Monday, December 7, 2015

Gift ideas for book lovers

Hi guys! Have you done with your Christmas shopping yet? If you're still figuring out what to get your friends and relatives, this post might give you some ideas. Whether it's to find something sweet for the book lovers in your life, or to simply treat yourself to a little bookish goody, you'll here find some fun gift ideas that will certainly please book lovers.


To make things easier for you, I've added links to the different stores and products mentioned here. 

Please also note that this month I'm also hosting a Christmas Giveaway Hop. If you want to participate, you can click here to sign up in the hop :)

Bookish jewelry



I'm a huge fan of those, especially since you can find them for pretty cheap if you know where to look for. Ebay offers a wide range of necklaces and other jewelry inspired by popular fandoms like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Hunger Games, among others. 


Etsy stores also offer really beautiful necklaces and jewelry designed after your favorite books. Novel Reveries, which featured on my blog in a past giveaway post, makes jewelry with miniature book charms. She sells custom versions of her bracelets and necklaces, meaning you get to choose which book(s) you want her to make miniatures of. 

Links:

Bookish accessories

From scarves, to leggings, hats and dresses, there are tons of fashion accessories inspired by well loved books. My sister and I own Gryffindor and Slytherin scarves. These make great gifts for Harry Potter fans, especially in this winter season. 


The Etsy store Novel Reveries goes one step further and offers gorgeous upcycled bags which actually look like books. This Jane Eyre one has to be my favorite.

Links:

Bookmarks

Some book lovers enjoy collecting bookmarks and there is a variety of types you get to choose from if you want to give them one as a gift. The magnetic ones are among my favorites. Not only are they super cute, but they also won't fall through your book even if you put it in a bag or something. 


The metal bookmarks also make really nice gifts. They look classy and some even come with a little hole where you can add a charm to it to customize it to your liking.

Links:

Bookish candles

I don't know about you, but I just love candles. Light up one and your room instantly looks a little more magical. Etsy stores such as From The Page and blabla offer a wide range of pretty candles inspired by fictional worlds and characters. From Peeta's cakes to Christmas at Hogwarts, you're sure to find something for your bookish friends.


Links:

Gift cards

You want to give your friend a book but aren't sure that they have or haven't read? Simply give them a gift card and let them choose. You're basically giving them free reign to indulge in some extra book shopping and trust me, they'll love you for it. You can give them a gift card to either their favorite bookstore or to websites you know they like to buy books.


Links:

I hope this post has given you some ideas on what to get your bookish loved ones this year. Enjoy your Christmas shopping!

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Cover design by Of Stacks of Cups vis Pagemodo

Friday, December 4, 2015

Christmas Giveaway: Enter to win a set of Christmas themed candles!

Hi guys! So December is finally here and with Christmas soon upon us, I have a special giveaway for you today. For this giveaway I'm working with Lorie, the owner of the Etsy store Scentsational Memory


Enter today's giveaway to win a set of Christmas themed soy candles! Below you'll find the giveaway, followed by my interview with Lorie.

Please also note that this month I'm also hosting a Christmas Giveaway Hop. If you want to participate, you can click here to sign up in the hop :)

The Giveaway

The winner will get two Christmas candles including:

Christmas Cookies Scented (Santa's Favorite) 4 ounce Soy Candle




Christmas Cookies Scented Santa's Favorite Soy Candle has the aroma of freshly baked, buttery Christmas cookies with frosting. A delicious favorite of Santa's and many others as well!

Christmas Cabin Scented (Christmas Memories) 4 ounce Soy Candle




Christmas Memories Christmas Cabin Scented Soy Candle has a wonderful aroma that is a combination of bayberries, cranberries, cinnamon, and a hint of orange zest. It's a delightful holiday fragrance that helps bring back lovely memories of the holidays past and thoughts of holidays to come.


This giveaway is open to the US only and will end on the 20th of December. The winner will be email within the next 48 hours.

Interview with Lorie


Tell us a little about you.
My name is Lorie Feingold, I am 38 years old and live in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.

Tell us about your craft. 
I make hand-poured scented soy wax candles.

How did you start?
I taught myself how to make candles. I wanted to learn a craft that might enable me to work from home while I stay at home with my children. I started making candles about 2-3 years ago and learned by doing a lot of online research and experimenting.

What was the first thing you ever crafted? How was the experience like?
When I was a child I used to do latch hook rugs and make potholders with those looms with the rubber band like pieces. I always enjoyed making crafts and my mother is extremely crafty.


What is the favorite craft you’ve ever made? Can it still be found in your store?
My favorite craft is my Grandma's Yum Yum Jelly Wild Elderberry scented candle and it can be found in my Etsy shop. My Grandmother used to make the most wonderful homemade elderberry jelly which my Grandfather nicknamed "Yum Yum Jelly" and this candle brings back sweet memories.

What is your next project? Are you working on something in particular at the moment?
I am considering adding wax melts and/or tealight sample packs to my Etsy shop within the next year.

Do you have other interests apart from crafting? 
I have a fascination with the paranormal and I really enjoy baking.

What would you say to an aspiring artist or crafter who wishes to commercialize his or her creations? 
I would advise taking time to really learn about the business side of things such as keeping records and taxes.

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Wednesday, December 2, 2015

My Graduation Book Haul (11 Books!)

Hey guys! So last month, I finally graduated from the university after my three years of studies. I did a Bachelor degree in Marketing Management at the University of Mauritius. Now, there are perks to finally become a university graduate, the first of my family in my case. I'm not talking just about being able to wear a funny black hat which won't even fit your head or an awesome graduation dress. Nope, I'm talking about the shameless book haul I was able to indulge in last month with, for once, no one asking me whether I was seriously going to buy all those books. 



So today I'm going to show you all the 11 books I got for my graduation, including some I bought myself and others I got as gifts from my family. I'll include links to the Goodreads pages of all those books, so that you can read more about them if you're interested.

Please also note that this month I'm also hosting a Christmas Giveaway Hop. If you want to participate, you can click here to sign up in the hop :)

Okay let's start with the haul!

The Books I Got As Gifts



My sister got me the beautiful, illustrated edition of Harry Potter. It's been a month now since I own this book and I still can't quite believe I actually own it. I keep taking it out of my bookshelf to flip through it. I want to save it for Christmas but I'm not really sure if I'll be able to hold that long before devouring it. It's possibly my favorite book from my collection.

The next book was a gift from my parents and it's this gorgeous bind-up of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. This is in the Everyman Library edition, which is my favorite edition. I own only one so far but I did read quite a bunch of them back when I was still at uni because the library had lots of books in this edition. I don't know much about His Dark Materials other that it's a children classic with magic, witches and talking polar bears. I saw the movie they did a few years ago but other than that, I will be going into these books pretty much without not knowing a lot. I want to save this one as well for Christmas time but again, I might just read it before then. 

The Books I Bought Myself


I had previously already books 1 through 3 on my Kindle but with Winter coming out this month, I thought I would buy the books in physical format to re-read them. While Cinder, Scarlet and Cress will be re-reads for me, I will be reading Fairest for the first time. I've heard mixed things about Fairest but I love this series so I'm really excited to marathon it soon.


This edition of Peter Pan is simply stunning. It has deckle edges and one of the most beautiful cover design I've ever seen. I was so excited to read this book that I made a bookmark to use with it. I designed it myself using Peter Pan artwork I found online. 




This is the book that inspired the famous musical by the same name and it's written by an author who's quickly becoming one of my favorites. Gregory Maguire basically writes adult fairy tale retellings and his writing is both witty and very beautiful. My edition of Wicked, despite being a mass market paperback, had a surprisingly elaborated design, including an inner colored illustrated of Elphaba, the titular Wicked Witch, and... green edges! Yep, this book has green edges. How cool is that?!


I'm probably the last person in the blogsphere to get into this series, lol. I figured it was about time I picked this one up. I've heard the first book isn't the best in the series so I'm thinking of getting the other books and marathoning them instead of reading this one right away.


The Dumb House by John Burnside
This is one heck of a creepy book and yet, I found myself struggling to put it down. I read it in less than two days and really enjoyed it. I would absolutely recommend it to those who enjoy dark, creepy stories. 

Magnus Chase by Rick Riordan
This was one of my most anticipated new releases of the year and I really, really enjoyed it. I wrote a full review of it so if you want to know more about my thoughts on this book, you can click here.


Post Graduation Plans


So what are my plans now? Well, I'll be doing my Masters next year in Communication. It's still too early for me to have concrete details but basically, class should start around May next year. For the moment I'm enjoying some long awaited me time. I've got blog posts to write, places to see and books to read. Lots and lots of them. So for the moment, I'm just content with the slow and the quiet. 

Seriously though, I do need to get through all those books...




Cover Art by Of Stacks and Cups via Pagemodo
Gif found here