Red Velvet Cookies

Hey Guys!

I feel like I haven't done a baking post in ages, and to be honest I actually made these ages ago with Charlotte and have had so many other ideas that I've kept moving this post backwards. But here it is! Before this, I had never actually made red velvet cookies before and when they turned out pretty well, I must admit I was quite pleased. The recipe we used was supposed to have nutella in but we didn't have much time so adapted it to what we had and could do. They tasted really good and the recipe actually made quite a few - so here it is. (The pictures are also slightly different than usual as they were taken by Charlotte, so thank you!)

For the cookies you will need:

• 360g all-purpose flour
• 1¼ tsp. bicarb soda
• ½ tsp. salt (melted)
• 238g unsalted butter
• 280g packed dark brown sugar
• 60g granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp liquid red food dye
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt (can substitute with sour cream)
• 1 cup semi sweet mini choc chips (or regular)

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
2. Mix the melted butter, sugars and red food dye (how much you wish to put in) until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt/sour cream until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently fold in all of the chocolate chips.
3. Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator or because we had no time, 30 minutes in the freezer works too!
4. When dough has chilled for 2 hours, measure about 1½ tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and flatten slightly and gently with your hand.
5. Bake the cookies at 180C degrees for 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the sheets for at least 2 minutes. 

Hope that if you try these cookies they turn out well and taste good too! I really enjoyed making these and shall definitely be trying them again.

Imagine Creativeness

Emily x

Sparkler Fun!

Hey Guys!

Seeing as it has just been bonfire/fireworks night, I decided that I would share with you what I did. I have never been one to do much or even to go to a display, but this year, we decided we were going to buy sparklers. I love these cause you can have so much fun creating pictures and exploring, and the light is so pretty. This year (credits to my Dad) I got some amazing pictures that I thought I would share with you - so this is going to be quite a short blogpost! So here are some of the pictures I experimented with and had a lot of fun taking!

Let me know what sort of things you do on firework night - do you do sparklers or visit a firework show? Or even just snuggle up and have hot chocolate? I loved taking these pictures, and sparklers will forever be my favourite thing to do on bonfire night!

Imagine Creativeness

Emily x

So White Lush Christmas Review!

Hey Guys!

I just love when it gets to autumn and you can snuggle up to a hot chocolate and blanket or sit by a fire. Or have a nice relaxing bath with a bit of a pamper and then getting into your warmest pyjamas. Charlotte was really kind and recently bought me a bath bomb that I had never tried, so I thought what better than to do a review on it! I really enjoyed using this bath bomb and am definitely going to purchase it again along with other Christmas products I haven't tried.

Lush describes this product as 'Snow White had a tough time of it. If you are too likely to spend Christmas evening evading evil stepmothers, stroppy mirrors, not to mention cooking and cleaning for seven singing men, you certainly deserve a dip in the bath. Crisp, apple-scented waters, as pure as the driven snow, fizz and foam, while bergamot oil and rose absolute restore peace and calm. At the core, a heart of fruity, uplifting neroli oil and orange flower absolute is sure to revive your (Christmas) spirit.' 

I must admit, on first glance this isn't necessarily a bath bomb you would pick up. The appearance isn't overall that interesting as it is just a plain white, but don't let that stop you from buying this bath bomb. The bath bomb does take a while to dissolve and fill the bath, however then end product is not expected. Slowly the bath bomb starts to change colour as you get closer to the centre. Mine started yellow and was quite pale, however a deeper blue immersed and created a greeny colour that filled the bath. It definitely creates a lot of foam and bubbles and leaves your skin feeling very soft. 

The smell to me was definitely apples! It was quite a sweet scent and filled the room quite a bit. It also had a faint floral scent to it which complimented the apple to create quite a sweet, but very nice scent. On the other hand, I couldn't smell much orange however that didn't make a difference. To me, this bath bomb smelt a lot of Christmas and was a definite bath bomb to revive a Christmas spirit!

Overall for only £3.75, this bath bomb is really nice. For what you pay, the size of the bath bomb is pretty decent and actually looks a bit like an apple! I wouldn't say that it was my favourite bath bomb in the Christmas range, however it is quite a Christmas scented one that I might buy nearer Christmas again. Let me know in the comments other good bath bombs to try from their Christmas range!

Imagine Creativeness

Emily x

Autumnal Backgrounds

Hey Guys!

So I really feel like it is becoming Autumn now, as all the leaves are starting to fall and everyone is wrapping up in scarves and winter coats. I decided that I was going to share with you some backgrounds that are very autumn inspired, which you can use for your phones or anything you like. I have some favourites, and personally, I prefer the more cartoon - like ones as I find them more cute, however I have put a mix in here. Most are the shape of a phone however some are square, but are ones that you can crop to the size you want without losing the focus. Here are some of my favourites:

THE LEAF INSPIRED ONES:

 

 

 

THE WORDED ONES:

 

 

THE MISCELLANEOUS ONES:

I hope that one of these backgrounds is suitable for you and that you like some of them - let me know the ones that are your favourites!

Imagine Creativeness

Emily x

Happiness is Doodling

Hey Guys!

Hope that you have all had a good week - I'm so glad that it is the half term soon. When I last did a Quote for the Week post I used a drawing that I had done for Graphics as part of that post. I decided since I did another one as a front cover for my portfolio, I decided I would share it but put a quote to it again. 

 I love drawing, however I am not very good at drawing the useful things, like people for example. I would love to try one day to get better, however I love to doodle, or copy pictures that I can draw. Recently I have been doodling a lot more and decided to add it to this picture, which took forever, but I think was worth it!

The definition of doodling in the dictionary is:

- A scribble absent-mindedly,

- A rough drawing made absent-mindedly.

However someone said that the real definition is:

- To make spontaneous marks to help yourself think. 

Doodling is spontaneous and should be spontaneous. It helps you to create and think, which is why I enjoy it.

If it's something that makes you happy or distracts you from other things, do it. Let the pen take you on a walk and lead it where it wants you to go. If you stick to it, something amazing will come out at the end and will make you feel proud of what you've done. 

This was a slightly different quote post however it was quite an expressive way to do it. 

Imagine Creativeness

Emily x

Two Plait Bun Hairstyle

Hey Guys!

So I have never actually done a hairstyle post party because I am not able to take pictures easily by myself, so when Charlotte came round last Friday, we had some spare time and we were able to take some pictures. This hairstyle is pretty simple and doesn't take very long to do. This is a nice hairstyle when you want your hair to be out of your face but you want something a bit more interesting than a ponytail. I must admit I am not the best at describing how to do plaits but I shall give it a go! So here is the hairstyle tutorial for a two plait bun...

1) Start by making a middle parting down the centre of your hair. On both sides you will need a plait, but it's up to you whether you do a French plait or a Dutch plait. Personally I prefer a Dutch as I like to call it more of a '3D' effect but it's up to you. Start by taking a small section of hair and splitting it into three. Place the right strand under the centre strand and take a piece of hair with it. Continue doing this on both sides until you end up with a plait that comes to about your ears. After that, continue it as a normal plait without picking up hair as you go along. Secure with a hair tie. Repeat on the other side.

2) Once both your plaits are secured, create a low ponytail at the back of your head. Add the plaits into the ponytail and secure altogether with another hair tie. When the plaits are secured in the ponytail, take out their hair ties so that the ponytail is straight. 

3) Turn the ponytail into a bun by swirling round the hair to form a doughnut like shape. Secure with a couple of hair ties until you get the desired shape and size. I like to put a hair net in so that any loose ends or strands stay within the bun and it stays in longer. Complete the bun by placing bobby pins through the bun to keep it in place and place any more bobby pins in areas that might not stay or aren't in place. Finally spray a bit of hairspray and voila! you have you two plait bun!

I really like this hairstyle and wear it quite a bit as it is so simple once you get the hang on it. I really enjoyed doing a post like this, so let me know if you want me to do more hairstyles or if there are any you want me to do. 

Imagine Creativeness

Emily x

Revolution Eyeshadow Palette

Hey Guys!

So I was ranting on to my friend, Charlotte the other day about this new palette I bought about a month ago and how good it was, and so she said I should do a blogpost on it. So here I am writing a blogpost on Revolution 'Redemption Palette Iconic 3'.

I had some vouchers for Love2Shop and I didn't know what to buy with them. I was with another friend in Superdrug and I'm not one for expensive makeup, but had been looking for a nice bronzey coloured eyeshadow. I was just having a look around and I saw the Revolution stand, and to me it was definitely a reasonable price. I swatched some of the colours and it was what I had been looking for, so I bought it.

The pigmentation is actually really good on these eyeshadows, especially when you blend different colours together. There is a range of pink shades but also bronze which was the main colour I was looking for, but they are all really pretty. These are some of my favourite shades which I use on a regular basis. 

It comes with an applicator however it is one with two rounded ends. I am not very keen on these types of eyeshadow brushes as I think they aren't very good, so I use my own eyeshadow brush from H&M. It has a fluffy round end for blending and on the other end has an angled brush which is great for your crease and inner corner. I have really liked this palette and would recommend it to you if you like these sort of shades. I am hoping to buy another one as they have a couple of palettes that are all really pretty.

Overall, I think these palettes are very reasonably priced and affordable at only £4, and have really pigmented shades. Let me know if you like this sort of review and if you want me to do more on some of my other favourite products.

Imagine Creativeness

Emily x