My brain's hit a dead end! :'(

Hey Mez Amis!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! 

So you might have noticed the lack of posts recently. Well I'm very sorry. The truth is I have absolutely no clue what to write. None. No craft to show you whatsoever. So please tell me in the comment section a website where I can get ideas (leave a link if you can or just leave the title) or and idea itself! I'm very confused as to what to make and I need your help. This s your blog too Mez Amis! Tell me what you want to read!

Thank you!

From Mez :D

Camping

Hey Mez Amis!

I'm going camping soon in Herefordshire and I love camping. Here's an article on camping!

CAMPING!

Phone

Yep! A phone is obviously important for emergencies, keeping in touch and using the Internet. If your phone doesn't use internet, you could use an iPod touch or tablet. Also good for listening to music out in the fresh air so bring headphones!

Vests and Spare Socks

It might sound strange but vests and socks are important for night-time to keep warm. It gets veeeeery cold at night when you're camping! When I go to the toilet block at night at my camping site, it's so warm in there compared to the outside that I'll stand in the hallway warming myself before going back!

Toiletries

Toiletries are very important! You'll need to bring mini-sized versions though and don't forget your toothbrush and toothpaste.

A Notebook

With a notebook, you can write down what you see, draw pictures, write shopping lists and maybe a journal of the holiday.

11 Reasons to Ditch the City For A Week And Go Camping

1. Food always tastes better when it's cooked out in the open.
2. Get disconnected and keep your brain away from screens! You'll feel all refreshed when you've had a week away from the computer.
3. FRESH AIR!!!
4. It's very relaxing and good stress relief. You can forget about work and jobs for a week because it's all so far away! Get away from the world you know and enjoy yourself.
5. Get some exercise! You can go canoeing, kayaking or on a bike trail.
6. There are so many lovely places to go. You could go to the coast, the middle of the countryside, the mountains, etc.
7. You could go on a road trip around England, Europe or America with a car, some money and a tent.
8. That certain person you want to get away from is nowhere in sight and you can spend some time without them knowing that you're the one  having a great time.
9. Fish and chips by the sea; who could want more?
10. You deserve it.
11. You'll bring home memories, souvenirs and a fresh new attitude.

Fun Things To Do on a Camping Trip

• Do a cycle trail
• Canoe/kayak
• Make a den or build a wigwam in the forest
• Sing around a campfire
• Eat fish and chips by the sea while listening to the seagulls
• Go fossil hunting
• Walk along a beach
• Go to the circus
• The Eden Project :D
• Read Mezzed It (what? I might as well put that in ;) )
• Eat at a nice restaurant

Enjoy Camping! ;)

SURVEY!

Hey Mez-Amis!

Take a look at this! It's just a quick survey so I can improve my blog to entertain you better. Please fill it in to improve your Mezzed It experience. :) 

How To Made Bread

Hey Mez-Amis!

Last week me and my mum tried making Paul Hollywood's bloomer bread and it was great so I'm gonna show you how. I'd definately recommend buying Paul Hollywood's BREAD recipe book if you enjoy baking, you won't be disappointed. RRP £20.

How To Make Bloomer Bread

You'll need:

1. 500g strong white bread flour
2. 10g salt
3. 7g fast-action dried yeast (one average sachet -- always check the packet)
4. 40ml olive-oil (or sunflower oil alternatively) plus extra for oiling
5. Water
6. A large mixing bowl
7. A measuring jug
8. Baking tray
9. Roasting tray
10. Baking parchment or silicone paper (non-stick)
11. A sharp knife

Step 1) Tip the flour into the bowl. Even it out by shaking the bowl a bit but it doesn't have to be perfect.

Step 2) Put the salt in one side of the bowl and the yeast in the other side of the bowl.

Step 3) Pour the oil in as well as 240ml of cool water then mix it with your fingers one-handed. Use the other hand to pour in 120ml water in portions while you mix or use two hands to mix and get another person to pour in the water. Continue until the dough is soft and sticky and try to get the flour from the edge.

Step 4) Pour a little oil onto a smooth surface, grab the dough and put it on the surface. Knead thoroughly for 5-10 minutes until it is stretchy and smooth.

Step 5) When you're done kneading, lightly oil a large bowl (clean the first one or get another) and place the dough inside. Cover it with cling film (or a tea towel) and leave it until it has tripled in size. That should take about 1 and a half hours. If it rises slowly, that's good because it gives a better flavour so put it to rise in a cool place.

Step 6) When the dough has risen, put it on a floured surface and "knock it back" (knock the air out) by folding it in on itself several times and pushing the air out. Use the heels of your hands and knuckles.

Step 7) Now you need to shape it. Flatten it into a rectangle with the long side facing you. Fold the long side furthest away from you into the middle. Fold the long side closest to you over the side you've just folded. Then turn it over. You have a seam along the base and smooth top. Tuck under the ends if the loaf, making an oval and rock it gently into a bloomer shape..

Step 8) Let the bread prove by putting baking parchment or non-stick silicone paper on a baking tray. Put the loaf on that and put the tray in a plastic bag. Now leave it for an hour. This should let the flavour develop. 

Step 9) While the loaf proves, heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius and put a roasting tray on the bottom shelf to warm up.

Step 10) After an hour, check the bread has proven by gently poking it with your finger. If it bounces back, it has proven. Sprinkle it with water and dust it with a handful of flour. Even the flour out with your hand. .

Step 11) Finally, carve 4 diagonal lines on the bread and put 1 litre of water in the roasting tray to create steam when the loaf is baking and give the loaf a crispy crust and slight sheen. Put the baking tray and loaf on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 200 degrees Celsius and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Then hold it in a tea towel and tap the bottom. It should sound hollow if ready. Put it on a rack and let it cool completely.

DONE! 

Serving suggestion - me and my family like to eat the bread fresh while still warm with jam and butter for tea.

____________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the post! Keep reading and please comment and subscribe (at the bottom).

Update - Apology and Good News

Hi Mez Amis!

I'm ever so sorry about the lack of posts, I've had a lot of homework recently to catch up with and revision. My best friend Immy (short for Imogen) reads the blog and has been asking me to write something so I'm Mezzing Up BREAD. Me and my mum used Paul Hollywood's recipe and it was delicious so we took pictures during the making and when it was baked to help show you how.

PLEASE keep reading! Mez Out.

Update - I'm Back!

Hello readers!

With the help of some of my readers emails, I've chosen what Mezzed It readers shall be called. The word is...

Mez-Amis! Mes amis (I changed the S to a Z) is Spanish for My Friends, which I guess you are! So keep reading Mez-Amis! :)

_____________

I've just come back from my amazing holiday! It was so lovely and peaceful! We were at Fordwood House in Northumberland and it was beautiful. Plus I made a How-To VLOG with my 7 year old cousin for you which is being edited now.

Tell you more soon. Thanks for reading, especially to the readers who have stayed loyal and kept to the blog, it makes me feel so special.

Mez Out. :)

Update - News and More News

Hello readers!

Before I get onto the main topic, I'm a bit bored of just saying hello readers. I want to have a word for Mezzed It readers; like One Direction fans are Directioners and people who are into food are called foodies. Please leave a comment or tell me in person or...
EMAIL!!! 
Now that I've set up a YouTube channel (no videos yet, but I'll get onto that in a minute), I've got a Mezzed It email address that I can check for competitions, questions and surveys. SO, if you have a problem, question, request or want to take part in something like this without commenting (if you read from an Apple handheld device you can't comment), email me at 

mezzedit@gmail.com

Also, subscriptions. I've looked and I have one subscriber - my mum. Thanks mum! But please if you haven't subscribed would you consider it? You'll be safe from spam and I can't see you're email address, just your username. Just go to the bottom of the page (on a laptop or computer) and you'll see what you have to do.

________

Onto the main topic, I have  good news and bad news. The bad news is that I'm off on holiday to the countryside tomorrow which is lovely for me but you won't get any posts for a week. The GOOD news is I promise that the YouTube channel WILL have videos posted to it when I return. When I do post them, I'll post a link to here.

Okay, so see you in a week with a new how-to video. Mez Out.

Update - Happy Easter

Hello!

First of all I'd like to wish you all a very happy Easter. How are you celebrating? Leave me a comment! I'm celebrating with my family who now live in Switzerland who are coming over for a dinner (and tea as well) party. My mum is cooking lamb shanks. Speaking of my mum...

... she's a genius. Beautiful, huh? She makes these pretty hampers each year and this year me and my brother got one too. If you like it, please comment so I can show my mum and give her an Easter treat as well as some well earned gratitude.

___________________

Secondly, please check out this YouTube channel.

BlakeUnwin

This is my older brother Blake's YouTube channel. He mostly does Minecraft videos, but in my opinion, his best work is The Blake Update where he does stand-up comedy about internet crazes and videos. Go the the right hand side to see the playlist with those in called The Blake Update or to Uploaded Videos to see them all.

Happy Easter Everybody! I hope you have a great day and enjoy your chocolate. By the way, there's a movie review coming soon...

Mez Out.   XD

Update - Snow, Songs, Celebrations and Spoilers...

Hiya readers! There are a few things I'd like to say in this update.

Firstly, snow. Is it snowing where you are? Where I live, we had a lot of snow but it is now melting. It's been fun but annoying at the same time with getting to school and having my first snowy birthday (talk about that later).

Second of all, do you like the past few posts? The link to Rhianimation is on the word Rhiannimation in Rio's message which she wrote especially at my birthday sleepover. The special article was posted on my birthday sleepover to. Like it? Neither of the 2 posts got comments!! :-( So please comment, I'd love to hear from you and Mezzed It would really benefit from new people's comments.

Penultimately, I did the show I spoke to you about on my birthday. We spent the whole day of school rehearsing and watching people perform which was great. Unfortunately the song I told you about got cut but it was still fun.

Finally, my birthday was last Tuesday, 26th March, and I got...

A VIDEO CAMERA!!!

So I'm currently setting up a performing YouTube channel (where I'll act and sing) and I may set up a Mezzed It YouTube channel too to post vlogs, direct people here and show you how to do fun things with a video. If you're kineasthetic like me (learn better by doing, 50% of us do) then videos will be easier to follow than writing. That's why I try to include them and also pictures when I tell you how to do fun things. ANYWAY, would you like a Mezzed It YouTube channel and what should I show you how to make?
_________________

Thank you to the people from whom I've recieved support and comments from. Mezzed It is getting more and more popular each time I post. Email a link to Mezzed It to your friends! And don't forget to comment!

Mez Out. :-)

Happiness - Special Article

Happiness

How do you make happiness more fun? You can't. So its great to lead a happy life. I've been journalizering ideas with my notebook and sending emails here there and everywhere to write this very special article. It is full of different ways to be happy. I hope you enjoy it and take the tips! :)

HOW TO BE LIVE A HAPPIER LIFE


Tips From Real People

Ages in brackets.

Blake Unwin - my brother (14)

"What makes me happy is spending time with my friends and playing MineCraft."

My Mum (an adult)

"I'm happiest when I'm relaxing with my family."

My Dad (another adult)

"What makes me live a happy life is appreciating what I've got and not worrying about what I haven't got."

Imogen Wade (12)

"Make sure that you set a personal target for yourself when you do something and give yourself a reward when you achieve it!"  

 

"Do nice things for people! When you see the smiles on their face you feel really great!"

Rhiannon Watts-Robinson (12)

"Hang round with nice, kind, awesome people that make you laugh, smile and cry tears of joy. This way you will feel happy with good mates and will have a great life."

My Top 10 Reasons to be Happy

1) This video!

 

 

 



2) Planning things and looking forward to them then enjoying them while they last.

 

 

3) Our animal companions.

 

4) People care about you and you care about others too.

5) You can be an individual.

6) All the times you couldn't stop laughing with your friend (because being serious is so overrated!)

7) Monday only comes one a week. :D

 

8) You have a birthday every year!

 

 

 





9) Taking in your surroundings when you're on holiday and thinking "Wow."

 

10) Appreciating what you've got and remembering all of the things and people around you are amazing.

_____________________

Another way to be happier is to see those you love more often. How better than a sleepover? You can stay around your friends/family for a long time, relax and show them what a great host you are so they'll want to see you more often too.

How To Host a Perfect Sleepover

You will need:

• DVDs and video games
• Snacks
• A nice meal
• Sleeping equipment (sleeping bags, mattresses/airbeds, etc)
• A sleepover room
• A video camera

Step 1) Send an invitation at least 2 weeks in advance to whoever you want to come. The less guests, the better. Ask the guests to bring extras - spare Wii remotes for more players, DVDs or games, things that suit a theme, etc.

Step 2) Get all of the things you need - specific DVDs, games, snacks, etc.

Step 3) The day of the sleepover, prepare the sleepover room with sleeping/hanging out equipment.

Step 4) When the guests arrive at your house, offer them a place to put their bags and coats, to go and get settled and any questions you need to ask them.

Step 5) Enjoy! Take photos, play games, watch DVDs, chat and do whatever else you want.



TIPS!

1. Possibly pick a theme: fancy dress, pink, history, etc. Our movie night's theme was a movie marathon.
2. Suit each guest's needs. If somebody finds something too much, stop it. If they feel homesick, give them a big hug. If they want to play a specific game, why not? It's their night too!
3. Stay as chilled as possible. Too much excitement in an unfamiliar place can be fun but stressful. Take lots of chillax-time.
4. If you watch a horror movie, read a magazine at the same time and look at your friends when the scary moments to cool off and find the whole thing funny.
5. Sleep when you're tired. You'd rather sleep and feel better in the morning for it than be too tired and get upset.

FINJOY!

_____________________

According to the internet...

• Smiling makes you happy.
• People who win the lottery has been scientifically proven to be no happier than those who haven't.
• We can tell how our dogs feel.
• 20 minutes of exercise, 3 days a week, will improve your happiness 10-20% after 6 months.
• Women are unhappiest around the age of 37 and men the age of 42.
• The more you hug your children, the happier they will be as an adult.
• People who are in a healthy relationship are happier than people who are single.
• Happy people are more likely to keep a relationship that unhappy people.

Thank you for reading this special article. It took a long time so I hope you really take what it's given you to potentially improve your life and be a happy person. Don't forget to comment!

Message from Rhiannon

Message from Rio

Hello readers of Mezzed It.
I am the writer, editor and producer of Rhiannimation. Click on the link and watch my animations. Please post any comments on Mezzed It.
Me and Mez are best friends and we have known each other for 2 years. She is totally bonkers and amazing at acting. 
Here is my top ten Iron Maiden songs.
10) Total Eclipse - Number of the Beast
9) The Evil That Men Do - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
8) Hallowed Be Thy Name - Number of the Beast 
7) Invaders - Number if the Beast
6) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
5) Moonchild - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
4) Can I Play With Madness - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
3) Children Of the Damned - Number of the Beast
2) The Number of the Beast - Number of the Beast
1) Run To The Hills - Number of the Beast
These are all really awesome heavy metal songs and here is the video for Run to the Hills.

Just to let you know its a song about Native Americans running from the white man when they invaded America.

 

Thanks For Reading.
Rio Out

Update

Hey readers! Just want to show you something.

This shows how many views Mezzed It gets and where they come from. 25% of the views come from iPod, 1% from iPad, 30% from Androids (the phones, probably not the talking robots. I wish it were though!) and 42% from laptops and computers. Cool right?

 

This got me thinking, how do you read Mezzed It? Windows, phone, electronic device or talking robot?

 

Gosh, I wish I had a robot.

 

Well, see you next time! The special article is on the brink of readiness. It will be posted either tomorrow or Monday. Thank you for your patience and page views!

 

Mez Out!

How To Make A Jumping Frog

Hello readers! Today I'm going to be showing you how to make a jumping frog out of card. It's very fun and simple to make but it takes practice to make the frog jump well. For some reason, my frog, Bernard, always lands on his face.

 

 

 

 

How To Make A Jumping Frog

 

Step 1) Cut out a rectangle from a piece of card/cereal box that is 8cm x 5cm.

 

 

Step 2) Fold the corners on one side over themselves to make a cross on the rectangle like this.

 

 

Then fold over where the two lines meet to look like this.

 

 





Step 3) This is a fun part. Using your finger, push down the centre of star - this should pop it inside out.

 

 

 

 

Step 4) Refold the creases, push the ends of the middle line inwards, then push the corners with lines coming off them over from the middle line. It should look like this.

 

 

Step 5) As you can see, our frog is starting to look more like a frog. Fold up the bottoms of the triangle to look a bit like a sensei hat.

 

 

Step 6) Fold the 2 edges in to the centre to look like this.

Step 7) Fold the middle inward and a quarter of the way down from that outward to make a Z. If you're feeling creative, give it eyes and other features.

 

 

This is Bernard in action. Enjoy!

 



Thank you for reading! By the way readers, the special article has taken time but is nearly ready. I hope you enjoyed this post and will continue reading Mezzed It. If you want to subscribe to the blog, go down to the bottom of the page to the subscription gadget. Chao!

Happy Red Nose Day 2013

Hello readers! Just wishing you a very happy Red Nose Day and asking you to please do something funny for money today. I'm currently doing a pre-planned sponsored silence and I've raised £53.50! That will give 2 families in Kenya permanent acess to water so thank you very much to all of my sponsors.

To inspire you, here are two articles I found on Twitter.

Red Nose Day 25 years

Cats?!?

Happy Red Nose Day 2013 everybody!

Comments

Hi guys! Just a quick shout out to Tia Ryder, a permanent reader and the only person to comment on Mezzed It. Her comments are so friendly and thought-about so I think she's an online friend - and a good one! She's another reader of Pretty Little Things To Do. Speaking of which...

So Tia, do you have a blog of your own? What's the web address?

And for other readers, what are your Red Nose Day plans? I'd love to know. I'm doing a sponsored silence all day till 9pm on Red Nose Day and so far I've raised £50.50. Cool right?

From Mez. :)

PS: Like I said, I'm busy with school activities so I can't write as much for a while BUT please leave me comments and request for what I should Mez Up next.

Update - FloJoes and Rainbows

Hi readers! 

So recently I commented on my favourite blog  Pretty Little Things To Do saying that I loved the blog and would she mind having a look at Mezzed It. Then a week later, my views stormed up by 50 views per post and I was oblivious as to why. Why? Because FloJo, the lovely writer of Pretty Little Things To Do wrote a post about how much it meant to her with a link to here too. AWWW!!! And as if that wasn't touching enough, there were 2 comments and one girl called Tia said that she liked Mezzed It, especially the bookmark post. I HAVE REGULAR VIEWERS? This calls for a 

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Anyways, please please please check out Pretty Little Things To Do, FloJo works so hard on it and even the layout shows off her amazing personality. She blogs about pretty little things to do (duh) and also talks about her life in a way that makes you feel welcome. And did I mention she's 11 or 12? Wow.

www.prettylittlethingstodo.blogspot.com 
________________________________________________________________________

Also, (sorry, I don't usually talk about myself this much.) I'm doing a solo performance of Judy Garland's Somewhere Over The Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz (amazing film, by the way) at a school showcase and I am hoping to wear a white and blue checkered dress or something like that. Do you like musicals and musical theatre?If you do, please comment saying yes or no. I love it to bits. It's what I want to do when I'm older. Anyways, wish me luck! ;)

Love from Mez. :)

Update

Hi readers! I hope you enjoyed my latest post - a book review! I enjoyed making it. Please leave me a comment on one of my posts, I still don't have any and would love to hear your opinions.

I won't be posting as much for a couple of weeks due to schoolwork, projects and other school-related things that will take up my time and thoughts. I WILL keep posting though and I'm working on a project that I will Mez Up soon.

CHECK THIS OUT!

Lovely, isn't it? Well it is 47cm long (about 18 inches), 39.5cm wide (about 14 inches)and super soft. But I don't know to do with it. What would you like to see me make out of this fabric. Anything that I can make out of that quantity of fabric - a hat, teddy bear, a purse, etc. Just leave me a comment with your suggestion!

Love from Mez.

Review - The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games Review

Today on Mezzed It I'm writing a book review on one of, in my opinion, the greatest books ever written. 

The Hunger Games are a set of three books by Suzanne Collins set in a dark, struggling take on the future. The 12 districts are in poverty 74 years after they rose against the Capitol who are currently living in luxury. Every year the districts go to a Public Reaping where a girl and a boy are chosen at random to fight to the death in the arena. Katniss' sister is chosen and Katniss volunteers to take her place. Then her and Peeta go into training in the Capitol before going into the arena. 

And that's just the first book! The second and third books are just as good, maybe better, but their storylines reveal too much about the first. I definitely recommend you read all three books.






A particularly good part was when Katniss was in her bedroom in the Capitol getting used to the surroundings because it is descriptive and particularly creative.

"I programme the wardrobe to an outfit that suits my taste. The windows zoom in and out of parts of the city at my command. You need only whisper a type of food from a gigantic menu into a mouthpiece and it appears, hot and steamy, before you in less than a minute. I walk around the room eating goose liver and puffy bread until there's a knock at the door. Effie's calling me to dinner. Good. I'm starving."

This paragraph pictures all of the amazing things that the Capitol have compared to the districts. It shows how happy and relaxed Katniss is with description and some light humour.


________________________________________________________________________

The movie was just as good as the book. I really enjoyed it. The music is incredibly clever and sets the mood instantly. Watch this dramatic ending scene and listen to the music. If you haven't seen the film yet, don't watch this until you do.




Thank you for reading the book review. I hope you enjoyed it and continue to read Mezzed It.

Update 2

Dear readers,

The date today is Wednesday 6th March 2013. The special article is going great! It won't be long until you can read it. So please keep reading the blog and checking up on Mezzed It!!! Especially because of these new stats:

By the way, the second bump in the graph indicates 10 views for yesterday.

So please tell me: do you regularly check up on Mezzed It? And what should I Mez Up next? Also, do you like the new Dictionary Definition which I'll put at the end of every update?

Love from Mez. :D