpensive items to make your soap smell great. You need to become familiar with the whole soap crafting idea. Tips online will surely guide you in the right direction.

Scrapbooks

Creating a scrapbook is not only fun but a great way to share memories with somebody close to you. The process of creating a scrapbook is quite simple, you can use an old folder or grab yourself a photo holder. Glueing pictures in a book may not seem like much but the receiver will surely appreciate the gesture. Making a scrapbook can also entail other things such as your first ever date or perhaps the first time you went to the theatre together. If you have keepsakes such as keyrings and such then these can also be added. Simply grab yourself some glue and scissors and away you go!

The gift of food

If you are a foodie then this will be pretty simple for you, if not you can easily pick up a recipe book to help you along the way. Baking a cake or making a fresh jar of jam are both great ideas. Perhaps you have a family recipe that you can surprise the gift receiver with. The possibilities are endless, simply pick up a recipe book for some inspiration.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source 
•  License: Creative Commons image source 

Bren worked at a retail packaging centre for many years, he also enjoys the crafting hobby and creates lots of different items in his spare time.

Thank you so much Bren, do make sure to grab your "Featured" Button.

Would you like to be a guest-blogger on Marigolds' Loft?

Contact me.

Social Media Blog-Hop

Welcome back to the fifth week of social media tips and tricks.

As you may have noticed I have turned this into a Blog-Hop event - Yay!

Would you like to be my first co-host?

Contact me

Thank you kindly to those of you who linked your social media posts last week.

Rules:

• Follow your Hosts and Co-hosts
• Link only tips and tricks for Social Media or Blogging 
• Do not link if you are selling something!
• Please link your creative posts on this week's Tutorial Thursdays Linky Party and not here!
• Link the Relevant Blog post and not your homepage!
• As it is a Linky Party, it would be nice if you would visit at least 2 other links.
• Do not link the same topics twice.
• Share the word, please grab my button and place it somewhere on your blog or link back in some way :)

Do you have your own Linky Parties happening?

I would love to visit them - Link Them up HERE

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Book Review - The Genesis Secret

The Genesis Secret by Tom Knox

ISBN: 9780452296336

Synopsis: An Archaeological team discovers what it believes is the Garden of Eden. Sent to report on the find is war reporter Rob Luttrell, who only wishes to return to his family.

----

I had mixed feelings when I began this book, it started off as another Dan Brown thriller, but it rapidly progressed into a different kind of story.

The book has two stories that converge together later in the story, both on an treasure hunt, one group in a peaceful informative way, the other in a very different, violent way.

I must admit that the author managed to paint some very vivid gruesome scenes in the book, making me feel a little queasy :O. These parts would have definitely found their place in Silence of the Lambs.

I found the Archaeological information in the book very interesting and it was nice to read about it, as I had never before heard about Gobelki Tepe.

Image from National Geographic

I issued this title:

My Book Rating Scale can be found in the sidebar.

What good book have you read lately?