Monday 30 July 2012

Arayha's Boutique

A quick update:

Studio creation is going well but will have to be put on hold for a few days due to a family wedding this weekend, I also won't be online much during this time. Everything will be back to normal for a week until my operation and then I'll be away for a few days again recovering.

I am working on some new Lushie Plushies based on Lush's new Emotional Brilliance range, so keep an eye out for those on the Arayha's Boutique Facebook Page! Come over and tell me which you'd like to see in plushie form first.

Wedding plans are on hold (hence the deletion of the previous post, as I'm quite upset). If you missed the link to my Pinterest wedding ideas board, you can get some inspiration Here. You may even be able to spot what was going to be my wedding dress.

And to finish on good news for today, my good friend Arts & Candies now has a blog! You can visit it Here.

She is holding a competition, so if you love her work pop over there and leave her a comment!

x

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Today I...

I spent the entire day trying to fix my old Singer 522 Sewing machine. It just refused to sew even a few stitches and constantly jammed with breaking thread.



I took it all apart, only to discover my repair man had stuffed it full of odd smelling yellow gunk that did nothing but clog the machine up. The parts that actually needed lubricating didn't have anything on at all!



I had a huge job ahead of me. I must have spent about five hours just pulling it all apart and finding all the gunk. Then I spent ages searching the internet for a copy of a manual to see how to sort the machine out (I bought the machine second hand and it came with nothing).

I found out the gunk caused the tension problems that caused the machine to jam and the thread to break. But after all my hard work cleaning and repairing I was rewarded with  this:



I know it's not perfect but compared to before it's just amazing.

I will need to clean it all out again with some WD40 and then lubricate it with the correct oil - mineral. and then with any luck we will have a great little machine.

In other news, Tim my kitty turns one on August the second and I'm so tempted to sew a cute bow tie collar for the day. He's going to be getting a few new toys and some treats too.

Sir Tim

 Also, have you visited my Facebook page Arayha's Boutique? I will be doing a huge giveaway when we reach 100 page likes and you could win a set of adorable Lushie Plushies! So the more you share the page, the faster we'll get to the giveaway.


Pop on and say hi.

x

Monday 23 July 2012

More Emotional Brilliance Party Pictures & New Lushie Plushies

Photos from the VIP preview party have been uploaded onto Lush Manchester Arndale's Facebook page and here are the three I am in:

Source: Facebook
Here I am outside waiting to be let in, you can just see me stood behind the coloured dots window display.


Source: Facebook
 I was the very first person to have a colour reading and the lovely Rachel did mine.

Source: Facebook
And this is my favourite photo from the evening. I'm posing with Charlie who I thought looked like David Bowie at the party. He always makes me smile. All the staff are amazing there.

Since Friday's party I have been busy sewing more adorable Lushie Plushies and I had a really nice day out with my mum on Saturday clothes shopping for my cousin's upcoming wedding.

 I've made a Sakura ballistic and another Big Blue:

Sakura
Big Blue

 Has anyone had a go at using the tutorial to make their own Comforter?

x




Saturday 21 July 2012

Emotional Brilliance: The Preview Party

Yesterday I was woken up by a very special delivery; the summer edition of the Lush Times and I'm in it! On page 19 you can find my tutorial showing you how to make your very own Comforter Lushie Plushie!



I went into Manchester to watch the new Batman film The Dark Knight Rises, which I really enjoyed. I saw one of those arcade games outside where you try to grab a toy with a machine claw and it had cupcakes in it!



I also went for another reason; the Lush Emotional Brilliance VIP preview party. Emotional Brilliance is Lush's new makeup range that uses colours to alter your mood.



We waited outside for ages as the staff altered the window display, put coloured spots on the floor and set up all the lovely new products.

We went in and were told all about how the colour readings work. I was the very first person to have a colour reading and spin the magical wheel! I was told to sit and close my eyes, taking deep breaths to relax and free my mind of all thoughts. I then opened my eyes and gave the wheel a spin, watching all the beautiful colours merge into a circular rainbow.

Now, before I reveal what colours I got I want to tell you how I was feeling beforehand. I'd had a bad morning and all day I was feeling fed up, sad, dull and sort of scruffy. Just really bad like I should have stayed in bed, but I wasn't ill. Yes I had cheered up slightly when I went into Lush but I was pretty nervous when I was having my reading as everyone's eyes were on me and photographs were being taken left right and center. The deep breaths helped me relax a little and certainly did free my mind but overall, I wasn't feeling great.

I waited for the wheel to slow down and as it stopped, I pointed to the three colours that stood out to me and in the order I had seen them (the order is very important). I had picked a pastel blue, pale pink and pastel yellow.



What really surprised me were the names of the colours. You see, the order is important as they reveal how you're feeling. The first colour represents your strength or weakness, the second represents your subconscious need and the third represents your aspiration.

So my first colour, the blue called 'Calm' was either my strength or weakness. I think it was more weakness yesterday as I was very stressed and staying calm was very hard for me.

My second colour was the pink called 'Glamorous' which was my subconscious need. As I said before, I was feeling very dreary and dull all day and in fact, for a long time. I felt in need of a change, especially with my looks and the fact that I had chosen this colour without knowing what it represented was very surprising as it really fitted my needs.

My last colour was the yellow called 'Lifted' which represented my aspiration. I generally wanted to feel brightened up in all aspects of my life and this colour also seemed to fit.




And there we go, the colour reading was complete. After that I was led to the products to test them out and experiment a bit. I put the yellow on my eyelid and the blue on as a liner (I also tried their new mascara called 'Eyes Right' which went on smoothly and looked nice but flaked later, only slightly though.) I didn't try the pink. I was going to but then I saw another pink that I was attracted to and I just had to try. It was called 'Passionate' (you may remember it from the previous Lush Times' back cover photo).



This was my favourite colour on. I was going to buy it but then I saw another I fell in love with. It caught my eye in a way where I just couldn't look away. It was 'Fantasy' an amazing liquid gold liner. I purchased this one but at £14.50 and on my current budget I couldn't get any more. If I had the money I would have bought 'Passionate' along with it.





Here's the problem with the colour reading wheel. While it is a lot of fun, it is a novelty. Don't get me wrong, I will be spinning it again but even I didn't use it to pick the colours I would have purchased. I went off look alone, the name didn't matter to me if I fell in love with the colour. Maybe that messes the whole idea up but a lot of other people only bought the colours they liked the look of. It was lucky if any of those colours were from their readings. Still, the wheel is fun and rather insightful so I would say give it a go.

Here are some photos of the colours I put on. The applicators were rather fiddly and not so easy to use so I couldn't put the makeup on well, so just ignore the smudges and concentrate on the colous!













If you're looking for a nice everday lip colour 'Perspective' below is a nice one.


A few words of warning, this stuff stains really badly. Which is good in a way as that makes it fairly long lasting but also very bad as it is extremely hard to remove - especially the brighter, bolder shades!

I used two rounds of Lush's Ultrabland cleanser and a lemon and sugar scrub to remove the colour (do NOT use that scrub on or near your eyes though! Just the cleanser). Be very careful which shades you choose to wear and bear in mind where you'll be going the next day as you may be left with marks.

Overall, a nice range. There are eye cream shadows, liners and lip colours along with a facial tint, a highlighter, loose powder and a mascara.

I would suggest using the eye cream shadows as liners for speed. If you choose to wear them on your lid you may need to layer them up to build an even colour, the yellow and pale shades seem to be thinner and uneven unless you layer them carefully.

Also you can use all the colours as face paints, lip colours and also some of the lip creams as blusher - mix them with a cream or serum to blend as they dry very quickly.

Today is the big launch in stores for this range. If you have a reading on the colour wheel leave a comment, I'd love to know what you got and how you think it relates to your mood.

x

Tuesday 17 July 2012

The End Of The School Year

So another year at school has come to an end. Children are leaving and new ones arriving. Lots of little jobs to be done and everyone's working hard.

I was meant to attend an assembly yesterday so the children can see who their helpers are and say thank you but I was held up enrolling on my course, so I missed it. I went in today to deliver the make believe post office I had made for one of the classes and I was presented with a lovely gift as a thank you for helping out in school during the year:


It smells lovely, what a wonderful surprise! (I love the look of the pastel pink and silver mirror together - with cream I might use it as inspiration for my new bedroom colour scheme!)

Here are some pictures of the post office I made out of boxes for the kids. It's only basic and needs decorating with leaflets, pretend post and a sign.

Two front doors and post boxes - things can be posted and also collected

Inside the post office 'staff' area - in need of decoration, it's quite 'IKEA' at the minute!

Outside front of the post office area - needs a sign and leaflets

So that's some of what I've been busy with this week. I have many more projects on the go and you'll see a post about those soon (along with a few catch up posts I haven't managed to get around to finishing yet).

I'm looking forward to this Friday. I'm going to the VIP preview night of Lush's new makeup range 'Emotional Brilliance' and I'm very excited! With any luck this time it will be the right day and everyone will have a great time. Is anyone else going to one of the preview parties? The range launches this Saturday.

Also you should keep an eye out for the summer edition of Lush Times which is supposed to be out this week, as my how to tutorial for making Lushie Plushies is in there. I will try and grab one and post a picture of it.

 x

Friday 13 July 2012

Getting The Wheels In Motion

I had a very interesting meeting today about starting up my own business. The first steps have been taken and the wheels are finally turning. Over the next few weeks I will be working on designs to go alongside the Lushie Plushies when everything is sorted out.

I've been wondering who my first customer will be and if I should do some kind of offer or prize etc for opening - it should be just a matter of weeks if all goes well!

I am both excited and scared about this, mainly excited. I have so many ideas rushing around my head and I can't wait to get going!

(Source Google)



x

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Surprise Mail, Giant Think Pink & Summer Fair News!

I have been expecting a package from Arts & Candies but I can't say what that was for in case a certain person reads about it and then the surprise would be ruined, but I will add a photo of what it is to this post at a later date.

Well, my package arrived today with the expected item and I was very surprised to find quite a few more with it!

Here are some pictures:

My bracelet, featuring The Comforter bubble bar, Dorothy bubble bar, Youki-Hi ballistic, Ma Bar bubble bar, Ruby Red Slippers bubble bar, Blue Skies & Fluffy White Clouds bubble bar, Gingerbread House bubble bar, B Love soap, Candy Mountain bubble bar and Sunnyside bubble bar.




I adore this bracelet, I have worn it all day in the rain and it certainly cheered up a dreary day! It fits perfectly too, which is a problem I have with most bracelets, but not this one!

Ok next is the surprise Youki-Hi necklace - I have her very first Youki-Hi creations and I'm so proud!


And here is the keyring featuring Ooh La La soap and French Kiss bubble bar:




I will be giving this one to my mum as her birthday present :) Luckily she doesn't use the internet so she won't see this haha


Along with the above and the secret surprise one I ordered, the lovely Arts & Candies also included a Yankee Candle wax tart and two lollies, all wrapped up in the prettiest pink and silver speckled paper.


I have been staring at everything all day since opening the Youki-Hi scented box this morning and let me tell you this, they are perfect right down to the last detail. From the teeny tiny sprinkles on the gingerbread house, to the glitter and also the sugar cube on my ma bar... just perfect! They even smell lovely.


I have no doubt that the recipient of the item I ordered will also be over the moon. A job well done miss candy!


************************************************************************************


On to other news! On Sunday I attended the summer fair of a school I volunteer at and ran a Lush pamper spa room using all Lush products, made Think Pink ballistics, held a raffle to win Lush 'You're A Star' gift boxes and also had a mini Lush shop. 


We made almost £240 from the Lush activities alone! How amazing is that?!


Of course I couldn't have done this all by myself, quite a few others helped out a lot and made this amazing day happen. Firstly, my mum ran around all day selling over 500 raffle tickets and bringing refreshments. Next the amazing Leila and Jayne from the Lush Manchester Arndale store came to help me with treatments and product making. They brought the Lush products to use in the spa and also sold loads of products as well as thoroughly pamper and entertain everyone who came to us. All three of you ran around non stop like busy bees and I am proud of you. The school is proud of you.


And lastly, to the Lush Compounders for sending me two Think Pink product making kits that helped a great deal in raising so much money and bringing smiles to many children and adult faces. We only used one kit at the fair and had some leftover mixture, so I made a giant Think Pink that I will be raffling off next week along with as many ballistics that can be made from the second kit to raise even more money for the school to help buy much needed equipment for special needs children.


Even my boyfriend did his bit helping us to load up the car with all the heavy boxes. And of course I did my bit too, performing many treatments and making products as well as setting up and clearing away the spa room.


I enjoyed the day so much I didn't want to leave and I will certainly be handing in my CV to Lush if it means I get to do more treatments like this on people. I think my favourite bit, which surprised me was giving people foot treatments. It was so relaxing sitting there massaging cream into their feet while listening to soothing music. Quite a few of us almost fell asleep, the room was so relaxing!


Here's the giant Think Pink I made:




I put a normal one next to it just to show the size difference - what a monster!


I'm hoping to get hold of a few of the pictures taken of our day at the fair (unfortunately we were all too busy to take any ourselves!) and I will crop / blur the bits I need to (protect kiddie faces etc as it was at a school and you need parent permission to show faces...) then put them up :) I hope there are some good ones!


THANK YOU to everyone I have mentioned in this post, you are all amazing people!


x

Monday 2 July 2012

More Lushie Plushies

I've been fairly quite on here the past week or so. The reason for this is that I had been studying for my maths exam which I passed last Tuesday! I have also been very busy with medical appointments as I've not been very well recently (nothing contagious, I do need an operation though) and I have been very busy hand sewing and making exclusive Lushie Plushie goodies including a gift box for Lush White City, lovely goodies for the amazing Arts & Candies and of course for Mail Order at Lush, who have requested some.

Busy busy busy!

I'm also currently working on a shop which you will hear more about another time. If you like my Lushie Plushies and like quality hand made, detailed and well finished items then stay tuned as they say, it won't be too long before you see everything I have to offer you lovely people. I may even have a special shop opening offer or giveaway to celebrate!

I can't show you full pictures of the items for the gift box yet as it is unfinished but I will as soon as it's all complete and on it's way to White city for their raffle. They are adorable, I can tell you that!

For now, here are a few sneak peaks:

Image  ©Sarah Bailey-Sharp 2012


And lastly for today, here's my kitty Tim:



Remember you can follow me on Twitter, I'm @Arayha  :)  I'd love to hear from you. Don't be afraid to tweet me, I've very friendly.

x