Falkland Midsummer Festival

You may have already seen on our social media that myself and David are involved in the Falkland Festival this year. We decided to join the committee after seeing a plea for new members to save the festival earlier in the year. Neither of us has been to the festival before but it would have been such a shame to see something that's been running for years end for lack of support. 

The festival is a week of events and family fun running from 14th - 21st June. This year things will be a bit different as the committee is mostly made up of new members. We're trying to refresh the event's image so I've been responsible for the rebrand and website design. I'm also going to be writing some posts on the festival blog and helping run the social media accounts. Finally, we have given it a new name: the Falkland Midsummer Festival.

We're meeting regularly at the moment as we try to get to grips with confirming the programme. There's a lot to learn about with everything involved in making the festival happen and hopefully a big success. It looks like we'll need quite a bit of help during the events, so if you're nearby we're looking for volunteers. There's also still time to apply for a stall at the street fair and we're currently looking for raffle donations. Let me know if you'd like to get involved in any way!

Getting Organised Part 2

This week our Getting Organised series looks at home organisers. I'm sure lots of you are like us and come January want to get back into eating better. I find my worst habit is waiting until I'm hungry then deciding what to eat - usually something lazy and unhealthy so meal planning is a must for me! This rainbow planner features our new fruit and veg print in the background and has boxes for 3 meals a day 7 days a week and you can download it for free here or below - yay! Planning every meal every day might be a bit over the top but it's nice to have the option for when you want to with this planner. You may have also noticed the cute matching magnets in the photo above, these are brand new to our web shop and available here (also available in 'what's for tea?' and 'what's for supper?').

As well as planning meals we've gone and made ourselves a chore list. I know this sounds incredibly dull but for me having it pinned to the kitchen noticeboard makes trying to remember to clean one less thing to think about. It helps that it's in pastel colours with a touch of polkadot! I found lots of these on Pinterest with plenty designed to involve children but none right for us. It's a bit different since it's a pre-filled organiser but hopefully it will be useful as a starting point if anyone else is interested. You can download this here or below.

Next week is the last in our Getting Organised series (for now) and will look at organisation in the studio!

I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas

gingerbread house ornament - Asda

making decorations - sprinkle baubles, fimo candy canes and button garlands

finished with sparkles and ribbon!

handmade sprinkle bauble on the tree

ice cream bauble - Maisons du Monde

Gingerbread decoration - Miss Daisy Gifts

cupcake bauble - Maisons du Monde

snowman decoration - Fayre Earth Gift Shop

sweetie decoration - Maisons du Monde

pastel button book tree - Macbelles

candle - Pebble / vintage plate - Rural Reads & Threads

We have our first proper Christmas tree up! I'm so excited because I've been collecting things for months and had decided a while back that I wanted to go for a 'winter wonderland/sugarplum fairy' theme with lots of snow, pink, pastels and cute sweetie decorations. We got our snowy tree from Asda and a selection of cheap tinsels, bead strings and simple baubles from there too as well as B&M. We didn't have a big budget for Christmas decorations so doing that for the basics meant we could buy more special decorations from local shops and on holiday. We got lots in Maisons du Monde in Nice which go so perfectly and of course we finished the tree off with some handmade bits and pieces! I have to admit that I didn't stop at the living room and there is lots more in the house including our homemade advent calendars in the hall along with a mini tree, snowy lights in the windows and some other cute things but I've decided to split this post in two as I took way too many photos! Here is the end result...

Falkland Christmas Shopping Days

Fayre Earth looking beautiful and cosy

Cobbles outside The Covenanter

Twinkling lights outside The Rowan Tree

Fife Makers Craft Fair

Pretty soaps from Willow & Plum Soap Co.

Delicious cake pops and other sweet treats from Cupcake Planet

Campbell's looking cosy

The sparkling Miss Daisy Gifts

On Wednesday we went to our first Christmas Shopping Day in Falkland! This is when all the shops stay open late until 10pm with 10% discount and festive refreshments. It's such a lovely atmosphere and so magical in the evening with all the Christmas lights and decorations. Even the pubs had specials too so you can stop for yummy food and Christmas cocktails for a break from shopping! We didn't get a chance to see everything this Wednesday as we were working on orders until late then I was helping out at Miss Daisy Gifts which was a lot of fun. We did manage to take a few photos and pop into the Fife Makers craft fair in the town hall where we picked up a few (secret for now) stocking fillers. The good news is it's all happening again on the 26th November and 3rd December!

In the Village: Miss Daisy Gifts

As well as our home tour posts we thought it would be nice to feature some of the other lovely things in and around Falkland on the blog. We're starting off with Miss Daisy Gifts, one of the village's newest shops but also our newest stockist! They actually opened the same day we moved here. Miss Daisy Gifts sells a wonderful selection of handmade goodies along with shabby chic accessories, vintage style dresses and shoes, yummy candles and crafty bits. Debbie also runs workshops with some great Christmas ones coming up and Miss Daisy Gifts will be taking part in the Falkland Christmas shopping evenings with wine, nibbles and 10% discount from 10am-10pm on 19th & 26th November and 3rd December. Can't wait!

Our Home: Studio Tour

rainbow clouds bunting: Nyla Rose

teapot: charity shop // cloud cushion: Oh No Rachio // heart garland: Fayre Earth

hanging birds: Cloudy Blue

pink cube shelves: Ikea // pink heart chair: Argos // pink desk lamp: B&Q

dream big: Stacie Swift // purple heart tree: Snappy Crocodile // purple make today marvellous & rainbow heart tree: Holmes Made // she believed canvas: Kim Anderson // purple stag: By Charlie's Hand // Storm in a Teacup: Lazylinepainterbelle

trolley: Ikea // pink painted drawers: Peapod

scalloped shelves: B&M // cat plate: Winnie Shek

ceramic welly boot: Sarah Coonan

biscuit cushion: Pebble by Nikki McWilliams // polkadot wall stickers: Wall Dressed Up // paper circles garland: Scout & Acadia  

Welcome to the JillyJilly studio! This is where we design, print, make and package all of our products. I really wanted it to be a light and colourful space with fun details and lots of organisation. I think we managed to achieve this, especially thanks to the built in cupboard which hides a multitude of sins. You'll notice some bulky black sublimation equipment lurking on David's desk (unfortunately they don't make this in pink...), this is one of his main jobs and now that we have separate working areas it makes it much easier.

Before we moved into the cottage our studio was a corner of the living room with storage spread across the house - sublimation equipment was in my Mum's office and packaging stored under the bed! Because of this, storage was such an important factor when working out how to use the space. We have places for ready made stock, printing materials, jewellery findings, glitter (we have over 30 colours!), illustration supplies, gift wrapping, product packaging, postal packaging, printers, paperwork, event stuff and equipment. Phew! I'll admit we do have a small shed and another cube unit in the hallway as there was just no way to fit everything in one room!

One of my favourite things about the studio is having a gift wrapping station. It's so great having it ready at all times to wrap up orders all pretty and makes one of my favourite jobs even more fun. I also love my desk which is surrounded by inspirational artworks with beautiful colours, patterns and words to brighten up my day. Hope you enjoyed the tour!