LIFESTYLE

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Hello there!

This will be my first Mother’s Day as a Mummy! To say I’m excited is an understatement! I never really thought I would see this day as a big deal for myself but I am really looking forward to spending the day celebrating with my Hubby and Harry.  We are planning a quiet day together going for a meal and then a long walk.

I thought I would show you a few items I have got recently which I think would be lovely ideas for Mother’s Day gifts.  So here goes:

Firstly this Emma Bridgewater mug.  How adorable is this mug and currently on offer on the website for only £14.95!  I am a huge Emma B fan and would love this mug in all the designs available! Find it here: http://www.emmabridgewater.co.uk/en/uk/icat/mugdiscount

Does your Mum love snuggling up on the sofa? How about doing it with this gorgeous pom pom throw?  This is from Matalan and is only £15! I couldn’t find it on their website but there were lots in store when I bought this one.  It’s a really good size and super soft to the touch.

Next are these personalised socks from Alphs.  This company specialises in personalised socks and have a beautiful range to choose from for Mother’s Day and lots of other occasions.  I really love these and will definitely be wearing them with pride on Sunday!  Check out the range here: https://alphs.co/collections/mothers-day   Use the code MOTHERSDAYSOCKS for 20% off their range and if you order before midday you will get free next day delivery!

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Another little personalised item which I purchased recently with the addition of my little man to our family is this cross stitch.  I love how pretty it is and how Amy (the creator) has captured us all!  Her attention to detail blew me away!  Get in touch with her now to see what she can create for you – https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MamaSewGoodGifts

I got this little necklace as a Birthday gift and it hasn’t been off my neck since!  I love the mix of both silver and rose gold and the chain is fully adjustable which means it can be worn as a choker or a longer chain.  I have hinted to Harry that I would like the matching bracelet for Mother’s Day so lets hope he produces the goods!!  You can find the necklace here: http://www.argento.co.uk/en/Olivia-Burton-Silver-and-Rose-Gold-Bow-Necklace/m-57984.aspx

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And lastly, you can’t go wrong with a picture of yourself!!  Whose Mum wouldn’t love that?!  Find these canvases here:https://www.photobox.co.uk/shop/wall-decor/canvas-prints#page=details

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If you have any other great ideas for Mother’s Day gifts please let me know!

Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing!

Jill

Collaborations, LIFESTYLE

Weaning (In collaboration with Glenisk)

Hello there!

There is nothing more my wee Harry loves eating than yogurt; so when Glenisk got in touch asking if they could send us some of their products I jumped at the chance!

Glenisk, who are best known for their award winning natural yogurts, are a local family business based just outside Tullymore. They are celebrating an amazing 30 years of business and have just launched an Absolutely No-Added sugar Organic Baby yogurt range. These yogurts are packed with calcium, protein and nutrients making them a perfect first weaning food for babies over 6 months!

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From early on in Harry’s weaning journey I introduced yogurts and they are definitely a favourite of his.  I struggled to find a yogurt in the supermarket with little or no added sugar and it is really important for me to be giving Harry the healthiest option out there.  Glenisk is the perfect solution to this struggle as it has no-added sugar, nothing artificial and is a great source of calcium. This makes it the perfect snack, or to use as part of a recipe.  The little yogurt pots are full of organic milk, organic fruit and nothing else!

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Glenisk kindly sent us a range of flavours to try; these included: natural, apple & pear, apple & strawberry and banana & peach.  Harry has sampled all of the flavours now and you can see from his face in the photo below he loved them!

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Banana and peach is a firm favourite with Harry so I will be stocking up!  They are available in Asda and Tesco NI now so super handy to pick up when doing your weekly shop!  If you would like to try a sample for free use the link here to sign up: http://glenisk.com/win/new-organic-baby-yogurts

Hope you enjoy reading, as much as I enjoy writing!

Jill

 

LIFESTYLE

Harry Potter Themed Party

Hello there!

My Sister is always super kind when it comes to special occasions, so when a close friend of hers got in contact about organising a surprise party I jumped at the chance!  The friend arranged the hire of a hot tub for the weekend, and I provided the venue and food.  I decided to go for a Harry Potter theme as my Sister is a super fan!  I searched through Pinterest a few evenings and came up with the following:

So first in the kitchen, I had a drinks table and called it ‘Snape’s Potion Class’.  I used a light box, string lights, bulb glasses and bottles under bell glasses.

I also had a sweetie table with suitcases, a cage (put a rabbit inside instead of an owl as an inside joke!!) and snacks with Harry Potter names.

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Moving onto the living room; I had an invisibility cloak stand using a frame, broomstick and some hangers.

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Then letters coming out of the fireplace, using a string of flashing lights and some a5 pieces of paper folded over and taped.

I made a Photo Booth from a large piece of card.

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I wrote on the mirror with lipstick.

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Then in the bathroom I placed a sign on the top of the toilet and wrote on the mirror.

And lastly heres the Birthday girl herself after 3 hours in the hot tub!!!

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These decorations were all created on a super tight budget and most things I already had!  It just shows you don’t need to spend a fortune when you can be creative with what you have in your home!

Let me know if you have any other great party ideas!

Hope you enjoy reading, as much as I enjoy writing!

Jill

blog, LIFESTYLE

Wrapping up Christmas as Rose Cottage

Hello there!

We are into week 3 of the run up to Christmas at Rose Cottage, which sees us wrapping up the gifts and placing them under the tree.  I love being creative with gift wrapping, trying to think of new cost effective ideas to make them look that extra bit special! Wrapping presents like these shown can be so simple to do and will sit beautifully below your tree.  I have been sharing these ideas this week over on insta stories and the response has been totally overwhelming…Seems my followers love gift wrapping as much as me!

The first gift wrapping idea I’d like to share is using brown paper bags.  These can be bought in packs of 6 from the pound shop for £1 – making them super cost effective! I have added a few extras to each bag to give them a real Christmassy feel.

On the first bag, I have folded down the top and placed a white paper doily over with a little peg to keep it in place.  I have also stamped onto the doily who the gift is to.

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The second bag also has the top folded down.  I have punched a hole in the top right hand corner, poked a berry pick through and bent it down at the back to hold it in place. The bag was then stamped with ‘Merry & Bright’.

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The third bag has a tree shape on the front which was created with a cotton bud dipped in white paint and dotted on.  I then added 2 little tree baubles onto the handle at the top.

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I punched 2 holes in the top of the forth bag between the handles and threaded a ribbon through.  A label was then added with who the gift is from.

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The second gift wrapping idea is using brown paper.  The again is so cheap to buy and can be bought in rolls found in any of the pound or discount stores.

The first brown paper wrapped present has a little car drawn onto the side with a sharpie pen.  I’ve then tied a tree onto the top with some red and white twine.

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The second has a paper doily tied onto the present and then stamped with who the present is from and to.

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The third has a tree shape put onto the front using some ribbon.  The ribbon is bent back and forward, then attached to the present using a glue gun.  I then put some cord around the gift and 2 little baubles.

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The third gift wrapping idea is using a small crate from Ikea which can be purchased here.  I have put a piece of tissue paper in to line the bottom of the crate and then my goodies on top.  Bigger items to be put at the back and smaller at the front.  If you find some of your smaller items are getting lost in the crate, then scrumple up some tissue paper and set the item on top of it.  I have then wrapped the whole crate with some cellophane by first setting it on top of the roll.  Pull the sides up to measure how much you need.  Once you have cut it to size, gather up the ends and use some string to hold together.  Then tidy up the sides, like you would a present, by using some cello tape to keep it in place.  I’ve then added a ribbon tied into a bow and a stag Christmas tree decoration on top.

I hope these ideas have given you some inspiration and I would love to hear if you have any money saving gift wrapping ideas!

Hope you enjoy reading, as much as I enjoy writing!

Jill

LIFESTYLE

Putting up the Christmas Tree at Rose Cottage

Hello there!

We are in week 2 of the preparations for Christmas at Rose Cottage and hope you’ve been enjoying the run up so far! On Wednesday we put the tree up and showed this in a time lapse video over on insta stories….if only it went up that quickly in real life!!

We have an artificial tree here at Rose Cottage; Just like I talked about in the wreath tutorial (which you can find here), I like how you can manipulate the branches better and can perfect the overall look in comparison to a real tree. I love this tree as it has different styles of branches and a light dusting of snow.

So now to share some tips with you…

Starting with the assembly of the tree. Put on one tier of your branches at a time, starting at the bottom and working your way up. Every branch on your tree must be touched and fluffed out one at a time. This will help to give your tree a fuller look. Bend the branches up at the ends from the inside out, then point in all different directions to look like a palm leaf. We really recommend you spend time on this step as it’s the most important and will affect the overall look of the finished tree.

Moving onto the lights. A lot of people hate this step, as it can be really time consuming and hard to get right! To make it easier for yourself, turn your lights on when putting them onto the tree. This will help you to see exactly where they are going and if there are any gaps needing filled. Again start from the bottom and work your way up. Go up one side of the branch and down the other, weaving in and out. We would recommend using 100 lights per foot of the tree, eg a 7 ft tree will need 700 lights. Put your lights the whole way around your tree; The lights at the back will bounce off the walls and back into the room. When you finish a roll of lights, run the wire down the centre of the tree to the bottom and then to the plug socket. This will create a neater appearance, rather than wires poking out mid tree! Place a string of flashing lights up and down the centre of your tree to draw the eye in and create depth.

Next put on your ribbon. Wrap your ribbon, one roll at a time from the top of the tree to the bottom. We have used 2 different types – tartan and hessian, just like on the wreath, to tie in with our Christmas theme. Twist the ribbon as you go round, pushing some bits in and pulling others out at intervals. Wrap some hessian ribbon around the bottom of the tree to hide your wires.

Now for your decorations and baubles. Separate your baubles into small, medium and large. Put the larger ones at the bottom and smaller ones as you go up to the top. The more plain baubles are to be used as fillers and put in towards the centre on your tree. Baubles should not be touching the branches below, instead hanging mid air. At this stage you may need to rearrange some branches as you go along. Don’t put all your decorations on at once, put a few on a time, stand back to have a good look, then put some more on until happy. If your bauble string is a bit long, wrap it around the branch a few times to make shorter.

And lastly the focal point at the top of your tree.  We love the illusion of an explosion coming out of the top, so have used some berries and pinecones on sticks poking from the top and sides of the star.  We also added some of these berries on sticks peaking out from various branches around the tree.

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And here it is finished!

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We hope you find these tips helpful in perfecting your own tree and if you have any others we would love to hear them!

Hope you enjoy reading, as much as I enjoy writing!

Jill

LIFESTYLE

Create your own artificial Christmas wreath

Hello there!

We are beginning the ‘Christmas at Rose Cottage’ run up with a simple DIY wreath. I kicked it off over on instagram this week by creating a rustic, traditional style wreath on an insta live! But incase you missed it, I have written a step by step guide below.  This wreath would be perfect for your fireplace or hung on a front door! The majority of the materials can be found in most local high street stores at this time of year but I’ll let you know where I picked mine up.

So first, here is the list of things you will need and where to find it:

50cm artificial wreath – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Premier-Artificial-Christmas-Wreath-Decoration/dp/B017R4P196/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1511465989&sr=8-4&keywords=50cm+artificial+wreath

Ribbon – https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/christmas-ribbons/christmas-ribbon—assorted/5052089202399

Bells – http://www.dunelm.com/product/pack-of-12-silver-jingle-bell-baubles-1000103945?searchTerm=bells

Cherries on sticks – Poundland

Pinecones – Scavenged and sprayed with snow spray

Cinnamon sticks – http://www.wilko.com/garlands-and-wreaths/wilko-christmas-decoration-cinnamon-bundles-6pk/invt/0401987?nst=0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2fmQ8rzV1wIVT77tCh0pIwyPEAkYBCABEgJdDvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Baubles on wire – https://www.gardenersdream.co.uk/uncategorised-c99/glass-baubles-on-shiny-wire-20mm-silver-p1827/s5911?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=kaemingk-glass-baubles-on-shiny-wire-20mm-silver-kae-710401-gd&utm_campaign=product%2Blisting%2Bads&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrtCsir3V1wIVOCjTCh1Z8AV_EAkYCCABEgKbOvD_BwE

Florist Wire – http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/oasis-silver-hobby-wire-18-cm/569661-1000?glCountry=GB&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIydXv3r3V1wIVSRDTCh3D9g41EAQYASABEgIy7vD_BwE

**Please shop about for these products and check out the pound shops and local garden centres to get the best value for money!**

So now for how to put all these together to create the wreath of dreams!

Firstly, and what I feel the most important step to creating this wreath is to ensure you pull out and separate the sections – poke the branches in all different directions as this will create a fuller , more 3D look.  This photo below is a before and after:

The second step is creating the focal point of the wreath.  You will need at least 2 different types of ribbon.  I chose tartan and hessian to tie in with the traditional style I hope to create in Rose Cottage this Christmas.  I would recommend using a wired ribbon as it will help the loops sit better.  You are going to make 2 rosettes – one large and one small.  Start by taking one roll of ribbon (around 2 metres in length) and creating a loop.  Bend a piece of florist wire around this loop and point the 2 wires in opposite directions. Continue to create more loops on top, slightly moving around with each loop in a clockwise direction. Once you have used all the ribbon – twist the wire together over all the loops and secure.

 

Then do the same with the other ribbon, ensuring one rosette is bigger than the other. (To do this, make the loops bigger on the rosette you would like at the back).

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Next secure both of these rosettes together and to the wreath using florist wire.

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Tie together 3 bells using some string and then attach to the rosette – pulling string around the back of the whole wreath.

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Insert 3 berries on sticks around your rosette – these can be attached using florist wire at the back of the wreath.

Then you can add the rest of the accessories evenly around the wreath. (I have wrapped some florist wire around the pinecones as shown in the photos).

And that is your completed wreath!  You can substitute any of the ribbons and accessories to suit your own theme – I also think this would be beautiful in silver and white.

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If you have any questions at all, please get in touch! When you create your wreath, I’d love to see it, so please use the hashtag christmasatrosecottage2017 over on Instagram.

Hope you enjoy reading, as much as I enjoy writing!

Jill