Father's Day Gift Ideas, With Personalised Parties

So the bbq I mentioned about in yesterdays post, was so good. It was nice to have a relaxing evening and watch a show on Netflix under the duvet on the sofa. I also may have fallen asleep and missed a couple of episodes! But it was a really nice night. The weather has gone a little cooler today, but I'm still hoping that we still get some more really nice warm days real soon. Hopefully, there be a few more bbq's yet!

I don't about you, but I always find it quite difficult to know what to get guys for gifts. Whether it be for my boyfriend, friend or dad, I always know what to get my girlfriends and my mum, But when it comes to getting a guy a present, I don't always know what to get them. As Father's Day is coming up, for today's post I want to share with you a few ideas on what you could get for Father's Day, from Personalised Parties. Getting someone a personalised item makes it that bit more personal and special, which is why I am loving these two items that you can see in the photos above and below. I am very honoured to be collaborating with Personalised Parties, to bring to some gift ideas for Father's Day.

I was kindly sent this notebook and mug, which I personalised myself on the website. You may remember a little while back I write a post sharing a couple of super cute Unicorn products by Personalised Parties. Having previously chosen to have the products personalised before, the website is very easy to navigate around and to personalise your gifts. With the gifts I chose in this post, I decided to go for the bicycle-themed ones. I think they are so cute and know that my dad will love them. You can personalise the back and front of these. I just decided to personalise the back of them.

There is a range of different products that you can choose from in the Father's Day section of the website. There are more notebooks and mugs with different designs, chocolate bars and wrapping paper, all with matching designs. The products are amazing quality and affordable. My items arrived safely in the post and well packaged.

Meet My May Advertisers

What gorgeous weather we have been having. I had bank holiday weekend off work, so it was nice to just relax and chill out. My mum and I had a bbq on Sunday, and I'm about to have another one in a little while. Got to make the most of the sunshine. I can even hear an ice cream van playing its tune in the distance! I've also been playing outside with Jasper the dog, blowing bubbles. He loves chasing the bubbles. It's so fun to watch! Anyone else's pets love playing with bubbles?! Mmmm, the bbq smells so good. What did you get up to over the bank holiday weekend? I met up with my friend Louise for a catch-up, which was so nice as I've really missed her. One of our locals has just re-opened, so we went there for a drink and sat outside, next to the river.

I want to say a huge welcome to my May advertisers, Alana and Louise. If you would like to advertise with me over on Clemloves, I have 3 different packages to choose from and prices start from just £2.  There's the Butterfly package, the Dolphin package and the Unicorn package. Click here to find out more. If you would like one of my packages, you can email me at clemloves@gmail.com or DM me at @clemloves. I look forward to hearing from you. 😀

How I Take and Edit My Blog Photos

Happy Saturday! I hope you're having a fab weekend. I must admit, I've not really been up to that much today. I did pop on Netflix though and watch some more episodes of Friends! I decided to start watching it from the beginning. This time in the correct order. I don't think I've ever really watched Friends episodes in the right order. It's also been a while since I've watched most of the episodes so it's nice being able to watch them again. I was so sad when channel 4 stopped showing them.

For today's blog post I thought I would share with you how I take and edit my blog photos. I know that there are already lots of tips and tricks all around the blogosphere, but I thought that I would share with you how I personally take and edit mine. I love reading these types of posts myself as it really inspires me with my photography and I'm always looking to find new tips and tricks for taking photos. If you're interested in seeing what my photos looked like when I first started blogging, check out this blog post from 2012, and this one too! I love looking through my old blog posts and seeing how much my photos have changed since then.

The majority of my photos on my blog have been taken with my iPhone 6 and my more recent ones are taken with my Canon 700D. You can take amazing photos with your phone camera. I absolutely love the camera on my iPhone 6. These photos were took using it and these ones too. For taking photos with my phone camera, I love having the grid mode on as it really helps, especially when taking product photos. With my Canon 700D, I also make sure that I have grid mode set on it too.

Some Thoughts On The Future Of Blogging

Hey there lovelies! It's another beautiful Spring morning. I'm just looking forward to that warm weather again. I've been seeing a few posts recently on the future of blogging. I wanted to share with you my own personal thoughts and opinions on it. I know that recently there have been a few dramas going on within the blogging community, but then this happens everywhere. Which is why I want to try and spread a bit of positivity. I absolutely love the blogging community and whenever I see a drama happening, I always stay well away and let things settle down. If I feel I need to say something then I will, especially if someone has been hurt by actions. But from these, so many negative things can come from it. And being honest, the blogging community I know, is still very much full of kind, honest, beautiful and amazing people.

Whilst there are so many more bloggers than ever before, this may be considered not such a good thing, as surely this then means that there will be fewer opportunities for bloggers and less recognition for what someone does. But to be honest I feel that yes, there are thousands and thousands of bloggers, millions all over the world even, but I also think that it's a good time for having your own blog. There are so many more brand new opportunities out there. There are more and more brands working with bloggers. There are also different platforms to link your blog to, for example, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. We have Instagram Stories, Instagram Live and Instagram in general, Facebook pages, Facebook Live, Snapchat, Pinterest, Youtube Live, Periscope, Vero and so many more. I've also just started using Linkedin and Stumbleupon for my blog too. I can't wait to see what other new social media platforms come in the future. I definitely see lots more people are using Instagram to share their stories, what they have been up to and post photos to show this. When I go to their profile, I see that they haven't got a blog on blogger or WordPress etc, but they are using Instagram as one for microblogging.

Blogging has also opened up a whole new world for owning and running your own business. I can see that by, yes, more people doing the same thing can make it more difficult for new bloggers, but at the same time, people are not really doing the same thing. Everyone has their own personal, unique blog. Everyone is writing about what they want to write about. I love that so many people are doing what they love, like myself, taking photos and writing, and if that turns in to a career, then that's amazing. I have met online some wonderful people over the years and have made lots of new blogger friends. The blogging community is huge, but there are so many lovely and supportive people in the community and people helping each other.

Old English Company | Product Review

It's the weekend at last! But it kind of doesn't seem that long ago since it was last weekend! But whatever you are doing, I hope you have a good one. If you are wondering what my weekend is going to be spent doing, this weekend I'm working, but you will also most likely find me binge-watching on Netflix, eating cookies and playing on Animal Crossing! Ok, so I may have eaten most of my cookies last night! They are just so good! It's also about time I did a little Spring cleaning in my room. I really need to sort out my draws. I've literally just stuffed everything into them, oops! I've got a few bits too that I need to make room for. If you are looking for some more weekend reading, check out this brilliant book by Author Alice Blanchard. Or maybe you are looking for some new beauty products, head on over to my beauty section to find out more.

I'm very excited to share with you, these beautiful products* in the photos above and below by Old English Company. I absolutely adore all of their products. As soon as I received the parcel I was straight into it! I have a huge love for stationary and all things pink and cute. The products I chose, was the Blush Pink and Gold Planner, You Can enamel pin, Pizza Lover enamel pin, She Believed She Could Print, You Look Scrumptious pocket mirror, I Like You Alot card and the You Rock card. Each product came safely packaged in a box. I found the website easy to use and navigate around and each section is listed clearly. There's an Instagram slide at the bottom, so if you are looking for some inspiration on what to purchase, there are some very beautiful photos of products which other people have ordered.

I am so so happy with every single item here. If you are looking for your next new planner, or maybe a new pin, or maybe you are looking for your next print to hang on your wall, head on over to their website to check out all of their products. FYI, I think the stationary section has to be my favourite. Filled with planners, notebooks, notepads, calendars, gift wrap and tape, there is so much to choose from. But if you're looking for some new items for your home, the homeware section has a great selection of coasters and placemats, mugs, pillowcases, (definitely recommend checking out the pillowcase section), tea towels and aprons.

I highly recommend checking the website out, as I just know you are going to love it. Filled with prints, cards, homeware, accessories and stationery, there something for everyone at very affordable prices. Old English Company produces beautiful hand-lettered products. They were first established in London and their studios are now located in Stamford. If you haven't been to Stamford before, then I highly recommend adding it to your list of places to visit. Stamford is one of my favourite towns to go to, you definitely need to go and Google it. As I am only about half an hour away from Stamford, I love going there to look around the shops. There are also some wonderful little villages on the way and also Burghley House, which is incredible and so amazing.

Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus | Pop! Vinyl Update

Hey there! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I decided to take the weekend off from blogging and although I was working over Easter, I tried to spend some time just chilling and relaxing. On Sunday my mum and I went to Church and then I went to see my Grandad and then my nan. So it was a really nice day and it was really nice seeing my family and spending it with my mum. I also managed to get caught up on the new episodes of Once Upon A Time too! Today my mum and I went for a little ride out in the car and had a look along the river. There were fields full of Daffodils and I managed to get a few photos of them. One of my favourite things this time of year is all of the beautiful flowers. So yeah, it's been another really nice day today. I think I might even get an early night tonight! But first I think I will do some reading, as I've got a few books I want to read and review.

For todays brand new post, I want to share with you two new Pop! Vinyl figures that I got from my boyfriend for my birthday. I mentioned a while ago to him that I would love to collect the Sailor Moon ones, so I was very happy when he showed up at my door with these, especially as they are the ones with Artemis and Luna with them too. They are just so cute. I just had to take some pics of them to share on my blog. I've now got 8 Pop! Vinyl in my collection. I think these two are definitely my favourites though. And now that I've got these Sailor Moon ones, I'm going to have to collect the rest!

If you haven't heard of Pop! Vinyl figures before or seen them, then I suggest checking them out, especially as you can get so many of them, and there really is loads to collect! Want Disney ones? There's plenty of them! Or maybe you want 90's TV cartoon characters, there's some of those too. Love Friends? Yep, you've guessed it, you can get them too as Pop! Vinyl figures. But honestly, though, they are so much fun to collect. I remember when I first saw my boyfriends collection, I didn't really know much about them. But then he got me into them, and now I absolutely love them! But beware, they are quite addictive once you start!

Finding My Own Personal Style

Happy Saturday! It's actually starting to feel not as cold at the moment, so hopefully, that means the weather will continue to warm up a little bit more. I absolutely love the snow, but I think as soon as it starts getting to around this time of year more, it's nice to start having some warmer weather! But I do still love getting snuggled up in my dressing gown and a big blanket, with a mug of hot chocolate. A few things I love about Spring though is listening to the birds in the morning, driving past fields of daffodils and tulips and seeing the buds start appearing on trees and lots of blossom of course. I will definitely be doing a post on my most favourite things about Spring. I can't wait to start taking lots of Spring themed photos. It's crazy how we are almost in April now! It doesn't seem 5 minutes ago since It was the beginning of March and I was celebrating my 28th birthday!

If you are looking for a brand new eyeshadow palette, then check this one out by The Body Shop. And if you are looking for a new book, I highly recommend checking out The Little Wedding Island by Jaimie Admans. I've got some exciting new book reviews coming to ClemLoves very soon, which I can't wait to share with you. I also realised that I have quite a lot of photos on my memory card of beauty products that I have taken. So expect lots more beauty posts coming soon. Just to quickly mention too, that there's still some time left to grab yourself an advertising package for April. Head on over to my advertise section at the top of my blog to find out more. I have a choice of three packages and prices start from just £2. There's the Butterfly Package, Dolphin Package and Unicorn Package. There's still room left for April if you would like one. If you would like to view my stats, they are at the bottom of the advertise page.

For today's brand new blog post, I want to talk to you about how I have found my own personal style. It's taken quite a lot of years, but I've finally found it! The outfit I am wearing in the photos above and below is an outfit I really do love wearing. You may recognise the jumper from one of my previous posts and is by Damart. The skirt is one I got for Christmas. I saw it in Dorothy Perkins and fell in love with it, but as I was trying to save money, I didn't get it. My mum surprised me with it as a present for Christmas, I was so happy. I added my favourite Primark necklace to the outfit, some thick black tights, dark brown boots that are fluffy inside and so cosy, my baker boy cap from Topshop and backpack from Dorothy Perkins. This post is just a little bit about how my style has changed over the years, looking back to what I wore when I was younger and how I finally feel comfortable in what I wear.

Meet My February Advertiser

Welcome to my February Advertisers post! It's already the end of the month, but I'm looking forward to seeing what March brings. I will be starting off the month celebrating my birthday, which is this Friday and I'm gonna be 28! I am absolutely loving the snow we have been having and hope that we have lots more. It looks so beautiful. My mum and I just stood looking out of the window last night and it really did look truly magical. I also spent my morning taking some photos outside, as it's been so long since I have seen this much snow. 

If you would like to advertise with me through March, please click here to find out more. There's still time left. I am also now booking spots for April if you would like to be my April advertiser. It's only £3 for the month! 

Personalised Parties | Product Review

The weekend has been and gone and it's Monday already! But let's not let that get us down. It's a brand new week and a brand new day. It's also been snowing outside here! My weekend was spent resting, watching Ice Age and starting Travellers on Netflix. It's been on my list of things to watch for a while, so when I was recommended on Twitter to watch it, I just had to see what it's all about. I'm really liking it. Also after seeing lots of Tweets over the weekend of the social media app Vero, I decided to join it. I'm actually really liking it. I love how you can share a variety of different things, such as books, TV shows and films, along with using it to promote your blog. If you've got it, let's follow each other, you can find me by typing in Clementine Cousins in the search bar on the app. 

Today's brand new blog post is in collaboration with Personalised Parties. As you can see from the photos above and below, you have probably already noticed that I went for the Unicron themed products! I just had to. I do love unicorns. They have a huge range of products to choose from, including specific themed products for all different types of parties. For example, you can get party packs for a superhero party, a unicorn party, mermaid party and the list goes on. They even have a wide range of books available on the site, which you really must check out. It includes personalised Disney books and you can also get Thomas the Tank Engine and Peter Rabbit books too. If you are looking for the perfect gift or planning a party, then this is the site for you.

My Makeup Through The Years

It's only now I am 27 that I have finally found what makeup actually suits me best and I don't keep swapping and changing the products I am using. From a very young age, I have always loved makeup. I would go through my mum's makeup bag/draw and test things out for myself. The lipstick didn't end well, probably most of it going on my teeth, or not actually on my lips! But from them on, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a sparkly lipgloss or a body glitter roll on or gel that had little stars and sparkly bits in, which I think mostly ended up going on my cheeks! Remember those?! As I grew up in the 90's there were so many amazing products that I just loved so much and through to the 00's. I loved it when my friends and I did each others makeup. I couldn't wait to try out my new makeup looks at the school disco or friends birthday parties. 

Doing More Of What I love

It's sometimes so easy to get caught up in so many different things in everyday life, that we automatically forget or simply don't have enough time to do the things we love the most. With our hectic schedules and endless amount of time doing things that we may not particularly enjoy, we start to miss out on the things that matter the most to us and what we do enojoy doing. You may have seen in a few of my previous posts, how I want to try and read more books, write more, take my photography more seriously and do more paintings. These are just a few of the things that I enjoy doing the most. I don't want to end up regretting one day, that I have missed out on doing all of the many things that I love. Sometimes even now it will get to the end of the day and I just think about how I would have loved to have took some photos, or do a brand new painting to put on my Etsy shop. 

That's why I am trying to make more time to do the things that I want to do, what I love to do. Even if it means just spending 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there. It's making sure I spend some time, doing those things. Just by taking those few minutes out each day, it definitely helps me to feel happier and more relaxed. I read in an article that when we do the things what we love, we are actually more likely to be successful, happier and healthier. And I honestly believe that. For example, since spending more time on my blog and also publishing regular posts 4 days a week, I have found a whole new love my blog, which I talked about in a previous post recently. I love and enjoy my blog and by spending more time on it, I have noticed a much greater improvement with my writing, my photos and also the growth of my blog. 

Looking Back At Why I Started Blogging

There has been so much love being shared in the blogging community recently, especially on Twitter, and I absolutely love it. I've seen so many bloggers sharing other bloggers links, Instagram feeds and Twitter profiles. It just goes to show how one little kind action can really brighten up someones day. Recently I have been receiving lovely comments on my blog and you have no idea how happy that makes me feel. I've also been receiving some lovely comments on Twitter too. I've even got my first advertiser for February. It's things like this that make me feel happy and proud of my little space on the internet and how much it has grown.

It's got me thinking about why I started my blog in the first place. From a young age I loved creating websites and blogs. It was in 2012 when I created ClemLoves that I really got in to blogging. I did it because I wanted to be able to share with other people all of the things I love and make new friends. I have made some amazing blogger friends over the last few years. I have loved watching their blogs grow and to continue following them.

Reflecting Back On 2017

I know that we are now part way through January, but I really wanted to write a post, reflecting back on 2017. What a year it was. There are so many different things that happened, but I thought I would reflect on just a few bits, else this post could end up being very long. I feel that it's so important to look back and reflect. By writing this post, it has really made me think of what has happened and what I have achieved this last year. It's so easy to forget about certain things.

Sunday Thoughts | I Opened My Own Etsy Shop

Welcome to my first Sunday Thoughts post of 2018! I'm still really sad though that Christmas is over. I'm also really missing my Christmas blog header. But I am excited to see what this year brings. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Year. I spent mine with family and watched the fireworks on TV on New Years Eve. I always look forward to watching them on TV and also the band who plays before and after. Although this year, straight after the fireworks, I did fall asleep on the sofa for a bit.

As you can already see from the title of this post, I've opened up my own Etsy shop. It's been something that I have really wanted to do for a long time. I absolutely love painting and I want to be able share my paintings with everyone else. So I decided to put them on Etsy. I know my shop is a little empty at the moment, but there will be lots more coming on it very soon. You can find the link to my shop next to Advertise and Categories above. In the photos above and below is one of the paintings that will be on my Etsy, available to purchase, very soon. 

Sunday Thoughts | What I Love Most About Christmas

There are so many things I love about Christmas. It's such a magical time of year. I still get so excited about Christmas day and wake up about five in the morning! When I was younger I would always wake up really early and go straight to the landing, where there would be balloons waiting for me. That's how I knew Santa had been! I would then go downstairs and look to see if the mince pie and carrots had gone, that I left out for Santa and his reindeer. Then I would head straight for the living room to see what Santa had brought. It's the little things like that, that I used to love the most. 

There was also sometimes a handmade card left from Santa thanking me for the treats I left out! My Christmas day usually consists firstly of, giving and opening presents, followed by watching whatever Christmas programs and films are on TV. Next it's time to get ready and start preparing dinner. My favourite part is spending it with family and also eating the leftovers of course! Below I have listed a few of my most favourite things about Christmas.

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree with Simply Be

   
If there is one item of clothing that I love to wear the most, it's a dress. I love that you can style a dress for any season and you can wear them day through to night. My collection is continuing to grow in my wardrobe. I especially love floral dresses and patterns on. As soon as I find a dress I love, it’s literally all I want to wear! I love to own items of clothing that can be worn anytime of the day and will go with almost anything. The main reason I love dresses is because you can either wear them with or without tights, high heel shoes, boots or flat shoes, a cardigan or jumper over top or a nice jacket. The options are endless.
 
I recently received these beautiful dresses from Simply Be from their Partywear section and I am really loving them so much. They are the perfect dresses to wear during the day and to go out in at night. Also at the bottom of this post, is some loungewear items too, for when you get back home after a busy day or an evening out, and want something comfy to get in to. I love comfy clothes, and believe me, they are so comfy.

6 Things I Like To Do When I'm Not Online

It's less than one week until Christmas! I mean, how has this even happened! I had it all planned, I was going to be all ready for Christmas ages ago. Kind of hasn't worked out that way, I still need to do some Christmas shopping, oops! But I'm going to get it done, just a little bit later than I originally planned. At least the decorations and Christmas tree have been up quite a while. Usually it can sometimes be a last minute thing, but my mum and I made sure that we at least had the tree up early, before anything else. I also started the Christmas songs early too, just to get in that Christmassy mood.

Although I absolutely love going online, when I'm not online, there are a few things that I really like to do. It's nice sometimes just to take a little break and relax and do the things that I love the most, that doesn't involve staring at a computer screen. It's so easy to just sit at my Macbook and when I next look at the time, the whole day has gone by! So I kind of like to take, even if it's just for an hour say, some time to do other things. Below I have listed 6 things that I like to do when I'm not online.

Mini ASOS Haul

I think I'm slightly obsessed with trinket dishes! When I go on a site, I have to look to see if they sell them. You may have seen these ones in the photo above featured in some of my blog posts and Instagram photos. I thought that it was about time that I did a little post on them, because I absolutely love them so much. Not just because they look good in photos, but because they are really handy to put jewellery on and look great on show. But they do look so cute! 

I love looking on the ASOS site, but I've never really actually got anything much from the site, so when I saw these little dishes, I just had to get them. They were a great price too. I haven't looked to see if they are still on there, but I am guessing they are. These three ones are all by Sass and Belle. Highly recommend checking their website out if you haven't already. So many amazing and cute things on there. So many more adorable trinket dishes! I really want to go to London and Brighton just so I can look in their stores!

Sunday Thoughts | Jay and Jane Homeless Spalding Appeal, Update

I hope you are having a lovely weekend and a great Sunday. Only one week tomorrow until Christmas day! It's come round so fast. For today's blog post, I wanted to do a little update on the Jay and Jane, Homeless Spalding Appeal. You may remember my previous blog post, where I write about the fundraising we were doing to raise £5000 to get Jay and Jane a roof over their heads for Christmas. I'm so happy to say that we reached our target and Jay and Jane are now in rented accommodation. In just a week, we reached beyond our goal of £5,000 and raised a total of £5,105. The funds have now reached the Lloyds Bank Treasurers Account. From the £5,095 which were donated on the JustGiving page, JustGiving has taken out their fees of £318.44, leaving a total of £4,776.56. There has also been an additional £20 which has been deposited at Lloyds, taking the total to £4,796.56. We are so thankful to everyone who has donated money and given help to Jay and Jane, without the compassion and help from everyone, none of this would have been possible. They have now already registered at a doctors practice and are also presently trying to find a dentist they can register with.

The Crohn's and Colitis UK Membership Pack

I recently subscribed to become a member of Crohn's and Colitis UK and I received a membership pack which arrived in the post. Since being diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, I have found the Crohn's and Colitis UK website to be extremely helpful. I have been able to learn so much and also gain further knowledge about Crohn's Disease. Although I had got some knowledge of Crohn's, I have family members who have it, I didn't really know that much about it. There is so much helpful information and updates available on the website, which has helped me to find out as much as I can. I really wanted to write and share about the membership pack, as I feel that it is so helpful and I am so happy that this is available. It's great to be able to have something you can read and learn lots more from.