Gift it?

I'm asked more and more often by my customers these days if I'm willing to send items as gifts and the simple answer is that I'm more than happy to send any purchase direct to the giftee if need be.

Image courtesy of Swirlyarts

I get that we're all busy beavering away, between work, kids, housework, school schedules and just trying to find five minutes to sit still once in a blue moon it's all too easy for one day to blur into the next and before we know it birthdays, Christmas, Mothers Day, Fathers Day and all those other days loom before us and sometimes schedules just don't allow for us to make the trip home or to see a friend on exactly the right day or weekend. Even thinking of Christmas this year when travel of any kind was pretty much a no go if not downright dangerous and the thought of a gift making it through the post once, never mind twice was stressful enough.

That doesn't mean that you don't want your gift to arrive on time though, sure you can always visit at the weekend later.

So, if you need something sent directly just drop me a line with the recipient's UK address at the time of purchase and I'll sort the rest. All gifts are sent gift wrapped in simple ribbon tied heavy cream calico gift bags with a handwritten tag and the usual confirmation bumpf (receipt, shipping label) will be emailed to the customer, rather than included with the purchase as they normally would.

The bags are entirely reusable and can be used again and again for gifts or storage or even to fill with dried lavender or herbs and used as a scented bag.

Gift wrapping is free of charge on all single purchase items, however if you purchase more than one item with the intention of each item going to separate UK addresses then the full postage cost of each item as stated in my shop will apply. This amount will be invoiced separately via paypal.

Oh and if you happen to order a purse, coin purse, one of the minis, full sized wallet or whatever it is, it'll be sent with a new penny in coin compartment for luck because you can't give an empty purse as a present.

Nerd Alert

I'm paying lip service to the old menu plan this week. The temperature is to reach 29C by Wednesday so this week I will be mostly eating salads. Apart from tonight when we had burgers and onions rings followed by big slices of gingerbread with lemon icing. I'll post the recipe for that later in the week (the cake not the burgers).

Right, that's that out of the way.

I'm feeling very good about myself today because I had a very productive weekend. Do you ever get like that, if you take it easy over the weekend and relax you end up a bit depressed and feeling like you wasted all that time come Monday but if you manage to get a couple of things done and dusted you feel great about yourself? Maybe that's just me.

I checked the weather during the week and on seeing that it was to rain cats and dogs over the weekend I rented a big heavy duty steam cleaner for Saturday to tackle my carpets (happy in the knowledge that Chloe no longer spills).

On Saturday morning the weather was, as predicted, rubbish so the husband popped out and collected the steam cleaner. The plan was to set to work as soon as my mum collected Chloe in the afternoon. It rained all morning and the wind blew a gale and then my mum arrived and the clouds parted and the sun shone and the birdies sang their little hearts out. Murphy's out to kick my ass for getting one over on him (Bring. It. On).

So I spent my Saturday afternoon in the sweltering heat, cleaning carpets and sweating like a mad woman. Do you ever remember that advert years ago for women's antiperspirant "They say women don't sweat, they glow. Well I glow buckets"? Yep, that was me on Saturday. It wasn't a pretty sight, clothes glued to my back, hair plastered to my forehead. Meanwhile, Murphy's wet himself laughing, he's on the floor by this stage tears streaming down his face, fists pounding the floor with the hilarity of it all. Don't worry I clipped him round the back of the head with the cleaner just to remind who's boss round here.

I lost roughly a stone that afternoon, but later found it again at the bottom of a tube of Pringles. Balance restored.

Still I sit here now surround by lovely clean carpets. The windows have been open full all weekend and the smell has all but disappeared. Have you ever cleaned your carpets with an industrial steamer because let me tell you, the smell is atrocious.

They smelt perfectly fine before I started, but if anyone has ever knocked over a pint in your living room and you spent a good ten minutes and countless towels making sure you mopped up every last drop, you may have even got down on your knees with that silly Scrubber carpet cleaner thingy the husband thought would be a good idea let me assure you now, you missed a bit.

Because when that scalding hot steam hits that particular spot on the carpet all of a sudden your home will smell like a brewery.

And before you go running off to buy some Shake n Vac, it won't work. Even doing the wee dance won't help either.

On Sunday (shattered and a bit light headed) I decided to take it easy. Sort through a few things, filing, post, tidy up my crafty bits and make sure everything could be easily found. At the bottom of one of my tuff crates I came across a few things I'd started with xmas in mind but hadn't got round to finishing. A couple of knitted things and it was really only the making up that needed doing so I settled myself down to those and once they were finished I was able to wrap and label them using one of Lupin's wrapping paper tutes:)

I hauled out the huge tuff crate which is stashed on top of my wardrobe in the bedroom and went through it, checking the gifts off the list I keep inside and do you know what. Apart from Chloe and the husband (Bob, might as well get that one out of the way while I'm at it) I'm all done.

Sweet or what? I'll admit now that I'm in the middle of a macrame scarflette for my aunt which wasn't on the original list but which she's asked for and I'm planning a couple of pieces of macrame jewellery for stocking fillers as such but apart from that all of my presents for people outside the house are finished. Not only finished but they wrapped and labeled and its only the middle of August.

Now I'll just get myself comfy here against this rather tall concrete wall, pop the blindfold on, light a cigarette, burn tip of nose, lift blindfold slightly, light cigarette and wait for the firing squad.

.....

.....

.....

You done!

Good!

Cause so am I. Neener, neener, neener.

More of the same, but not today

Just another day in the SeetheWoods house.

Toots and I had spent the morning at the playground after breakfast and arrived home shortly after 11am.

I checked the mail box and snuggled behind the usual bunch of junk mail (which don't seem to pay any attention to the "don't send me junk mail" list) was this.



A while ago I took part in Pay it Forward over at Hip Chick's Home and I'll admit that I was surprised to find this package in the post. I've been merrily working on gifts for my first three commenters, but I had completely forgotten about the fact that I would also receive a gift.

And what a beautiful gift.

Inside were a stack of lovely photograph greetings cards, not one or two mind you but an entire stack.



Exeter, N.H.



Philip's Beach, Swampscott.



Hubble Light, York, Maine



Grapes



The Fruits of the Spirit



York, Maine.

I love the photographs used and probably more so because they're pictures I will more than likely never have the opportunity to take myself.

It may take some serious persuasion for me to part with these cards, I'm very tempted to keep them myself, although there is one which I know my mum will love too so I may be parted with it for her birthday.

Thank you Hip Chick, the parcel really made my day.

The calm before the storm

The whole house is very quiet.

The husband is having a well deserved lie in and Toots spent the night at her Nana's house having a sleepover with her little friend.

Yesterday went very well. Toots enjoyed her gifts and even my mum managed to restrain herself this year so all together we only spent about 15 minutes opening presents and half of that was due to the fact my brother wrapped half a roll of sticky tape around a jigsaw puzzle.

Toots really enjoyed her day yesterday, she didn't get tired or frazzled by the attention. When she was asked to blow out the candles on the little cake my mum bought, she happily complied and laughed and cheered when she blew all four out at once.

I've spoken with my mum this morning and by all accounts the girls had a good night too.

They spent some time playing with her V Smile (from my brother, a compromise on the Wii), then they went to McDonalds for something to eat, followed by a run down to the beach as the weather was so beautiful yesterday afternoon, before arriving back at my mum's house for an evening of popcorn and the tinkerbell movie.

Then they went to bed shortly after 9.00pm. I was amazed but my mum said she could see the sleep hanging over them, by that time they simply looked exhausted.

My mum will take the two of them to the park after breakfast before taking her friend home, although they'll see each other later at her birthday party.

So I sit here. The house is quiet and I'm soaking up as much of it as possible before the party. The guest list has grown slightly so now we have ten kids and at least as many adults.

The cake is made (pain in the bum that it was), the gift bags are ready along with a little pass the parcel game. I'll chop some fruit for snacks for the kids later but for the meantime I'm just sitting here doing a bit of this and that, a bit of sewing for a friend, some knitting for Toots and trying to work out how to make a few other bits and pieces I have floating around my head.

I think I'll have another cup of coffee and just enjoy the quiet.

Birthday Shopping Spree

We're just back from Toots' birthday shopping spree.

Her birthday isn't until tomorrow but if Christmas proved anything this year its that she is still a little too young to deal with being bombarded by everything in one day so we're splitting her birthday treats up a little.

She had her birthday shopping spree today (which we did last year and it was a great success). She loves to be in control of her own money for the day. It makes her feel like such a big girl.

We plan on a special breakfast tomorrow morning, then opening the gifts we have for her. She'll receive her Creative Zen and a new outfit from us and our local florist will deliver flowers, then she gets to have a sleepover at Nana's house with a little friend (dodged that bullet).

Sunday will be a quiet morning with her birthday party in the afternoon.

She really enjoyed her little shopping spree this year and did really well, no running off or tantrums. Basically, I gave her £5 and let her hit all the charity, second hand and bric a brac shops in Ards. Ards is a real shoppers town so the majority of things that end up in these shops are practically new or at least in very good condition.

The first stop was ARC bookshop (it has a little bric a brac section through a tiny doorway that nobody seems to know about.

In ARC she managed to get;

A princess wand,

Six books, Beauty and the Beast, The Little red Hen, Alice in Wonderland, Heidi, Monsters Inc and Nutty as a Noodle Stories,

And an Early Learning Centre cashier's till which works perfectly and came complete with a pile of plastic and paper money and two switch cards. The groceries weren't there, but I'll soon sort something out.

And a little set of plastic tools.

All hers for the grand total of £1.

Seriously!

After ARC we went to Oxfam where she picked up;

Three working Power Rangers. They're from different ranges, the blue one speaks and the red and yellow change back and forth between being rangers and being bog standard school kids in spandex but it doesn't seem to bother her.

A wooden snake which happens to be her favourite purchase,

And dear help me if she didn't insist on getting this too...

She declared him to be "beautiful".

Well, I suppose if that's your thing.

She spent another £1 in the second shop.

On the way home she treated herself to an iced lolly and a cream egg.

Of course, she ate the cream egg first.

Still, it was a great way to spend a morning.

When we arrived home I suggested that she could put her change into her purse and take it to Nana's tomorrow for ice cream, but instead she put it into her piggy's bank.

So not only do I have a savvy shopper, I have a savvy saver too.

And yes, she knows full well that Nana will buy her ice cream anyway.

She isn't stupid you know:)

Easter and a Giveaway

Easter is very nearly here, which means a whole week (and a bit) with the husband at home.

Will I survive? Only time will tell. I have to admit I've got myself into a little routine of packing him off out the door in the morning:)

Does it seem to anyone else that Christmas was a whopping five minutes ago, or is that just me? This year just seems to be flying by.

My little spring chick will turn four on Saturday, I just can't believe she's nearly four already.

Although ask her and she'll quickly remind you (quite sternly) that she is in fact three and a half. She'll be four and a half before she gets used to the four bit.

The weather here has been a bit up and down and I know for some of you, spring hasn't quite reared her head yet, so to get everyone in the mood with a tiny little bit of spring fever I'm have a(nother) giveaway.

These little Q Bee Chicks are handmade by me and I'm giving away a pair.

They can be used as toys for kids, pincushions or just little decorations. Whatever takes your fancy.

The giveaway will be open until midnight on 11 April and then I will choose a winner using random number generator.

There are three chances to win.

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what you like about Spring.
2. Subscribe and then come back and leave another comment.
3. Write about the giveaway on your own blog and link back to this post, then leave another comment.

Personally I love Easter because of all the chocolate. Kidding. Maybe.

Pay it Forward

Isn't it nice to just be "nice".

I'm jumping in to the Pay it Forward Challenge. I saw this on this challenge on Hip Chick's Home.

How it Works

The first three people to comment on this post (and this post only) will receive a handmade item from myself within three months, completely free of charge to you. Its just my way of being nice and rewarding a few of you for putting up with me. You don't get a set date, just know that some day in the next three months the postman may have something other than bills for you.

The Catch (isn't there always one)

You have to Pay it Forward and commit to doing the same thing. Send three things to three people within three months. The items should be handmade, by you (and in my book mix cd's count, you know who you are).