AKIN - wear Akin, send a child to school

 "Wear Akin, send a child to school" says it all.

This simple, yet affective idea, came from a College student in Hawaii. Akin realized, in some developing countries, families can't afford to buy their children's uniform. The children are unable to go to school they will then lose the opportunity to become educated, which will have a knock on effect for their country.

My eldest is starting school in less than a month. I am sure there are a lot of parents out there, who don't even think about their children not being able to attend school for such a small, insignificant issue. However, the issue is real, in these developing countries.

What I love about Akin, it's not just buy at shirt and the child will get a uniform. The uniforms are sourced locally to help with the countries economy. The children then have to earn their uniform by participating in local service projects.

At the moment, Akin are working in 9 different countries, including, Peru, Haiti, Fiji, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Guatemala, Tuvalu, Samoa and with your help, they could be working in South Africa.

Up until now, Akin have only being selling adult sizes. Excitingly now, they have included kids clothing. Eek! They have such cute prints too. These limited addition prints are going to be based on which country they will going to help.

If you wish to help a child, or just to learn more about Akin. Here is a link.

Limited edition, 6 days only!!


www.akinclothing.com


Want this elephant t-shirt or another Akin T-shirt? Here is your link. 

www.teespring.com/stores/akin-clothing

Kids Birthday Party 'NAILED IT'

Pinterest 

Well, It’s been a crazy few months. Hence why the blog has been so up and down. A bit like my life really! 

My son Henny has been in and out of hospital with Pneumonia and having various of tests. My husband is moving jobs and I had minor surgery on my leg. All seems to happen at once, doesn’t it?! 

Well, when things get a bit heavy and i just need a ‘crack up’ I always turn to Pinterest and search for “nailed it”. Oh my days, I can’t stop laughing at some of them. So, incase any of you guys are in need of a pick me up, I thought I would share some of my favorites and I will even share one of my own “nailed it’s!” I would also love to see or hear any of your own experiences!?

It’s June, which means it’s my daughter birthday. She has turned 4. Which of course means she can do everything herself because “I am 4 now”!

My daughter has always known what she wants really. Even from a young age, you could tell she was, lets say, strong willed! At the top of her birthday wishes was a sleeping beauty cake! I have never made a cake like that. The only cakes I make are normally out of a pre-made packet. After extensive searching on trusty Pinterest, I found what looked like a simple version of the sleeping beauty cake she wanted and even better, I discovered my best friend had a cake mould for it. What can possibly go wrong, right!?

Pinterest version

So, My first attempt - the cake not only failed to cook in the middle, It oozed raw cake. I anticipated needing a little practice, so no biggie. 

Second attempt - The cake welded itself like a glue to the mould when it was cooked. My attempts at getting it out in one were futile, the top of the cake came off.

I think this is what you would call 'Nailed it" - Cake by me

Third attempt - Wasn’t too bad to be fair. Just not enough cake but I’m getting there, no quitting now. My pride will not be defeated by Cinderella. I will not buy a shop bought cake, I have tried to hard on this one. In a final attempt to salvage the cake, I cooked multiple layers separately. 9 layers later, the cake was finally big enough for sleeping beauty to go in it. 

After all the sweat and wasted mixture, here is the finished product. Most importantly, my daughter loved it!

Finished result - Cake by me

Here are some others from Pinterest that are worth a giggle. 

Pinterest

Pinterest

Little Bird - Gender Neutral

I have probably said it before but, I will say it again! I love kids clothes that are gender neutral. I just don’t understand people who say; “he cant wear that, he’s a boy!” or vise versa, voiced in my post about boy tights. The one high street brand which I love for this reason is Little Bird. Incase you didn't know, its a concession in Mothercare and Jooles Oliver is the talented woman behind it. Launched not too long ago, all the items are pretty much suitable for boys and girls, even down to the shoes!

As I have both a girl and a boy, I find this very useful. I can get something for my daughter, knowing my son can wear it in a few years. Trust me, I know all about the hand-me-down being the youngest of six. The next up from me was a boy, so I use to get the pass downs from him. And, Lets just say, they were not gender neutral! Not only that. 

Another huge plus for Little Bird, beyond style and quality, is that it’s also a very affordable brand. The designs are full of bright colours, which is not normally something i go for. I normally steer toward blacks, greys and blues - especially for me! I don’t like to be all out there; not sure if its a confidence thing, I just don’t want people to looking at me! However, for my kids - I love it and so does my daughter. My son, bless him, has no choice in the matter yet!

mothercare.com

mummy essentials

OK! These are my must essentials for mummies.

My friend Becky told me about this beauty. Its a bleach pen that will get anything out of whites. I haven't found one thing that it won't remove, even in old stains. Its a must for mummies with kids who get messy (or husband's for that matter). You can relax when your children are in white! Its from America (obviously). I order it from Ebay. It is a bit pricey, but I promise you won't be disappointed with the results. 

I am pretty sure everyone has this in their home. They're are so many ways to use Vaseline. Maybe some you didn't know. Hopefully I will be able to share some of those, excluding the obvious dry lips.

1. Taming those eyebrows
2. High lighter for those cheek bones
3. sooth cracked heels (put some on at night, then pop your socks on, and sleep)
4. To define lashes
5. Removes eye lash stubborn eye lash glue.
6. Acts as a barrier for self tanning for those areas you don't want to tan. Or eye lash/brow tint.
7. Protects your skin from hair colouring.
8. Hand cream, especially for those cuticles.
9. Bum cream for your babies.
10. Mouth gets dry? put some on your teeth.
11. Any bottles that won't open easily? add it around the rim.
12. Helps sunburn.

Again, another one everyone must already have.  I go through so much of this stuff. I actually panic if it's ran out. This is best applied at night. It will soak up all that extra oil in your hair, and rub it in better (nothing worse than the grey hair thats not natural). Dry Shampoo is also good for volume, as well as making up do's stay in longer. I personally like Batiste Dry Shampoo the best. 

I got given this as part of a present for my first child. Now I can't buy anything else. My youngest child recently was suffering so much with the teething bum (you know what I mean). Just put this on, and its gone. Love it!

Leave a comment below and let me know, what are your musts?

Home Sweet Home

It’s been too long since I last did a post. Sorry about that. This house is just getting over pneumonia as well as other things. Can you believe it! Its this cold weather that won’t leave us alone. I need sun in my life. I guess I will have to bring the sunshine indoors.

Don’t know about you, but I love decorating. Much to my husband’s dismay, if the word DIY comes out of my mouth, he runs. I have to bribe him just to put some shelves up. Sound familiar?

My dilemma is, what to decorate with? Like I said in my previous blog post (I love blank walls). My first thought is to paint the room white (boring to some I know) I then try and find accessories to bring in the colour.

Whether you want to do DIY projects or buy things ready made. Here are a few ideas I like and then links you may need.

For a DIY project, I think these door knobs are a great idea.

Link for the instructions on how to create this master piece: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-diy-drawer-pulls-apartment-therapy-tutorials-216669

Another DIY Project that will brighten up any room. 

Love this bed cover from H&M. Great for girls and boys. www.hm.com

For more ideas for kids bedrooms. Follow me on Pinterest. Henny&Rose. 

DIY Shellac Nails

DIY Gel Shellac Nails

So my first DIY project for women is - Gel Shellac Nails. Although i am a qualified nail technician, this should be simple enough for any girl to follow. if you can paint your own nails then you'll be able to do this. I will be showing you both; a luxury version and a budget version. This will be followed by a step by step guide for how to do it yourself and a review of what products I would personally use. I will also link any relevant websites below. 

This what you will need;

Luxury 

.UV Nail lamp                         £160         CND

.Gel Base Coat                      £12.99  CND

.Gel Nail Colour                      £12.99 CND

.Gel Top Coat                        £12.99       CND

.Nail File                               £3             Boots

.Nail Varnish Remover            £3             Boots

.Acetone                              £6.85 Ebay

.Gel Wipe off                        £8.99 Ebay

.Cotton Wool                        £3             Boots

Total                               £223.81 (approx)

Budget

.UV Nail Lamp                       £10.99 Ebay

.Gel nail base coat £5 Bluesky Shellac

.Gel nail colour                      £5              Bluesky Shellac

.Gel nail top coat                   £5              Bluesky Shellac

.Nail File                             £0.99          Home Bargains 

.Nail varnish remover            £0.50          Home Bargains 

.Acetone                             £0.99          Home Bargains 

.Gel Wipe off   £5.99          Ebay

.Cotton Wool or use old felt   £0.50          Home Bargains 

Total                                £34.96 (approx)

Instructions

Above, I have listed luxury and budget versions. I personally have a mix of both - As long as you have all of the required items, it will work. 

Preparation is key - Start by filing your nails into the desired shape, then clean your nails with nail varnish remover.

Base coat first (1 coat). Colour coat (2 coats). Top coat (1 coat). 

Using a 36 watt Uv lamp. Each time you apply a coat of varnish. You need to place one hand in the UV lamp. 

Once all varnish coats have been applied and set in the UV lamp you need to remove any stickiness from your nails. Get your wipes/felt, dab with UV gel wipe and remove the stickiness of the gel. 

Finished. Normally lasts around 14 days. No chips. Easy as that.



Instructions to remove Shellac nail polish

You need to use pure acetone. Budget version is just as good as the luxury version.  You can either pour the acetone in a bowl and soak your nails for about 10 minutes. Or when Shellac polish peels easily off. The other way, is to soak cotton wool with acetone. Put one piece of cotton wool on each nail, then wrap each nail individually with tin foil. Wait till polish removes easily.

Review

I personally don't think you need to have all the luxury items. The main items you can go budget on are; Nail file, Acetone, Nail varnish remover, using felt instead of wipes and gel wipe off. The budget UV lamp is really good for the money. However, CND lamps are amazing and I would love one. It would be so much quicker to do your nails. On a budget lamp, you always need to double your time under the lamps for each coat. With the varnish itself, CND products are also easily the best - they last really well. The Bluesky Shellac are not far behind though, and are worth the money. 

Have fun! Let me know how you get on. 

Websites

cnd.com

ebay.com

boots.co.uk

homebargains.co.uk