There are a couple of reasons for this, the main reason is that I am having a career change. I have recently set up a baking business called Say It With Flours, (I’d be grateful if you could like it on Facebook) which is dominating my time, thus leaving QB to fend for itself. I do not have the time any more to be focusing the love and attention it needs, so I have made a sacrifice of this business for my new one. Am I sad? Yes, a little, I have made some wonderful friends throughout my time doing QB, but pastures new are beckoning and I’m highly excited.

Another factor in deciding to close has been that the market is now flooded with people making jewellery, there have been so many indie jewellery internet shops pop up over the last 6 months, it’s great that people are being creative, but a lot of the new shops are selling are the same stock, which is a shame, the indie jewellery business is fierce and you have to stand out, not blend in.

I have a lot of surplus stock and I’ll be sorting it out over the next few days so if you’re interested you can take some of it off my hands, I’ll be listing it on Etsy.

Like I said it’s been a great couple of years, I’d like to say a HUGE thank you to all my customers you have been wonderful and I’ve made some lifelong friends.

This may be the end for now, but there’s no saying I won’t be back doing QB in the future, when you’ve been making jewellery your whole life it’s kind of hard to shake.

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Winner will be picked at random on Sunday 29th January 2012.

Every year over 2800 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, of which roughly 1000 of those women will lose their lives.

In over 99% of cases the cause of cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus with over 100 strains. In most cases the immune system will fight the HPV virus, but sometimes the immune cannot fight the virus which can cause the cells in your cervix to become change and become abnormal.

If untreated the abnormal cells in your cervix may become cancerous, just because you have abnormal cells this does not mean you have cancer, 9 out of 10 smear results are negative. Pre-cancerous cells are called dyskaryosis, and most women with mild dyskaryosis (CIN 1) will not need treatment.

One women in 100 women will show moderate changes (CIN 2) and 1 in 200 will show severe changes (CIN 3)

Treatment for dyskaryosis can include regular screenings, lletz, colposcopy or a biopsy.

In 2005 I had a letter from my doctors reminding me to attend a smear test, having a young baby at the time I was always too busy and never got round to booking it. I had began to develop symptoms by late 2005 and I finally booked in for a smear test. That out of the way I thought no more about it, until another letter landed on my doormat telling me of changes in my cervix, I was booked in for a colposcopy. A colposcopy in case you don’t know is a detailed looked at the cervix using a high powered microscope. During this time I had a biopsy taken and went on my way.

2 weeks later I had a call from the doctor who performed my colposcopy asking me to pop in for a chat, that’s when it dawned on me that it wasn’t going to be good news, I just wasn’t prepared for how bad a news it was to be. It was cancer. A  few weeks later I underwent a radical hysterectomy, luckily for me I didn’t need chemo or radiotherapy. I was 26.

Last July I was given my 5 year all clear and signed off from the oncologist.  HUZZAH! I’m happy to say that I am fit (OK, unfit) but I’m healthy.

Symptoms for cervical cancer can include: bleeding after sex, bleeding between periods, pelvic pain, unpleasant vaginal discharge. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms make an appointment with GP.

Cervical cancer on the whole is a preventable cancer, with regular smear tests and treatments you needn’t hear the words “you have cancer”.

Smear tests may not be the most pleasant 10 minutes of your life, but without them your life could be cut short.

Don’t be complacent. Be aware.

For more about cervical cancer visit: http://www.jostrust.org.uk/

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/

http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Home.aspx

Make yourself a rockabilly bag charm, it’ll breathe new life into your bag and it only takes a few minutes too.

You will need:

A glue gun. (Failing that some UHU or other glue will do), some fake cherries, some fake leaves, a brooch back, some felt (not pictured), a pair of scissors, and of course an old bag.

First of all you might need to snip the plastic off the bottoms of your leaves.

Once you have done this you will need to line up the leaves, once you have positioned them, stick a bit of glue on the back of one and hold together until bonded.

Once you have done this you’ll need to position your cherries. Like before, once you have them in place use your glue to stick them to the back of your leaves. Do not worry too much at the mess on the back as you’ll be covering it.

After you have them glued you’ll need to cut a piece of felt out, this can be a small strip, it’s going to cover the back and hold the brooch back in place. I chose to cut a small heart.

Glue your brooch back to the back of your leaves.

Once this has been done take your felt and glue it over the brooch back.

That’s all there is to it, easy isn’t it. All you need to do is pin it to your bag.

I chose to add a small bow to mine.

As well placing the cherries on a bag you can use it as a brooch or scarf clip, you could also use a crocodile clip instead of a brooch back and make it into a hair accessory. Simple.

1.) Listening to Hugh Laurie’s album Let Them Talk.

In fact, I’ve been listening to this pretty much since it came out, I love it. Full of blues pianos and horns, accompanied by Hugh’s voice makes for an all round great listening experience. I’m a big fan of Hugh Laurie in House, it happens to be one of my favourite programmes, but one thing I can’t get my head around is hearing Hugh speak in his normal voice with his English accent, after watching House for so long and listening to his music I always think he’s putting his English accent on. Weird. Anyway, I digress, check out his album, it’s super.

2.) Christmas Shopping.

I’ve made it my mission to be organised this year so I have planned to do my Christmas shopping before December. The kids have wrote their lists and I’ll be emailing them on over to Santa and his Elves. I hope Santa has me on his good list, I’m hoping for money towards getting tattooed next year.

3.) Doing the books.

Argh! I hate this task. I have worked for 2 days solidly on them, but thankfully they are done now. Hurrah!

4.) Crocheting

I promised to crochet my Dad a blanket for the winter, I had wanted it finished by now but it takes me forever to crochet as after about 10 minutes my eyes hurt and I get a migraine, which is shame as I love crocheting.

5.) Watching Dexter.

I love Dexter, it’s my favourite programme, so I’m delighted that it’s back on our screens with a new series. Once again I am gripped. If you haven’t watched it then you must. Dexter is a blood splatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department, but he hides a secret, a secret he calls his dark passenger, he is serial killer. Michael C Hall plays a great part, it’s a must see.

6.) Baking.

I’ve been baking a lot over the last few weeks, I’ve made lemon meringue pie, key lime pie, chocolate cheesecake and a mint chocolate cupcakes (below) to name a few.

For me, I chose Rockalily for one main reason, ReeRee Rockette (the lady behind the brand)  is an independent business owner who decided to start her own brand of cosmetics after being disappointed with the range of lipsticks that were available to buy. I wholly support independent brands and think they offer something different to the high street.

There are 4 main core lipsticks in the Rockalily range: Rockette Red, Pompadour Pink, Hot Rod Red & Roulette Red, they all contain vitamin E which keeps your lips soft and more importantly kissable.

Due to customer demand Rockalily also has 4 limited edition lipsticks too: Mermaid, Vintage Vixen, Man’s Ruin & Sailors Beware.

Buying make up online might seem a little daunting as you don’t get to see samples, but when choosing the right lipstick for you there is a gallery of customers all pictured wearing their chosen shades. I found the gallery helped me made an informed decision as I was able to see what the lipsticks looked like on different people, and if the customer gallery wasn’t enough ReeRee herself has uploaded videos of her applying all the Rockalily shades, it makes buying lipstick over the internet much easier.

My verdict:

I chose the Rockette Red lipstick, a creamy blue based matte lipstick. Because of it’s blue base it makes your teeth appear whiter.

It came beautifully packaged and in super quick time.

Applying the lipstick felt lovely, it was so soft and glided over my lips so easily. It stayed put for the duration of the time I was out (which was a couple of hours) and I didn’t need to reapply it which was good. It wasn’t greasy and didn’t leave my lips stuck together. The lid of the lipstick fits the base perfectly, so you needn’t worry about it coming off in your make up bad and ruining the contents.

Although a red shade it wasn’t too overpowering, it was subtle, but with a hello boys feel about it. I’d say it’s a lipstick that can be worn to work but then carried on though a night on the tiles too.

Overall, I’m externally happy with the choice I made, I’ll certainly be asking Santa for another shade.

I will add a photograph of me in my Rockalily lipstick tomorrow.

For more details on the Rocklily range visit: http://www.rockalily.com/

In the couple of weeks in the run up to Christmas I will be posting parcels out everyday, but I’d like to point out that during this busy season I cannot guarantee that parcels will reach you in time before Royal Mail stop delivering, and the last thing you need is presents not turning up in time, so please take note of our last posting dates. Please use it as a guide, we all know that Royal Mail will be extremely busy that’s why it’s best to order early to save disappointment.

The highlighted red date is Quirky Boutique’s standard delivery service and you will not pay any extra for Recorded Delivery. However, the highlighted green dates are Royal Mail Special delivery, I am happy to post orders out via this method, but the additional costs will be met by the customer, if you wish to have delivery by Special Delivery then please email me using the contact form.

For more information on Royal Mail’s Christmas posting dates please refer to their website.

Take this outfit below, ideal for wearing to an up and coming Christmas party you might have. The heels aren’t too high either, but if you’re not comfortable in heels then I have picked out some flats for you. Always a good idea to pop a pair of flats in your bag for the end of the night.

Leopard print top: £34 from Topshop

Maternity pencil skirt: £20 from Dorothy Perkins

High heels: £25 from Boohoo

Flats: £26 from Schuh

Ring: £7.99 from Quirky Boutique

Bangles: £6.99 from Quirky Boutique

Red blazer from New Look – £29.99

Trousers from Topshop – £42.00

White T-Shirt from George @ Asda – £2

Ballet pumps from – Zodee – £23.00

Necklace from Quirky Boutique – £7.99

Shirt from Topshop

Jacket from Topshop

Trousers from French Connection

Shoes from Schuh

Necklace from Quirky Boutique