Shop Independent this Christmas

There are SO many benefits from shopping independently! Mainly you get a unique, lovingly made product and you support those amazing, creative, hard working people, directly. No chain store to take their 99%! If you choose a local independent store your money goes right back into your community. Which is pretty amazing! 

I've put together a must-visit list of some of my favourite independent shops to help you start your search for the perfect gift. I would really really love it if you dropped me a link of you favourites shops too!

Accid Wosh has some seriously beautiful tie-dye bits that your family and friends will seriously love. I'm a big fan of candles and these tie die candles are up there with the best. People seem to think that socks are crappy gifts, they're wrong! Socks are really really great gifts, especially those that are acid washed!

Mmmm... Guacamole. If you're looking for some awesome stocking fillers, check out Cous Cous Bang Bang. I'm a huge fan of a tote bag, and I absolutely love their Sex, Drugs & Guacamole design (even the colour!!). I'll be getting myself one of these real soooon. Also, Flat White?! So good!

Got a little person in your life? Then give Lemon and Magnolia a look. Her bloomers kill me, I've bought a pair for a little dude in my life already and they are the cutest. They're all stitched by one seriously talented lady who uses some of THE best fabric I've ever seen. The hardest thing is choosing.

For the writer in the family get over to Aubergine Fox. Their dipped twig pencils are amazing, I would love a set of those! And they have a super good selection of notebooks which pair together with the pencils beautifully. You can never have enough notebooks in my eyes.

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Stay Inspired.

I have always been quite a creative person so over the years I have had my fair share of blank moments. I thought it'd be fun (even, helpful?) to share with you my own personal tried and tested methods on how to get over, and avoid, creative block. I work my way through these steps (in no particular order) whenever I can't seem to get anywhere with a blog post idea. This also relates to finalising new projects and craft ideas.

Get up, move! - You've got a concept in your head, you've been sitting staring at your screen for an hour now and no words are coming. Stop refreshing twitter. Get outside! Go for a 20 minute walk. There is so much you could see on your travels that might start a different thought pattern. A change of scenery will make the world of difference. I love moving my work to a cafe. I take my laptop along, get a coffee and start again. It really works for me.

Write it down - I'm sorry if this one seems obvious, but I think its a great tool when you're looking for fresh creative inspiration. Start by making two lists of things you love, then mix and matching them together to make completely new combinations. Many new projects and DIY ideas have come to me this way. I sometimes have to remind myself it's an amazingly effective way to build on ideas. You can brainstorm too; write one idea in the centre of your page and build outwards with whatever comes into your head.

Notebooks at the ready -  My day job is pretty busy, through the day I might have ideas spinning around my head but I don't have much time to work on them. So, I always have a notepad handy which I use specifically for scribbling or sketching down ideas. I come back to these ideas later, expand and explore! It's great to look back at even older ideas I didn't work more on at the time, for whatever reason. I also love using my phone to snap things I see in magazines or screen-cap websites. Tiny reminders of little things I love that could inspire a new project.

Forget about it! - Even if after all of the above I just can't think of anything much past a cup of coffee, it is time to forget about it. At least for now. Sometimes the best ideas sprout up when my head is empty. There is a good chance the pressure I'm putting on myself is the reason I'm struggling. Time to take a bath and watch some crap TV (Teen Mom anyone?). We'll try again tomorrow.

Finally, if I've come back the next day and I still have nothing, or what I have sounds crappy. It's time to ask some questions, is this idea really working for me? Sometimes an idea which had me super excited just fizzles out. Run the idea past an honest friend, what do they think? If you're forcing yourself to write about a subject, it comes across as forced to the reader. Maybe the idea isn't right, right now. Sideline it for another time.

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Remember, these tips relate to me writing here, but they can be tweaked to fit with whatever is happening in your own life! That could be planning a fun trip away, hand-making a gift or baking a pie! I would really love to hear what you tackle inspiration block. Or maybe you're lucky enough to never have had this problem, in that case, let me know your secrets!