Gift Taggs

Following on from last weeks article, I thought I would add a few notes on what to store in your gift closet, again from my research I found several themes that I think can be adapted to suit your needs.
Think about how you need to buy presents for.The majority of our friends are in their Thirties who are getting married, newly weds or have young children, we don’t have children so I don’t need to worry about buying gifts for their friends. Family are a lot more varied, from young children to grand parents –  but we don’t have any teenagers to buy gifts for.

As I have just started setting up my gift closet,  I am opting to look for decent items to store – ideally I should have started this before Christmas so I could buy all the gifts in the 3-2 promotions the stores have around then, so instead I am looking to buy items in bulk or take advantage of discount shopping centres and sales.

Bicester Village in Oxfordshire is a great place to start, we tend to do two major trips here one before Christmas and over of the summer. With so many shops to choose from it is easy to get gifts from here.

So far my gift closet, contains some wash bags (brought at the Cath Kidston discount store), Philosophy and L’Occitane bath products (brought in bulk at QVCUK.com), some photo frames (perfect for all occasions), bottle stoppers, (to be given with a bottle of wine for hostess gifts), and some candles.

Further Reading for present ideas

Home Organization Suite 101
Pier 1
Creative Homemaking

Tags: gift closet, organisation

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A few years ago London was invaided my the Cow Parade, I remember seeing a few of them in key locations around the city like the Harry Potter Cow in Leicester Square but, I was always annoyd with myself for not seeing more of these statues. So when I heard about the Elephant Parade I jumped at the chance to see more of these painted figures, I am aiming to see all 256 of them!

Then I read, that the reason for the parade was to raise awareness and funds to help save the endangered Asian Elephants (all the elephant figures have small ears – I have been checking), and it made me more determined to help raise awareness. So this weekend armed with my elephant hunting kit* I set off around London.

Luna

After lunch with the ladies on Friday in Westfield, I saw the first four elephants on the list including Luna (if I win the lottery I will be bidding on this in the auction). Then on Saturday I headed to the Embankment and Theatre District to see more including Flocking to the City – with the London skyline painted on to her legs.

Flocking to the City

I have been posting all the photos on Flickr page, let me know if you see an elephants on your travels, especially Cloudia as she is moving around London on a tour of her own
* My kits was the printed out parade map, google maps (on my phone) and a camera – I am shotting these elephants with a camera lens!

Tags: Elephant Parade, things to do in London

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The Things I Love - May

1. OPI You Don’t Know Jacques £9.95 available from Lena White.
   I love painting my nails – it is simple little thing to do which means I can devote an hour to myself! I am also a sucker for the “latest” must have colours, so obviously I wanted the Chanel’s Particulière but not wanting to put my name of a waiting list, I hunted around online for a suitable “griege” replacement and this OPI colour was it.
2. Foursquare, Free see website to register.
   I am a little addicted to Twitter, but quite often I have no idea what to say…”Having drinks at X Bar” seems a little lame and of course you don’t want to overshare, however, Foursquare seems to be the perfect solution. Users “check-in” when they arrive somewhere using the handy phone app, the check-in can then be streamed to your twitter or facebook account. The more I use this app the more I discovered about it, (I love collecting all the different badges), having used it in New York last week, I learnt about the special offers available to users, like 10% frozen yogurt in Pinkberry. As the service was only launched in London earlier this year, I am hoping it catches on over here.
3. Palm peeler £4.00 available from Amazon.
   Being a left hander, I have always had problems with basic tool like scissors and peelers (I think it is because are school I was forced to use right hander versions), so whenever I see an alternative tool, I have to give it a go, the majority of time they end up being a waste of money but this palm peeler actually worked!
4. VitaCoca Coconut Water from £1.99 available from Holland and Barrett.
   Last year, I gave up coffee and started cutting down on fizzy drinks, but ever since I have sturggled to find things to drink thoughout the day, obvioulsy there is water,but I try to limit the amount of juice I drink because of the hidden sugars, I have looked into alternatives, flavoured water, or sports drinks but they are all extremely hugh in calories or sugar. So when I read about Coconut Water I thought it was too good to be true, low in calories and sugar, and with added benefits and it tastes good!
5. Glee – watch previous episodes on 4ondemand.
   Okay I have been loving this for a while, but I figured it deserved an mention! I have no idea why this show is a firm  favourite in Chez Tagg, a programme about a choir set in a high schooll does not sound like great idea, but something about the humour and the songs make this the perfect combination. All I can say is if you aren’t a gleek yet you have to watch this show!

Tags: loves

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I apologize for the lack of blogging lately, I have been busy working on two projects at the moment, and now I am getting ready for our trip to New York next week. I have been busy planning our visit, mapping out some walks, booking restaurants and reading up about places to see.

Of course, as a knitter I am planning a trip to Purl Soho (now in their new location), and I was over the moon to discover it is within walking distance of the Magnolia Bakery so I can enjoy my two favourite things yarn and cupcakes!

Tags: admin, travel

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The long weekend has given me a chance to really jump start a major de-clutter I have been planning, which isn’t really fun to blog about, especially not as a fell in the bath whilst trying to clean the tiles in our bathroom! However it did leave me a little chance to catch up on some knitting and bake some cakes!

Easter Cupcakes already boxed and ready to be delivered

Tags: cooking, cupcakes

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I cannot believe it is March the 1st already, the weather is even changing here in the London that it feels like spring is around the corner. (My bulbs are even flowering in their window boxes).

I seem to be on top of things in the spring cleaning department due to the Grand Cleaning Plan. After my lack of crafting over Valentine’s day I wanted to make up for it in March! I seem to be ahead of things regarding the upcoming birthdays and anniversaries! However, Mother’s Day (in the UK) is just a few weeks away and Easter is just after that.

So today, I have been looking for ideas for Easter. Instead of buying eggs this year, I think I will make cookies and cupcakes

1. Easter Bunny Cookie by Sweetopia, 2. Spring Chicks by The Frosted Cake n Cookie, 3. Easter Basket Cookie by Cakejournal,

4. Vanilla Easter Cupcakes by mejika, 5. Easter Cupcakes by freakgirl, 6. Easter Cupcakes 2 by rouvelee,

7. Easter Cookies by sweetcaques, 8. Easter Egg Cupcake Cups  by save the date for cupcakes, 9. Easter Cookie Collection by Cupcakes & Cartwheels

Tags: cookies, easter, mother's day, organisation, spring cleaning

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Not only is today Valentine’s Day it is also the Chinese New Year, since I shop brought my husband’s card and present and we are going out for dinner tonight – I feel I am failing in creativity this holiday.

But not to leave the day unmarked, here is the lovely bouquet my husband brought me – complete with a lucky bamboo to celebrate the new year!

Valentine's Flowers with Lucky Bamboo

Tags: celebrations, chinese new year, valentines day

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Undoubtedly you have read all about the earthquake and aftermath in Haiti. What struck me this weekend is how many crafters around the world are using their skills to help raise funds and I wanted to send a little love to them for their generosity.

Numerous crafters are offering patterns for free or a small fee in exchange for you donating however much you can afford to one of the charities that are in Haiti. My favourite patterns, are Cindy from Skip to my Lou who posted a lovely cupcake recipe and template for cupcake wrapper and also the fabulous Lou and Emms from Loumms who have offered to donate a pound from any of their year in socks pattern (if downloaded via ravelry).

It often seems like we don’t have any spare money to donate, a few years ago I was introduced to Yarnharlot’s idea of Knitters Without Borders. I thought it was such a simple idea, just asking yourself do I need this before making any purchases and then donating the money to you don’t spend to MSF. I know like to do this once a year.

Last year, I also discovered paying for patterns by pennies per hour of pleasure (or p/hop), which is an extension of Knitters Without Borders. The idea is simple you knit one of the patterns from the site and then donate based on how much pleasure you got from making the project.

P/Hop Sock

 Donating even a pound (or dollar) can make all the difference and if you need an extra reason to donate, check out the Hope for Haiti blog, donate some money and have a chance to win some amazing prizes (the prize fund is growing daily).

Finally, if you are in London, how about stopping by iKnit for one of there famous crafternoons, the event kicks off at 1pm and they are promising tea, cakes and games.

Tags: charity, hope for haiti

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I can spend hours online browsing blogs, looking for recipes, reading about real-life parties or examining tutorials for new crafts. Always thinking I could do that! However, in reality living in the UK I seem to hit dead ends. It took me months to realise what “heavy cream” was, and I can’t pop to Wal-mart to buy supplies.

A few years ago I started a blog to show off my knitting projects, it started as a place for me to chat about my progress and very quickly it introduced my to numerous bloggers, online yarn stores, hundreds of websites for tutorials or new techniques. Most importantly it introduced me to a world of UK based crafters, knitters in my area, I could socialize with whilst enjoying my hobby, and yarn producers from all areas of the British Isles.

I am hoping this blog will serve as a similar device, introducing me to UK based bloggers, new stores and opening doors to a new community on my journey to becoming a domestic goddess.

Tags: admin, introduction

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