Its all about the wrapping!

No we are not getting our Kanye West on! I don't mean that kind of rapping i mean wrapping. Instead of presents this week i thought i would talk about the thing thats almost as important as the present... the wrapping!

When you get a parcel or a present i'm so one of them people that just loooooves the packaging. Even if the item inside doesn't rock my world if its been beautifully wrapped i'm all in love with it before i even open it!

There's something strangely satisfying as well about beautifully wrapping a present, i take a great deal of joy from it (is that normal) i just love making gifts look pretty!

Obviously the best time of year for wrapping is Christmas. Many people dread Christmas wrapping but really its the best, seeing all the gifts you have bought perfectly co-ordinatedly wrapped sitting under your tree. Ok ok i'm really not normal i know!

Last year was the year of brown paper wrapping for us! I used East of India christmas paper tape instead of ribbon with a lovely white East of India tag. Jade used brown kraft paper too and wrapped around cute red and white bakers twine or East of India ribbon and added a little jingle bell! Shockingly neither of us have a picture of our wrapping!! Epic fail on our parts we are photoholics haha!

But here are some christmas wrapping pics i'm in love with to get you excited and inspire you about your wrapping this year!

allorahandmade.com

Goodhousekeeping.com

homelovin.blogspot.co.uk

theberry.com

rebeccanewport.blogspot.com/

southshoredecoratingblog.com

kikki-k.com

deckthehalls-christmas.blogspot.com

I loooove the photo idea but for me it looks a little boring by itself so i think this year im going to buy plain white paper with some lovely red ribbons and print a Black and White picture of the person who's gift it is and cut it into a tag shape and attach. 

As you can see from the pictures brown paper is sooo easy to make look from drab to fab! And it will be way cheaper then buying lots of wrapping paper too! I know your thinking pipe down about Christmas already its only September but if you get your wrapping essentials sorted now then its one less job nearer the time as you can wrap as you buy as you will already have the stuff and its not such a mammoth task then!

Let us know what your wrapping plans are cause we are weird like that and really will get excited about it!

Love 

L xx 

P.S i found these super cute free printable tags on the Chic Type blog! Go gram them i love them!!

Anniversary gifts 6-10 Years

So its my turn to bring you the second installment of our anniversary gifts feature! Its actually mine and Chris' 6th wedding anniversary this Saturday! Wow 6 years have flown by i cant believe how quick it has gone. I still love him just as much as the day we said i do if not more ahhhhh. Anyways enough of that mushy stuff lets talk presents.

6 Years - Sugar and Iron. Anyone who knows me know how much i LOVE sweets!! So this should be the easiest buy ever for Chris! This vintage suitcase full of 38 different kinds of retro sweets looks delicious and a fun trip down memory lane! Plus the suitcase would be lovely to keep after i have finished eating all the sweets!

Funkyhampers.com £49.99

Im crazy in love with this tiffany blue cast iron Le Creuset casserole dish!! 

Richmondcookshop.co.uk £100

Something a bit more romantic is this iron heart. It's lovely and can display your wedding date around the house! Perfect for forgetful hubbys!

etsy.com £40.17

My hubby would love this next gift, the novelty would never ware off of him being able to brand things! I can see the silly jokes him and Nick would be thinking up now!

notonthehighstreet.com £24.95

7 Years - Wool and Copper.

This copper champagne bucket would make a lovely present and perfect to bring out every anniversary onwards to celebrate!

Thecookskitchen.com £154.78

I love this next gift sooooooooo much!! I would treasure this forever and ever and ever! Its copper card you can keep in your purse or wallet.

Etsy £23.41

A wool scarf is a gift that is timeless and unisex and you cant help but think about your other half buying you the scarf as you wrap it round you and feel all warm and snuggly!

The Nautical Company £50

These ugg slippers are soooooo comfy and cosy! Ugg now also do glitter ballet pumps with a cosy inner! Amazing you must check them out!

landaustore.co.uk £70

8 Years - Bronze and Salt

This bronze infinity keyring is so sweet and you can have any message you like written on there.

Etsy £33.67

A lovely way to involve the children in your anniversary is with these bronze fingerprint cufflinks!

Tinytreasuregifts.co.uk £75

These salt and pepper pots are super cute! I would love them in my Kitchen!

Notonthehighstreet.com £4.50

Another idea is you could book a salt scrub treatment for your other half! Everyone loves a bit of pamper time!

9 Years - Pottery and China

Us magic mummy's love a mug and these personalised ones are lovely! 

notonthehighstreet.com £15 each

I loooove this heart shaped baker from Emma Bridgewater!

Emma Bridgewater £49.95

An incentive for your hubby to buy you more flowers is always a winner in my book and this vase is the perfect incentive.

Notonthehighstreet.com £19

You could also book some pottery classes for you both ala 'Ghost' then you could make something nice for your home together, or something that resembles a 3yr olds masterpiece depending how good you are!

10 Years - Tin and Aluminium

This album and tin is a lovely idea to celebrate 10 yrs! You can fill with all your favourite memories and pictures.

Reallygood.uk.com £25

This tin art is beautiful and comes framed. You can have any wording you like so its totally special just for you two!

artfire.com £164.10

This is a sweet little gift and i do love something personalised!

Ebay £15.99

This last gift is a little tin from Emma Bridewater with the intention that you and your beloved empty your spare change into the tin and then when its full you can treat yourselves to date night!

Emma Bridgewater £8

And thats your lot for today! Hope there was something to inspire you there! 

Love

L xx

Anniversary years 1 to 5 !

When it comes to anniversary gifts my husband and I (haha well me) decided we would use the traditional list.

This year is our 5th wedding anniversary but here are some great ideas from 1-5

1st Year - Paper

Nick bought me a personalised framed printed newspaper and an lovely Tiffany diary.  We went to Barclona and so I bought Nick tickets to the Football stadium for a tour as they weren't playing that weekend! 

I love this idea £45 from Not on the hight street buy here  Personalised Wedding Silhouette

Nick isn't into prints etc so for men i love the idea of tickets to something they like, or a hot air blaoon ride (the paper being the printed ticket).  If they are into reading (nick can't see the point if there's a film) maybe a first edition or a signed book.  

2nd Year - Cotton

I bought Nick some new Boxers and an All Saints cardigan he was loving! Nick bought me underwear and a perfect cotton heart with a number 2, Embroidered Number Heart again from NOTH £16

How cool is this!!!! Perfect gift!! A personalised double deck chair!!! Wow i want one!!! Find it here at

confetti kiss for £150 

3rd Year - Leather

Nick needed a new belt so that was super easy!!! And he bought me this beautiful Tiffany envelope which i have in my bag and he had our wedding date and 3 years stamped inside Tiffany £105

I think leather is the easiest one!!! What girl doesn't love a handbag or a pair of shoes or a fabulous luggage tag for holidays! Tiffany do a beautiful heart one! (I got one from my godparents on my wedding day for Honeymoon)  For men its a bit harder - Nick loves shoes so thats easy - but a nice wallet is always a good idea and will fit in any budget really.  I love this one from Ted Baker on ASOS £35 and i also love the idea of a leather bracelet for men 

 Bracelet from lily belle £39

4th Year - Linen

This was a really tough one!!! I ended up getting a lovely piece of linen and painting our childrens hands and putting their handprints on the linen - which i framed - Nick really loved this! (he also got chocolate and clothes) 

Nick bought me another printed heart from NOTH - i absolutely love hearts and this is my fave! (i also got underwear and a sequin blazer) 

One idea i love is new bedding!!! You might have put a new bed set on your wedding list so 4 years on and its nice to have brand new set! I also love these cushions from my fave shop NOTH Love and happiness cushions £37

I also love these if you have kids you will understand hahaha

set of two space invaders pillowcases £25

This Etsy shop Poshyarns has some fabulous items from linen keyrings, linen kindle covers to personlised journals!!! This Journal is £20 Buy Here  

5th Year - Wood

It is our 5th anniversary on 6th December so maybe i will be able to test Nick to see if he reads our blog haha! Although Leeanne will give him a helping hand i'm sure (thats another reason we are best friends) 

This keepsake box (i keep everything some call it hoarding haha)  is £39.99 and can be bought here at sophia victoria joy

I love love love this vase! I love Peonys and this would be such a special present! A wooden vase £34.95 the letter room 

So do i say what i'm thinking of getting Nick?? Do we think hes actually read this far or is he just looking at the pictures haha!! So i'm going to get him a new golf wood!!! I also love this Iphone case 

clic wooden £40 such a good idea!! 

Wow 5 years!!! How amazing!!! 

Hope this has given you some inspiration - Leeanne has the task of years 6-10 so i can give Chris tips haha!!! 

Love

J xxx

Perfect DIY Gifts for a Perfect Day

Who doesn't love a wedding? Some Bride and Grooms are super easy to buy for or some might even have a gift list taking the stress of thinking of something away from you! But what if you don't fall into these categories and your thinking eeeek what do i get?

I love giving presents that people wont expect. Gifts that are sentimental and mean something or at least be something that i have had to put a little effort into!

An amazing present that will be treasured forever doesn't need to cost a fortune. There are tons of ideas that with a little time and maybe a trip to a craft store you can make yourself and and can look like you bought it! Plus when the Bride and Groom realised you took the time and effort to make it yourself they will be super touched. Or at least i know i would be!

Heres some of my fave DIY gifts for a wedding present:

This scrabble board in a frame is such a lovely gift! Jade and my lovely friends all made me one for my birthday this year and i love it! Its super easy to do. Just buy a game of scrabble and then hot glue the tiles to the board spelling out words that mean something to the couple your giving it too. Then get a RIBBA 50x50 frame from ikea and hot glue the board to the mount in the frame! The girls covered my mount in some lovely wallpaper but you can do whatever you like! If that sounds a bit much for you but you like the idea the board pictured is from Scrabble Frames by Roxy

I found this cute idea for champagne glasses over on the Something Turquoise blog and if you click here it will take you to the tutorial. You could make one each with the couples first name initial on it or you could buy some sticky letters from a craft store and spell out anything you like! Team this with a lovely bottle of Champagne (Laurent Perrier Rose is my fave choice) and you have a lovely gift! If you wanted to spend a little more too theres a fab wine box here that says open on your 1st anniversary or you could make a little tag saying something similar.

This is a lovely sentimental present! You could do one heart for where the bride and groom met, one for where they are getting married and one for where they live. Just buy a cheap map containing the places you want to use and then I would suggest finding something heart shaped and drawing round it to make them all the same size and cut them out. Then stick them to a piece of card and frame it! Easy peasy. If you dont want to do it yourself this picture is from Bombus.co.uk

I really love this old horseshoe i found on pinterest. The link to buy/make it is broken but i would suggest getting an old horseshoe (lots for sale on ebay for only a couple pounds) and then tying some lovely wide ribbon to it. I really love the little metal message on this one but that would be hard to do without spending lots of money on handstamping equipment so instead you could get a little luggage tag (attach to the top where the ribbon meets the horseshoe) and write a little message of love luck and happiness on it instead. 

Hope this has been of some use to you or inspired you to come up with something else! We would love to hear your ideas too, you can leave them in the comment box below.

Love 

L xx

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Perfect Baby Shower Gifts

So your going to a baby shower! The American trend has swept the UK and baby showers are now pretty much standard for anyone expecting a tiny new bundle of joy.

An expectant mothers baby shower is such a lovely time for her, babies, the miracle of life, cute little games and lots of cake (who doesn't love cake?). But what do you buy? Everyones going to see the gift you bring as its unveiled by the blooming expecting mother... no pressure!

Here to ease your stress are some of our fave buys for baby shower gifts that are sure to impress and leave you worry free to enjoy your cake!

Love
L xx

Aden & Anais Serenity Star £65

www.mamasandpapas.com

The Puj Bathing Tub £27.99

www.amazon.co.uk

Baby Hand and Foot Inkless Print Kit £10

www.notonthehighstreet.com

Boo Boo Congratulations Mummy Gift Set £36.95

www.johnlewis.co.uk

Grobag Swaddle Twin Pack (wish upon a star) £19.99

www.gro-store.co.uk

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