Minion-inspired greetings card 😍

I've just been working on this super-cute greetings card, inspired by my love of Minions and their cheeky little faces!

Here's the finished result:

Isn't he adorable! 

Here was my card making in progress:

And a view of the front:

Plus a bonus pic of the insert inside:

I'm working on a printable for my BRAND NEW Etsy shop, so let me know what you think! 

Find me on Instagram @happypostbox xxx

Cute bakes: lemon meringue mini-tarts

So I just wanted to share a quick bake that was surprisingly easy (and super-yummy!). Even if you're not much of a baker, you can buy most of the components ready-made from the shop!

These are my beautifully delicious lemon meringue mini tartlets:

Here's all you need to do:

1. Meringues

Bake some small meringue dollops (or buy them ready-made), roughly the same size as your cupcake/muffin tray holes, or ideally slightly smaller.

2. Pastry

Make or buy some pastry (the same stuff you'd use for mince pies), cut out thin circles and place into a greased muffin tin.

3. Lemon Curd

Pop a spoonful of lemon curd in each one and bake (on 170c) for around 10 mins, until the lemon curd is even and the pastry is golden. Just like jam tarts but with lemon curd!

4. Buttercream

Mix up some buttercream (using your preferred recipe, or just buy ready-made) and, when the tarts are cool, pop a generous spoonful on each tart. The beauty of this is you don't have to be too neat, it's all being covered up anyway!

5. Finished!

Place a meringue on top of each tart, squishing it into the buttercream, and then you're done! Stand back and admire your masterpiece. Mary Berry would be proud!

Why not give it a go? You can also switch up the flavours - for an Eton Mess tart, for example, just switch the lemon curd for strawberry jam, and crumble the meringue on top. Simple!

Let me know if you give it a go - find me on Instagram @happypostbox and show me a pic!

A fresh new start

It's been over a year since I was last here and a lot's changed since then. Some pretty big life stuff, like buying a house, getting engaged, and moving to a new job nearly 100 miles away (!).

It's all been crazy-busy and super-exciting stuff, which is why this blog has taken a bit of a back seat, but now I'm back, raring to go (with a new logo to match), ready to share some of my ideas, makes,
and adventures along the way.

Here goes!

August favourites 2014

I've been loving quite a few things this month, but managed to cut the list down to my 6 faves of the month to share with you! Most of these I've owned for a while, but for one reason or another I've been really using them a lot recently. So here goes!

One Line A Day diary

I finally bought this in 2013 after wanting it for ages. I couldn't wait until the end of the year, so started it in the middle of July - meaning that, as I've been filling it in this month, I can see last year's entries from the same day!

If you have a similar 5 year diary you'll know how hard it is to keep up - but I promise you that if you keep at it, it's most definitely worth it!

Sleek i-Divine palette in Snapshots

I love the Sleek palettes, especially my Mattes V1, but Snapshots is the latest addition to my collection and I love how colourful it is!

It's great for adding a subtle bit of colour, but now I need to do a bit more experimenting with some bolder, brighter looks. As with the other Sleek palettes, the texture is great, the pigmentation is great, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Elephant necklace

I picked up this cute little elephant from Topshop and have been wearing it non-stop for the past few weeks. It goes with most of my outfits and I love how tiny it is!

Seche Vite

I've experimented with all sorts of nail polish drying sprays and drops and oils, but as far as I can tell, nothing compares to the ease and speed of Seche Vite.

I've also been doing a lot of nail art stamping, and there aren't many top coats that go on nicely without smudging - Seche Vite protects and dries all in one go, what more could I need?

Batiste XXL Volume

I have thin, flat hair that never keeps its volume, no matter what I try. However - with just a burst of this wonder-product, my hair is transformed! There's not much more I can say about this product other than it's firmly on my list of essential must-haves from now on.

Lego Movie game for Xbox 360

This might seem like quite a random choice, but I've been a fan of the Lego games since I played the Star Wars ones years ago. They're incredibly well written and just plain old good fun.

I've only played the first few levels of this one so far (I picked up the game on offer in Game recently), but it seems like they've improved the graphics and gameplay no end compared to the Harry Potter games (which I finally completed to 100% last month!) - definitely worth buying if you're a fan of this type of game!

So...

What do you think about my product choices? What have you been loving this August? Let me know!

I'm on a boat!

Last weekend we made the most of the glorious weather and went out boating!

I've never been in a rowing boat in my life and it was a bit wobbly but once we set off it was great fun! 

The boys got a bit competitive but rowing in a straight line is harder than it looks. I had a quick go, but we were running a bit late returning the boats the the hire place (and I somehow kept rowing us into the side) so I handed the oars back over and enjoyed the ride.

We even got to see some wildlife - a beautiful dragonfly followed alongside our boat (but never stayed still long enough for a photo) and we said hello to some ducklings, too.

Afterwards we enjoyed a tasty lunch at Chiquitos (I love that place!) - complete with sombreros!

I need to find out the recipe for their spicy popcorn!

Adding my LEGO brick to Durham Cathedral!

We were in Durham at the weekend and happened to stumble across #durhamcathedralLEGObuild - an ambitious (but fun!) fundraising project that gets visitors to donate money by adding bricks to a model of Durham Cathedral.

They're recreating the entire catheral in LEGO, to the scale of a LEGO minifigure - so when it's finished it will be almost two metres high! The volunteer who was there at the time demonstrated it using an Abraham Lincoln minifig which, for some reason, made me smile :).

Apparently LEGO themselves donated the bricks, which I thought was a pretty nice gesture considering the amount that will be needed! And the plans were drawn up by a specialist LEGO modelling company, Bright Bricks, who design all sorts of random kits for different companies and different reasons.

I was so excited to add a brick and be part of such a huge project - they've raised thousands already - and I can't wait to see it when it's finished. They're putting together a time-lapse video too, and adding regular updates to their Facebook page - so if you want to take a look you can find them here: www.facebook.com/DurhamCathedralLEGObuild

Here's me, pointing to the blue sticker (that's where my brick is!)

Inside the LEGO Durham Cathedral

We had a really nice day out in Durham (not only because I got to play with LEGO!) and the weather was gorgeous (if a bit cold!). We also stopped off at the Angel of the North. I'd definitely recommend a visit, it's pretty awe-inspiring when you're right up close.

Has anyone else been to visit this LEGO cathedral, or been involved in any other similar projects? I'd love to hear about it!

Cheerful nails for a grey January day

I'm having a massively clumsy day today - I managed to slam my hand in the front door, walk into a table and drop my toothbrush down the side of the sink (not in that order) - and the day's barely started yet!

Anyway, it's been a particularly grey January so far, and there doesn't seem to be much sign of summer yet... So I've brought a bit of sunshine to my nails to brighten up the day! Hope you like :)