Thursday Throwback. The Marie Louise Diadem

The birthstone of December is turquoise, so keeping this in mind I went searching for a topic for this weeks post. I found a diadem given to Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria as a wedding gift from her husband Napoleon I, who included it in a full parure. The wedding gift included a comb, necklace and earrings, all created by Parisian jeweller Etienne Nitot et Fils and made of emeralds and diamonds set in silver and gold.

The diadem had 79 emeralds and more then a 1000 diamonds.

When empress Marie Louise died she left her pieces to a relative( her aunt archduchess Elise, according to the smithsonian or her cousin Leopold II according to the Louvre) In 1953 the collection was sold to Van Cleef and Arpels with a document attesting to provenance.

 

Van Cleef and Arpels went on to take out all the emeralds from the diadem and mounted them into new pieces which where sold on and described as 'an emerald for you from the historic Napoleonic Tiara.' Some time later turquoise was added in place of the emeralds. As much as I love turquoise, I must admit in pictures at least I prefer the emeralds but I've read you have to see it in person to appreciate the turquoises beauty. There is nothing wrong with the turquoise but I think the emeralds look better as royalty then turquoise. Maybe it's the sparkle?

 

In 1962 the collection was displayed in the Louvre Museum in Paris as part of a special exhibition on Empress Marie Louise.

The new look tiara caught the eye of Marjorie Merriweather Post, an American collector who brought it from Van Cleef and Arpels and donated the piece to the Smithsonian in 1971, which is where it remains today.

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to wish all my customers past, present and future a very Merry Christmas!!!

Also to those receiving Fashion Magpie Jewellery gifts today I hope you love them.

 

Happy New Year

Just a quick message of goodwill today.

Thank you all for making this blog successful in 2014 and helping it reach people around the globe.
I've enjoyed every minute of it and I'm now looking forward to 2015 and wondering what this year will bring.

Hope you all have a very happy and prosperous New Year and 2015 is everything you hoped for!

Fashion Magpie Jewellery.

Folksy Friday. When in doubt add glitter!

If you're ever in doubt add glitter! I saw this on a cushion the other day and immediately thought of a few friends who use this motto daily.
This weeks Count down is for those of you who love a bit of sparkle!

My house is in need of lampshades at the moment so the last few weeks I've been browsing to see what is available on Folksy. That was when I found this gorgeous Drum Lampshade in Matt Black With Heavy Beaded Fringe, unfortunately it won't fit in with any of my rooms deco but I'd be tempted to chance a whole room to fit it in! It's by Silkworm and Cottontails (reminds me of Beatrix Potter names) who also do lots of other, equally beautiful pieces.

The next design is a simple one I've thought about making in the past. It's by Shine On who have applied nail varnish to the back of a domed glass cabochon to create these sparkling Blue Glitter Bobby Pins.

I love this next piece, it's similar to the pieces I make in my own shop. It called Vintage Feel Handmade Heart & Bow Bracelet (that's the shorten version of the name) and although the glittery hearts look brown in this picture they actually react to the light and can shine, gold or orange as well the brown. This lovely bracelet is made by The Mucky Pup Gallery who as well as jewellery also make bunting, original artwork and merino wool artwork.

 

With all the excitement of Christmas and New Year sometimes people with birthdays this time of year can be a little forgotten. So help cheer them up and show a little sparkle with this Unicorn Glitter Acrylic Cake Topper. Glamglass Gifts and Supplies do a little of everything and are a one stop shop to buy all your party gear and maybe pick up a few craft supplies too!

 

The last piece is Winter Solitude- Kestrel Winter scene - original painting by Cerysanne. This artist also known as WirelifeArt does some truly stunning drawings.
I love kestrels, and often see them when I'm out and about. Just one of the perks of being a country girls! The way this bird is sitting is the way I see them when I'm, just sitting surveying their territory. I like the little added detail of glitter to the branches to.

 If you would like to buy any of the items listed above just click on their coloured links and you'll be taken over to them.
To share this post don't forget the links below.

Featured Item. Red Art Nouveau Inspired Lady. Bracelet and Earrings set

Today is my Birthday and I've decided to feature a item this week which I love more then the other pieces in my shop. My featured item this week is Red Art Nouveau inspired Lady. Bracelet and Earrings set.

My favourite era of style I love to draw inspiration from is the Art Nouveau movement of the 40's. I love the flowing lines, the beautiful woman and the colour of the period. I even did a series of posts in honour of the movement and it was during this time I made this set.
Originally it was just going to be earrings and I picked out blood red nugget beads because I love the contrast between silver and red, there a beautiful combination. 

I loved them so much that I decided to make a pair for my self, unfortunately when I looked in my little tray of charms I only had one lady left. However it was this that gave me the idea to make a bracelet to go with it and I set to work on the second half the set. When I was finished I was really glad I went with the decision to make the bracelet, I think they look great together.

I hope one day someone finds this set and gives them a home and loves them as much as I loved making them.

If you think that person is you or know someone who would adore them, they are £12.00 with £3.20 UK post and packaging from www.folksy.com/fashionmagpiejewellery. Of course with all my items I'm also happy to post aboard.


All items come wrapped and in an organza gift bag.

You can find Fashion Magpie Jewellery at the below links

Website www.folksy.com/shops/fashionmagpiejewellery

Facebook www.facebook.com/fashionmagpiejewellery

Pinterest http://uk.pinterest.com/fmjewellery/

Featured Item. Snowflake Earrings

There is just 10 days left until Christmas and keeping with the Christmas theme at the moment, my featured item this week is my Snowflake Earrings.

These fantastic little earrings will have you feeling Christmassy in no time with there sparkly little Swarovski crystal and snowflake charm there just what you need this Christmas. 

There £6 with £1.95 postage and available from www.folksy.com/fashionmagpiejewellery, if you want these before Christmas please order before next Saturday 20th December. Unfortunately if you live aboard I can't get these to you before Christmas now.

 

You can find Fashion Magpie Jewellery at the below links

Website www.folksy.com/shops/fashionmagpiejewellery

Facebook www.facebook.com/fashionmagpiejewellery

Pinterest http://uk.pinterest.com/fmjewellery/

Next Sunday will be my birthday and to celebrate my featured item will be one of my favourites in my shop at the moment.





 

Folksy Friday. What to get for that Secret Santa gift?

You've worked hard you've brought all your gifts for Christmas and you've made it, you've mastered Christmas. Or have you? It's time to pick a name out the hat because it's secret Santa time. You've got one more gift to buy and it can only cost £5. What do you do?

Here's a list to help you. All items are handmade and available on Folksy, if you've spotted your secret Santa gift in this list just click on the coloured link and it'll take you straight there.

What's more Christmassy then a little robin? Maybe these Sterling Silver Robin Earrings for sale over at Worldofcards. These pretty little robins only cost £3.75 and are beautiful enough to wear all year round!

 

 

The weather outside is frightful, so I have something delightful for you. If you're venturing out into the cold this festive season it's best to wrap up warm. So why not do it style with these Hand Knitted Woolen Bead Fingerless Gloves. The perfect present for that person who's always complaining about the cold. There £4 from Dave's Crafts.

I love this next shop, there called L C Handmade and they make beautiful Christmas tree ornaments. If you know someone who loves the traditional side of Christmas and is wishing of a white Christmas, consider this. It's called Christmas Decoration and is painted with acrylics and silver glitter. £3.10

 

We're just past the half way point now in this handmade Secret Santa run down and I just wanted to remind you if there's anything you'd like to buy just click on the coloured links.

The next item is this wonderful Christmas Soup cone. I love these and got one at my last craft fair, there such a easy and great idea. Christmas soup is basically the most luxurious hot chocolate you could ever make all wrapped neatly into a little cone. You have the powder, you have marshmallows, you have chocolate buttons and a candy cane to stir it all up. All that and it's still only £2! Posted to you by Cherrytreeparties.

Lastly something for the men in the office. It's not just women who like to ease down in to a relaxing bath every so often, the men do to!! This gift is especially for those men, it's called Beer Bath Fizz, but don't worry it doesn't leave you smelling as if you've just stumbled out the local brewery. This little bottle when sprinkled in the bath creates a gentle fizzing in the water, creating bubbles.  For £3.75 you can buy this from Gifts By Little Miss.

That concludes this addition of Folksy Friday. Hope I've given you a little inspiration for you Secret Santas
To share this post just use the links below.

Thursday Throwback. The Riches of Roman Britain.

I'm lucky enough to live a stones throw away from Hadrian's wall, a Roman wall built in AD 122 by the emperor Hadrian's people. I've been up several times over the years to walk parts of the wall which spans the length of Britain from Bowness on the Solway Firth in the west to Wallsend in the east, altogether it runs 74 miles.
One of my favourite places to visit on the wall is Vindolanda, which is a 'live' museum with digs going on all year round.

One of the items they found there is a cloak brooch, with a figure believed to be Mars, the Roman God of war with two large shields either side. It belonged to a man called Quintus Sollonius who was a legionary soldier. It is the discovery of this brooch which has excited the archaeologists who work there, because it is something they haven't found before and the discovery of who it belongs to is proof that there was legionaries in Britain at the time of the building of the wall. They speculate that Quintus Sollonius must have been a fairly senior member of army, 'probably a non-commissioned officer with at least 20 years' experience.' 
It would have been very expensive and was lightly to have been stolen rather then lost.

Another item described as 'of national importance and one of the finest ever recovered in Britain' was discovered farther down country in the town of Colchester this year.
Colchester was the setting of one of the most bloodiest battles between the Romans and native British, it was so bad that even today Colchester has a layer half a meter thick of red and black soil left by the remains of burnt clay walls.
The Romans knew the battle was coming but Colchester was defenceless with only a small army and no town defences.
The people, including one lady, buried their riches in the ground and prayed they'd be able to return to dig them up again.
The lady I mentioned buried a gold adjustable bracelet, two looped gold bracelets, two silver bracelets, a gold bracelet, a large silver armlet, a silver chain necklace, some coins in a purse and a jewellery box of thin silver with a wooden centre which contained a set of gold earrings, a set of gold and pearl earrings and five gold rings,four with gems and one with the incised image of a dolphin. She must have been terrified, the only hope they had was a large army of Roman soldiers which was on it's way to help them. Unfortunately that hope was slaughtered by Boudicca's British army and left unable to help Colchester. Every one in the town was killed and their homes burnt to the ground, nothing was left.

Then in 2014 the department store, which now sits on top of where all that time ago the lady knelt and buried her treasures, decided to do some renovation work to the store. As they dug down into the red and black layer they found bone, something which was rare enough on it's own but then 3 days before the work was due to end a bundle of metal was found. This bundle of metal turned out to be the jewellery and coins of the lady. Even with all the dirt and grim of being buried for so long the archaeologists knew this was a horde of very good quality.

Dr Philip Crummy, director of Colchester Archaeological Trust, dug it up and sent it to a secure laboratory to be cleaned. From there it is due to be ruled whether it is treasure or not by the coroner.

When the conservation process is finished the horde will go on display at Colchester Castle Museum.

 

For more information on this Colchester treasure Click Here.

Featured Item. Christmas Snowflake Beaded Brooch

After sliding about each morning on the icy hill down to work last week I decided the perfect piece to feature this week is the Christmas Snowflake Beaded Brooch.
The met office is sure Britain is going to get snow soon. Maybe we'll get a white Christmas this year?
It was my hopes for a snow laden Christmas last year that inspired me to make this piece. It was at Kielder Christmas Fayre this time last year and the heating wasn't working very well in Kielder Castle where the fayre was based. It was freezing cold and ice was climbing up the windows, needless to say the table next to me with hats and scarves did very well!! (I didn't do to bad either!)
When I got home I set about making a brooch, cutting a length of copper welding wire and curling it round into a circle, then zig-zagging it through the middle before wrapping it around the outer edge.

Next I cut a long length of tiger wire and wrapped it several times over the copper wire to secure it.
My Nana had given me her stash of beads a few weeks earlier, and in them was the cold colours I needed for this icy design. I used pearly beads around the outer edge and then icy blue beads over the zig zag in the centre.
I had decided I wanted the brooch to look like a cut out of the sky down to the ground below, so I added a star charm to the top space and a line of white beads leading down to the snowflake in the second section, I repeated this down to the third section. The fourth section represented the ground, so I used tear drop shaped Swarovski crystals in blue and white to represent icicles. The icicles are beautiful on this brooch and when it is in light it spreads prisms of rainbows around the brooch. Really stunning!
The brooch fastening is hidden in behind the star.

All items from Fashion Magpie Jewellery come to you wrapped and in a silver organza gift bag.

This brooch is £8 with £1.95 UK Postage and Packaging. Can be posted aboard

 

You can find Fashion Magpie Jewellery at the below links

Website www.folksy.com/shops/fashionmagpiejewellery

Facebook www.facebook.com/fashionmagpiejewellery

Pinterest http://uk.pinterest.com/fmjewellery/

Folksy Friday. Top 5 Handmade Stocking Fillers

It's December so everyone is hurrying round looking for Christmas gifts. This weeks post will show you the top 5 stocking fillers of Folksy.com as chosen by me.
I found all 5 of these on the Folksy Forum called TalkFolksy. I enjoy browsing through this forum and everyone is always happy and helpful so it's a joy to be there. It's just like popping round a friends for a cuppa and a natter!

The first piece I found is this Red Panda Necklace by The Catkin Boutique. It's unusual to find Red Pandas on anything these days which is odd because there cute and cute is always good! This talented artist drew this piece her self before adding it to plastic, then hand cut and polished it.

The second piece is something I've came across a number of times on Folksy and I think it's brilliant idea. This one is called Elephant Mother and Baby Papercut and is a miniature to be used in a dolls house. I love the idea of doing up a dolls house and putting in miniature pieces of artwork like this. This particular piece is by Iguana and measures approx. 3.5 x 6.5 cms.

 

The next piece is an original hand pulled woodblock print entitled Snowdrops by Woodblock Prints By Matt Underwood. I love the washed out quality to this piece it really stands out. The picture on the print is beautiful, this is one of thoughts pictures you can sit and look at all day and really admire the detail of the piece.

One of the best stocking fillers is these little lip balms, two of which have been award winners. There by Fairfield Gardens and are 100% natural lip balm with added bees wax.  There is four to choose from but for this I went with the Natural Bees Wax Lipbalm.

The last piece in this top 5 of stocking fillers are these Badges - Blue Animals. I love the whimsy of the pictures and was originally drawn to the rabbit picture which reminds me of a Watership Down illustration. There by Reflections, who I've decided to add to my favourite sellers list.

 

 

As with every week all the pieces featured in this post are for sale on folksy and can be purchased by clicking on the link on their title.

To share this piece with others just use the media links below.

 

Featured Item. Pyramid Swirl Earrings

 

Can't believe it's nearly Christmas! I was watching on the news about the riots in the shops on Black Friday. People fighting like spoilt children on the floor over TV's and Games Consoles which are probably now broken inside there boxes!! 

This Monday is Cyber Monday and marks the start of the December Christmas shopping period online. I've added a discount available on both my Folksy and Etsy shops for 10% off until midnight 1st December. (Tomorrow)

The featured item for this week is my Pyramid Swirl Earrings, which are the first in a wave of re-photographing I'm doing to try make my shops look better. While I'm at it I'm also checking postage and descriptions to make sure everything is up to date.

These little earrings used to have a matching bracelet but that sold last October at my Bellingham craft fair so I just have the earrings now.

 

 

They have Tibetan silver triangle charms with a swirled pattern in the centre. From these hangs one of my favourite beads in my collection, the red, white and blue draw bench beads. I love these beads, they are a red bead with tiger stripes of silver and metallic blue and just look beautiful and very striking.

The ear hooks are nickel free.

To buy these earrings are £6 with £1.95 postage and packaging to the UK but other countries postdating is available.

 

All items from Fashion Magpie Jewellery come to you wrapped and in a silver organza gift bag.

Remember until midnight on the 1st December to can get 10% off your purchase

 

 

You can find Fashion Magpie Jewellery at the below links

Website www.folksy.com/shops/fashionmagpiejewellery

Facebook www.facebook.com/fashionmagpiejewellery

Pinterest http://uk.pinterest.com/fmjewellery/

Featured item. Tree of life necklace

This Saturday I will be doing my next Christmas fair at New Hartley near Whitley Bay. So I thought for my next featured item I'd show a necklace that was much admired at my last fair in Bellingham.

This necklace is the tree of life necklace which I upcycled from a broken hoop earring and wire. I originally found the design for a Tree of Life necklace on Stumbleupon one day and thought they where beautiful. After googling them I found a tutorial and set to work. It's been a long time in the making this necklace because I wasn't sure what to make it in to once I'd finished the tree of life part and looped the multi coloured seed beads around the outer edge. I thought maybe a brooch or the focal point on a bracelet but then I purchased the beads that would eventually become the bead chain on the necklace. It was a match made in heaven! They looked great together, so I set about making the pendant into a necklace.

It was last October it made its debut to the public at Bellingham Christmas fair. People loved it and it got many comments on how lovely it was or how beautiful but alas it never sold. It was mainly my cheaper items selling that day. I finally got round to listing it on Folksy.com next in my little shop with all my other lovely pieces. It's enjoying being liked by many but still it's struggling to find a home.

For the Tree Of Life's next journey it will be coming with me to New Hartley Christmas Fair in the village Memorial Hall. It promises to be a good day with many people coming to visit, from the map of events on the same day it looks as if there will lots happening around about with it all ending with the Christmas Lights being switched on.

With all the going on at this fair, maybe I'll finally find a home for the Tree of Life Necklace. 

My folksy shop will be closed online while I'm at the Christmas fair on 29th November but will reopen in the evening, so if you would like to purchase this, or any of my other pieces from Fashion Magpie Jewellery please bare this in mind.

The Tree Of Life Necklace is £12.50 with £3.20 postage and packaging for the United Kingdom. I'm happy to send to other countries to.

Thursday Throwback. The Greatest Love Story Of The 20th Century

Possible one of the most well known romances of the 20th Century was that of Wallis Simpson and Prince Edward Duke of Windsor.
Wallis Simpson was an American Socialite who was currently married to her second husband, Ernest Aldrich Simpson, when she first met the Prince who was at the time Prince of Wales and next in line to ascend to the British throne.

She met him through her friend Lady Furness who was the prince's Mistress. The visited several times more after their initial meeting and one weekend while Lady Furness was away, it's said there affair started, witness by house staff.
Over the coming months Edward became besotted with Wallis and sent her gifts. For her 40th birthday he commissioned a necked of rubies and diamonds which intertwined like a rope, leading down to a waterfall of rubies. On the clasp he had inscribed 'My Wallis from her David, 19,VI, 1936'
David was his birth name, used by close family.
Set in platinum it was designed by Rene-Sim Lacaze and made by Van Cleef & Arpels.

They holiday together a number of times during 1935 and it was now that couriers at the royal palaces where beginning to get uneasy. As next in line to the throne Edward could not marry Wallis, He would be King when he ascended to the throne which would make him head of the church of England. The Church Of England did not permit the remarriage of divorced people who still had living ex-spouses.
On 20th January 1936, George V died and Edward was declared King Edward VIII. It was becoming apparent now the king intended to marry Wallis Simpson. In the eyes of the British and Dominion governments Wallis as a soon to be twice divorced woman was unsuitable as a consort either politically, socially or Morally. So when the King with the British, Australian and South African governments to brooch the subject of marriage to Wallis was given a flat No! If he went ahead anyway the government would be faced to resign on mass.
As the King Edward deliberated on what to do next he commissioned a bracelet for his beloved Wallis. It consisted of four clusters of rubies surrounded by diamonds and had the inscription 'Hold Tight 27,III,36'. Hold tight was a phase the couple used whenever they where in trouble.

Wallis' divorce was finalised on 27 October 1936. It was around now the British press where starting to report on the affair and Wallis was forced to flee Briton and took up refuge in the South of France at the Villa Lou Viei, near Cannes. It was while she was here being under siege by press, that the King's Lord In Waiting, Lord Brownlow asked her to renounce the King. She gave in and he helped her pen a press release of her readiness to give up the King which was released on the 7th December 1936. This could have been the end of the Relationship and history could have been very different, but it wasn't. Edward ignored Wallis' press release and a few days later on 10th December he announced his abduction from the throne.
On the 11th December 1936, Edward made his famous speech of abduction.

"I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility,

and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do so,

without the help and support of the woman I love."

 

After his abduction Edward and Wallis had to spend their first Christmas apart due to complications. To help cheer her up he sent her a present. A brooch of double holly leaves, one was encrusted with Rubies and the other with baguette diamonds.

 

 

The couple where reunited in France at the Chateau De Cande on the 4th May 1937. They married a month later.

What do you think of my redesign?

Had a redesign of my blog today because I felt it was getting a little to cluttered up with 'stuff.'
I've moved it in to 3 columns instead of 2. I have the main blog posts running down the middle and to the left is your favourite posts starting with most popular. To the right is my about me and social media links and then to the bottom of the page is my blog archive and privacy policies.
The background has been changed to a more autumn background and I will be looking to change that again nearer Christmas for a more festive background.

Would love some feedback on whether you like the new layout and if there is anything else I could do to make it better.
Thank you

Thursday Throwback. The crazy life of Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette lived over 200 years ago in France yet even today she is as well known as she was back then.

The favourite daughter of sixteen children she had a very extravagant lifestyle which only became more wealthy with her marriage to Louis Auguste of France. Her husband became king in 1774 after his grandfather, Louis VX died of small pox. Marie Antoinette was 19 and now wealthy beyond her wildest dreams, she visited theatres, masked balls, and went gambling regularly.

Unfortunately this all ended when the French started the French Revolution accusing Marie Antoinette of having sympathies with Austria, her birth land and accusing the royal family of being why France was dropping into recession.
Marie Antoinette and her husband Louis decided to run to Vareenes, its said the stress turned her blond hair white over night.  Louis XVI was deposed and the monarchy abolished on 21 September 1792; the royal family was subsequently imprisoned at the Temple Prison.
Before they had tried to run she visited a friend called Lady Abercorn. To her she gifted a small locket with a lock of her blond hair in it enclosed under glass.

The locket is heart shaped and measures 4.6cm, from the suspension loop hangs a chain with a dainty little key on the end. This key fits into the lock hanging from the bottom of the pendant.
On the back is an inscription which reads:

A lock of MARIE ANTOINETTE, Queen of FRANCE given by her to Lady Abercorn by whom it was given to her sister Lady Julia Lockwood, whose daughter Lady Napier gave it to W.S. 1853.

Around the outer edge of the locket is delicate filigree in the form of spirals inside of a flat wire rim.

King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on the 21st January 1793 for high treason, to this day he is the only French king to have been executed. Marie Antoinette was tried nine months later and charged with treason. She also went to the guillotine on 16 October 1793.

Her locket and others like it are held in British Musuem.

Folksy Friday. Bath Products, It's time to Relax

This time of year it's easy to become run down. The days are shorter and you have to work harder to fit everything you want to do into these shorter days, not to mention, the extra stresses of Christmas. You can find yourself running from shop to shop trying to remember everyone you have to buy for, trying to decide if they would like this or that or the other as you push your way through what feels like a million other people doing the exact same thing!
Stop!
This weeks Folksy Friday is designed to help you distress and unwind. Whilst searching folksy this week for unique presents I found a utter wealth of beautiful bath products and candles, so I have complied a list for you. Maybe that one thing you need to unwind after a heavy day is in this list.
If you would like to share this post there is social media links at the bottom of this post.

The first of the items I found is Goats' Milk & Honey: Natural Cold Process Soap with Shea Butter. This all natural soap sounds amazing, everything comes from their farm, from the honey to the goats milk it is all natural. The soap is by Traditional Crafts who make jewellery, soap and skin care products.

 

Next is this Christmas Hand and Foot Lotion by Empathy Holistic. The smell of this product must be amazing with its Cinnamon, Orange and Clove blend, it's just what you need after a day on your feet.

To help you get into the festive spirit there is these Gorgeous Snowman Bath Bombs with a fruity smell and a happy jolly face to help with the christmasy feeling. There made by Hearts and Homespun.

With this next item, I've learnt something new. I'd never heard of Felted soap before I put together this post but it sounds like a good idea. The soap, in this case a olive oil soap is in the middle of the merino wool felt so it acts the same as if you rub your soap on a cloth only it's inside the cloth. This one is a Ladybird Felted soap by Milana. One of the best features of this design I think is that it floats so no more searching round in the bath for the soap!

The last item in this post is a candle. To be honest with you I could have picked any of this designer, Candles By Deb, candles. She has some very unusual fragrances to chose from and all of them sound great but I went with Lemongrass and Ginger in the medium tin. Ginger is one of my favourite scents and I could imagine sitting with this candle burning while I relaxed at the end of the day. It's one of my favourite things to do to unwind at the moment, just sitting with a flicking candle while I work on something.

Hope this has given you some ideas on how to unwind and distress in this festive season, or at the least has given you some Christmas inspiration! To buy any of these just click there coloured link or to share just use the media links below.

Folksy Friday. 5 of the best gifts for the man in your life.

I find the men in my life really hard to buy for, I always leave them till last at Christmas and I'm looking for birthday presents at least a few months in advance. If your the same as me and find your self panic buying at the last moment, help is at hand.
I've picked out 5 items from folksy this week with the view of ending your panic buying and get something handcrafted and unique for those hard to buy for men.

My first item is Men's Wash bag with moustache by Ornament. This bag comes in other designs if your getting sick of the moustache craze that seems to have gripped the nation. This is just what you need for the image conscious man in your life. The motif is leather and it has a waterproof lining, it also comes with silver d ring so you can hang it up when your not using it.

My partner loves dragons and I picked these little guys partly because of that fact. I think these dragon cufflinks in sterling silver are smart and have a simple design making them the ideal present for your own dragon fanatic. Made by Huiyi Tan.

This next item is for your superhero worshipper. What do you get when you cross Batman and beer? A Batman beer opener  key ring by Stuff and Nonsense. Each one is completely unique and you can say for certain no one else will have one.

I love the design on this t shirt, it has a cleverly woven pattern of chains and wheels for this interesting design called Chain Reaction by Sold.

The last piece is a case for an MacBook Air. The wolf is beautiful and has a very powerful stare with his vivid blue eyes. The piece is by Modern and Vintage, a shop on folksy I have a particular fondness for and it is called Macbook Air 11" Case, Macbook Air 13" Case, Laptop Sleeve, Wolf.

 

Hope this has helped you solve a few a few problems, please share this post with others to so that we can help others to find that elusive gift.