Sometimes we forget about all the amazing things we’ve done in life so we like to take pictures to treasure those memories. I have an Instax Mini Polaroid camera however it’s quite chunky and I don’t always like to carry it around with me wherever I go, instead I tend to just take pictures on my iPhone. Polaroid style pictures are everywhere right now, they have never gone out of fashion. Ever since I could remember I’ve been wanting to create a scrapbook full of all my favourite memories and life events which I can happily look back on through pictures. When the lovely lady Beatriz over at Printiki* contacted me, I jumped at the chance to work with them after seeing all the amazing reviews and the gorgeous prints.

If you haven’t guessed already, Printiki is a photo printing service which can link straight to your social media accounts so that you can print off some of your favourite pictures. Printiki offers many fashionable print styles to choose from such as:

• Retro Square M (4x4”)
• Retro Regular M (6x4”)
• Retro Square L (5x5”)
• Retro Regular L (7x5”)
• Retro Regular XL (8x6”)
• Square M (4x4”)
• Regular M (6x4”)
• Square L (5x5”)
• Regular L (7x5”)
• Regular XL (8x6”) 

As well as being able to create a variety of posters and photo books. The retro prints are more of a polaroid style whereas the square prints have a thin white boarder around them, making it a perfect fit for your Instagram photos.

I am very fussy when it comes down to the cost of prints which is why I don’t tend to use photo printing companies that much as I can find some to be very overpriced for what they are. Printiki is a service that I will never stop using as it’s only £5.50 for 20 M prints and you can add an extra 10 for just £2.75… such a huge bargain! Not to mention that my prints arrived just 3 days after I ordered them. This is such a great price point especially as the quality of the pictures are insanely good. You have the option to choose either a matte or glossy finish, I optioned for the gloss and it gave my photos a more professional look to them with the beautiful added shine.

There’s so much that you can do with your prints. I went for a scrapbook as I’ve always been a very creative person therefore I enjoy decorating and adding to a scrapbook but it also gives me a chance to constantly look back on some of my favourite moments. You could make DIY wall art, photo bunting or a photo collage, the options are endless.

If you’d like to have a look around and buy some prints for yourself or even as a gift to someone special then head straight over to the Printiki website. As a special little treat for you guys, I have an exclusive voucher code that first time buyers can use at the checkout to receive FREE SHIPPING which means you get 20 medium prints for just the price of £5.50!

Voucher Code: X77JNFE8

Also, don’t forget to follow Printiki on their social media platforms for some photo print inspiration:

• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Faceook

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I hope you have tons of fun creating some super cute prints for yourself! 

Let's Talk: Body Confidence and Learning to Love Myself

*All photos were taken by Sarah: ohitssare 

Twitter: @ohitssare

Instagram: ohitssare_*

I’ve been sat here looking at a blank page for a while now. You know when you have so much that you want to say but you’re not sure how to put those thoughts into words? That’s me right this moment. I’m also quite anxious about writing this post as 1) it’s a lot different to what I normally write and 2) I have never been very open about this subject therefore the thought of sharing it on the internet seems daunting.

My body weight is something I have constantly struggled with back in school which was 5 years ago and it’s been an ongoing battle ever since. Let’s just say, I wasn’t exactly the slimmest of girls and I’m still not. I’ve lost weight since but I’m still not what you would consider as ‘slim’. During school, I got bullied about my weight in person and over social media. The words ‘fat’ came out of people’s mouths like word vomit and when someone starts saying something about you constantly, you start to believe it for yourself. That’s when the anxiety kicks in.

I’ve never been a confident person as it is, therefore being put down and made to feel small just makes everything worse. I’m the sort of person that tries to find the positive in every situation possible but sometimes that’s hard to do when you’re getting such nasty words thrown at you. I remember I would always try to just ignore them and brush it off but as soon as I got home, I’d break down and cry for hours on end. Thinking to myself “Why do I have to be so fat?” or “I need to stop eating” – thinking back to that point in my life makes me sad and angry. To think that I let such heartless people get to me like that just angers me. I was very shy and if I’m honest, I didn’t know how to stick up for myself back then and I didn’t really want to give them the light of day as I knew they were trying to get a reaction out of me. I wasn’t willing to give it to them.

For years I have battled with my weight shifting up and down due to contraceptive pills, stress and just generally eating either less or more. There was a point in my life where I wasn’t eating enough therefore I was always tired and would occasionally faint and it still scares me to this day that I let myself get like that. I am finally at a weight I’m comfortable with, I’m a happy size 12 and I have learnt to accept that I’m never going to be a size 8 but that’s okay. It does make me sad however that I feel like social media has played a huge part in making my self-esteem lower as I remember seeing so many magazines on how to achieve the “perfect” body or magazines ripping apart other celebrities just because they put a bit of weight on. It makes me so upset thinking younger girls are reading stuff like that probably thinking to themselves that they need to look a certain way.

With the support of my wonderful friends, family and fiancé, I have learnt to accept my body for what it is. Of course, I still get those days where I feel insecure (just like everyone has those days) but each day I try to think of the positives. I’m learning to love my stretch marks and embracing my curves, and I’m slowly learning not to give a crap about what other people think of me. I need to worry about loving myself first instead of loving the idea of other people loving me.

I guess what I’m trying to get across in this post is, you are all beautiful. No matter what shape or size you are. I think it’s time we all start appreciating how we look and learn to love ourselves instead of comparing ourselves to others. Never did I ever think I’d be sat here posting pictures of full body shots over the internet, it would be something I didn’t have the confidence for back in the day. It just goes to show how far I’ve come.

                                                                                                                                                                       

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“Self-confidence is the best outfit”

“To me, beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin. It’s about knowing and accepting who you are”

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