Operation Christmas Child #1

Last year, I started my own little tradition of taking part in an absolutely wonderful charity project, a shoebox appeal, by an organisation called Samaritan's Purse. Every Autumn, people from all over the world join in with the 'Operation Christmas Child' project by putting together a shoebox filled with Christmas goodies to be sent to children in poverty- and war-striken countries. You can check out my shoebox from last year here. Lots of people seem to have made these at Primary School which is lovely (did you?), but my school never took part. Although it's too late for you to put together your own shoebox for Operation Christmas Child as the deadline is tomorrow, I thought it would be good to share about the project with you all. Hopefully, some of my readers will decide to join in aswell for 2017's shoebox appeal. Enjoy!

The first step to making up your own Christmas shoebox is to decide if you want to send it to a girl or a boy, and then you have to choose one of the age categories: 2-4 years, 6-9 and 10-14. You can send as many boxes as you want, however for each you need to pay a £3 donation fee to fund the shipping of the box. It's super easy to pay online on the Samaritan's Purse website, but you can also pop a cheque for £3 inside your box if you prefer. If you pay online too, they will send you an email to let you know whereabouts your shoebox may have been sent, although I found out last year that they don't tell you the exact country which a shame just because it would be cool to know :) 

I decided this year to send four shoeboxes, one each for: 2-4 Girl, 5-9 Girl, 5-9 Boy & 10-14 Girl. I didn;t want this post to get too big, so I've decided to share the shoeboxes with you all in two seperate posts. Today's post will be all about the Girl and Boy's 5-9 years old boxes. 

The rules for the Operation Christmas Child project say that you must use no bigger than a medium shoebox. Shoe Zone usually work with this charity project and volunteer as a shoebox drop-off point so if your local store does this, then they will be more than happy to help you out with a shoebox. I also made my best friend search her house for me haha (Thanks Jess!). Firstly, wrap your box in cheerful christmas paper like you would any other Christmas present. Remember this box is going to children who made never have experienced the joy of Christmas or gotten any presents before, so you want to make the experience has wonderful as possible for them :)  

The website has a list of suggestions for the kind of items to include and not to include in your shoeboxes. They specifically ask that you include hygiene products and stationery/school supplies as these are going to be very useful for the children, and then also toys because it is a Christmas present after all! It's recommended that you try to add at least one 'wow item', like a cuddly teddy! I thought it would be easier for me show you photographs of the items I packed into my shoeboxes and then list them underneath, so here goes... 

Christmas Shoebox for a Girl (5-9 years old)

I always include the essential hygiene products such as a toothbrush, toothpaste and a flannel, but this year I decided to include a bar of soap too because I forgot to get them for last year's box. I found the cutest little hello kitty sponges in Savers/Superdrug, and I'm totally gonna get one for myself soon :) I then always look for some hair accessories as they are lovely but also practical. My mum picked up a pack of these mini picture cards for playing snap which are great because they can be easily ended to even the most packed of shoeboxes. Gloves and/or socks are always a good item to add to the shoebox if you have some space left.

I always get the children some colouring items because I don't know a child that doesn't enjoy colouring. Be sure to always include a pencil sharpener, because they won't be able to keep using their crayons otherwise. For toys, I added some kid's jewellery, a mini barbie figure and a little egg thing with a My Little Pony figure in. How awesome are the My Little Pony jigsaws that my mum found in Poundland!? They are perfect for these shoeboxes because they are basically flat and so don't take up much room at all. For the wow-item, I thought I'd give the little girl a plushie that I got in one of my recent Doki Doki subscription boxes because she'll appreciate it more than I will. Finally, I can't not include some sweeties! 

 Christmas Shoebox for a Boy (5-9 years old)

I think the Christmas shoebox that I made up for the little boy is actually my favourite of all of the boxes I've done this year. Mostly because I want some many of the items for myself! I need look at my wow-item, the Cookie Monster plushie; it's so cute! For hygiene products, I included just want I did in the girl's shoebox: a flannel, toothpaste, toothbrush and a bar of soap. He also got sweeties, gloves and the little snap playing cards. 

I got him this adorable animal colouring book, and some seperate animal stickers. I forgot to mention that I decided that after watching some youtube videos of children opening their Operation Christmas Child boxes, that I'm going to include stickers in all my boxes too. Luckily, the My Little Pony books that I got for the girls have stickers inside. For the toys, I bought a Paw Patrol recorder (PoundWorld), a little monster truck toy (my local pound store), a yoyo and this super awesome wind-up robot that I am literally going to buy myself one of next week haha (from quality save) and I found the mini puzzle still packaged with plastic in a charity shop for 50p. What a bargain! Lastly, I also found this stationery set complete with a tin pencil case, ruler, sharpener, eraser, pencil and notebook, all in a useful plastic case for only £1 in quality! How good is that? :) 

When you've filled up your shoebox, the final thing you have to do is print off the labels provided on the website that state who the box is for and what age group. You should also be able to pick up a leaflet at your local drop-off out (which can be found out on the charities website) which as a label you can cut out on the back of the leaflet. Tape this to the top of your box and it's good to go. Remember to follow the instrutions on the website for what to do if you paid your donation online before taking your shoeboxes to the drop-off point.

Seriously though, how awesome is this project!? I think it's just lovely and I'm so happy to take part and give a present to a child someone in the world. Have a search on youtube to find the cutest videos of some of the children opening their shoeboxes. Warning: you might cry so many happy tears, if you are anything like me. It's beautiful to watch the joy on the children's faces. The first time one of these videos popped up on my facebook news feed, I couldn't not join in after watching it! I hope that lots of my readers what to get involved too! 

Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of my Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes...

 Thankyou for reading!

♥

Have you ever made a Christmas appeal shoebox? 

If not, are you going to make one next year?

Help me get more social media followers:

| Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Pinterest | Google + | Bloglovin | 

 

November Pop in a Box

Hey everyone! Happy Monday! I hope you've all had a lovely start to your week. The thing I'm most looking forward to today is watching the latest episode of The Walking Dead later! :) Today, I thought I'd blog about my latest Pop in a Box and which vinyl figures I received. I was really happy with the newest editions to my Funko collections, since they were both characters from the Japanese anime series, Dragon Ball Z. I am a big fan of the show and have been ever since I was a kid. Are any of you guys fellow DBZ fans? Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy reading!

The two characters I got in my November Box were young Gohan, from the Dragon Ball Z collection, and young Bulma from the Dragon Ball Collection. They are both adorable and so well-detailed. They are also in the best condition that I've ever received before from Pop in a Box. I'm just over the moon with them!

This super cute Gohan figure is from the second selection of Pop! figures to be released for the Dragon Ball Z collection. I absolutely love him! Although, my favourite character has always been Vegeta, this little guy was definitely one that I loved when I was a kid. I especially loved the episodes with Gohan and Piccolo, and when Gohan was left on the planet full of dinosaurs! I think that Gohan's outfit is really sweet, and I'm impressed that they've included his tail. 

I love how bright and eye-catching Gohan's outfit is and the little dragon ball on top of his hat is cute! I like that they have included his ponytail and added the textured look to his tail to resemble fur. The figure leans to the side slightly which I don't know is something that's been done intentionally or whether I just have a bit of dodgy figure, but I think it adds to his character somewhat so that's good. He's definitely one of my favourite Pop! figures! 

How pretty is this figure of Bulma when she was teenager!? She's one of the characters featured in the Dragon Ball figures collection. Dragon Ball is the series that focuses on the the manga/anime's main character, Goku, when he is a child, and Bulma is one of Goku's childhood friends. I think this figure of her is so lovely! Oh, and the figure comes with a little see-through plastic base to help her stand up. I didn't realise this and spent a rather long  time trying to make her stand up on her own, haha.

The colour combination of mint/turquoise and pink on this figure is awesome; I just adore the colour of Bulma's hair so much!  The rosy cheeks they've given Bulma are a lovely addition to the overall look of the character. Her dress and big pink bow are cute, and I love the detail that's gone into the design of her hair. The plait looks so cool! Bulma was never one of my favourite characters, but I got over excited when Funko released their Dragon Ball figures and put a thumbs up to them all on the Pop in a Box website. I'm really glad I did now, because I wouldn't have choosen this Bulma figure myself and it's a wonderful Pop! 

This month's Pop in a Box has to be one of the best ones I've been sent. I'm incredibly happy with these figures, and I've been showing them off to anyone who will listen :) haha! If you're a fan of the anime/manga, I'd love to know who your favourite character(s) is. I'm looking forward to getting my December box, and I'm considering adding an extra figure to my subscription, too so you might get to see three next time!

Thankyou for reading!

 ♥

Do you subscribe to Pop in a Box? 

Or Collect Pop! vinyl figures?  

Catch up with my previous Pop in a Box posts:

  | October | August | July | June | May | April | My First Box |

 

My Favourite Autumn Lipsticks

Hi lovelies! Miss me? :) Apologies for my week or so of no posts, after blogging every single day of October, I was definitely in need of a rest. I've had this horrid flu-cold-chest infection thing for over a month now. Oh the joys of spoonie life! Anyone else's body completely rejecting Autumn? It sucks because it's my favourite season and I want to be outside with my camera fully immersing myself in the wonders that this time of year brings. Since I can't enjoy Autumn outdoors right now, I thought I'd embrace Autumn here on my blog! For my first seasonal-themed post of November, I wanted to share with you all my go-to Autumnal lipstick shades. Enjoy!

One of the many many reasons that Autumn is, to me, the best season of the year is the colours associated with it. I love all of the rusts, browns, reds and berry tones, that emulate the shades we see throughout nature right now. Seeing these colours make me instantly think of forests covered in bright leaves, conkers and acorns settled around on the ground, bushes full of wild blackberries and hawthorn berries, the colour of the earth, the soil and the layer of crisp leaves coating it. So much beauty! It's lovely that Autumn fashion and beauty products utilise and honor these colours; I love being able to wear them and show them off with pride.

I have always preferred darker colours and the majority of my wardrobe consists of black clothing, so I like to wear lipstick shades that are not too bold and eye-catching, but that brighten up my look and just give a little colour to my outfit. Basically, all of the popular Autumn shades are my go-to all year round, but I thought this was the perfect time to post about them, to give you some ideas of shades that you might like to wear. I've chosen four lipsticks that are some of my favourite in my collection, but I definitely want to add more so if you have any favourite Autumn shades, please leave your recommendations in the comments :) 

• Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick in 'Starry-Eyed' (128)

• Maybelline Color Sensational Matte Lipstick in 'Divine Wine' (975)

• Maybelline Color Sensational in 'Plum Passion' (365)

• Dose of Colors Liquid Matte Lipstick in 'Berry Me' 

Rimmel London's 'Starry-Eyed' Lipstick 

This gorgeous shade is my second favourite for this time of year. It's a brown tone with a hint of red, making it very similar to maroon. I really like maroon, so it's no surprise that this is my go-to lipstick for Autumn. It's got a great pigment and whenever I wear it for a night out, it stays on for most of the night, which is fabulous. It's creamy texture makes it easy to apply. I think that it's a great colour to wear both during the day and for evenings out, and it goes with almost every Autumn outfit. Here's what it looks like on...

Maybelline's 'Divine Wine' Lipstick

This lipstick is a pretty burgundy shade, a combination of red with undertones of rich browns. It's very similar in colour to my 'Starry-Eyed' lipstick but it's the red hue of it that makes it stand out on it's own. Although I love red lipstick, I am also a person riddled with social anxiety and going out with a bold red lip is still a challenge for me, so having a darker shade of lipstick that's colour is similar to the shades I love to wear but with that red 'pop' to it (if that makes sense, haha) is perfect. I like to wear this shade if I'm wanting something a little more fancy :)

Maybelline's 'Plum Passion' Lipstick

This lipstick is different to my other Autumnal favourites, it's a lot brighter and has a more glamorous feel to it. It's one of those shades that I think is suited for both Summer and Autumn. It's purple with a pink tint, and reminds me of flowers, specifically fuschias. It definitely goes well with black clothing, adding subtle and pretty colour to your overall outfit. It's a shame that it comes off quite easily after a few drinks, however this lipstick has such an awesome scent!

Dose of Colors' 'Berry Me' Lipstick

This is the latest lipstick that I've added to my collection that's perfect for this season! This and two others that I recently purchased were my first ever liquid lipsticks and I really love them. They are so pigmented and long-lasting, and they dry matte and look fantastic. Check out my Dose of Colors haul here. I was after a vibrant berry shade for this Autumn, and this lipstick has ticked all the boxes. It is darker than my other shades, but that just makes me love it more. The colour reminds me of a mix of blackberries, mulberries and cranberries, the perfect fruity cocktail for this time of year. It's quickly become one of my favourite lipsticks and it's definitely my preferred Autumnal shade now (sorry Starry-Eyed!). It also has a fabulous smell to it.

Thankyou for reading!

♥

What's your favourite Autumnal colour? 

 I'd love for you to follow me on social media:

| Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Google + | Pinterest | Tumblr | Bloglovin' |