OK, so it’s all relative… but to me, yes, 10,000 is a lot.  It’s a significant number to me today.

Time for a celebration perhaps?

balloons

Maybe a little dance?

dance

Maybe even a little cake?

cake

Oh, go on then, a little drink too…

glass of wine

And some music…

And the reason for all this talk of celebration?

No it’s not my birthday!  (What, 10,000???)

Ten thousand (yes ten thousand!) people since July have clicked onto this li’l ol’ blog of mine.  Now, to some of those huge blogs out there, 10,000 readers may be something they achieve in a week or two - or even just one day, perhaps.

But 10,000 readers is a bit of an achievement for me.  Wow.  it boggles my mind if I think about it too long.

I wonder if any of them hung around long enough to read anything?

computer reading

If you hung around long enough to read anything (including to the end of this post!!), this is for you:

thank you cake

Thank you so very much. 

And if you bought something from my website www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk as well as reading, please feel free to take an extra slice of cake while I pour you a drink.

But for everyone, no matter how many of my ramblings they’ve read or not read, I am celebrating with a very special offer!

picture frame special offer

Hand painted personalised photo frames, with hearts or stars and your choice of wording, are just £4.50 (UK P&P is just £1.20 - different P&P charges apply for multiple orders, see website for details, email for quotes elsewhere in the world: wendy@1stuniquegifts.co.uk ) until the end of February.

Click here for this very special offer: http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/special%20offerphotoframe.html

The frames measure approx 7″ x 5″ and have a photo area of approx 6″ x4″ (18cm x 10cm) so they’ll accommodate a standard size photo.  They’re made of wood, hand painted and hand lettered, have an acrylic glazing (so are safe for children and lightweight, a consideration if you’re posting as a gift), and a standard card backing to make them either free-standing or wall-hanging.

Only available until the end of February at this special offer price!

When we moved into this house in March 2009, we knew we had our work cut out.  The house hadn’t been lived in for over two years and had been more than a little neglected even before then.

The garden had obviously been very loved at one time: two greenhouses, cold frames, compost heaps and several fruit trees were all evidence of a keen gardener having loved and nurtured this space.

These photos tell the sad story of how long the garden hadn’t been tended though:

conifer growing in a cold frame

The above pic shows a conifer growing out of a polystyrene planter inside a cold frame - not its intended final position, I’m sure, but it desperately needs felling now.

conifer by greenhouses

The conifer is growing right next to two greenhouses - you get an idea of how tall it is in the above picture: you can just see the tops of the greenhouses.  And this is looking right up into the same tree:

looking up into the conifer

And looking to the right of the greenhouses, in the photo below, you can see there’s a real problem getting sun to the garden:

sun through the trees

But this little fellow kept me company in the garden today

robin

Here he is again:

robin redbreast

The garden is going to be an ongoing project for quite some time yet…but that’s what gardens are like anyway, isn’t it?

I am deteremined that all the wood chopped down will be used in some way.  I’ve already made raised beds from some of it and someone on Freegle has taken a car load for their woodburner.  I do plan to (eventually) have a woodburner in my studio, so will be saving a large amount for that.

If anyone out there would like to take some of my chopped-down trees for creative purposes (woodturning, whatever), they would be more than welcome.  Email wendy@1stuniquegifts.co.uk if you are within striking distance of Warrington (you’d need to collect) and would like more info.

If, like me, you get migraines, you’ll know that many things can make them worse but sometimes you come across something which can help a little bit.  When that something is drug-free, so much the better.

Ginger is something which is supposed to make a big difference.  Ginger ale helps.  But if you’d like some ginger ale with a bit more of the ginger “kick” to it, try this recipe.  You’ll need an electric juicer to get the ginger juice from the fresh ginger first:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/dining/201grex.html?_r=2

Very yummy as well as very good for the old head.  If you have an electric juicer, fresh root ginger works really well with other juices - I love it with carrot and apple. 

One of my other favourite migraine helpers is the humble Uncle Joe’s Mintball- a rep from the company told me it’s because of the pure peppermint oil they use in the sweets. 

Suffice to say, I keep a small collection of  ”Emergency Uncle Joes” in my handbag.  Better than any painkiller, they help keep me vaguely functional and clear some of the pain and fuzziness in my head.  And the mention of my Emergency Uncle Joes always raises a chuckle amongst friends and family.  It’s a useful remedy which usually helps to get me home safely if a migraine starts when I’m away from home.

I was really surprised to discover from the Uncle Joe’s website www.uncle-joes.com that this sweet is not more universally known.  Apparently, it’s a bit of a rarity outside our little bit of north west England, having its roots in the lovely down-to-earth town of Wigan.

Uncle Joes mintballs

Not wishing to brag or anything but I think this new creation may well be in the running for the title of world’s cutest chalkboard!  I love it.

tiny and cute chalkboard

It is teeny tiny, measuring approx 11cm x 11cm.  It may be small but it’s perfectly formed, even incorporating an integral wire chalkholder!  The wire on this one is teal coloured, but I’ll make them with different colours too.

I’m going to experiment later with magnets and sticky pads on the back and I will be offering them for sale with both on the back.  They’d be great little fridge magnets - pretty and practical!

Chalkboards at 1st Unique Gifts are all hand painted and we’re gearing up to keeping them in stock most of the time which means we can usually post them out on the same day we receive an order if the order is received by us before 12 noon.  The tiny chalkboard will be on the website to buy in a few days.  Watch this space!

When you are invited to a Christening, or are buying for a new baby, it’s always nice to buy a gift which is special, unique and memorable.  Something a bit different.  If you are the Godparents or Grandparents, it’s even more important to get it right.  No pressure then!!

stork and baby painting

For a special Christening gift which stands out from the rest, have a look at our totally unique stork painting.  It comes in three different sizes - and therefore a price to suit every budget.  The impressive 14″ x 14″ deep-profile canvas is £29.99 - amazing value considering each canvas is hand-painted here in Cheshire, is hand-lettered to your requirements and you can even specify colours or have a message added.  The neutral colourway is most definitely the most popular and is usually in stock, which means it can be posted out next day. 

The 10″ x 10″ canvas, at just £19.99, is the most popular size and the neutral cream is usually in stock.  If you want a smaller gift, the 6″ x 6″ canvas is just £14.99.  Amazing value for something hand-painted and hand-lettered.  A very special gift for a very special baby… or babies!!!  Because our stork is hand-painted, we can paint you a stork with twins or even triplets at no extra cost!!  (We don’t usually have twins and triplet paintings in stock, but we’ll do what we can to ensure you’re not waiting too long).

To buy your very own stork canvas, go to: http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/newbornandchristeninggifts.html

If you’d like to see a stork painting in person, we usually have them with us at fairs and markets.  Please check out our events page to see if we’ll be anywhere near you soon.  Our storks always provide the wow factor on the 1st Unique Gifts stall but there are always lots more gift ideas to look at too! 

A lot of people order the painted individual letters at the same time as their stork canvas.  The letters are a shabby-chic design (hand painted on the front and lightly sanded back to reveal some of the mdf wood) in your choice of colour (or colours) with a faux stitched-effect around the edges of each letter. 

letters in pale blue

The neutral colour is always popular:

Alfie in natural cream colour

 They are here: http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/Individualletternamecanvases.html

If you’re looking for something just as unique but smaller, you could order a door or wall plaque with the wording of your choice:

cute little door plaque

doorplaques are here: http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/doorplaques.html

If you are going to a Christening any time soon, do have a wonderful time and enjoy your cuddle with the star of the show!  If you’re ordering one of our gifts for a specific date, be sure to let us know the date you need the gift for - we can work to most deadlines!

I really would’ve thought the weather was a bit too cold for animals to be getting the nest-building urge.  Or perhaps our rabbit is just getting ahead of the game.

We always thought she was a he.  It appears not. His/her behaviour is much more in keeping with the female of the species, as these nest-building pics show:

just let me gather some of this straw

and run round the hutch like a mad bunny

is this enough straw do you think

and do you think I look very cute

or just a bit silly perhaps

.

She spent a long time with that straw in her mouth then didn’t quite know what to do when her food bowl was replenished.  Quite funny watching a rabbit trying to eat with a mouth full of straw then working out what she had to do to get food!

.

.

Edit: silly me.  Didn’t think I had any nest-related makes to show you but I’ve found one - obvious and current, too, as it’d make a great little Valentine’e Day gift:

the love nest door or wall plaque

.

As usual, it can be personalised with additional or alternative wording and is available to buy here http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/hangingplaques.html for the very reasonable sum of £6.99 + P&P

…

Desperately needing more shelving for storage, it was time for a trip to…

ikea

Where else?

Their Gorm shelving is superb.  Basic, I grant you, but superb all the same.

Ikea Gorm

Super duper easy to put together (even on your own)

building the shelves

and super duper sturdy, it’s taking over at 1st Unique Gifts.  It surrounds me in the studio - I use it for storing blank wood and canvases, for drying items, for overspill storage, and for finished items too.

drying off

So I spent much of yesterday building some more Ikea Gorm shelves.  I ended up with cold feet (concrete garage floor, icy temperature outside) and an aching back but it was worth it.  They just need screwing to the wall then, magically, storage chaos will be banished.  Hmmm…a girl can hope, can’t she?

waiting to be filled

My new shelves will house stock items in the garage which adjoins the studio.  I store stock in the garage because then it’s just one (or thereabouts!) swift easy movement to take it off on its travels to markets and craft fairs. 

Ikea is one of those places you either love or hate.  I think perhaps it’s possible to have both feelings for it at the same time.  Loving the stuff (and the prices), hating the queues, the vast warehouses (especially when they are out of stock of that one item you need) and the endless walking around following the arrows, which you’ll no doubt recognise from this map of the place:

ikea map

For those on a total downer about the place, you may just love this little link.  Very funny and highly recommended.  The Lancashire Hotpots sing: Why I Fear Ikea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNcaaehKaC8&feature=related

Do you love it or hate it?  Or both?

I’ve finally worked out most of the events we’ll be at in 2010.  It’s been quite a time-consuming job!

If you’re interested in seeing our range in person, have a look here: www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/events - the link is at the top of the page too if you need it in the future.  I try to put a postcode for each event for your satnav as well as the organiser’s name so you can find out more if you’re interested.  If there isn’t a postcode yet, there will be one there before the date of the event.

All the events I book are well worth visiting for various reasons and not just because of the wide range of truly gorgeous handmade items.  A lot of them are more than just craft fairs - a family day out with lots of attractions.  Hope to see you at one of them this year.  Please say hello if you recognise me or my goodies!

my stall at a craft market

Just as she gets her head round eating fruit instead of cake…

watermelon

NOOOOO!!!!  Please don’t do this to me.  I’ve just bought a huge watermelon for God’s sake!!!

I have found this recipe for cake in a mug - in under 5 minutes!  How is this possible?  How long can I go without feeling the urge to make it?  And then how long would I last without eating it? 

I found it here:  http://www.nottinghamcraftmafia.com/2010/01/food-to-make-you-go-nom/

And here it is:

microwave cake

I’m so, so sorry if you too have just got your head around eating fruit instead of cake.

I was really pleased and, ok, a bit chuffed to be asked to take part in an interview on a fellow crafter’s blog.  I thought Laura’s questions were really interesting and she certainly had me thinking about stuff!

If you want to see a bit of what makes me tick and why I do what I do, hop over to: http://eljay1980.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/featured-crafter-1st-unique-crafts/ 

Thanks so much Laura for thinking about me for your feature!