June 29, 2014

DIY || Mini PomPom Garland

Hello my all-time favourite people. I have a super quick and simple DIY for you today, a pompom garland! I can still remember how excited pompoms made me when I was a little kid, seeing your simple wool turn into a ball was magical! Making big pompoms can take a longgggg time though, so I thought I would help you all rekindle your love with this mini garland!

You Will Need:
- A fork (preferably with 4 prongs of the same length)
- Balls of wool in lots of different colours
- Scissors


What To Do:


1. Cut a long piece of yarn from one ball of wool (I used black) this will be the string that your pompoms hang off
2. Drape this piece of wool through the two middle prongs of your fork
3. Pick the first colour you want for your pompom and proceed to wrap the wool around the fork until there is quite a decent amount on there
4. Once you think there's enough wool on your fork tie the black piece in a tight knot around the middle of it (it's easier to see what I mean by looking at the photo!
5. Slip your now tied ball of wool off your fork so now it will just look like a little tied up parcel!
6. With your scissors, carefully cut around your pompom so that the ends are loose instead of being looped over
7. Scruff up your pompom so that you can't see the string around the middle and you are finished your first one! (You can also give it a bit of a trim so that it's nice and neat
8. Repeat steps 2-7 along the string for as long as you want
9. Find somewhere nice to display your brand new pompom garland!


I hope you guys liked this quick little tutorial, it's a super easy way to brighten up your room!

x Erin

June 22, 2014

My Last Day As An 18 Year Old.

As of tomorrow (Monday, June 23rd) I will officially be 19 years old.
I've not really been looking forward to turning 19 because it seems a very adult age to be, and I think I'm the furthest thing from ready to be an adult.
So, instead I thought I would pull out my diary (which I've successfully been keeping for 1.5 years now!) and tell you about some of the experiences I've had and things I achieved in my 18th year as Erin Hanson. So here we go!

In my 18th year I.....

1. Made a lot of clothes
2. Read 46 books
3. Deleted my Facebook account
4. Took up Yoga
5. Taught myself Theban
6. Tried Vegetarianism
7. Voted in my first election
8. Realised I hated university
9. Went to Cirque Du Soleil
10. Learnt Amigurumi
11. Made multiple sheet forts
12. Went to a 1D Concert
13. Spontaneously skipped uni with my best friend and went to a second concert (we bought tickets as the supporting act was on stage)
14. Started stargazing
15. Dropped out of university
16. Got my hair ombréd
17. Went to a midnight movie premiere
18. Went camping
19. Started teaching myself Astronomy
20. Met Louis Cole (funforlouis on youtube)
21. Spent a day in a cardboard box
22. Self published a poetry anthology
23. Went on my first cruise
24. Tried alcohol for the first time
25. Decided alcohol isn't for me
26. Got my first ever piercing (Helix)
27. Got my hair cut to my shoulders (the shortest ever)
28. Learnt embroidery
29. Took up Hooping
30. Lost my job
31. Woke up at 4am to watch my first meteor shower
32. Saw the worlds most beautiful sunrise
33. Went to a Bastille concert


Looking back on the person I was on the day I turned 18 until now, it is amazing how much I've changed, and almost without me knowing it too. I'm proud of who I've become, but at the same time it's upsetting to discover that I've left that version of me behind.

But here's to turning 19! I'm sure that this time next year I will have changed just as much again!

x Erin

Ps. I promise I will start making normal posts again soon.

June 15, 2014

Bastille Concert.

Hello!
So this isn't what I normally post, but I wanted to tell you guys about the Bastille concert I went to on Friday! I bought the tickets for it back at the start of December, so it was a long wait but it was definitely worth it.

I went with my sister, and our seats were super close to the stage! I didn't end up taking many photos of the night because I just wanted to remember the night instead of just focussing on my camera and not on the show! I did find this video from the concert on youtube though, which I'm happy about!


If you're a fan of Bastille you will know the song "Flaws"... while they were singing it Dan (the main singer) jumped down and walked through the crowd dancing with everyone, he walked across to the barricade we were behind (in the first row!) and stood dancing there for a while too! We were literally 1 metre away from him, it was definitely one of the highlights of the night!

The other highlight was that they sung their song "Poet" it's my favourite of theres, but I didn't think they would sing it because it is on their second cd, but they did and it was wonderful!

All in all the night was absolutely amazing, and I can safely say that they sound even better live than they do on their cd's! I would definitely recommend going to one of their concerts if you like their music!

I don't really know why I'm writing this post, I think it's more for me than it is for you, so I can remember the night.

x Erin 

June 8, 2014

Room Tour.

Hey everyone! I have a really exciting post today (for me anyway)... a Room Tour! I've been wanting to do one for ages and I have finally gotten round to it. I moved into this room last february and I think it looks a lot more homely now than it did when I first moved. I'll give you a warning though, this post is probably going to be long. To keep it more organised I've split it into separate sections so I can write about each one afterwards. I'll also be linking to a lot of blog posts I've previously written about some of the items in my room if you're interested!

First though, here's a video so you can work out where everything is in relation to everything else! Also, I'm giving bonus points to anyone who can accurately count how many hot air balloons and world maps are in my room (good luck, seriously.)


1. Desk

This is all along the wall directly to your left when you walk in, and when I'm not sleeping, it's where I spend most of my time (*cough* tumblr *cough*)

- On the back of the door I have a yearly calendar as well as some of my embroideries.

- My favourite part of this side of the room is all of the photos I've stuck on it, of places I'd like to see or just things that I find pretty and calming. I also have a few things strung up along it: a line of prayer flags which I got from Nepal back in 2012, a quote cut out of cardboard which says "If you cannot be a poet, be the poem", some green fairy lights in the shape of leaves as well a a few more embroideries.

- Along my desk (from left to right) I have: 
        1. my to-do list, attached with a magnet to my desk lamp, easy to see!
        2. a pencil holder made from a flower pot
        3. a document holder where I keep my mini dictionary, a book on plants my grandma gave me, my astronomy notebook and a few other things
        4. another pen jar, a money jar where I put any silver coins
        5.  a jar where I keep dried sprouts before I grow them on my windowsill
        6. 2 jars with paperclips
        7. my polaroid, normal camera (when I'm not using it) and go-pro
        8. lots of notebooks (my 365 photo a day journal, writing journal, quote notebook, sketchbook, poetry books and a few others)
        9. a set of mini drawers that holds random cords, hi-lighters etc. As well as my plant and my binoculars for stargazing on top of it.

- Next to my desk I have my arm chair where I normally sit and read which is super comfy and has a lovely view out the window.

2. Windows

From left to right along this wall I have:
- A world map, dreamcatcher and a pastel drawing that my wonderfully talented sister did for me back in 2007 when I had just gotten him.
- My windowsill garden! I really love this part of my room, it makes it look so much prettier than a boring old windowsill. At the moment I'm mainly growing sprouts and also a bit of watercress. I love opening my curtains in the morning and watering all of them. I also have a dreamcatcher I made with a crystal in the middle that spreads rainbows all around the room when it's sunny.
- The flags I sewed a while back, as well as some more plants hanging in jars and a little hot air balloon ornament.
- Underneath my windowsill I have my sewing machine (I only leave it out when I'm using it!) As well as a sewing box that my dad made for me. How lovely is it! It has little drawers and everything inside it. I love it so much! 
- On the very right of the wall I have a little rack with hooks on it where I normally hang up an outfit that I'm going to where the next day. Right now though it's just covered in some of my favourite jumpers.

3. Dressing Table

- There's nothing really interesting about this part of my room, it's just crammed with bobby pins, scrunchies in a jar, the treasure chest my grandpa made me ages ago which is filled with letters I've received, my jewellery tree and other bits and bobs. I also have some of my favourite photos underneath the glass at the bottom.
- Above my dressing table I have a few garlands, one with quotes, one with gumnuts, and one with strawberries which I helped my sister make for a fancy dress party.

4. Bed

Quite possibly my favourite part of my room, purely for the fact that I have windows right next to my bed. When I wake up I can sit in the warmth of my bed and watch the sun rise, or at night right before I go to bed I like to hang out my window (don't tell mum) and look at all the stars.
- On my windowsill I have a whole heap of random bits and pieces, including an antique wind up clock, my gumnut calendar, and a little statue of a girl reading. I'm currently growing some sprouts which I'll put here soon too, because it gets lovely morning sun.
- When my bed's made I put my small army of stuffed toys including a few I have made (1,2) on it, as well as three cushions I made which are coloured on one side and have a hot air balloon material on the other.
- Hanging above my bed I have 3 picture frames and a little garland I made. The middle picture frame was from my sister for christmas, she wrote out one of my poems and illustrated it. How gorgeous is it!
- Then stuck onto the roof above my bed, directly where my eyes fall when I'm laying down, I have this quote: "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars"

5. Bedside Table

This bedside table has pretty much none of the important things that you should put on a bedside table. Instead I have:
- A photo of my best friend and I from our cruise.
- The books I am currently reading (the pile is usually much much bigger than this since I have a tendency to start new books before I finish the one before them)
- My candle lantern
- A crown I made out of sticks and wire
-  A fish bowl filled with marbles and a few random things
- The spare gumnuts for my gumnut calendar
- And the essential to all bedside tables: a snowglobe.

Whilst we're here lets also talk about my phonecase! It's a still from the movie "Into The Wild" and I love it oh so much!

5. Bookshelf

The final wall of my room, I have my cupboard with 2 mirrored doors and one with photos of memories stuck on it. You can't see it in these photos, but above it I have another quote "Your actions speak louder than words" 
- We then come to my significant other. My bookshelf. On top of it I have this little glasshouse from IKEA, with a few bits and pieces in it, like my circlet, and elephant from Nepal and other things people have brought back for me from their travels.
- I also have another pile of books on top of my shelf. Ones that I am planning on reading next.
- I have photos of some of my favourite books stuck to the wall above my bookshelf
- And finally all my wonderful books! I'm starting to run out of room on my shelf though so have taken to stacking some books horizontally on top of the others. Oh well!
- I also have a paper globe hanging from the roof of my room.

YOU MADE IT!
If you read all the way down to the bottom I am automatically promoting you to 'best person ever'. I hope you enjoyed my way too detailed look at my room! I often see people's room tours where everything is white and minimalistic, and I do sometimes get jealous, but I think a full and home-y room suits me best! I'd love to know what you think! Is your room full of things or is it more on the minimalistic side?

Have a wonderful week, and I think you deserve a quick rest now after all the reading you just did!

x Erin

June 4, 2014

Monthly Favourites || May

It's officially June, and I swear the moment the clock ticked over to 12:01am on June first, something snapped in the weather and I woke up feeling cold, for the first time all year. But I'm holding out high hopes for June, there's a few days that I already know are going to be wonderful and I can't wait to see what the rest of the month brings.

May seemed to drag on for quite a while this year, but I don't really mind because it was a lovely month. Here are some of my favourites from the month of May!

Favourite Quote
"She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something" - Rainbow Rowell

This quote is yet another reason why I should probably get onto reading Eleanor & Park ASAP. It's a wonderful reminder that it's okay not to match up to the ideals that society has created for us, but just be your own person, create your own artwork. 

Favourite Book


Reading this book was very bittersweet for me. I read the first book of this series way back in 2008 when I was a little 12/13 year old, and since then I have grown up with these characters. Book 12 was the last book in the series, and I will admit I cried when it was over!

From the blurb & cover the series sounds like your typical action/boyish book, and it probably is to some people, but not to me! I don't think I'll try to explain it here, but this series is my all time favourite.

Favourite Song



I hope you've all had a wonderful May, and are looking forward to another wonderful June!

x Erin

June 1, 2014

Welcome Winter || Playlist

You might remember at the start of March I made an Autumn Playlist. The season has gone so quickly and the Southern Hemisphere now finds itself staring right down the barrel of winter. I loved taking the time to find songs that reminded me of Autumn back in March, so I've decided to make a new winter playlist, full of songs for this chilly season.

This playlist is full of the perfect songs to listen to while you're snuggled up with a warm cup of tea, watching out the window as the wind dances amongst the world outside. For those of you heading into summer, you'll just have to wait another 6 months to get your summer playlist! (Although by that time you can just listen to this one....) Anyway, enjoy!

x Erin





Tracklist
  1.  I Can't Make You Love Me/Nick of Time - Bon Iver
  2. Ghost Town - First Aid Kit
  3. Candles - Daughter
  4. It's Hard To Get Around The Wind - Alex Turner
  5. Home of the Blues - Owl City
  6. Winter Winds - Mumford & Sons
  7. Echo - Jason Walker
  8. You Can Close Your Eyes - Charlie & Stephen Puth
  9. Haunt (Demo) - Bastille
  10. Youth - Daughter
  11. Can't Help Falling In Love - Fleet Foxes
  12. Timshel - Mumford & Sons

Once again I'm finishing the playlist with my favourite song. There's something about the song Timshel which just makes me far too emotional. One of my all time favourites.