Happy St Andrews Day

Just quick post cos I am getting keys to temp flat (moving out our house tomorrow!)

Happy St Andrews Day!

I have stayed in Scotland all my life but have moved around a lot! I have parts that will always be dear to my heart for different reasons hence why even this move we are still staying in Scotland.

The sun has sneaked out today to celebrate!

Have a wonderful day

Irn Bru flavour cake! 

On a dog walk - so lucky to live here

The Kelpies - a must see!

Only a snip of my hubby's collection

The Queen's Bakers!

Check out the whisky tours I have done

Slainte mhath! Your very good health

(pronounced 'slange-ee-va)

Love Mrs B x

Stocking Filler Ideas

Stocking Fillers from Small Businesses

Another gift guide this time with stocking fillers.  Stocking fillers are usually the smaller gifts but don't buy mass produced junk this year, I urge you to give small business a go!

I've put together a bunch of fab gifts from small businesses I have found online.  Great gifts for great prices.

Fill Your Boots 

Or stockings even!

First up is a Mini Burner and 2 packs of melts by Willis & Co.  Give this gift to that special someone that loves pretty smells, a bit of a 'room' filler ;) £10

Then we have these fab sterling silver & pearl earrings suspended in a dainty glass jar from LoveBug Creations! At only £13 these are perfect for pretty stockings!

No stocking would be complete without some chocolate, it's a rule don't you know? These cute adult sleighs from aptly named Don't tell the tooth fairy are perfect - no wrapping required!

Add a little personalised birthstone & name bar, for that wow stocking filler.  Your recipient will be surprised at such a detailed gift - £7.99! Yeah you read that right! Moonrays Jewellery will be your go to for personalised small gifts.

Everyone loves a pretty notebook & Jo Elise Designs gives us just that! Grab a set of 3 A6 eco notebooks for £7. To me that means there would be maybe one going spare for you?!

These mini frames from Mrs B'Spoke Gifts are not only cute but with the motivational quotes are great for boosting someone & put them in a prominent place & they can be boosted over & over. Grab a quote for their desk, happy wall or bedside table, £16 for handcut paperart.

Top 6 Stocking Fillers

So there you are Six Stocking Fillers Support Small Businesses! Try saying that sixty-six times.

Do you still have a stocking from when you were young?
Anything you ALWAYS get in your stocking?

Mrs B x

*PS I have not been paid or bribed for these links, just small businesses with great products I have found.  Also the Mrs B'Spoke Gifts is me!!

Staying Organised at Christmas

Christmas to me means finding the perfect gifts, tasty food, party wear I feel good in & stress, stress, stress.

Well not this year.

I love Xmas but somehow get sucked into the stress of it all.  I have the feeling I could very easily let things get on top of me  - what with moving, living in rented accommodation waiting on our house being built, giving up my reliable well paid job oh yeah & starting a handmade business, Mrs B'Spoke Gifts.

So my plan is Lists, Lists & more Lists

Moving List 

I have packing lists, colour coded rooms & packing countdown checklists - thank you Martha Stewart! 

I am trying to keep the boxes we will need to unpack in rented accommodation separate so we don't need to pack everything twice!  But if anyone has tips on living in temporary house or living out a box let me know!  Here's what I got so far -

1. List of Boxes for each room
2. List for Packing Van loads
3. List of boxes to be OPENED (all the rest will be piled high in rented accommodation!)
4. Change of Address List

Gift List

I like to do a little spreadsheet with these headings:

Who is the gift for , Budget, Ideas, What has been Bought,  Still To Buy,  Total Spent

This means I can keep track of what I've already spent/bought & what I need to still find.  It also means I can pull what was bought for each person to give to hubby.  
A.) So he knows what 'we' got people 
& B.) So he can wrap it!  I do the buying, he does the wrapping that's the deal.  We've got a nice wee tag team going.

This year I definitely want to support small businesses as much as I can, check out my gift guides for some fab handmade products.

Christmas Business Lists

As for running a handmade business over Xmas I need all the help I can get! 

I am already way behind on marketing, everyone seems to have started shopping early & it's amazing how it creeps up on you.  Anything I learn this year I hope to jot down & get a list & countdown for next year! 

1. Marketing Plan
2. Product Range
3 Christmas staging for Blog, Etsy, Facebook & Twitter

How do you stay organised at Christmas?

Do you have Christmas Lists?

Ever had to move twice due to a house build?

Mrs B x

Personalised Christmas

Getting Personal at Xmas

Personalised gifts just go that bit further in showing you really did want to get that person something special.

With handmade gifts there is a lot more room for personalisation with many crafters adding names, dates, initials to lots of different products.

I've put together a couple of Christmas Gift Guides to spark some ideas & showcase some fab handmade businesses this guide shows gifts that off something a bit different.

1. Gem Art, Xmas Bear, 2. Mrs B'Spoke Gifts, Family Tree, 3. CasSam Jewellery, Bunting necklace,  4. Tilly and Sage, Personalised bottle

Starting from the top -

1. Christmas Polar Bear from Gemart - why not commission some artwork, these little animals are so cute! £17

2. Family Heart Tree paper cut from Mrs B'Spoke Gifts.  Personalised with names & icons related to the family - anything you like can be in a tree! £50

3. Personalised Bunting necklace by CasSam Jewellery.  Stamped silver necklace with initial, start dropping hints ladies - send him the link! 

4. Personalised Prosecco Bottle by Tilly and Sage.  These painted bottles can be personalised with colours, patterns & even the tag can be personalised, what are you waiting for - you NEED one!

Custom jobs take time - buy now!

Don't forget at this busy time anything personalised takes time!  So get your orders in now - you will feel so organised.  Plus always check last post dates to avoid disappointment.

What would you like personalised?

Mrs B x

*PS I have not been paid or bribed for these links, just small businesses with great products I have found.  Also the Mrs B'Spoke Gifts is me!!