#Blogmas 2: Wrapping up for Christmas

 As Christmas approaching we are all rushing out to the shops to buy our friends and loved ones presents in the hope they are going to love them and have the best day full of laughter and happiness. One thing a lot of people forget is the wrapping of the gifts. Frantically searching in WHSmith and the like to find bargain wrapping paper in any assortment of colours and patterns, just to make sure your presents are kept a surprise for the big day.

 Now I'm an odd ball when it comes to this as wrapping is a big thing for me. I'm a designer, so of course I'm going to take pride in the design of the wrapping of the present as I feel it is just as important as having a wonderful gift on the inside. I'm a little bit of a control freak I know, I'm working on it.

Now this year I have gone for a different look to my presents! I was going to do the whole brown paper thing as I found some great double sided rolls in IKEA but on my second trip to the store in two weeks I found all these beauties. Paper, tags and ribbons all in gorgeous pastel hues with hints of copper! Its a Pinterest lovers dream and not too expensive either.

I LOVE how it all comes together with accents of different colours. All ice cold and wintery with a Swedish twist on them. The rolls of paper also came with a similar monochrome pattern too so that will be for the boys of the family.

 I then saw some mini glass baubles in Paperchase and decided they would go perfect with my theme. Perfectly complimenting the colours of the papers and tags where that touch of Christmas is needed. I think the whole styling of my wrapping this year has really come together and I couldn't be happier. Keep an eye on my social media for the final display of all the presents once they are wrapped. I can't remember where the heart pegs were from but I have a feeling I found them also in Paperchase last year.

I hope you have enjoyed day two of Blogmas and to see how I will be wrapping my presents this year. If you want to get your hands on any of this I would suggest going to the stores to buy it as there is always a lot more to offer than the websites at this time of year.

I will be putting together a Pinterest board here of some more inspiration for you incase this style isn't for you. Enjoy wrapping! It can be really fun and satisfying when the person receiving the gift is just as excited about it as you are.

Leave any comments below of things you would like to see this Blogmas
Love Khrissie xx

Blogmas Gift Idea: The Book of Everyone

Hello there lovely ladies and gents!

Today I have another wonderful festive christmas idea to help you impress your loved ones. Now this is one of my favourites so far as I think its so perfect for your parents or grandparents. as it acts like a little memoir of your life, as it displays information on what films were out, the price of bread and milk and what song was number one in the year you were born. It is a great celebration of you and where you came from and just to add to this amazing gift, you can customise some of the pages with your own quotes and pictures to make it that extra bit special.

The Book of Everyone* 

I got my Grandad (I call him Gramps) one as a christmas present as I know he will love something like this. I also found it really interesting, seeing a little peak into the 1940s and what was happening then and the kind of songs and films that were popular at that time and how it has changed since. All the pages have been illustrated by artists so each of the pages are different from each other which adds all the little details that make up this wonderful book.

This book comes in at a range of prices to suit all budgets from Digital (£7.50) to Paperback (£19.50), Hardback (£29.50) and Deluxe (£49.50). I chose the paperback version as I thought the price point was perfect for a Christmas gift. The pages are printed on wonderful matt paper with gorgeous zingy colours and stylish design to boot. It doesn't take long to personalise and can be printed and sent within a week. Once more some of the costs of the book actually goes to the charity AgeUK which makes it even more worthwhile.

I really enjoyed personalising all the pages to make it special for my Gramps, adding in pictures of me and the family to add those magic touches. I can't wait for him to open it on Christmas day and see his face when he reads through it. Make sure you get yours now and makes someones christmas extra special. They are personally printed just for you so it will be something to treasure forever!

Here are just a few of some of the pages you can expect in the book and they get even better, I just didn't want to spoil the surprises of how wonderful it is. I can assure you it will definitely not disappoint when you receive it in the post and wrap it up in cute wrapping paper and ribbon.

I hope you enjoyed another festive post, if you can't already tell, I'm all about Christmas this year and more festive treats are going to come! If you want any festive wrapping ideas I can show you how I have done mine this year as I personally think they are looking super cute!

Have a wonderful Friday tomorrow and an amazing weekend!
Love Khrissie x

Baking | Graveyard Cupcakes

Halloween is only a few days away so why not bake some tasty treats for your friends and family, or even yourself if your feeling a bit peckish. I wanted to create something which was super quick and easy where you didn't need too many ingredients. I have for you some halloween haunted graveyards.

You will need: 1 pack of chocolate cupcake mix / 1 Egg / 125g Butter / Pack of Oreos / A pack of icing pens / Halloween sprinkles / Piping bag or knife

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees
Sift the chocolate mix into a large bowl to get rid of any lumps

 Step 2: Add in one egg and 2 tablespoons of water

Step 3: Once mixed well, pour into the cupcakes cases and place in the centre of the oven between 10-15 minutes until bouncy to the touch.

Step 4: While the cakes are in the oven mix the icing sugar together with the butter until a smooth and creamy consistency is formed. Melt the chocolate chunks in a pan of hot water (leaving the chunks the bag) then add to the mixture and stir well.

Step 5: Get the cakes out the oven and allow to completely cool. Once cooled you can top them with the icing. Dont worry about it looking too neat as the chocolate is acting as mud for our graveyard.

Step 6: Take an Oreo and cut of the sides to look like a gravestone. The Oreos will crack but that all adds to the effect of an old weathered gravestone. Then place into the centre of the cupcake.

Step 7: To make the gravestone look a little more realistic, use some green icing pens to create some grass around the base.

Step 8: If you have some green sprinkles or some bats or ghosts add these around the graveyard too. This adds some texture to the cake as well as some spooky atmosphere (I got mine from Lidl) & there you have it, a spooky graveyard cupcake. I think it works well as it has received good feedback from the people eating them.

Step 9: For some spooky extras you can crumble the Oreos to look like soil, add blood (red icing) to the tops of the gravestones or even make eyes, using some white buttons for the whites of the eyes.
This would make for a great centrepiece at a halloween party.

I hope you have enjoyed this simple and quick recipe for Halloween.
Do let me know if you have a go yourself or if you create your own recipes.

Happy Halloween!
Love Khrissie x