.December Cool Shops! Iszle.

My last Cool Shop! for December is ISZLE...

Before you get confused, yes, I did review Iszle last month, but this month I am back to review a different section of Iszle - Scrabble Tile and Charm Pendants.  On Etsy, this store is known as The Pendant Factory and on Made It it goes by Iszle and includes magnets and pocket mirrors aswell.  Got it?!

Nadine kindly let me choose any Scrabble Tile necklace I wanted to review and it was a tough decision but I went with Retro Ride.  Very funky and beautifully made and yep, it's a necklace made using a real scrabble tile!

Iszle has tonnes of different images to choose from, making it very easy to select a gift for a friend or something special for yourself.  A girl can never have too many necklaces, you know?!

These necklaces are an absolute bargain!  Great for gift giving...especially for a special event like to present bridesmaids with as a thankyou.

Some of my favourite necklaces...

Butterfly Tree:

 Bird Prince Charm Pendant:

 Lotus:

Sewing Machine:

GIVEAWAY

As part of her Cool Shops! review, Nadine is giving away a Scrabble Tile Pendant + Silver Curb Link Chain - winner gets to choose the design!!

To enter, leave a comment with your favourite Iszle product.  Giveaway will close on Tuesday 14th December and winner will be drawn randomly.

Important ISZLE links:

Made It Store

Etsy Store

Facebook Page 

.Glimpses of Christmas.

There's a bit of Christmas Cheer in the Coward household...

For the last few years the tree has been a blue and silver colour theme.  It just didn't go in the new house so we revamped and went red, lime green and silver.  Love it!

(and yes, the tree is a little sparce at the bottom.  We tend to have a good year and then a bad year with decorations...this year is a bad year with Tommy dismantling the tree!!)  I was going to make a tree skirt but ran out of steam so wrapped a bit of Michael Miller Ta Dot fabric around the bottom instead...tree skirt, next year!

The Willow Tree nativity is on display and as much as I tell the children it is not for touching, it is arranged in a different format every time I walk by!  It actually makes me laugh every time and they do tell me they are very careful when they do touch it...

 

When we were in Melbourne, Kate told me about a cute family tradition they have started at Christmas time.  I loved it and have instigated it with my own family.  We told the Christmas story about the birth of Jesus and then focused on the Three Wise Men and talked about how they bought gifts for baby Jesus.  Then we told the children that the best gift they could give Jesus on his birthday was to be kind and loving to each other.  Every time I catch them doing something kind or loving towards another family member, they get to put a "warm fuzzy" (pom pom) in the jar.  Then on Christmas Eve we will place the jar underneath the tree as a gift to Jesus.  The kids are loving it and trying extra hard to earn warm fuzzies!  Kate has written more about her tradition on her blog here.

      

 

I did, however, keep my blue and silver "Joy" letters and have popped them in the front entrance.  You might also notice a sneak peek of another very cool decoration for our house.  Will be back to share more about that with you soon - I love it!

.December Cool Shops! Frock.

The third Cool Shop! for December is FROCK...

Frock is a funky boutique run in New Zealand by Angie.  Angie started out creating the most adorable frocks ever which are dedicated to celebrating the important moments in your little girl's life.  Angie's frocks are so cute - and the good news is that she will be launching a new line early next year!  There was a disappointing mix up with the post and the item I was supposed to be getting to review is floating around the world somewhere and will hopefully turn up in either my or Angie's letterbox very soon!

You may remember Frock on my blog earlier this year when I won a giveaway from their blog.  It was a good thing that I won because I still have something to review for Frock!

This is the "Pretty in Pink Bubble Frock" and it is the sweetest thing ever.  Although I enjoy sewing a lot of Lil's dresses, it is always refreshing to enjoy something that someone else has sewn.  And Angie's workmanship is impeccable.  The entire frock is lined and perfectly stitched.  Lil and I both love it and it has received quite a work out in the 9 months that she has had it, but still washes up as good as new every time.  
A Frock would make a lovely Christmas or birthday present and is sure to be loved by all who receive it.

I love these little frocks too...Beautiful in Blue Swing and Gorgeous in Green Wrap:

As well as creating lovely Frocks, Angie has recently started to make and sell these AMAZING art canvases.  Dancing Dollies 3D Canvases are a unique art work to make a statement in any little girl's bedroom.  The dollies bodies are printed on the highest quality canvas using non-fade pigment inks, then Angie hand makes the gorgeous hats, hair and heads.
I have never seen anything like this before and love the bright colours and whimsical feel.
Dancing Dollies 3D Canvases can be purchased in Large, Medium or Small sizes.

Angie is generously offering Make It Perfect readers a huge 20% off any item in store!  Simply quote the code "MAKEITPERFECT" when purchasing.

Important FROCK links:

Online Boutique

Etsy Store

Facebook

Blog

.Goodbye mullet and he finally walks.

Happy 18 month old birthday to you Tommy!  Lets discuss the last 18 months...

Everywhere we go, you are known as the "Smiley Boy".  I can't stop gushing over you and am worried that your little cheeks are getting sore from smiling so much.  You are truly the most adorable little thing ever.  Really.  If I could be guaranteed 10 of you I would probably have another 5 babies (don't want to push my luck, you know!)

Looking back at your grand entrance to the world, I am more sure than ever that you were premature.  You were mega-tiny and so sleepy.  

I love it that you are tiny because you still seem like a baby, when, in fact you are 1 1/2 years old.  This is good, because it means that I am not wanting for another baby yet.  The bad thing is that I'm not ready for you to grow up.  Which is why it was such a big deal to give you your first haircut.

Check out the divine mullet.  Truly adorable...but as you started to look more and more like a bogan, we knew it had to go.

So out onto the deck for Family Home Evening activity and Dad got out the clippers to trim your mane.  (The boys in our family will never go to the hairdresser...Dad is the resident barber and even cuts his own hair!)
It was a big, wriggly, squirmy, itchy job.  But he did it.

And then you looked like this...all refined and dignified.  And we were all in mourning for 1 week.  And then we got over it and realised that you looked super cute again and your huge smile made up for the lack of mullet at the back.

 

And then it was as if that big haircut gave you lots of strength (like the opposite to when Samson got his hair cut in the bible) and all of a sudden you decided that you would try and walk.  And after about 2 weeks you got pretty good and aren't as wobbly now but still fall over all the time.  And we clap and cheer "horray" every time you fall over and your smile gets bigger and bigger.

(and you are still wearing that suit that friend Danielle gave to us and you have been wearing it for 1 year!)

.December Cool Shops! StickyTiki.

{If you were wondering why I didn't do my next Cool Shops! review on the 2nd December, it is because I have decided to space them out a bit from now on...that way I don't go crazy writing reviews four days in a row and you can have a bit of time to browse their stores, enter giveaways, etc.}

The second Cool Shop! for December is StickyTiki...

 

Wall decals have been one of my most browsed shopping items online lately.  We have quite a few big blank walls left in our house that I'm not quite sure what to do with and really like the idea of some big wall decals to make a statement.

And I think I've found my answer...StickyTiki is a New Zealand based company run by Kim and Simon that create the most amazing wall decals from FABRIC!  Because they are made of fabric, they won't rip, wrinkle or damage your walls.  They adhere to any smooth surface and can be repositioned again and again...Iove the fact that your kids can play with them.  Mine haven't seen them yet (they were in bed when I started decorating the wall!) but I know that when they get up in the morning they are going to have a ball making new designs.  StickyTiki wall decals are even washable so I can wipe of any sticky fingerprints that are bound to appear and I just read on their website that they are also weatherproof so you can use them outside too!!  Instead of being totally computer generated, StickyTiki are handcrafted from Kim's own artwork, showing brush stroke detail and more of a painted look.

 

Being the green girl that I am, I selected the Retro-Kiwi set of decals to have a play with.  My original idea was to put them in Tommy's room and use them around the fabric-covered canvas above his wall to fill in some of the empty space.  Because he was in bed when I needed to take photos, we popped them onto part of our green hallway wall and I think I am  tempted to keep them there.  The good thing is that I know I can easily move them to Tommy's room and try them out because they are repositionable!  (Perfect for renters!)

We were amazed at how easy they were to apply.  They are not fussy at all and easily smooth out on the wall.  They can also be stuck on top of each other, which we did on some of the big plain circles at the top of the next picture:

StickyTiki are not too cute or sweet.  They are a little quirky and I have not seen anyone else doing the same kind of thing.
Some of my other favourite StickyTiki designs...
Sleepy Sheepy:

 Space Odyssey 19698:

 Dear Deer Tree:

 Hundreds and 1000s:

Alphabetica:

 A big thanks to Sticky Tiki for being a Cool Shop! on my blog.  Your work is awesome!

And a special offer to you today...for every purchase you make from StickyTiki, Kim will give you a FREE item from their exclusive StickyTINY range valued at $26.95!  After you have made your purchase, message Kim and let her know you want to take advantage of the offer!!

Important STICKYTIKI links:

Webstore

Etsy Store

Facebook

Blog

.I finished in the nick of time!.

Literally...I was packing up my sewing stuff at 11:57pm on 30th November!  And I am glad it is done - definitley won't be cutting and sewing 25 little stockings any time soon.  If that wasn't enough, I had this bright (not!) idea of using a freezer paper stencil to paint the numbers on each stocking.  Oh, seriously, what was I thinking?  It was all going well until I realised that it was going to take me longer to cut each number out with a craft knife than it took me to sew all of the stockings!!  I persevered though, Elissa from Kelani Fabric called me when I was in the middle of it and not feeling very impressed with my bright idea and reminded me that it was worth it because maybe this advent would end up being a family heirloom in time, passed on through the family.  They better look after it and use it EVERY...SINGLE...YEAR!!!

Sorry about the dodgy photos - really difficult to photograph with light streaming in through the windows behind...I'm sure you get the gist of it though.  I should have taken photos before hanging, but we ended up putting nails right through the hanging strip so it is too much effort to take down now!

The children were VERY excited when they woke up in the morning and found a lolly pop and activity in #1.  We have a "no treat before breakfast" rule and they are so good at eating their breakfast straight away and really fast!

So, if you are wondering what activities we have in store this year...instead of filling up the stockings all at once, I pop a treat and activity in before I go to bed each night.  I have a master list of activities to choose from and decide what we are going to do the next day each night.  Here is the master list:

• Paint toenails in Christmas colours
• Make Christmas cards for friends
• Write a letter to Santa
• Bake treats for teachers
• Make Christmas ornaments
• Make gingerbread men
• Make gingerbread houses
• Put a present under the Kmart Giving Tree
• Picnic for dinner at the beach/park
• Family disco
• Games night
• Watch a Christmas movie with popcorn
• Go out for dinner
• Have Cold Rock for dessert
• Play backyard cricket/footy
• Have a bubble bath
• Go strawberry picking
• Go out for a milkshake
• Go to the pool
• Make rocky road
• See Christmas lights
• Play at the beach
• Read Christmas stories under the tree
• Make reindeer food
• Go to the Playgroup Christmas party

If you haven't got a fancy advent calendar, don't let that stop you from doing something similar with your kids - mine love the activities each day and I love the excitement that it adds to Christmas.
If you have any other activity ideas, I'd love to hear them!

.December Cool Shops! Mee a Bee.

Hello December!!!  It is really starting to feel like Christmas around here and we are all starting to get excited :)  I'm also very excited to have another round of Cool Shops! on board this month.

First up, let me introduce you to Mee a Bee...

 

Mee a Bee is run by Jacqui, a New Zealander living in Japan long-term with her husband and two children.  Jacqui designs and sews the most adorable messenger bags, tote bags, book and library bags for children.  That's right...they are child-size and the cutest thing ever!

One of the great advantages of being based in Japan is the charming fabric that Jacqui has access too (yes, I am jeslous!).  Mee a Bee uses the highest quality linens, linen & cotton blends and cotton canvas...all from Japan.  

I knew I would be in big trouble if I didn't choose the Pink Ballerina Messenger Bag for Lil!  And she was over the moon when it arrived and I told her the package was for her!  She was even more excited when she spotted ballerinas and popped it straight over her chest and filled it to the brim with little toys!

Seriously, these bags are the cutest thing ever!  The size is just perfect for little kids - big enough to store a few treasures in, but not too big to carry.  Lil's bag has already accompanied her to church, the shops, playgroup - she just loves it!

I was very impressed with the workmanship of the bag, it is impeccable and definitley does not look as though it was handmade.

 

Mee a Bee has lots of lovely girly bag designs to choose from...

Raspberry Ballet Messenger Bag:

Red Stripe Ballet Messenger Bag:

Woodland Deer Friends Messenger Bag:

And being a Mum of two boys, Jacqui has made sure the boys are not forgotten about here!!

London Bus Messenger Bag:

Blue Robots Messenger Bag:

Robot Attack Messenger Bag:

I'm sure you can think of a little person or two who would love a Mee a Bee messenger bag!  I know we could do with a few more around here!!

Mee a Bee is giving my blog readers 10% off your order until the 31st December 2010!  Enter the code "SAVE10" at the checkout if you are ordering on the main website.  If you are ordering on Etsy, you will have to contact Jacqui for a refund.  Thankyou Jacqui!!!

Important MEE A BEE links:

Webstore

Etsy Store

Facebook

Blog