A Blackbird's Epiphany - UK Handmade and Creative Writing Blog

Tophatter Auction Today!

2013-05-22T09:42:00.000+01:00

That's right, it's here at last. I'm very nervous, but I'm very excited. I've got 44 lots up for auction, some of which are one of a kind pieces, and everything starts at $3 each. $5 worldwide shipping, ree UK shipping, but shipping is refunded on any auction that reaches or exceeds $20, and there is a free gift for auctions that reach or exceed $15, and that free gift stacks. So if one person wins 2 auctions, each over $15, they get 2 different free gifts. Shipping stacks, too, so if someone wins 3 auctions under $20, they only pay shipping once.

I have no idea what to expect from this event at all, but money has been so very tight lately that all I can do is hope for the best, but expect the worst.

I would appreciate it if some of you could help spread the word. One or two of you have already, which I greatly appreciate. This is the link to the action. It begins at 11am PST - west coast of the US - or 7pm GMT/BST, London time. If you log into Tophatter, it should show you what time it begins in your own timezone. Please come!

10 Minute Solutions Fat Blasting Dance Mix Review

2013-05-22T08:43:00.003+01:00

Price: £6

Amazon UK / Amazon US

No equipment needed.

This is the first 10 Minute Solutions dance DVD I bought, and is also the only one I own with more than one person present in the film. This instructor is the one I deem to be the strictest. She's not strict, but she seems as though she could be if the time called for it. She has two other girls dancing with her behind her, but they don't do much but copy the moves. All they really provide is a good look at what you can achieve if you dedicate yourself, but I do think that that is valuable. Several times in 10MS DVDs, the camera will linger on their abs, and it certainly makes me work harder after seeing it.

This instructor, like all the others is always smiling, but she seems quite down to earth. I think that's why I believe she'd be a strict personal trainer. Later in the DVD, she states that "instructors get tired too" but I think it's marvellous that she says that. Because of course they do! They might be might more used to it, but if you made a professional runner run for an hour, they'd still be tired at the end of it.

Like all 10 Minute Solutions DVDs, the DVD is split into five 10 minute sections, and gives you the option to either play all, choose an individual section, or - the option I always choose - to select up to five workouts and play them in any order you wish. This gives you the opportunity to line up your favourite workouts, or arrange your own routine depending on the time you have or level you're at without having to touch the remote. 10MS also tends to flow in the same sort of way on each DVD: a slightly easier routine to start with, which, in the run of the entire DVD, can serve as a warm-up; a harder routine, and then a harder one still; and the last two are either toners, or slower to cool you down.

Like all other DVDs, you can't expect to be able to pick up the workout immediately. Chances are, you won't do a very good job on the first run of the first segment of your first dance DVD. In fact, you'll do just awful. But these DVDs are not designed to just be played once. What I usually do is choose the third option to customise my workout, and just line up four of the same routine when I've not done it before. This gives me four straight run-throughs, which, when I first started, was what I needed to learn it properly. Then, the next day, I'd do a much better job because I was more familiar with it. Now, however, I only need 2 run-throughs before I get to grips with it.

It irritates me to read Amazon reviews of these DVDs and see people complain that they can't pick the moves up, but some people just expect too much of either the DVDs or themselves and give up too quickly. What also has to keep in mind is that each segment is only 10 minutes long, so if they focused too long on how to do the moves rather an actually doing them, then when you replayed the DVD, looking for a familiar workout, it wouldn't be very demanding. After a few run-throughs you will pick it up.

This instructor keeps you going, the moves are amazing, and the music is pretty good. I'm more interested in epic soundtracks like Skyrim or The Lord of The Rings, and in rock music, but the music in this DVD is excellent to dance to, and serves as a relatively neutral genre. It does the job to get you moving. There is one move that turns up twice in the DVD in seperate sections, and it took me a good week to actually get the hang of it. The only advice I can offer is to take it all one step at a time. If a move is too complex, then do half of it. If you get ahold of the DVD I'm sure you'll know which move I'm talking about, the "hop, step, tap". It's very difficult but I focused on the footwork, and got there eventually. Once I was confident with the footwork (like I said, after a week), I added in the arms. I have not encountered such a difficult move since. It may have just been me that found it difficult, though.

Out of my collections of dance workout DVDs, I actually consider this to be the second hardest I own, the first being 'Urban Workout', but that one is not part of 10 Minute Solutions, and is a DVD I'll cover at a later date. It's the disc I put on if I want something familiar, but something hard at the same time.

Cheap Ink Cartridges At Last!

2013-05-20T15:53:00.004+01:00

The problem I have with printers - and a lot of other people have, too - is the fact that, these days, printers are cheaper than ink. I'm looking at buying a Canon Pixma iP2707 printer, since it's one of the few photo printers that aren't all-in-one. But the problem, then, is that I have to buy new ink. We use an old HP printer at the moment (all-in-one and it's not much good, to be honest), and the ink isn't too bad, probably because it's so old, but it really does need replacing, especially where my business is concerned.

Well, it took some searching, but I found this great website that really does sell ink for the cheapest that you'll find it, and I just felt that I had to share it.

Cartridge Discount sell cheap ink cartridges, because a lot of them are re-manufactured, which means old cartridges have been refilled with premium ink of the appropriate quality for the cartridge model. This really does help the environment, because od cartridges are re-used, and it's taken some time, but the world is finally becoming more aware of the state the planet is in. Though it's a bit late, as far as I'm concerned, I still do what I can, and buying remanufactured ink cartridges is one of them. We've done it for a few years now and seen no difference between the originals and the remanufactured ones.

I just placed an order with them for some ink cartridges for the above mentioned printer, because I think it's about time I took the plunge and bought it. Hopefully I'll be able to start a new line of jewellery with this! That would be just amazing!
So if you're looking for cheap printer ink cartridges in the UK, then this is definitely a site worth bookmarking. Also, free delivery on everything - how can you not love that?!

Creative Writing Tips: Every Day Lives

2013-05-20T07:00:00.000+01:00

Applies to Fantasy, for the most part.

This is something that never really occurred to me until planning my newest book. I created my world for the purpose of a story, I invented the land, the monarchs, the wealth, the technology, the resources - I created all of it myself, for the purpose of one to three books, depending on the scale of the story.

But the story would not have happened if not for the plot. If nothing dangerous or out of the ordinary happened, I'd not have much of a story - not an interesting one anyway, so, naturally, I needed to also invent a villain, their motive, their plan and so on, and create a counter to it to prevent them from succeeding, as is usually the way. But, what I often forget is that the world would have continued on whether the villain had come along or not, and not all stories start in the middle of the plot. Some key characters, especially those in a high social position, most likely have plans and worries that would take priority if they didn't have to get involved with the villain.

This isn't key for every fantasy story - if your main character is a farm boy, then it's unlikely that they'd have much planned in the long run - but if your main character is a princess or a councilman, then they'd probably have quite a social agenda, and that needs to be kept in mind, particularly at the beginning before anything seems amiss to them.

This can be difficult, especially if your character is in a position you are unfamiliar with, be it existant or not. What you need to do at the very least is use your common sense. If your character is a princess, then who would be around them most of the time? Who would be needed? Guards? Tutors? Hand maidens? What sort of things would they be expected to attend or see to? Do they have an education they have to get in a specific craft? If it's a princess it may be more along the lines of lessons in politics and social etiquette, and if its a military commander, they may have to attend strategy meetings and organise training and such. Your characters need to have a social plan to be disrupted, particularly for characters such as these, or it'll seem as though their lives are empty and they were subconsciously expecting the plotline. Afterall, as I said, if the villain and his plan had not occurred, their lives would have continued as normal. You need to create the idea that they will do so until they get involved with the plot, even if just about none of the plans they made ever happen.

These are the kinds of things you should think about:

Who do they surround themselves with? Colleagues? Subordinates? Servants? Cows? These depend on your character's profession and position, of course. If none of these fit then clear your head, picture your character and their job, and ask yourself who you see around them, or what words tie into their profession.
What do they do? Do they have to make reports to their higher-ups? Do they have to attend weekly markets or meetings? Do they have to maintain something like a stable, a farm, a shop and so on?
What hobbies do they have? Do they even have time for them? These pass-times don't necessarily have to be anything they're good at, but something they enjoy. I'm not good at singing at all, but I still enjoy to belt the words to a song I like (as long as I think no one can hear me). They could be related to their profession or position, or they could be the complete opposite. A soldier might enjoy to paint; a princess might enjoy fighting. Hobbies could also be secret, either due to shame, embarrassment, danger or a surprise, among many other things.
What responsibilities do they have? Do they govern a city? Are they highly regarded by members of their village or even country? Are they perhaps the opposite, and completely hated and outcasts? Do they have their own personal plans, or do their plans revolve around other people, or are relied on by other people? Such as an event can't take place without them.

Brainstorm. What I find helps is a pen and paper so you can write ALLLL over it and see the whole sheet at once, which isn't as easy on a computer or laptop. It also means you won't lose everything you've mapped out. What I also find helps is to write down every word that seems relevant to what you're trying to plan, even if it doesn't seem important. If I were mapping out a military position, I would have words like "war" and "army" popping up, even though they should go without saying. But, by writing down these obvious words, it can help to remove them from the forefront of your mind and make room for new suggestions, and it can also help you get into the swing of writing down any word that comes to mind. Even if you know you have no intention of using whatever a word might imply, it's best to write it down anyway, and get it out of your head. For example, if I was mapping out wizards but I had no intention of using necromancy at all, I'd still write it down just to remove it from my head, otherwise the word would keep popping up because I would be trying to ignore it.

Once you've given your characters a social or working agenda, their lives will seem fuller, and they will seem of more value, both to you, and your readers, even if your readers don't know quite as much as you. Most of these events may not come to pass, though some might be fitted into the story and used as an advantage to either the protagonist, or the antagonist, perhaps as a way to stage something or to lure someone out. But these plans are made to be broken, and can help make it easier to start your story off, if your story starts on a normal day that begins like any other. You'll know what your character is looking forward to and what they have on their mind, and what they have to get done that day. And that can make a whole world of difference. Some of the questions you ask yourself may even bring up answers that could completely change the route of the entire story, or grant you a small idea that can be built on to create a plot or suggestion for an entirely new book, if you can take it far enough in the right direction. I have found this twice while planning a book - I worked on it for a day, and already had two alternative books coming out from it just from a note or two.

Bookmark Dump

2013-05-20T06:00:00.000+01:00

21 cute animals in boots. What more do you need?

6 Products that are sure to increase sales. This is quite a useful page. It's not talking about specific products, just product types that can draw people's attention. My favourite was the subject of ME! Bath, who created the world's most expensive bath, starting at $50,000. They never sold a single one, but it wasn't designed to sell, it was designed to lure, and they got loads of free press. Their real products, however, were $10 bath bombs.

Etsy's top 5 tips for getting press.

Cute custom blogger designs by KellyStahleyDesigns.

This is a hummingbird hawk moth, the closest thing to a hummingbird in Europe

Are you running your Facebook contests correctly? Read this helpful post and find out if your Facebook giveaways could get your account deleted.

Enter this giveaway for a pair of sunglasses - and for every 5 entries, another winner will be added!

Sign the petition to encourage game companies to expand their range of female game apparel.

I think my cousin had this in college once.

Reminder Announcement - Tophatter!

2013-05-18T11:00:00.000+01:00

My Tophatter auction starts 11am PST / 7pm GMT on Wednesday the 22nd. Don't miss it! Every item has a $3 start bid, with free shipping in the UK, and $5 shipping worldwide. Shipping is refunded on all auctions of $20 or more, and a free gift thrown in on any auction of $15 or more.

If you download the iPhone app, you can get $5 free Tophatter site credit for use in any auction! Just add the code '17a97' to the settings page and enjoy a free bid or two!

A 30 Second Favour - sign my petition

2013-05-17T10:35:00.000+01:00

The Explanation.

Now, I know that the majority of my readers aren't interested in gaming. That's probably why I lost a few followers when I posted my World of Warcraft and Skyrim posts while I was on holiday. But the fact is, gaming is important to me. It's something both me and my boyfriend love to do, be it seperate or together. But not only that, if I'm having a hard day, then when my dad gets home to look after my mum and I "get off work" so to speak, I can immerse myself in a game and just get lost in it until I go to bed. It's an amzing destresser for me, but it also aids me with my writing.

I use games as research to see what's popular in fantasy at the moment, which helps with certain aspects of my writing. It also gives me ideas, and in a game as versatile as Skyrim, I'm even able to create the main character of whatever book I'm working on and play them, which allows me to get better acquainted with them, if not provide even more ideas.

But I also love merchandise. I do. I love replicas of weapons, I love lithographic prints, and I love t-shirts and hoodies. But the problem is that a lot of gaming companies only aim their products at guys.

I know, I know, when you think of gaming you think of guys. If you go into a gaming shop, chances are it will be full of guys with no more than 1-2 women. But the fact is that more and more females are playing games these days, be it because they're stay-at-home mothers with time on their hands every now and then, or because their partner has gotten them interested in gaming (that's how it all started for me), or because they grew up with a brother or they just simply enjoy it.

But if you go onto any of the official merchandise websites such as the Bioware store, or the Bethesda store, which sell products unavailable anywhere else, there is an absolute abundance of male apparel, but very little for females. For every 1 female t-shirt, there are about 4-5 male ones, each with designs unavailable to the ladies.

An example is that I love Mass Effect. I do. And my favourite characters are Mordin, Thane and Legion (it seems all of them are from ME2 only, though). But when I went into the Bioware store, I did find t-shirt designs with all three of them, but none of them were available for women. The best they had for women was Garrus. That's fine, I like Garrus, too, so I did actually buy that t-shirt, but I'm unable to buy any of my true favourites. I don't like to wear loose t-shirts, you see, and male t-shirts are always loose on me. I also have no skill with a sewing machine, so I can't fix up any male ones to better fit, either.

I'm sure there is a reason that they don't create many female products, but I believe that that is because they don't realise how many females play their games. And so it means that the users of websites like Redbubble or Cafe Press make their own designs and have them enabled on female t-shirts. This is usually copyright infringement, and when the companies find out, they contact the websites and have them pulled, but that means that there is very little for women to do about it. I've actually made my own gaming t-shirts with fabric paint because I have no other options. I didn't, and will not sell them, of course, they're for me and me alone, but it means that more complex designs like Mordin's head are out of my reach because I'm just not clever enough to manage it by hand.

The Favour.

So, to my point: I have put together a petition on Change.org, and I ask you, today, to sign it. It takes 30 seconds, that's all, and I've sent it out to numerous gaming magazines and such just now. I need every signature I can get if this is going to make a change. It might not seem an important thing to make a petition about, but it is something that bothers me, and it's about making the point that female gamers exist, and there are a lot of us. Plus it's just a teensy bit sexist.

Click Here For The Petition.

Getting in Shape

2013-05-14T07:00:00.000+01:00

I've been trying to lose weight for years, now. When I was a teenager I used to draw my bedroom curtains, turn up my music and just dance it off. At the time it felt like I was at it for ages, but thinking back, I don't think I did more than an hour and a half every weekend. I also never saw the results quickly enough, so I gave up quite quickly. This would go on for months. I'd exercise for a week or so, give up for a few months before trying again. The problem was that I never had the dedication.

Funnily enough, it was when I got involved with Seeg 3 years ago that I found the confidence and dedication I needed. He loves me how I am, he always has, and I think it was because he helped me to love myself a bit more that I was able to better grasp what I wanted. In the old days, I just wanted to be skinny - you know, the typical teenage stick. I know much better now. I want to lose weight, yes, but I'd rather be strong than weak. I'd rather have a toned physique than a thin one.

Seeg bought me a Wii a few years ago, just after I bought my first exercise DVD. Before then, all I had was an aerobics step I used to use while I was watching TV. It didn't do much for me, it was very repetative, and it wasn't fun at all. But when Seeg gave me the Wii and Wii Fit Plus for my 20th birthday, that's when everything got started. It introduced me to BMI, the balance board weighed me much, much more accurately than my bathroom scales, and it recorded everything for me. It also gave me lots of new exercises, and even step aerobics which had more rhythm than when I just watched TV with it. I also think that, because it cost so much money, I felt I had to use it. I'm not sure how long I used it for before I moved on, but because of that Wii, which Seeg bought me purely for fitness, I've not given up. I think it was about 6 months, but I still use it today to weigh myself.

I started using 10 Minute Solutions DVDs. The first one I bought, before Seeg got me the Wii, was from HMV. It was £3, which I thought was reasonable enough to take a chance on, and it was called "blast off belly fat". It wasn't very amazing, though, because it was just muscle work. It was better than the Wii, purely because I had grown quite used to all of the Wii's exercise options, but it wasn't quite what I wanted. I then had a look on Amazon and found that, actually, there was an enormous range of 10 Minute Solutions DVDs, and I eventually ended up buying all of the dance DVDs, which is my absolute favourite work out style.

I'll review 10 Minute Solutions and explain the concept of the DVDs at a later date.

Eating has always been a problem for me, too. I love chocolate. I honestly do. And I struggle to tell the difference between hunger and boredom. Whenever I think of diets I always think salad, salad, salad - and not nice salads either, just leaves, really. I've grown to realise that diets aren't all always like that, but at the same time, I can't afford to change the way I eat by buying loads of raw ingredients like that. Diets like Slim Fast and Weight Watchers are all equally too expensive, which I can't help feeling is extremely cheeky to charge so much for things like that. You lose weight, but more of it comes off of your bank account than anything else.

But what I have found is that I can make little changes - less chocolate and fatty things, smaller meals, eating slower and so on, and it makes a difference. I'll touch on the matter of eating slower at another point, too. I thought it was rubbish but I swear it works. You don't have to buy all these ridiculously expensive meals to eat healthily, and there are plenty of simple "super" foods you can incorporate into your normal diet and lose weight and get healthier just from that. The best thing I've found is green tea.

I've also found that adding weights into your workout can also increase your work rate, because it forces you to use more muscles, and use them harder. This can mean adding a few sets of weights during your break, or it can mean adding hand and ankle weights to your ordinary workout. I have a pair of weighted gloves that I wear while dancing, and I can't imagine doing it without them anymore. Sure, it makes changing DVD discs a challenge because my hands are heavier than I expect them to be, but while I'm actually working, I'm not seeing any hinderance any more. Not to mention the fact that I feel a little more serious about my workout and fitness while I'm wearing them.

I've got a lot of experience with certain aspects of fitness now, after a few years of it all, and I've decided it would be a good idea to share them. I'll be reviewing fitness products that I own, sharing tips and recipes, and posting anything I can think of that might help people looking to lose weight and get it shape. Hopefully it’ll be of use to someone, so watch this space, and the Fitness tab on my sidebar, and you’ll get everything I have to throw at you.
I'm also going to try doodling some diagrams for these posts, so that should be, um, interesting.

Butterfly Friendship Necklaces Are Back!

2013-05-13T18:34:00.001+01:00

They're back at last. I loved these things, but I was never happy with their finish, so I stopped selling them. They were very popular in the short amount of space that they were available, and now they're finally back, with a new finish! They're tougher, more durable, shinier and just generally more awesome. Check them out!

Currently

2013-05-13T13:29:00.002+01:00

Listening: To the sounds of Return of Warrior, and the Fall of the Lich King soundtrack.

Thinking: About my writing. I've done very well lately to keep up with my writing. I get quite upset with it sometimes when I think about how long it will take for me to convince anyone I'm worth the risk, and that sort of paralyses me, but lately I just said "fuck it" and I'm getting on with it. I've managed to knock out a chapter within a week, which is excellent, and I'm hoping the productivity will continue. I'm really enjoying the book.

Waiting: For our anniversary. Seeg and I will be together for 3 years on the 17th of this month, and I've been working out what to get him as a gift. He's a particular nuisance because, while I freely mention the things I want to try to give him hints and a helping hand, he says nothing, so I'm forced to guess. Occasionally he'll mention that he wants a new champion for League, or a new game, but this is so infrequent, and the former is so mundane, that they won't make suitable gifts. Fortunately, I've said "fuck it" again and am going out on a whim with an idea for a gift. I have no other options, because he wants very little. I assume it's because he's male.

Watching: The final season of Avatar. It's such a great program. It's like anime, in the sense that it's animated, and has a story that flows from one episode to another, but it's not because, well, it's American. Which means I can watch it, and ignore it at the same time. I can craft while it's on because I can follow the story by sound, but with Bleach or Naruto, I have no idea what's being said unless I watch the screen.
I've also been watching a lot of Dad's Army, I think I've watched the entire 9 season boxset back to back twice, and I'm now on my third run. And do you know I've learnt something from it! They don't like it up 'em. They really don't like the cold steel.

Reading: The last book of the Elenium. I admit that I've slacked with reading it lately because I've been doing more writing, but the trilogy is so good that I'm not keen to finish it anyway. But I have about 10 more books to read afterwards, so I should probably get cracking.

Playing: Minecraft and World of Warcraft, when I'm not working on anniversary gifts or writing.

Obsessing: Money. We've not got much, and our anniversary has maxed out what little we did have. Fortunately, I put my Wacom up on ebay and got a bid within the first two hours, so that will sell on Sunday, and I've got my Tophatter auction on Wednesday the 22nd - I desperately hope that that goes well, too. If it does then we might be all right. I'd hugely appreciate it if some of you could help spread the word, though.

Wondering: I won a competition with a fitness magazine this morning that gave me 2 boxes of Real Nutrition Co shakes, and some Real Nutrition Co snack bars. They're supposed to help your body recover after exercise, and since I won them, I figure I'll use them. They're worth a lot of money, afterall. If the first week goes well with them and they don't somehow make me ill, I'll make some reviews of them after set periods of time. I've always wondered about things like this.

Excited: For our anniversary, my Tophatter auction, our stay-at-home holiday, and about the return of my butterfly friendship necklaces. I was speaking to Lisa DiSciascio of Starlight Woods, and she helped me with resin, so now I have a much better finish on my necklaces. I'm really pleased because they were very popular! The only problem is that I've run out of blue ink - specifically blue - so I can't print any blue morphos. If anyone in the UK fancies helping me out, I can send the file and you can print a sheet for me. Yes? No? Worth a shot. Ink is bloody expensive and I can't afford any more.

I hope everyone is doing well. I got a wonderful postcard from Hawaii in the post this morning which brightened my day. I was preparing to say "I NEVER GOT A POST CARD" as a joke, but...well, I did. Post cards aren't sent out nearly as much as they should be, so I'm honoured to be thought of even while my friend was in a place so much more spectacular than Britain.

June Sponsor Ad Giveaway

2013-05-11T01:00:00.000+01:00

It took me some time, but I finally did it. I love Why Girls Are Weird - it's one of my favourite blogs, along with Habitual Homebody (aka The Curious Pug), VividPlease, and a craft blog that I can't remember the name of. But Krysten had presented a wonderful idea!

Not many people are shelling out for ad spaces anymore, and I'm not talking about my own blog, but Krysten decided that, instead of having people pay for ad spaces, and having a lot of repeat sponsors and such, she would give everyone the chance to advertise on her blog with a monthly giveaway. I thought it was genius. I contacted her and asked if it was okay that I steal the idea, and with her consent, I've finally gotten around to doing it.

I've never had too many sponsors on my blog. For the most part, it's just friends or blogs I adore. And so, my sponsor section is often ignored, eventhough I changed it to allow all sponsors the right to submit a guest post and/or giveaway. But this idea will help. I think the biggest issue I have is not knowing where to advertise that I'm looking for sponsors, but a giveaway will draw in all kinds of people.

What I've decided to do, for now at least, is to leave it at only two entries per person. This gives everyone very equal opportunitues. The first is to simply follow my blog through Bloglovin', which is my absolute favourite platform. The second is to tweet the giveaway, giving more people the chance to get a free ad space, to give my blog more exposure, and so that I might also see new shops and blogs via winners.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I had planned to do this a few months ago but I kept forgetting, so here it is now. It's all open internationally, of course, and the ad spaces can be used towards any page of yours you wish to expose, be it a blog, shop or website. Winners will be notified by email, along with how long they have to submit their ad, how to submit their ad, and when I need guest post and giveaway confirmations by. Guest posts and giveaways are not obligatory, but at least one of the two is preferred.

Please make sure that your rafflecopter account has a valid email address. The ad size given to winners will depend on the order they are drawn, and cannot be changed. I also require adverts of the correct size. Ads that have been stretched will not be accepted. Also, the prettier the ads, the better.

The giveaway ends on May 18th, winners will be drawn and notified between the 19th and 21st

Ads will go live on June 1st. If you win or lose this month, you can still enter next month!

Peaches and Pebbles Tophatter Auction

2013-05-10T07:00:00.000+01:00

Tophatter got in touch with me recently, asking if I'd be interested in doing a Partner Auction with them. I was quite hesitant about it, given that an auction can't guarantee me any good money at all, but after a few emails back and forth with the Partner Auction manager, and taking into consideration the fact that Seeg and I have been quite skint these past few weeks, I decided to chance it, be it right, be it wrong.
Tophatter will be spreading the word of my auction by newsletter, and my auction is currently visible on the "future auctions" page along with the majority of my lots - but the bulk of advertisement is down to me, hence the banners at the top of my blog. I'm doing what I can to spread the word without thoroughly spamming anyone.

So I want to take this opportunity to invite you all to the auction. It starts at 11am PST (Pacific, GMT+8) on Wednesday the 22nd of May. You can attend via PC, laptop, or iPhone (see below for free $5 site credit with the iPhone app).

It's made up of a mixture of my most popular and my newest items, including a few One of a Kind items that I've not sold yet. Every item has a $3 start bid, which I do deem to be dangerous, but it's a risk I have to take. The money will all go towards our computer fund, which will buy us a computer and programs to make my writing easier and more comfortable. We had already had some money put by for it, but due to such a quiet few months, it's ended up coming back out to cover necessities and we're back to square one.

There is free shipping in the UK, and $5 shipping for the rest of the world, but any lots that sell for $20 or more (which is at least $5 less than my cheapest lot when it's on Etsy and Storenvy) will have shipping refunded. There are also free gifts to accompany any lots that sell for $15 or more, and they stack. If a single person wins, for example, three auctions, and all three go for more than $15, then they will receive three different free gifts.

Info for iPhone users:

As an added bonus, I have an exclusive code that allows new members to Tophatter $5 credit to use towards any auction, including my own. All you have to do is download the free Tophatter app onto your iPhone, which allows you to access Tophatter, bid, and contribute to auctions all while on the go through your phone, and then put the code 17a97 in on the settings page. Your account will be credited with $5 to use anywhere on the site.

I'd really appreciate it if any of you could reblog this information, spread the button around and so on. It's a great opportunity to grab a bargain, and help me out in the process. This is a one-time-only auction, so it won't be happening again - unless this one is a surprising success. Get a headstart on birthday, anniversary or even Christmas gifts this May!

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Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch Tablet For Sale

2013-05-09T16:27:00.002+01:00

Well, I corrected myself. I bought this gorgeous tablet early 2012, with real intent to use it, but I never have. I found the tablet too difficult to use. It's got nothing to do with the model, it's a case of not bothering to adjust to drawing on it. It's been used for a grand total of six and a half hours, and that's all. The trouble is that I'd rather play World of Warcraft than go through the trouble of adjusting to something new. Sad, isn't it?

I listed it on Ebay a few months ago, but changed my mind and decided to keep it. Seeg said if I use it within that month then I can keep it, but if I don't, I have to sell it, because it's a waste. Well, I did use it that month, once, for 45 minutes, to draw a picture of GamerCat, and I've not used it since. So I give up.

I just listed it on Ebay, it's more or less brand spanking new, and is cheaper than Amazon. If anyone is interested, it's listed here. I could certainly do with the cash.

Free Writing

2013-05-08T18:27:00.000+01:00

I decided to free write a post with some general updates, so I apologise if I end up repeating myself.

I have a lot of thoughts on my mind, and most of them are positive.

I'm really proud of how my book's going, eventhough I've only just started writing chapter 3, and actually stopped writing it this afternoon to write this post. I've been feeling very productive lately, in a lot of ways, so that's also amazing. I've put a lot of work into my jewellery, and finally come up with a load of new things. They all branch off of things that I've already done, like animal jars and space earrings, but more products are more products. I'm very happy with it - especially because I finally thought of something appropriate for father's day, which I had so much trouble with last year that I ended up not bothering with it.

I got an email from TopHatter, offering me a partner auction, and after a few emails back and forth, I'm pleased to say is going ahead sometime soon, so keep your eyes peeled here, on Twitter, and on Facebook for an update - there will be a $3 start bid on everything up for auction, and if any item reaches a certain price then shipping is refunded and a free gift thrown in, which also stacks. I'm very excited about it, because we need the money. I have my worries about it - like I might only sell half of my stuff, and I might only get the minimum start bid for each price, which would sting a lot. But it's a risk I have to take at this point. Both of my shops have been silent for far too long. So when I announce the date and stuff, while TopHatter will send out an email newsletter about it to everyone who receives them, it's also my job to spread the word, so I'd hugely appreciate it if any of you could pass it on once I've announced it, which will be as soon as the slot is officially booked.

We bought Minecraft on the Xbox. I always thought the game looked so awful, and I was never remotely interested in it, but it became very popular, somehow. Seeg bought Don't Starve through Steam a couple of weeks ago - a melancholy survival game - and a friend of his recommended Minecraft because it was similar. He bought it, and so far, it does seem to be quite good.

We spent the entirety of Saturday playing it together, then most of Sunday, and on Monday - which is today, at the point of writing all of this - I told him I wouldn't play until I'd gotten some proper work done, which I almost have. You know, once I've finished with this post, first.

The graphics are so very, very poor, that it's not even a problem. It's not as if they've tried to make amazing graphics, but they aren't quite good enough. They're just giant pixel blocks - so bad that to complain about it you'd just be a fool. Though, graphics aren't the kind of thing to influence me, anyway. The Trilby series is a series of amazing point-and-click games that were drawn with MS Paint, but they are some of the cleverest (and scariest) games I've ever seen.

Minecraft gets quite exciting and scary, too. Zombies and skeletons come out at night, and try to attack you, and when the sun rises they burn and die, unless they find shade or are in water. Creepers also come out then, but they don't burn up, and if you get too close to them, they blow up, dealing damage to you, but also destroying things around them, which is awful if they decide to lurk around outside the house you spent forever building during the day. Then there are Endermen, which are quite scary as far as the theory goes: if you look at them, they will attack you, but they leave you alone if you don't look at them. They also teleport. One of them came in the house we'd built together, and we just stood there staring at the walls until we decided to turn around, look at the floor, and attack it (we knew where it was because we could see its legs). A Creeper also almost came in our house but couldn't operate the door. We just stood at the far end of the hallway panicking until Seeg tunnelled out and lured him away. He could have destroyed everything!!

I still have my usual worries that my writing might all come to nothing, but a friend of mine keeps reminding me that self-publishing is an option, so, in fact, it's not possible for my writing to be wasted, unless I die before I ever get anywhere with it, and no one publishes it in my memory. Whatever happens, I can print it, and I can distribute and sell it. But I would so much rather do it the "right" way, with an agent. My books could get so much further that way, and afterall, I'd like to make enough money by writing, so that I can carry on writing. And if there's one thing I'm confident about, it's the amount of ideas I have that just keeps expanding. I've got several notebooks full of it all.

It's also taken me a long time, but writing is finally my priority again. I'm not as interested in playing Skyrim now that Bethesda have announced that there will be no more DLC for it, eventhough it's easily my favourite game in the world, but this is actually a good thing: it means I can turn my full attention to my work. Even my jewellery takes a backseat, because writing is all I want to do with my life. So the fact that I've made it my priority again makes me feel a lot more positive and confident, because I'm getting more work done in a shorter space of time, and it seems possible that I might finish it by the end of the year if I keep going at this pace.

It's Seeg and my 3rd anniversary on the 17th, and my parents are going away on the 18th, so we have a holiday at home sort of week happening then: take-out, movies, getting up late, along with the responsible stuff like locking up and feeding the reptiles, which is fine until the hoppers or an occasional giant cricket escapes. It's always the biggest one.

It's been difficult, but I managed to come up with a couple of gifts for him. The problem with Seeg is that he doesn't want very much, and when he does want something, it's points in a game for a new champion, which wouldn't make an exciting present, or a new game that's come out, which he can never wait for, so I can't buy it and keep hold of it until the special day. All I can ever think of are hoodies and t-shirts, but they're both quite expensive, especially hoodies, and with money the way it is at the moment, it's quite impossible. But, I've had some ideas, and once our anniversary has passed, I'll share them with you all.

I expanded Peaches and Pebbles onto Storenvy, and I'm glad I have. While I've not made any sales from it yet, I have managed to get myself on the front page almost every day, once even as an Editor's pick, so that's given me a great start on there, and boosted my confidence. I've also seen some pretty fantastic stuff on there, too, so it's nice to be amongst so many awesome things. Etsy's great, but there's a lot of stuff on there that has just been copied from other people, and I'm not talking about resellers. I'm talking about the occasional unoriginal people who copy other peoples' also quite lazy work. I mean no offence to anyone, which is why I offer no examples, but Etsy has got an awful lot of rubbish hiding the really awesome stuff.

I'll leave it there for now. I hope everyone is okay!

New Animal Jars!

2013-05-07T14:15:00.001+01:00

I've just got some new animal jars up in my shop! I'm really very proud of them, but it's very hard to take photographs of the fully white pieces, so they look a bit fuzzy and off, but they do look good. I promise!

Each of the pieces below, along with almost all of my Etsy shop, is now available on Storenvy. I also have a Tophatter auction coming up on Wednesday the 22nd of May at 11am Pacific Time. I'll post more about that soon, along with how you can get a free $5 Tophatter credit to use towards any auction! If you're impatient, however, then I'll tell you now: download the free TopHatter iPhone app, which allows you to access and bid on auctions on the go, and then enter the code 17a97 on the settings page. You can even use this credit towards my own auction, so do join in! Like I said, more info regarding the auction will be coming soon.

You can also get 20% off of Peaches and Pebbles on Etsy today only with the code MAYDAY13

Creative Writing Tips: After Effects

2013-05-06T07:00:00.000+01:00

Applies to Fantasy, mostly.

Consider the after-effects that will occur following the end of the plot. Once the enemy is vanquished and his plans are ruined, what will happen then? A lot of books don't address it - it's not always necessary, but it can give some nice closure for you as a writer to know what happened to your world afterwards, and can help tie the book to an end. I don't much like books that sees the end of the plot, and then that's it. I like to know what happens next. This can sometimes be put in the Epilogue instead of the book. I've always felt they were optional to read anyway, so they don't have to have an affect on the book if you wanted to end it in a certain way, and often stand apart from it a little - narrated in a different way, by poem or suggested as being in a book within the story world itself, or perhaps recounted in a different person. It can also often be some time in the future when things have settled down and looks at not just immediate after-effects, but also what came of it in the long-run.

This is usually dependant on the size and scale of the plot - who it affected, and what was done to divert it.

Plots like the destruction of the One Ring involved more or less the entirety of Middle Earth. It layed to rest the biggest threat Middle Earth had ever seen, and called upon allies from all over and within the land. Even trees. Once the threat was dealt with, new alliances had been forged, and old ones had been rebonded. A new King ascended a throne, and Hobbits were suddenly a race known by all, even if they preferred that they weren't. Needless to say, there was a lot that needed to be settled back down after that, and would surely take some time, rebuilding what had been destroyed, mourning the lives of those who were lost, and generally trying to restore order, and their lives to what they had been.

Plots such as those of Assassin's Creed, on the other hand, only seemed to openly affect the Assassins and Templars - as far as ordinary people were concerned, nothing was really disrupted. A few people were killed, but conflict was brewing so it was expected. People were lost on both sides, however, Assassins and Templars, and each side would have to recover from that. It's unlikely alliances would have been made, but if they had, they would have done so in secret to prevent the other side from finding out about it and trying to buy their new allies away from them, or trying to counter it. Life would have continued as usual for 95% of the people in the locations that saw the events happen.

If a war happens, which is not unusual in fantasy, then the after-effects would probably have something to with alliances, rebuilding and restoring life. What you need to figure out is whether they are lasting alliances, and what they will bring with them, such as better trading. Lasting alliances could, in fact, bring negative impacts due to mistrust from some long distant past between the two peoples, and if the alliance doesn't last, do the two factions regard eachother neutrally, do things go back to normal, or do things, in fact, get worse?

How long does it take to rebuild the settlements that were destroyed? Will there be a memorial? If figures of great enough importance were killed, or if the event was significant enough, is there an annual ceremony to honour the dead and the selfless deeds they did for the good of their country, their race, or the world? And if people of great enough importance were killed, are their successors anyone of note, perhaps subordinates who had a leading part in the book, alongside the man protagonist? And how are they coping?

Thinking of the after effects could create a sequel, though perhaps one placed in a later time. The story is, afterall, most probably finished, but if one of the sub-characters are in an interesting enough position, that could create a new opportunity to get some more work out of a well-created world, but an entirely new plot. Of course, what is difficult in this case is aging your character and giving them years more experience in the blink of an eye, and throwing them into a different situation than before. Giving them that experience can change their personality - they could become depressed, more serious, or perhaps cynical and so on, but you also have to keep them the same character. Experiences can change people, afterall.

Romance is another point, though a slightly more minor one, because it's not something that people are as likely to question the outcome of. I know that I, personally, am more interested in the state of grander affairs than that of a romance, but that might also be because I'd like to maintain the idea that it all worked out nicely and they got married and lived happily ever after, but life doesn't always map out like that. However, if a book has a large focus on a romance, then it might be something you want to touch on. Does it last? Does it unfold into something more? Or does it completely fall apart for one reason or another?

Most of this could be quite happily added to the end of the book as an epilogue if you don't quite know how to link it in, and, as I said before, they could be set a year or so in the future to see how things have panned out. Alternatively, putting all of this into a final chapter gives you the opportunity to go into more detail, perhaps with conversations between key individuals, or seeing one or two of them tending to their new duties if they're in new positions, or perhaps the same old same old if they chose to go back to their normal life.

Bookmark Dump

2013-05-05T10:37:00.000+01:00

A great tutorial for making quick but really quite gorgeous geometric jewellery!

The Tell-Tale Heart.

This amazing seller is giving out free handmade lipbalm to chemotherapy patients in the US. It's so generous that it makes me want to do something similar. I had thought it might be easy for awful people to fake it for a free lipbalm, but she sends it straight to the hospital instead of to homes.

The Dutch know how to open a museum with style.

Hollow-point bullets fired underwater. Find more at Vuurwapen Blog.

Image-Maps.com is a great way to link seperate parts of a single image to other pages, posts and websites!

Enter to win $50 off of any design service from Blart!

Peaches and Pebbles is now on Storenvy ♥

Harrison Ford won't take any Star Wars questions.

Tolkien Stamps

2013-05-04T07:00:00.000+01:00

Want.

Ediacara Feature

2013-05-03T15:33:00.002+01:00

My Ediacara jewellery was featured on VividPlease today! Head over for a look at some of the pieces, and you can learn something in the process!

Mobile Phone Cases

2013-05-02T14:31:00.000+01:00

I was looking at some smart phone cases for my sister's Blackberry for her 20th birthday this year (Christ, she's 20 already?! That feels so very strange to write), and I found my way over to Mobile Madhouse. They have a great selection of plastic, gel and fabric cases - which created a problem. I'll be honest, I have no idea what she likes. I had also thought about getting some for my friends, since they all have fancy phones, too. Mobile covers and cases are a great way to add a little more colour to your life. Personally I prefer more sophisticated looking ones, like black leather flip cases, but my sister is not so. She's quite the showy type, preferring glittery "bling" and stuff, but of course I won't humour her with such rubbish. In the end I decided against it, realising I don't know her well enough to buy such a thing.

    It did remind me of something, though. She had asked me several times to make her a phone cover. I never did it because I couldn't find any blank cases or anything, and she has a tendancy to be quite vague and not tell me exactly what she wanted, and I doubt she wants anything like a monster or a fantasy warrior on it. Vagueness runs in the family, I believe.
   The mobile phone cases on Mobile Madhouse are great value, and at hugely discounted prices - a great place to go, in fact, for more sophisticated looking cases, like plain colours and leather flips, with a few nice patterns, too. I love polka dots.
   But Etsy is a fantastic place to go, too, for originality. And you pay for it. I've seen several amazing cases that I've favourited, knowing full well I'll never buy them because my mobile at the moment is a Nokia 1680 which I got off of Seeg's mum in the Netherlands, because my Motorola Pebl decided to break. I'm quite sad about that - funniest thing, though: I took the Pebl out in the airport before we got there, and some men were looking at me very strangely for it. Everyone has all these silly swipy flicky phones, and walk around like zombies, but I'm the strange one for having one with buttons. I think the finger smudges would drive me mad.

I also rather love this mint leather case, too!

I'm on Storenvy

2013-05-01T13:42:00.001+01:00

Well, I decided to take the plung and sign up on Storenvy. Except I already had. I'd registered Peaches and Pebbles some time ago, and left the shop closed and without any listings. I gave it a quick reskin (I've not touched the HTML because I don't have a clue what to do with it) and imported all of my Etsy listings, except from a few I wasn't keen on copying. It looks pretty good!

The best part is, if you head over to my shop now and use the code OPENING15

you can get 15% off up to and including the 7th of May! So get to it!

Favour Time

2013-04-27T11:02:00.001+01:00

I'd hugely appreciate it if some of you could go over to this website and leave some nice comments about my cake! It's for a competition, and goodness knows I could use the cash if I won. Comments, likes, repins and so on are taken into consideration x

Find the original dinosaur fossil cake tutorial here.

Barry M Croc Effect Nail Polish Review

2013-04-26T07:00:00.000+01:00

Now, as you can probably tell from glancing at my blog, I don't really pay much attention to make up. I don't post eyeshadow effect tutorials, in fact I rarely stray from subtle wingtips, if I bother at all. I don't wear lipstick at all - no matter what happens, my hair always gets stuck to it. I won't go near foundation. Just about the only thing I do use is nail polish, and even that is rare, given how my nails always flake afterwards.
But, I came across this Croc Effect nail polish by Barry M a few days ago, and figured what the hell, why not try it? These things rarely work the way they should, but I try to keep positive, and I've always found Barry M to excell at most things.

Seriously, how can people photograph their hands like this? It's so very much harder than it looks.
I'll reshoot this with longer nails, when they've grown.

Just about everywhere I looked advertised the black nail polish (it's me, of course I'd buy the black one) with gold cracks, so I got my lovely foil effect gold polish (Barry M, again) and set to painting a base coat, since the Croc Effect is a top coat. As you can probably see, I'm really not very good at painting my nails. I'm not great at painting at all, really, but when things are delicate (ie having to keep my nails neat for the blog's sake), my hands start to shake and it just goes everywhere. My right hand is always a real mess.

   At first I was quite skeptical, but to be fair I'm not sure what I expected. Basically, it felt as though I had just painted over my nails twice, with nothing but gold around the edges to show for it. But, after looking it up on their website, I found that it takes about 5-10 minutes for anything to happen. Basically, once it's started to dry, it cracks. First it starts with subtle lines around the edges that crack and branch inwards, and the crocodile effect forms in the middle of the nail. I've seen a lot of pictures of people with really fine patterns, and others with huge patterns. I guess it depends on how you apply it or something, because not everyone seems to have the fine cracks around the edges.
   Either way, this stuff is amazing. It worked exactly as it was supposed to, it looks amazing, and, of course, the outcome can really change depending on the colour of your base coat.
   I found this over at Lackaffen, which shows how your base coat doesn't have to be neat at all to achieve and amazing effect!

Source

Here is the video from the Barry M website. You can buy straight from the website, too.

DIY Deer Cushion Covers

2013-04-25T07:00:00.000+01:00

I made these cushions for Seeg's mum's birthday. They were relatively easy to do, though I admit to cheating a bit. I didn't make the covers from scratch, I bought them pre-made in the colours I wanted and just sewed the deer on, but I'm still pleased with how they came out!

What You Will Need:

• Scissors
• Cushion Covers
• Felt
• Needle and Matching Thread
• Glue (optional)

1. First of all, if you need to dye your covers, do this first. The brown cover I bought was cream on the back, so I dyed it a lighter shade of brown. The two sides didn't match, of course, but a lighter brown was better than cream. If you dye it, wash it several times to ensure the dye is thoroughly permanent, and not about to stain the felt when it next goes in for a wash.

2. Design your deer on paper, or whatever it is you want on your cushions. Once you're happy with the design, cut it out and draw on the felt around the paper carefully and gently. I used a pencil, which made the felt a little wooly, but there is no chance of ink seeping through and staining anything. Cut your felt out.

3. I had a problem with my male deer. His antlers, as you can see, are long and narrow, and they moved about an awful lot, so what I did was use a little bit of glue and stuck it down to the cover, where I wanted to stitch it. Obviously, glue is not reliable in this case, but it served my purpose. I used only a little bit, then let it dry. Being PVA glue, it washed out afterwards. Mod Podge would work, and be much stronger, if you're not confident about your stitching, and it won't wash out, but if you're looking to glue instead, I'd recommend just going straight to fabric glue.

4. Once the glue is dry, begin stitching from the inside of the cover. I started with the antlers because they were the biggest nuisance.

5. Once you've stitched the lot down, you can wash the covers to get rid of the glue

Tada!!

Is Your Blog Design Working For You?

2013-04-24T13:00:00.000+01:00

It's true that content is what truly matters on a blog, and that you should decide if it's worth your time by more than your first impression, or by the number of followers they have. But at the same time, design does count for part of it. Pretty much everyone is more inclined to linger on a pretty (though tastes vary) page than a vaguely constructed one, and the design chosen can say a lot about the blogger, too. For example, handwriting fonts and bookish images will generally give the image of a well-read book-lover, and probably a well-written and thoughtful blog. Washi tapes, pencil lines and paint splotches give the impression of a creative individual, and probably a crafty blog. Colours and patterns that are currently in fashion suggest the blogger is up to date on current trends, blog frequently and change their blog frequently, and makes them appear very active, and probably blogs a lot of style tips - design, make-up, fashion and so on.

I'll start this series of posts off simply, and ask you: what is it that keeps you on a blog, aside from content, and what is it that turns you away from them? First impressions do count.

A lot of beginners' mistakes are very common. Blogger, as other blogging platforms do, supply you with free backgrounds, fonts and so on you can use on your blog. The problem with this, however, is that other people are using the same designs you are. Some fonts are more popular than others, as are backgrounds. When I started out, I chose a green, leafy background, and a swirly curly font, which I made green, to match the background. I soon grew out of that, realising it didn't do much for me, and I also just generally didn't like it, but since then I've seen several blogs which all shared exactly the same design as me.

The most important parts of a blog's design (aside from colour, cohesion and so on) are the fonts, backgrounds and headers. Once you've got those three down, everything else comes a lot easier.

First of all, I suggest you focus on a background. You can download them for free from some websites, you can make your own, or, for a small fee, buy a pack of designs from one of many different designers. I've used Moo & Puppy in the past, and their designs are stylish, big, and come in a fantastic range of colours - and, since Etsy recently enabled an immediate download ability, whenever you purchase digital items (from sellers who have enabled it), you don't have to wait for them to email them to you! Being in the UK, myself, I've had to wait hours in the past, and it can get quite excrutiating when you know all that needs to be sent is an email.

Making your header takes a bit of work. For this you could simply download a pleasant font and a few brushes, provided that they are all from sources that allow you to use them on blogs, and play about with them. There are also many online shops with lovely clipart. Pugly Pixel has, in my opinion, the best range from across the web, but Pink Pueblo has a lovely and large selection on Etsy, too.

Chances are, you'll change your header more than your blog design, in the beginning. It took me so very long to get to the point where I was finally happy with it - a year, in fact! I ended up drawing my design by hand with ink, scanning it in, and adding a few ink splats and grungy brushes and using a pretty font. It doesn't need to be complicated.

Fonts are another issue. Sure, curly ones look cute and fun, but they're hard to read. Stick to something simple. There are tutorials online that show you how to add a custom font into your blog, if you're not happy with anything your blogging platform offers - but after a few months with a custom font, I got tired of it, removed it, went back to a blogger font with the intent to change it "soon" and just never did. I believe this is the tutorial I used.

Once you've got this down, you'll also have figured out your colour scheme. At this point you can move out into things like the "about me" section and the social media icons. If you're stuck on a colour scheme, however, looking at other websites for inspiration (note: inspiration, not copying - let your blog be your own) or at marketplaces that sell social media icons, you can get an idea for yourself. My current layout (as of 23/04/13) was inspired by the very social media icons you see there. My colour scheme was similar to it, in the sense that I was already using coral and grey, but it added in a lovely greyish cream which, I feel, gives the colour scheme a lot more depth, for such a light and subtle colour.

There will be more posts on this topic coming soon, looking at different aspects in more detail. The easiest option, of course, is to just pay someone else to design it for you, but I doubt you'd ever get as strong a feel for your own blog. This blog is fully mine. The only thing that isn't is the background and social media icons. I made the rest. And through this, tweaking little bits and pieces, I've gradually learnt a little about HTML - at least, to recognise certain things - and I feel like I have a lot more control over my design. If someone else had done it for me, I'd be worried to change anything in case I broke it, since I wouldn't know how it was put together. You do not need to be a HTML or a Photoshop wizard. I did all this with very limited HTML knowledge, and with GIMP instead of Photoshop. It's hardly the best design in the world, but I am very happy with it, actually.

So keep your eyes open, and keep them on the Blogging Tips page, too! All new blogging tips posts will be archived there, as the name suggests, and categorised for easy manouvering. I hope that this and the rest help!