I'm on a mission to buy all handmade for gifts this holidays.

My main source of inspiration as ever is Etsy. Throughout the year I have marked a lot of gorgeous things that I have had my eye on for gifts and now I've started purchasing.

It's such fun!

As an Etsy seller, I know the thrill of selling handmade as I am aware that most customers are looking for something a little different and special, so it is always where I head to when I am looking for something a little different and special.

As an extended family we have 15 nieces and nephews and as a consequence we have a £15 limit, which makes selecting even more fun. We also stick to gifts just for the children.

So here's what I have found so far...

Pretty gold necklaces for the teenage girls (I'm quite eager to get one of these for me too...) from the immensely talented Cindy of Edor Jewellery.

The teenage fellas are all getting a pair of cufflinks from Zinc White. I first met Paul and Lidia at Saltaire Fair and I love their quirky jewellery, particularly these Initial Cufflinks. I have bought a lot of these for gifts over the months since i met them!

The pre-teen girls are all getting a goodie box of one of my notebooks, pencil pouches and a brooch similar to this one below by Elizabeth Pawle.

I'm ear-marking one of these for me too ;-)

The challenging remaining is the pre-teen boys...I'm really stuck on this one so if you have any bright ideas and can point me in the right direction, I'd be really grateful. I'm determined to succeed in getting everyone a handmade gift this year.

I think I've done pretty darn well and hopefully the recipients will be equally delighted. There really is an amazing selection of handmade gifts out there, so I open up the challenge to you...

Can you do a handmade gift list?

Swimming against the tide

I guess we are all doing alot of this at the moment. Swimming against the tide. Getting busy for craft fairs. Increase in sales as people get ready for Christmas. And still the same amount of laundry, cooking, cleaning (we'll forget about that one). I don't want to turn this into a moany post - just wanted to explain my absence.

In the meantime I'd love to show you the final pre-Christmas arrivals that are all now available at Blueberry Park. It's been lots of fun sorting everything out and getting it all ready.

Firstly there's the exquisite Make and Do Cards from Lucy Jane Batchelor. Her illustrations are just irresistibly stunning. I could have stocked them all, but after much deliberating have settled on the Advent Calendar (a few left), Christmas Decorations, super cute Miniture Dolls' House, Tooth Fairy Envelope and Love Tokens.

Next in was the truely sumptuous Catherine Tough Lambswool Bed Socks. I could honestly live in these and never leave the house again! I want one in every colour. And a couple of manly ones that I think will go down well.

More for the men with fab cufflinks from Steph Jones. She does so many fantastic designs that it was hard to whittle the choice down. but hopefully we've got something for everyone here.

I've had these great leather brooches from Magpie and Me for a while and keep oohing and ahhing over them and I'm finally ready to share them with the world! The leather is so soft and tactile and they come in a range of striking colours.

Last, but by no means least I have my office smelling devine thanks to these Bath Melts by Purple Sparkle Craft. Utterly dreamy.

So that's one reason I've been away for a while. And I'm still ploughing through the Christmas Card orders, so there are piles of these everywhere!

I hope you are all well whatever you are busy with and managing to avoid those mega big waves.