A Million Uses for Mugs # 1

For the first in our new series "A Million Uses for Mugs" we thought it was perfect timing for a Mother's Day idea! What better treat for Mum than a lie in followed by breakfast in bed? How about making her tea in a mug which she can treasure forever! Finish with a ribbon, some chocolates and some flowers to make it extra special.

"10 Things I Love About Mum" mug is a new edition to our 10 Things collection - pink, lilac, blue and mint with cute floral numbers. You can choose the title and totally personalise the list of things you love about Mum. Get the kids involved for a list full of love and giggles!

If you'd like to order in time for Mother's Day (Sunday 6th March) the last day for guaranteed delivery is 3rd March. These mugs are currently £11.50 (usually £13.50) and include gift wrapping - we can even post direct to the recipient with a note from you for no extra cost. [Shop Here]

We'd better get brainstorming some other uses for mugs! Have you got any ideas for us to feature?

Stockist Spotlight // The Treasured

www.thetreasured.co.uk

Laura wrapping orders

Gorgeous gifts: Cloud Desk Tidy £14 by Pygmy Cloud // A to Z of Unicorns Colouring Book £10 by Neon Magpie // 'More Gin Please' Cross Stitch Kit £8.95 by The Make Arcade // Old English Company gifts from £9.95

The Treasured became a JillyJilly stockist late last year. Today on the blog we get to know the lovely Laura who runs the cute online shop!

Can you tell us the story behind The Treasured?

I’ve always loved supporting small creative businesses – they each offer something unique and beautiful – but I began to struggle to find what I was after on sites such as Etsy. They’ve got so big now and when I did finally find what I was after the multiple postage costs often put me off. 

I wanted to offer online shoppers handpicked products that were guaranteed to be beautiful and high quality – things to be treasured but that wouldn’t break the bank. Once I realised that was my main aim, the name ‘The Treasured’ wasn’t far behind…

What sort of goodies might customers expect to find in your shop?

The Treasured sells gifts, homeware, stationery, jewellery, wall art and more. Every product is from a British designer/maker that I’ve chosen for their loveliness – in terms of their products and their personalities.

What are your current favourite products you sell?

It’s so hard to choose but, JillyJilly products aside, my top three at the moment are the Pygmy Cloud desk tidy, the A – Z of Unicorns colouring book by Neon Magpie and The Make Arcade’s ‘More Gin Please’ cross stitch kit.

What do you like best about running The Treasured?

I love introducing people to brand’s they might not have discovered otherwise, and finding those brands is definitely my favourite thing. 

Do you have any advice for someone starting an online shop?

Your investment isn’t just in money but in time too. You need a good dollop of patience; it’s incredibly unlikely you’ll become a success overnight. Do your research, make a plan and then give it a try…

The Treasured is now four months old and it has a long way to go! It is incredibly rewarding though - every time someone buys something I do a little dance. 

Finally, which is your favourite JillyJilly product and why?

The ‘Good Things Come To Those Who Bake’ quote mug. It is incredibly cute and calls to my love of cake!

Thank you Laura! You can pop over to the Treasured shop here: www.thetreasured.co.uk and say hi over on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Photo a Day // January Catch Up

This year I decided to set myself two challenges; to learn how to sew and to enjoy photography again. David thinks I should have a hobby which isn't work (but work is fun when it's running JillyJilly). Anyway, the photography goal brought me back to the Fat Mum Slim Photo a Day project which (if you've been following us for a while you may remember) I did a few weeks of last year then life or something got in the way. This time I've already gone and completed January and now have a whole month of photos to show for it! I'm so excited about this but mainly because I have been enjoying photography again, getting the proper camera out and looking for my own ways to capture each day's prompt. Plus I've already started February so not giving up yet!

I've decided to keep a Pinterest board of all the photos too as although they are scattered around our Facebook and Instagram I don't want to overload you all with random photographs every day. If you do want to see the pictures with prompts, dates and captions you can do so below or here.

As for sewing, you might notice a couple of the photographs feature my first project! I made a little bow cushion thanks to Sew Crafty's adorable booklet which was in Simply Sewing magazine last year. I can't wait to get started on some more and am determined to make a JillyJilly fabric skirt eventually!

Gift List // Christmas Goodies

Happy new year! Our poor blog has been so neglected over the festive period. One of these years I'll actually meet my goal of writing 52 posts... maybe it'll even be this year. We're finally getting on top of things after taking a break to recharge after the madness of making all your Christmas orders. Our next trade fair is coming up so we've been busy preparing for that since we got back in the studio. I've managed to squeeze in some time for a quick Christmas goodies round up. These are a few of my favourite wee gifts I was lucky enough to be given, mostly by designer/makers!

1. The sparkliest earrings from Mashugana on Etsy // 2. Pretty pink paper forest jar from PaperPineTree on Etsy // 3. Yummy bath melts from Bomb Cosmetics // 4. Shining Biz 2016 planner from Leonie Dawson (so helpful!) // 5. Super glittery heart hair clips from Buttons and Bows Hair Accessories // 6. Big and bold velvet bow from Crown and Glory // 7. Colourful papercut calendar from By Charlie's Hand on Folksy // 8. Beautiful spectrum necklace by Emily Johnson Glass (which I actually won on Instagram! Emily has 25% off in her shop for January with the code YAY2016)

Lots of lovely shops to look at! I'll leave you with them and hopefully be back with another post soon.

Events // Falkland Christmas Shopping 2015

Willow & Plum Soap Co.

Kathy Burns Jewellery

Fayre Earth Gift Shop

It's crazy to think that a whole year has past since we were visiting the shopping days in Falkland after only living in the village for 3 months... and here we are taking part in them! On Wednesday we had a stall filled with JillyJilly goodies in Falkland Town Hall with Fife Makers, where there was lots of fab Christmas gifts designed and created locally. All of the village gift shops stay open until 10pm and have 10% off with festive refreshments. Yum! I wanted to take a video tour to show you all but the weather this Wednesday was pretty yucky, so these photos will have to do for now! We'll be back again on the 25th November and 2nd December from 11am-10pm. It really is such a lovely atmosphere to get Christmas shopping done in and the village looks so magical at this time of year! Check out the event page on Facebook for full details. 

Goody Box // Winter Wonderland

I'm so excited to tell you all about our new limited edition goody boxes. After we launched our Halloween ones last month we had lots of you asking if we'd be doing a Christmas one... so here it is! Winter Wonderland themed filled with frosty surprises including jewellery, stationery and accessories, worth over £20!

The goodies inside would make fab stocking fillers but are perfect for treating yourself too. We've been busy making up the limited edition illustrated items which will only be available in these 12 boxes. The contents are a surprise but I can tell you there will be glitter and snowflakes! If you'd like one of these pretty parcels then they are available at jillyjilly.co.uk now for £16.50. 

DIY // Hot Chocolate Gift Idea

We're back with another festive DIY idea! This time we've got the perfect stocking filler; a hot chocolate gift set. My favourite recipe for homemade hot chocolate has to be from Jamie Oliver's Drinks Tube (watch here). It's so thick and chocolatey and you can even make it with different flavoured chocolate - we've tried chocolate orange, peppermint and even chilli! Yum yum. This makes enough to fill a jar like this one here which makes lots of hot chocolate. You're best to watch the video to see how amazing it looks but here's a summary of the recipe.

You will need:

• 200g dark chocolate 
• 100g cocoa powder
• 100g icing sugar
• 50g cornflour
• 50g malted drink powder (like Horlicks)
• pinch of salt

Method:

1. Pop the chocolate in food processor and blitz until it becomes a fine powder.
2. Add remaining ingredients to food processor and pulse a few times until combined.
3. Pour mix into a lidded jar and you're done! Finish with twine and a festive gift tag.
4. To make into hot chocolate measure a mug of milk into a saucepan and add two heaped tablespoons of the mix. Whisk on a medium heat for 5 mins and it will become thick and smooth, ready for you to top with your favourite hot chocolate toppings!

This makes a lovely gift when given with a pretty mug and marshmallows, or how about including it in a mini hamper for chocolate lovers? You could make it even more special by having a personalised mug made to go with it, like ours (pictured above) available here.

I hope you like this gift idea! Do you make a lot of gifts at Christmas?