Recipe: Detox water

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This magical lemon, cucumber and mint mix fused overnight creates a natural detox drink which helps flush impurities out of your system. Sitnosekano mentions that this drink even helps you maintain a flat belly! I've been on this for the last 5 days and feeling really good!

Ingredients:
1 lemon (thinly sliced)
1/2 cucumber (thinly sliced)
10 mint leaves
1 litre water

Leave in the fridge for a few hours or overnight and drink first thing in the morning before breakfast. I have around 3-4 glasses a day.

Enjoy~!

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DIY: Olive oil and honey hot oil hair treatment

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I try and give my hair a nice hot oil treatment once a week. I have a few different recipes but this is by far my favourite! It works wonders at restoring moisture and shine to tired, stressed and brittle hair!
You HAVE to give it a go too!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey

1. Heat the oil and honey in the microwave.
2. Apply to warm, damp hair and cover with a shower cap and a towel for 30 minutes.
3. Rinse with your normal shampoo.

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DIY: Cake decoration lettering by Signe Sugar

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Checkout these gorgeous cake decoration lettering by Signe Sugar! You can buy a set here or just use any coloured gum and decorate away! Perfect for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays - basically any special occasions! So simple, yet gorge~! Time to get creative.

You can also follow me on facebook, pinterest, instagram and twitter, for more daily creative inspiration!

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DIY: T-shirt headband by Try to do it and Fine and Feathered

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Here are two super cute DIY t-shirt headband tutorials for you. The first one is by Try it do it. Check out her blog here for step by step tutorial.

The second is by Fine and Feathered and it's my favourite. Check out her tutorial and awesome blog here.

Instructions:
1. Cut an old t-shirt 10cm wide and as long as you can. Give it a good stretch
2. Position the middle of the fabric strip at the base of your neck
3. Cross once
4. Cross twice
5. Tie ends together at the back!

Voila~!

You can follow me on facebook, pinterest and twitter, for more daily creative inspiration!

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Recipe: Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes by Tasty Kitchen

Such a simple yet delicious recipe idea by Tasty Kitchen. I made this for lunch today and it was to die for! For their full recipe and step by step instructions click here.

If you'd like a lighter/healthier take, try my version below:

Ingredients:
- 2 Potatoes
- 1 Tablespoons Butter
- ¼ teaspoons Salt
- 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
- ¼ cups Cheddar Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 200C° (400ºF). Scrub potatoes.
2. You need 2 wooden spoons with handles of the same width. Place a spoon on each side of the potato and start slicing the potato into thin slices. A great idea by Tasty Kitchen! The spoons stop the knife from cutting all the way through the potato.
3. Slice the butter and cheese into thin pieces. Alternate the butter and the cheese, stuffing them in between the slices of the potato. Season the potato with salt. Drizzle with olive oil.
4. Bake at 400ºF for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with cheddar cheese.
Place back in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and serve!

I’m fairly active on facebook, pinterest and twitter, so let’s stay in touch!

Image source

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DIY: Onesie cupcake gift idea by Club Chica Circle

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Check out this super cute DIY onesie cupcake gift idea by Club Chica Circle! Wouldn't it make the most adorable baby shower gift?

Here's what you need: 
- Cupcake gift box & cupcake liners
- 4 onesies
- 2 pairs of baby socks
- Scotch tape

Check out full tutorial on her blog here.

I’m fairly active on facebook, pinterest and twitter, so let’s stay in touch!

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Top 10 educational iPad apps for kids

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Here are 10 educational iPad apps for kids recommended by friends and family in no particular order!

1. Shape Puzzle
2. 123 Writing
3. Highlights Hidden Pictures
4. Magic Puzzles
5. Everyday Mathematics Addition Top It
6. Montessori Crosswords
7. Telling Time
8. Preschool Memory Match
9. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox

10. Dr. Seuss Band

What are your child's favourite iPad apps? Would love to know!

I’m fairly active on facebook, pinterest and twitter, so let’s stay in touch!

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DIY: My top 3 ways to use an ice cube tray

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I recently discovered through Pinterest that ice cube trays aren't just for ice cubes! Click on the links below for these genius step by step instructions.

Here are my top 3:
1. Freeze your favourite greens to add to smoothies (via Katy she cooks)
- I love adding spinach in my morning smoothies but find spinach goes off so fast! This way I don't have to add ice cubes in the mix.

2. Freeze hot chocolate or coffee to add to milk for an instant iced chocolate/coffee. (via The Mixer / Foodo' del mundo)
- I've been freezing strong brewed coffee and popping these babies in milk. So easy!

3. Freeze left over herbs in extra virgin olive oil (via The Kitchn)
- Great way to preserve bought fresh herbs as I never manage to use it all up. I just pop these into my lasagna's and stews!

There we have it! Once frozen, pop them into a ziplock bag and you're done!

I’m fairly active on facebook, pinterest and twitter, so let’s stay in touch!

Image source: Greens / Chocolate milk / Herbs /

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Currently inspired...

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Happy Monday~! Currently inspired: "Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it" - Maya Angelo.

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DIY: No sew peter pan sequin collar tutorial plus free pattern

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If you have a plain dress or a top that you want to snaz up then look no further! These gorgeous sequin peter pan collars are so easy to make. Mine took less than 20 minutes!

You will need:
- Sequin fabric
- A peter pan collar patern (download here) 
- Scissors
- Ribbon 
- Hot glue gun/fabric glue

1. Download my peter pan collar pattern here. Print on thick card, cut, and place on sequin fabric. Cut around the pattern allowing 1cm (half inch) right around.
2. Using a hot glue gun (or fabric glue) fold the fabric bit by bit around the pattern and glue.
3-4. Once you've glued right around the pattern, glue the ribbon to cover the still visible pattern in a circular motion.
5. Repeat steps 1- 4 with the second pair.
6. Cut 3 bits of ribbon. Glue the two longer ribbon (about 25cm/10" each) on to the sharp ends. Use the 3rd ribbon (about 4cm/1.5") to glue the two collars together in the middle.

There we have it! Easy right?

Source: Black sequin collar /  Gold sequin collar

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Happy Mother's Day from Maiko

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To all you freakin' awesome mum's out there! Happy Mother's Day!

Love from,

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DIY: How to break in your new shoes in 1 minute!

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I have a special event to attend on Saturday night and purchased these new funky wedges which I'm so excited about! The thing is, it's probably half a size too small... So, I did some research and tried this amazingly simple trick from The Guardian for breaking in new shoes. It totally works!

Directions:
1. Put on some thick socks and wear both shoes.
2. Wiggle and stretch your feet inside the shoe and blast the hair dryer on high.
3. Keep the shoes on while they cool. Have a walk around and if it's still tight, repeat the process.

Voila~! Goodbye blisters!

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DIY: Mother's Day sharpie mug gift idea & tutorial

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Checkout what I just made for mother's day! I fell in love with some cute mother's day cards I saw on Pinterest and thought it would look even better on a mug. The cool thing about this super easy DIY is that you can personalise it. I put my name on there to make it extra special for my mum.

Instructions:
1. All you need is a sharpie (oil based is best) and a porcelain white mug. (Check to make sure it is oven safe as some glazes are safe for microwaving but toxic in the oven).
2. Draw what ever you like on the mug and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. (180°)
3. Cool the mugs at room temperature before washing.

Voila! For best results, hand wash these babies rather than putting it through the dishwasher.

Check out the cool cards here. 1. Home is where mom is. 2. Seriously, you're like the best mom everr. 3. My life would suck without you.

You can follow me on facebook, pinterest and twitter, for more daily creative inspiration!

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Freebie: Mother's Day wine label by Maiko Nagao

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Make mother's day extra special this year! Buy your mum her favourite bottle of vino and slap on one of my 'You're so freakin' awesome mum' wine labels! Just print it out on A4, cut and paste. You could make it a super special combo with my 'Freakin' awesome' mother's day card and voucher also available to download for free.

// Wine label UK 'mum' version // Wine label US 'mom' version //

Hope your mum has the most fabulous day this Sunday!

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Grumpy cat's take on Mondays...

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Happy Monday everybody! Here's grumpy cat's take on Mondays...

Image source

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DIY: Shakuhachi inspired cut out dress tutorial

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Australian fashion label Shakuhachi is one of my favourite designers at the moment. My favourite dress of theirs is this cut out dress. A pair and a spare does a fantastic DIY tutorial if you like the cut out front and back. I prefer it just at the front so here's my version.

You’ll need:
An oversized cotton t-shirt. XXXL men's t-shirts are perfect as the wideness creates the bunched up effect. You also want to make sure it's long enough to cover your bum!

1. Cut off a bit off the sleeves along the dotted lines.
2. Cut only the 'front side' of the t-shirt along the dotted lines. A good place to cut the horizontal line is just below your ribs.
3. Grab the two points and tie a knot through the hole.

Voila~!

I’m fairly active on facebook, pinterest and twitter, so let’s stay in touch!

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Personalised name print by Maiko Nagao via Etsy

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Happy Sunday all! I designed this special personalised name monogram/logo as a gift for my friend's wedding recently. I thought it would make a special gift for many occasions. Weddings, anniversaries, engagements and Valentine's day gifts.

It's a printable pdf which is emailed to you. Just print out the A4 sized pdf, and have it framed!

You can now order it through my Etsy shop here!

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Currently inspired: Creativity is...

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"Creativity is intelligence having fun" - Albert Einstein. Hope you like my new gold foil on dreamy backdrop look!

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Freebie: Mother's Day printable gift voucher by Maiko Nagao

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My memory of Mother's Day as a child was creating my own redeemable vouchers for my mum. I'd spend forever scribbling away! My mum used to say that these vouchers were so much more special than any store bought gifts and how special she felt... Anyway, I wanted to spread this kind of love so I created a customisable Mother’s Day voucher for you to download for FREE! Here's an idea, why don't you pair it up with my other free printable 'You're freakin' awesome' Mother's Day card?

Some ideas for the voucher:
- Help with gardening
- Weekend picnic
- Help with house cleaning or organising
- Home cooked dinner
- Family fun outing

Have a think about what your mum loves you to help her with! You can really get as creative as you like. There are 2 vouchers per sheet so feel free to print out as many as you like!

// Download voucher here //

Make sure you print on a thick A4 card and set it to 'fit to page' when printing!

I’m fairly active on facebook, pinterest and twitter, so let’s stay in touch!

*Please note these cards are for personal use only and not to be sold.

Enjoy!

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