June Favourites

Now I know I say this every month but seriously, time flying when your having fun doesn't even cover it! So here are the things that have been floating my boat this month.

Sammy's Top Ten Ways to Find Your Happy

I sometimes find it hard to be a happy person. People who know me (even those who know me well) may find that hard to believe, but I have been this way all my life. Having worked in retail for as long as I can remember, I ,like many others manage to find a 'happy face' that I put on like a mask and to hide behind when life is not so rosy.

Over the past year or so I have been working on getting rid of my mask and being happy from the inside. I think it is important for everyone, naturally 'happy' or not, to have little tricks to find the best in yourself and those around you. To relish the little things that make us smile and let go of the negativity that creeps in every now and again. I wanted to pass on some of the things I have learnt that work for me, in the hope that they might work for some of you.

There is only one rule before you attempt any of the following mood boosting activities... Turn off your tech!

1. My number one will be no surprise... Get your craft on! Whatever it is that you like to do, create something, anything just for fun. Not to sell, or to give to someone just because you can. Did you know that crafts like knitting and crochet have been shown to significantly help people cope with stress and anxiety?

2. Make a list, can be a list about anything, maybe a list of goals, or dreams. A wish list of all your summer wardrobe essentials or places in the world you would like to visit, anything as long as it is a list of happy positive thoughts. Getting some exciting, happy thoughts down on paper can help you to focus on what you want in life and you never know it might be the beginning of something wonderful.

3. Watch your favourite movie. Sit down with a cup of tea and a blanket, close all the curtains and just enjoy all the things you love about being entrained by your favourite actors doing their thing. I love the film Footloose, it always puts me in a good mood and because I have watched it so many times I know all the words! Love it!

4. Do a fun exercise, roller-blading, skipping, bike riding, anything you can do outside where you can breath some fresh air and take deep breaths, oh and have fun whilst you are doing it. I NEVER thought I would say that but I really find that getting my body moving makes me feel better.

5. Call a friend, You don't have to talk about how your feeling, just have a fun chat, talk about your favourite TV show or how much fun you had last time you were together.

6. Read a book, escape for a while into a world away from wherever you are.

7. Eat something healthy and colourful. A mixed salad with loads of different coloured peppers and onions and lettuce, or something sweeter like a mixed fruit salad with Kiwi, strawberries and blueberries. Honestly eating something healthy will make you feel virtuous and it being colourful will make it fun. Why not try making it look interesting by taking time to prepare it all neatly, maybe try fruit kebabs?

8. Have a sort out. rearrange, reorganise, renovate! Try sorting your wardrobe, you might find some treasures you forgot you had? or just make room for some new bits. Sort your craft stash, organise your kitchen cupboards, whatever your thing is, it will give you a great sense of achievement to de-clutter some of the old to create some room for something new.

9. Write a letter to yourself. You can choose to write to your future self or your younger self, but make it about all the things you wish for or about all the things you have achieved. Hide it away for a day when you are feeling down and need a pick me up.

10. Treat yourself to a pamper. Have a bath or a shower, use your best products, taking time to enjoy the fragrances and feeling of getting squeaky clean. Give yourself a manicure, use your favourite nail polish and take your time, don't rush yourself.

I really hope some of those will help any of you who might be struggling to stay positive. If you have anything that you do that helps you to boost your mood, please add it in the comments, or tweet us with the #MoreHappyMe I would love to hear about the things that make you happy.

Have a happy, joyful, positive, fun weekend
Sammy xxx



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How are we doing? Reader's Survey

Hello all and how are we holding up in January?  Its back to work for H today, although Sammy has been in the shop over the Festive period making sure we are all kept stocked with sewing projects! But I definitely detect a bit of the January Blues for us all.  But no need, January is all about new beginnings for us all and as our #morehappyme post last week told you, we have some pretty good goals to keep us going through the cold weather and post Christmas slump - with a blanket and cup of tea of course too!

We also thought it would be a good time to see what you all thought about what we are doing here at Live it. Love it. Make it and so we have a little survey for you here.  We would love it if you would fill it in and let us know what you like, not so keen on and want more of.  Plus anything else you would like to tell us of course.
We love it when you guys interact with us and let us know when you have made something we have shown you.  But we also want to know what else you enjoy and whether you think there is anything missing from our blog.  We love a bit of brainstorming between ourselves, but sometimes our two brains just isn't enough, so let us know your thoughts and we can make sure you are getting what you want from us.

You can find the survey here and please do pass it on.  I am now off to go through all the emails - with a cuppa of course!

H, xxx


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#MoreHappyMe

We are as bored of making and breaking resolutions as the rest of you, so this year we aren't going to make any. H and I are just making some 'promises' to ourselves to try and do more of the things that make us happy this year. We want you to join us! Take a photo and post it with the #MoreHappyMe and lets spend a whole year being our best, happiest selves. We are going to...

Explore more
Visit new places and revisit old ones, explore near and far. Research your local area, are there any places within reach that you never knew were there? Is there a county, country or continent you have always wanted to visit?

Make more
Making things for our own enjoyment not just for our jobs or our blog but because we want to. We both love making but it can be hard to remember that not everything has to be for someone else to see. Just being creative, keeping a sketch book and drawing out ideas that no one will ever see is such a release. It is a great way to express feelings and emotions without having to say anything out loud to anyone, if you don't want to. It's also a good way of working through ideas that could be useful for other projects down the line.

Learn more
Taking positive steps towards being brave and saying, I don't know how to do that, but I can learn! Taking an online course or heading to our local learning centre, or just taking an evening class or joining a club. Reading up on a particular technique or proses that we have never tackled before, learning is just another way of saying discovering and doesn't everyone love making new discoveries?!?

Read more
Making time to read more real books, turning off from the online world and social networking for a bit and diving head first in to a magical world that someone else is guiding you through. Taking time out for ourselves and our own well-being is something we all too often neglect.

Relax more
We are not going to sweat the small stuff, we will be letting go of all the little things that don't really matter and enjoying the ones that do. If someone is not behaving the way we expect them too, it's okay, maybe they are having a bad day, maybe they don't realise how they are behaving? Lets not be so quick to judge. Equally if something goes wrong that is out of our control, we can work around it, be active in finding a solution, or move away and let it go. We are going to try and leave confrontation and opinion to important situations not every niggle needs to become a big deal.

Eat more
Good stuff, we aren't planning on just stuffing our faces with any old thing, healthy happy food, with the occasional treat thrown in for good measure. Fresh food, that makes us feel good inside and out. We both know that when we eat good food it makes us feel better, it can be so tempting to order takeaway and eat cakes all the time but it makes us feel really rubbish, tired and grumpy. Fresh home cooked meals and healthy snacks make us feel so much better.

Let us know with the #MoreHappyMe what you want to do more of this year.

Sammy & H


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