Handmade gifts for the birthday girl

Both of my nieces love to get 'bits and pieces' for their birthdays and Christmas, and I enjoy visiting craft fairs and independent shops, so all year round I'm on the lookout for handcrafted gifts that they'll love. Websites like Folksy are also great for a browse in a rainy lunch hour. It's just like one massive shopping mall, but the difference is that everything is lovingly handmade. Fantastic for that unique gift!

As I've mentioned previously, it was my eldest niece Louise's birthday last week and this is the bits and pieces selection that she got this year. She seemed really thrilled with everything I chose.

I bought this gorgeous purse from Dinky Daisy on Folksy. The beautifully made cotton purse is fully lined and is decorated with crocheted flowers, embroidery and a sweet little butterfly charm. I love the delicate colours, and all the different textures and details.


It came really prettily wrapped too.


Hubby and I spent a great week in Polruan, Cornwall in June. As well as the spectacular coastline, fantastic gardens and charming villages, I love to visit the gift shops and galleries, looking for that special something that I know a friend or relative will adore.

This necklace came from one such shop - Bibi in Fowey. A great little shop selling an eclectic mix of accessories and gift ideas. The different shades of green mixed with the old gold look stunning, I think.


Louise loves her cuddlies, so as soon as I saw the sock bunnies from The Warren on Folksy I knew I'd have to pick one for her birthday. She loves pink too, so Checker Bunny and Baby Pinky seemed like the ideal choice.


But you don't just get a bunny in her sleeping bag, you get a postcard, badge and sticker too, with a request to keep in touch with the other bunnies back at The Warren via the Widget and Friends blog. I'm sure Louise will have great fun taking photos of Checker Bunny when she jets off to Australia soon.


And the last gift was made by myself - a tasty looking birthday cupcake, from a pattern in Let's Get Crafting! magazine (crochet edition). There were four different crocheted cakes to choose from, and the instructions were really easy to understand. I changed the colours to use what yarn I had available, and I mixed and matched the techniques to give an individual cake. I think the finished item looks absolutely gorgeous - delicate pastry, juicy fruit and luscious cream - Mmmmm!



I've already got one thing for my other niece's birthday, but I've got plenty of time to get a few other gifts as it's not Sarah's birthday until December.

And that's when Folksy will really come into it's own - no more trudging through the snow to go Christmas shopping, or braving cold winds and driving rain; no screaming kids and frustrated shoppers - I can just sit nice and warm and dry at home, with a glass of wine in one hand and a credit card in the other...

Bunnies reunited

(...continued from previous post)

As soon as the friendly bee told Baby Pinky where she'd last seen Checker Bunny, off she hopped as quickly as she could.

It was quite a big climb to the top of the Box plant. She was getting very tired when...

...she saw her mummy. Baby Pinky was so excited that she nearly had a little 'accident'. CB managed to stop her baby from jumping up and down long enough to take off the little bit of packaging ribbon that had been tangled around her ear. And then they had a BIG hug.

Baby Pinky was feeling quite sleepy after all that travelling (and bouncing) so Checker Bunny showed her the pretty little flower 'bed' that she'd found earlier in the week, and they had a little snooze in the sun.

Baby Pinky was very hungry when she woke up. "No Pinky! Not the chillies! They'll blow your socks off!", shouted Checker Bunny, just in time...

...maybe some nice fresh herbs would be more tasty. "Pinky you're supposed to eat them, not sit on them!", sighed CB (she'd forgotten just how inquisitive her daughter could be!)

"How about that carrot that you brought with you? That will be SO MUCH nicer", said Checker Bunny, as she popped Baby Pinky into her little sleeping bag, ready for another nap.

Checker Bunny and Baby Pinky had a lovely few days, exploring the garden and catching up on the gossip. CB loved hearing about what Widget had been up to back at The Warren since she'd been gone.

Baby Pinky loved visiting her mummy; she'd really missed her this last couple of weeks. Checker Bunny thought it would be lovely to stay together and I agreed that my niece, Louise, would love to adopt them both. And so it was decided that both Checker Bunny and Baby Pinky would go to stay with her as soon as it was her birthday.

Baby Pinky settled down for bed that night so happy that she was going to live with her mummy forever. It was raining and a little bit chilly outside so they snuggled into the box of Bliss Knits' scarves to get nice and cosy, and Checker Bunny told her what to expect in their new home. She'd heard that Louise was a nurse so she'd be working funny hours, but that she would be ready with a cuddle and a chat anytime they wanted one. And she was going off to Australia soon, so there would be lots of packing and organising for them to help with. Baby Pinky was so excited; she loved checking too, just like her mummy!

Checker Bunny on holiday

Checker Bunny arrived in my garden a couple of weeks ago. She is going to be adopted by one of my nieces on her birthday, and her friend (and fellow sock bunny) Widget thought coming early would give CB time to acclimatise to the North East weather before jetting off to her new permanent home (she comes from The Warren in West Sussex - it's much warmer down there).

She had been stuck in the post office for a week, with only one carrot to nibble on, so was desperate to stretch her ears.

Unfortunately, in her haste, she forgot to get out of her little sleeping bag and found it quite difficult climbing the tree. CB had a good look around the garden from her vantage point...

...spotting some nice soft plants to jump around in.

Checker Bunny didn't just explore the garden though. She lived up to her name by inspecting the stock in my Folksy shop...

...and by approving the prices for the new scarves in the Bliss Knits autumn/winter collection.

All that checking was quite tiring though, and CB WAS on holiday after all, so she spent most of her first week finding pretty places to sunbathe.

After a week of relaxing and exploring the garden, CB discovered that her daughter was coming to visit for a few days. She found another tree to climb to give her a good view, and waited.

However, she got distracted by some lovely herby smells and hopped off to investigate...

... and missed the postman, who kindly left Baby Pinky on the garden bench to wait rather than being taken back to the post office.

Baby Pinky was so excited to have finally arrived. She lost no time in hopping out of her sleeping bag and travelling box, and with packaging ribbon still tangled up around one of her ears, she set off in search of her mummy.

Baby Pinky looked everywhere she could, but she's so small that she soon got lost amongst the plants.

She was very brave though and decided it would be a good idea to ask one of the garden residents if he had seen Checker Bunny anywhere, but the snail didn't have much to say.

Baby Pinky was becoming very sad and lonely. And then, luckily, a friendly bee came by, and she knew exactly where to find her mummy...

...to be continued.