March Places: Pebble

An exciting new gift shop based in Rosemount, Aberdeen opened at the weekend! Since Pebble is my Mum's shop and I've been really involved in the whole process I'm doing my best not to write this as a review since it would be really biased! Instead I'll tell you a bit about the finishing touches, opening weekend and some of my favourite products in the shop. So come on in and have a look around!

The big job last week was arranging all of the stock around the eclectic mix of pastel painted vintage and upcycled displays, this took a few days and we finished with the window display on the Friday which admittedly involved no planning and a bit of panicked throwing together. The vertical Pebble branded bunting seemed like a good idea beforehand but was being assembled right up until the last minute - I think the look was worth it in the end though! Along with those last minute jobs I hadn't actually finished the Bottled Treasures stock until the Friday morning; I was determined to fill the two tiny cube shelves in time for the opening and am glad I did as they have been selling quick and getting lots of compliments (thank you). The little stationery section was my idea, not all of it handmade but I thought arty people like to buy crafty things so I helped choose some cute pens, stamps, deco tapes and sticky notes... and most have sold out already!

I could have featured all of the products in the shop but I've limited myself to 8 so this post didn't get too big:

1. Ecosse Candles: these have been so popular, my favourites are Sweet Pea and Evening Rain (which might have sold out actually) but I'll be waiting for the next delivery to get my own. 2. Collage Etage: gorgeous brooches and embellished heart frames. I've already got a few of these quirky pieces! 3. Bosie Boutique: silver stacking rings, my Mum makes these but they are really beautifully shown off in the illuminated cabinet in gorgeous colour groups. 4. Bellwood Bears & Nikki McWilliams: These bears have the cutest faces, they're just begging to be given a new home. The cushions are catching passer-byes eyes in the window display. I'm a fan already with my lilac party ring cushion being displayed proudly on the sofa at home. 5. Freda Shelton: pretty yet practical socks, I have a pair of the rainbow ones in the middle - so cosy 6. Doodlestuff's Doodlepins: I bought one of these at Christmas and was very excited to find we'd be stocking them in the shop. Such funky colours and creatures. 7. Studio 34: Northern Lights tealight holders, they light up in such a magical way and come in a set of 4 so you don't have the impossible task of choosing! 8. Ginger Pickle: adorable wooden animal earrings, brooches, necklaces and hair slides. These have been really popular already - you can see why!

This has still turned into a bit of a giant post but it's all too exciting! We spent the weekend serving lots of happy customers and hearing wonderfully positive comments about the shop while living on cake, sweets and tea. It's no surprise that I came home and fell asleep at 5pm yesterday - oops...

Finally, I've just published the temporary website for Pebble today. In future the plan is to replace it with an online shop, in the meantime it's just a simple place to have a look around the shop and find out a bit about it. Hope you like it!

www.pebbleshop.co.uk

February: Gift List

It was my 22nd birthday on Thursday and I thought it would be nice to share some of the presents I was lucky enough to receive. I had a nice quiet day off which is a proper treat these days! Me and David went out for lunch and some shopping then had a family evening in with takeaway pizza and red velvet cupcakes - they were amazing, from Cake in Aberdeen. David got us tickets for Singin' in the Rain which is in Edinburgh in March (exciting!!) and I've got birthday money from my parents to pay for some driving lessons with. I also got a cake pop machine from David's parents (which I'll blog about once I've used it) and some other nice things which I've not photographed.

1. Lots of pretty cards. 2. The great thing about having a birthday near Valentine's day is I get lots of cute heart things like this pink heart version of connect 4, heart globe frame and heart cutting board from my sister Amy and her boyfriend Sam. 3. I got some lovely kitcheny things for my future cottage from my Uncle, Auntie and cousins - I chose these from Dotcomgiftshop. 4. Gorgeous vintage style pocket mirror and slate heart chalk board from David's sister Emma and family. 5. David also got me this adorable set of Rob Ryan mugs which have a wee poem and illustration that is completed when the two are together - aww! 6. I bought some Teapigs Tea with my birthday money from my Nanny and Grandad (also bought a dress but I'm saving that for another post) I can't decide if I prefer the chocolate flake or creme caramel, they're both so yummy. 7. My Mum and Dad got me a couple of little things so I'd have something to open (since driving lessons aren't that exciting) and these little hanging birdies from Cloudy Blue are so sweet. I hung one from my floral globe light shade and it goes perfect... apart from Daisy dog thinks it's a toy and keeps jumping up at it. Oops! 8. Finally, these are the delicious red velvet cupcakes from Cake

Thanks everyone! I'd also like to say thank you for all the kind birthday messages, it was such a nice surprise to have so many from Bottled Treasures customers too.
  

February DIY: Jewellery Cabinet (part 2)

Earlier this month my jewellery collection filled the best part of a built in cupboard and about 6 boxes that sat on the mantlepiece. As I'm moving later in the year I decided now is the time to downsize, I can only keep what I fit in this upcycled cabinet! After drilling in the screws for the adorable rose handles I got to work trying to sort through the masses of jewellery. In the end I have necklaces in the side sections - the hooks came on the cabinet already. Sentimental and precious jewellery is in the bottom, one drawer for earrings (stored in a compartment box from Home Bargains, the lid cut off) with a few of my favourite nail varnishes in the back, one for hair accessories and the top part for brooches, rings and pendants. Now it’s like browsing a shop when I decide what jewellery to wear in the morning and I can actually see everything at a glance! This is definitely encouraging me to wear different jewellery so I'll be sharing more accessories posts soon.