Sonnenschein Crafts

Sonnenschein Crafts is a small jewellery business based on Facebook and Etsy (links below) that uses influences from rock music and a little splash of girly too, to create beautiful and unique pieces. I was given 3 items to review and Rebecca (designer and owner) kindly agreed to answer some questions about owning a small business.

First item is a pair of Purple and black star earrings

I love these so much and have worn them a lot since I received them! Purple is my favourite colour and i adore stars. The little black beads are a great way of separating all the purple out a bit too. 

The earrings are really good quality, i struggle to find earrings that I can wear all night without having to take them out half way through because of irritation, but these were so comfortable I forgot I was wearing them!

Second were these bracelets made with purple beads separated by banded beads with turquoise jewels and gold on the outside.

I loved the idea behind the ribbon tying the two bracelets together but for me it just kept loosening and then falling off. I would love to be able to keep it on but i had to remove the ribbon so i could wear the bracelets. Thats just me though other people may be different! The bracelets are just a gorgeous without the ribbon though.

This is the third item i got, a charm bracelet with red and orange beads and 3 vintage looking striped wooden heart charms.

This bracelet just makes me think of Autumn, the colours of the beads and the rustic look of the heart charms are going to be perfect now that we're head into Aurumn. Unfortunately i haven't had the chance to wear this much. I like to co-ordinate my jewellery with my outfits and it just happens that i haven't worn much red and orange in the past week or so. Although when I have worn it I've loved looking down and seeing it against my skin since the colours seem to look quite good with my colour of skin. A really good point i liked about this was that it doesn't jingle too much, i hate charm bracelets that make too much noise as you move so that is a huge plus point in my mind!!

As part of this small business project I am getting the owners to answer a few question about themselves and their business. Here's what Rebecca had to say,

• Tell me a Little a bout yourself and your business

I’m a small business that started almost a year ago , I make a range of jewelry  and also accessories likes hair bows and purses. I do custom makes to suit people’s needs and likes. My own style is quite alternative but I like to make sure I get a range of styles covered when I’m making things so that my items can suit anyone

• What made you start creating jewellery and subsequently selling it?

I started making Jewellery about a year ago when I wanted some new bracelets but I’m quite picky about what I wear so decided to make the stuff myself. And from them I just kept making bracelets and trying new things in my spare time. Because it was more a hobby than me wanting to sell it not many people knew I made jewellery but when Friends and family had a look through all the stuff I had made it was suggested I start selling it.

• Your store has quite an unusual name, where did it come from?

I Love the German language and my favorite word in German is Sonnenschein  . When I made an Etsy selling page I was really stuck for a store name and when I was sitting thinking a Rammstein song called “Sonne” came on my itunes and it just felt like Sonnenschein would be perfect! 

• Describe your store in 3 words

Original, Customized, Unique 

• Any tips/suggestions for anyone looking to start a small business?

If you really enjoy what you make and have a passion for it then keep at it, it takes a long time and effort  to build up a successful business but if you enjoy it as much as I do  then it’s worth it.

If you would like to see more of Sonnenschein Crafts or want to buy any items you can check them out here:

www.facebook.com/sonnenschein.crafts?fref=ts

and here

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SonnenscheinCrafts

I would like to thank Rebecca at Sonnenschein Crafts for so kindly sending me the pieces of jewellery, answering my questions and then waiting ever so patiently for this post to be posted!! You're a star!!

I hope you guys check Sonnenschein Crafts out!! They have such beautiful pieces of jewellery!!

Until next time!

Kat

xoxox

House of Wonderland Promotional tattoos!!!

So you guys will have hopefully already read my post about House of Wonderland and to save me going into a massive big description I'll link you the blog post right here:

http://beautyasthekatwalks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/house-of-wonderland.html

About a week ago Tess advertised for some bloggers/customers to take part in a promotional thing with some new products she is testing out! I got in touch and was then asked if I would like to
take part!!

Basically I would be sent one of 2 promotional stick on tattoos she is doing, I would then take a photo and post it to my blog/facebook/instagram etc! I was mega excited because both the tattoos are super adorable! One is a rainbow with House of Wonderland written on it and the other (which I got) is a heart with loads of cute little things inside including a Totoro and a shell with the word Mermaid across it!! Anyhooos heres some photos I took of it!! :)

 I'm not really sure why I decided to put it on my foot, I just thought it would look really cute there!!! I really love how it looks it stayed on all day until I had a shower then It came off :( But it said in the instructions it would do that. It was really simple to use! A LOT easier than those tattoos you have to use water to transfer them onto the skin!! With these you just peel the back off and your good to go! The only problem I had was getting the back peeled off but I think that might of just been me haha!! 

Here's a better picture of the actual tattoo. Look how cute!!!!! I love it!!

As I said in my review of them, HOW is one of my absolute favourite online jewellery store! It's everything I love rolled into one and if you love Kawaii, Superhero, My Little pony, Rockabilly, Tattoos, Disney and all that good stuff then you should definitely go check it out!! You can do this at:

www.how-store.com

www.facebook.com/houseofwonderlandofficial

Twitter: @HOW_Online

See you next time!

Kat

xoxox

£30 shopping Challenge!!

So, I have a tendency to spend A LOT when i'm shopping. Like every other girl I know I go into town to buy an essential and I leave with about 10 other "essentials".

So when I decided I was going up to Silverburn (a shopping centre just outside Glasgow) to get a birthday present for my Mum and a few "essentials" L suggested I try and set myself a £30 limit. I accepted the challenge and this is what happened.

This is what I got from Boots:

 This Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer is AMAZING!!! It makes your dark circles, blemishes and discolouring just disappear!!! I use it in No.2 Light.

It cost me - £4.99

Next is this Collection 2000 Hot Looks nail polish in Electric Dream. I normally don't buy Collection 2000 nail polish because I feel like they don't have the best colour range but because I spent over £4 on the Collection 2000 Concealer I got to choose a free nail polish. I'm not crazy on this colour so I havent tried it yet, but it was the only one I remotely liked the look of!

Cost - free

Now....These I discovered about a month ago while doing a late night food shop with L and after using them just once I fell in love!!! They are the Garnier Fresh Essentials Cleansing wipes with Grape Extract. They remove waterproof make-up completely (as well as normal stuff obviously!) as well as removing dead skin cells and also tones and purifies at the same time! They smell lovely and fresh and leaves your skin feeling lovely and smooth! I sometimes use these in the morning as well as a face wash just because I feel it leaves my skin smother before applying make-up than my face-wash does!!! So I picked up another packet!

Cost - 3.25

The last thing I got on Boots was this Natural Collection eye liner in black. I saw Fleurdeforce talking about this in a budget make-up look she filmed on her youtube channel (definitely forth checking out she is awesome!!) and so when I saw the Natural Collection stand I thought Id grab this since Im needing a new black eye liner anyway. I've used it a couple of times since and its safe to say that although it's cheap its definitely quite high quality! I put it on in the morning and its still there 6 hours later! Love it!

Cost - £1.99

So thats everything from Boots and that came to a total of £9.43. 

Next I went to Superdrug (btw sorry for any Americans or other nationalities reading this you probably won't know what Boots and Superdrug are! They're basically like CVS or  Walgreen from what I can see!) here's what I got:

 The Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation. I think I'm Soft Beige but it doesn't say what shade it is on the bottle and I can't remember what shade I ended up being!!! I have fallen in love with this foundation!!! It is beautiful on the skin, It brightens it and gives you a fresh awake look! It build really well and doesn't cake when you do! I just absolutely adore this makes my skin look!!

Cost - £8.99

 Last for superdrug I bought the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Papaya. I put this on my toes pretty much as soon as I got home and I love it! I put a bottom coat because I had heard that the Gelly paints can stain your nails but there's no need for a top coat. You can see below how shiney they look and this photo was taken a week ago and they still haven't chipped at all! Really worth checking out! The only thing I'd say about this was that I was disapointed in the way It looked on my finger nails but I think thats maybe because my hands aren't tanned at all but my feet have a little tan which the colour reacts lovely with!

Cost - £3.99

 Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Papaya

I did actually buy one more thing in Superdrug, I got a little eyeshadow duo that had a lovely pink and a sort of light turquoise in it from 2True which cost me £1.99 but somehow before I got home It had smashed so I had to put it in the bin. 

So at Superdrug I spent a total of £14.97.

Which means!!! The total money I spent was £24.40!!! Total Success!!! I stayed well under my limit with a fiver left over!!! So proud of myself!! I stuck to things on the list I had made up and I didn't buy anything that I didn't go there to buy! The only thing I didn't find was a bronzer and highlighter but I didn't see any that I liked.

I definitely learned a few things while doing this challenge and I thought I'd make a list of tips for you guys!

1. Set yourself a budget. Try and stick to something realistic for the items your wanting to purchase. For example, don't set £10 if your going to buy a foundation, concealer and nail polish. For good quality £10 would not do!

2. Write out a list of things you want to get and add up what they might cost you. If you know in advance what your going to spend and your under budget you'll be able to get 1 or 2 nonessentials!

3. Take a friend you trust to help you stick to your budget. Taking a friend who is a big spender will just make you want to spend more and if your like me, you'll end up doing just that! Also taking a friend will make the whole experience more fun!

4. Definitely stay away from the make-up counter girls!!! They're job is to make you spend spend spend! If you do end up talking to one STAY STRONG, explain your shopping on a budget and are only looking for one thing. Hopefully they will understand and not push you into buying extra things!

5. Keep in your mind that you don't have to go for low cost products. With make-up you get what you pay for a lot of the time so be careful! If you stick to your budget but only leave with a few things don't worry! You stuck to your budget, got your essentials and will probably be pretty happy with the quality etc! Not coping with a lot of rubbishy quality stuff that you hate! Be proud of yourself!

So I hope this post was an interesting one and helps you see that even on a budget you can get some really great essentials and some nonessentials too!!

Hope your all having a great Tuesday and I'll see you next time!

Kat

xoxox

Outfits of the Week!!

Hi guys :)

I just wanted to let you know that I do have posts on their way. I'm just struggling to find time to get them done!!!

Can you believe it's already August???? This year is going crazy fast! I feel like I have to sprint to catch up with it!!

Anyway!!! To keep things moving on here I have two outfits of the week for you from this past week. I only had two days off, one I just lazed about and the other I met some friends for coffee (outfit is below) but on Wednesday (the last day of July :'( ) was my Mum's birthday so I got to dress up nice for that. My little sister is away this week so it was just My parents, L and Myself. It was a lovely meal and such a nice way to spend the evening of my beautiful Mum's Birthday!! So without further ado here's the outfits!

 This outfit was for my Mum's birthday dinner :) 

Skirt - Topshop

Tank - Topshop

Blazer - H&M

Bracelets - Sonnenschein Crafts (http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SonnenscheinCrafts)

Necklace - The Naked Daisy (https://www.facebook.com/daisy400?fref=ts)

Here's a really strange looking photo of my face! I wanted to get a photo of my make-up and the jewellery (It will be in an upcoming post on the designer of the jewellery)

For make-up I just kept it really simple with just a light dusting of shimmery pink eyeshadow on my lids and mascara!

This is an outfit I wore for going to get coffee with friends :)

Jeans - I honestly can't remember!

Coat - La Roudette

Scarf - Sainsbury's

Bag - Topshop

 For my make-up here I did a slightly light smokey eye using pink and brown tonnes with a red shadow which I used as an eyeliner. I then used some red/pink lipstick and a little rouge to finish the look off! I ended up using this look the again the nest day because I loved it so much!

So thats it for this mega quick Outfits of the Week! I'm working on a few other posts which will be up very soon I hope they include Summer favourites and a Budget Haul and a project which i'm working on too!!! So make sure you look out for them!

Until next time

Byeee!!!

Kat

xoxox