Wonderbly Christmas 2024 gift guide + a discount code (25% off & free standard shipping!)

Hi Everyone,

I am terribly sorry for not writing much over the last long while, but it would appear that my "short" break from crafting has turned into a slightly longer one... I will still make cards, and blog/Instagram about them, but I will probably need another few months before I get back to it. 

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In the meantime, I wanted to pop over - like I do every year - and share some Wonderbly book reviews with you. If you would like to see my previous years' gift guides, please pop over here & here. 

This year, we'll focus on 2 new-ish options that Wonderbly has to offer. They have come up with lots of fantastic new ranges, and I hope to write about them in the months to come, as I discover them one by one :o)

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Option 1 - for journaling lovers: Your Self-Care Journal for the year ahead

I will be very honest with you - I am not a huge fan of journaling myself, but if you are or know someone who is - this would be a fantastic option! 

I love the format of the journal - the spiral spine allows for the pages to be fully flat thus making it easier to use. Additionally, you can decide when the journal & its calendar should commence, hence if you're planning to gift it to someone later in the year (e.g. not for Christmas, but for a summer birthday) - they will get to enjoy their journal as well as the calendar part for all the months ahead. 

The journal is created using its recipient's date of birth, and is meant to help with goal setting, self-discovery, visualisations, reflection & habit-tracking. It's also filled with artwork/colouring & doodling pages (which are personalised, of course), motivational prompts & quotes, and some facts around its recipient's astrological character traits, sun sign, etc. 

All in all, even though it might not be 100% for me, I found reading through the personalised parts of the journal really interesting. 

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Option 2 - For cocktail lovers: How to Make a Name-tini 

This new book is much more up my alley than the journal ;o) And I think that it would make a fun and unexpected present for many people in our lives! 

Imagine getting a personalised book with 29 cocktail recipes, one of which is named after you! Eeek! How exciting! 

This is a smaller format book - I suppose because it's meant to be handy in the kitchen & on the counter, whilst you're creating your various concoctions. 

However, to be perfectly honest, I feel that Wonderbly should have also gone for the spiral binding option for this book, as having it lay perfectly flat would make following the recipes & instructions easier and less messy. Additionally - in the perfect world - I would like to have the option for sleeker/laminated pages, to ensure that no harm is done to the book whilst it gets used in the kitchen. 

Despite the above, I honestly think that this would be a super fun present for many adults in our lives. I love the graphics & colours, and the dash of (see what I did here? :P) personalisation throughout the pages makes it even more appealing. 

I am yet to try out the recipes, but I will leave the making of the cocktails to the lucky recipient! 

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I don't have any new options for babies or children to write about this time, but if you look through my previous Chistmas gift guides - my recommendations from back then are still my favourites to this day (and they'll probably be hard to beat, although I'm sure that Wonderbly will surprise me yet!). 

The "Where are you" collection remains the absolute winner in our household, and I cannot recommend it enough, for kids & adults alike!

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DISCOUNT CODE:

IF YOU ARE READING THIS BEFORE OR ON DECEMBER 4th 2024, use

BFDHZIFB for a whopping 25% off AND free standard shipping*

*free standard shipping does not apply in Spain at the moment, sorry :-(

I will make sure to update the code after December 4th, with the standard 15% discount, but the above Black Friday code is the best offer Wonderbly offer throughout the whole year. 

So, now is a great time to stock up on presents for the upcoming months!

From December 5th 2024 onwards, you can use: MIRELLA, for 15% off.

If you have any questions, or would like me to order & review any particular Wonderbly books - give me a shout, and I'll see what I can do!

Happy shopping & personalising,

Mirella

Wonderbly Christmas 2023 gift guide + a discount code (25% off & free shipping)

Hi Everyone,

With Christmas slowly approaching, and people starting to plan and seek for gift ideas for their loved ones, I thought that I would share with you a few of my recent discoveries in the personalised Wonderbly books range. 

I wrote a similar blog post last year, so - if you're looking for additional recommendations - please make sure to pop over here. 

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FOR THE LITTLE ONES

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Wonderbly have kindly sent me one of their recent personalised Christmas stories, "Your night before Christmas", which I feel is somewhat of a Christmas version of their best selling "Lost my name" book. 

Taking into consideration how much my kids (now aged almost 6 and 8) loved, and still love, reading about the little girl who lost her name, I had no doubts that my little Hanna would be thrilled to get a Christmas version of the story. And I was not wrong - just look at the smile on her little face, as her older sister explored the story with her for the first time.

As always, the story is full of beautiful and colourful images and illustrations, and the quality of the book is fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed the journey searching for Hanna's name through Christmas wonderland. 

In this book, aside from the usual personalised dedication, you can also add a photo of your child at the beginning of the story, which I thought was an additional special touch. 

The only constructive feedback I have for this lovely story is the rather low amount of options in terms of choosing the looks of the main protagonist - whilst a few skin tones & hair styles are available, I wish there were better options in terms of haircuts (in our case, we were lacking the option of a little girl with a fringe), eye colour/shape, etc. 

All in all, the girls enjoyed it, and they confirmed that they recommend it for a Christmas pressie! :o)

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FOR OLDER KIDDOS

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If you're after a present for a slightly older child (or not necessarily a Christmas-themed one), Amelia (age 8) and I recommend the "You are extraordinary" self-belief journal for kids. Amelia got this for her birthday back in August, and she has had lots of fun with the information pages & activities included. 

In a few year's time, it will also be a fun reminder of what she was into at the age of 8!

One of Amelia's favourite pages is the "extraordinary by definition" section, where a dictionary of made-up words using her names & surname has been created:

The nice thing about this journal is that there are sections just for reading (and contemplating!), some are dedicated to colouring & doodling, and then of course there are also sections that need to be completed by its owner:

But, there are also some surprising activities included:

We highly recommend this journal for any child that can read and write. Amelia has a couple of similar journals already, but she really enjoyed exploring this one, as the personalisation made it just that tiny bit more special.

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FOR ADULTS

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Finally, a little recommendation for those adults in your life who already "have it all" (have a peek at what Wonderbly offer in their range for adults here). 

Last year, we tested out the adult version of the "Where are you" books on Granddads and Uncles, and they were a big hit (you can read more about these in my Christmas post from 2022). 

Earlier this year, Granny received "The book of Everyone" (birthday edition), which she absolutely loved. This is now also available in a Christmas edition, as well as a couple's and a milestone birthday edition, amongst others.

There is room for LOADS of personalisation in these books, and we especially loved adding lots of photos to it (I won't be sharing them on the blog for privacy reasons, sorry!). 

The only disappointing part of the book we created was the Global Times section, dedicated to events from the year the recipient was born - we feel that a bit more effort could have been put into this page for some of the dates (s0me have this section filled to the brim, so you might be more lucky!). 

We overcame this issue by adding cut outs from more recent newspapers where Granny was featured, which was also fun! 

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BRAND NEW BOOK ALERT

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I, personally, am very excited for one of the newest additions to the Wonderbly collection - The Personalised Astrology books. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this blog post, I have not received my copy of the book just yet, hence I am unable to share my opinion about it. But, stay tuned in the coming weeks! :o)

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MORE IDEAS NEEDED....?

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If you are looking for additional inspiration for Christmas gift ideas that Wonderbly offer and recommend themselves, have a peek at their Early Christmas Gifts recommendation page. I am sure that you will find something for everyone over there. 

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DISCOUNT CODES - what you have all been waiting for :o)

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Affiliate disclaimer: if you purchase your books via the links in this blog post, or use the below coupon/discount codes, I will - at no additional cost to you - get a small commission from the sale, as I am a Wonderbly Ambassador, but please rest assured that all of my above opinions are honest, and I would not be putting that much effort into writing a long post about something that I don't personally endorse or believe in! 

Make sure to come back to this post once you're ready to purchase the Wonderbly books of your choice, as I will keep updating it throughout the rest of 2023 with the best discount code I have available. I would imagine they will have something special planned for Black Friday! ;o)

IF YOU ARE READING THIS BEFORE DECEMBER 5th 2024, use

BFDHZIFB for a whopping 25% off AND free shipping*

*free standard shipping does not apply in Spain at the moment, sorry :-(

From December 5th 2024 onwards, you can use: MIRELLA, for 15% off.

Happy shopping, and let me know in the comments what caught your attention, or which books you already have in your Wonderbly collection!

Mirella 

Get Cracking on Christmas 2022 - December & a giveaway!

Hi Everyone,

I don't know how it is even possible, but it's almost Christmas, eeek! I hope you're all more-less prepared? I am done with most of the things I was hoping to be done with, but - as always - there are still a few bits & bobs outstanding... Upwards and onwards, WE CAN DO IT!

[by the way, if you are searching for a fun & personalised book to gift to someone this Christmas, why not check out my post here?] 

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If you are unfamiliar with the Get Cracking on Christmas initiative, please check out Jenn Shurkus's blog here. 

I have been having a bit of a crafting hiatus this year, due to a complicated house move & loads of renovations afterwards, so I sadly only managed to participate in Christmas card making (and any kind of card making for that matter!) a few times over the past few months. 

Here's the summary of my Get Cracking on Christmas of 2022:

Which one if your favourite? I am obsessed with the MFT Polar Bear one, but each of them represents something that I enjoy & like. 

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And now, for the GIVEAWAY part (for those of you who participated last year & earlier this year - I am keeping it the same, as everyone seems to really enjoy this idea!)...

I am giving away 1 stamp set (with coordinating dies, if applicable) or 1 die set, up to the value of €15, from my Instagram Destash Page (@destashbymirella) - so the real value of the item you choose might be much higher than that, really, since my destash prices are of course already reduced in comparison to the original prices of the products. There are both new and used stamps/dies there, so it's up to you what you want to choose! If you prefer a few smaller items instead of one bigger one - we can chat about that, too! It's meant to be fun! :o)

Rules?

- be my follower on Instagram (@handmadebymirella), following my destash page (@destashbymirella) or this blog is optional but always welcome :o)

- leave me a comment here, letting me know what caught your eye on the destash page (that doesn't mean that this is what you have to choose as your prize, if you are the winner - we can agree on that later); alternatively, let me know which of the above cards is your favourite & why

- I will choose the winner after Christmas, on December 27th, and will announce them here in this blog post. The winner will then have 2 weeks to contact me, via the "Contact me" tab on the blog

- Please note that I cannot guarantee that all of the items currently listed on my destash page will still be available there on and after December 27th, since I might make sales from it in the meantime (I doubt it, since people usually shop for other things around Christmas, but you never know!). But I do hope that you will find something for yourself there either way :o)

- open internationally, and if for some reason I am unable to post the prize out, due to Covid 19 restrictions or others, we'll come up with a solution, I'm sure!

Updated on December 27th:

THE WINNER IS DENISE BRYANT - CONGRATULATIONS! Please reach out to me via the Contact Me tab, let me know what you have chosen and what your address is, & I'll arrange for the prize to be sent out. You'll have until January 10th to claim your prize. 

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The last few years brought a few nasty surprises to the world, 

so here's to hoping that 2023 is THE year of positive change! 

As always, stay safe & crafty (I am wishing that the second part comes true for me!),

Mirella

Wonderbly Christmas gift guide + a whopping 25% discount code (+ free shipping)!

Hi Everyone,

Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner? For me, the last couple of months have been a blur, between changing jobs, moving homes & a gazillion renovations... I haven't had the opportunity to craft much, sadly, but I am hoping to get back to card-making in 2023! Woohoo, can't wait! 

In the meantime, I thought that I would share some of my recommendations for (mostly!) Christmas-themed personalised books & stories for the big & little Special People in your lives, from the Wonderbly range. 

If you have never heard of the Wonderbly books, you can read more about them on my blog here and here. I can wholeheartedly recommend all of the books in the photo below, as I have had them tested on my own kids (that's not to say, of course, that their other books are not worth your attention - I just haven't had the chance to review them myself... yet):

There's definitely a good bit to choose from on the Wonderbly website for Christmas themed books: there are options for Baby's First Christmas, there is a fun family option where you can personalise the story with kids & parents/carers alike, and there are some other lovely Christmassy options like The Elf Who Saved Christmas, Christmas wishes and the Christmas snowflake story. 

However, if your child already has some of the personalised books in their collection, and you're looking for something a little bit different - my recommendation would be the Bumper Christmas Edition of "Where are you?" (or just the original version of same, if you're not into Christmas-specific books/gifts). This is a book that will keep your child busy & excited for hours, will allow their imagination spread its wings, and will make you - the adult - giggle, too! 

My kiddos already have the standard "Where are you?" version of the book, as well as the "The journey through time" version, and - I kid you not! - they have been keeping their respective copies in their beds for weeks now. Just before they go to sleep, or early in the morning when the rest of the household is still sleeping, they like to open one of the pages and explore. And every now and again we sit together, and I read & explain the more complex parts of the missions to them, keeping them busy during those "boring" afternoons. 

Unsurprisingly, my 4 year old and my 7 year old find the books interesting for different reasons, but I love the fact that even the 4 year old (who cannot read herself yet) finds the book entertaining. The girls love not only the fact that the books are personalised for them, but they also find the artwork really fun, creative and the more they look at the pictures, the more fun stuff they discover. 

The Christmas version will be a present for the girls' cousin, since the Christmas bumper version is pretty much an expanded version of the original "Where are you" book we already own (so this would be the only reason I might not be recommending it for you - if you own the original version already). 

I mentioned something about the books being fun for adults, too, right? Well, not only are many of the picture scenes giggle-worthy, if you read the book in detail - you might find a lot of the information really funny (and I would actually say that some of the info will be more amusing for the adults than for the kids, which I personally found great - it's kind of like "Shrek" or "Frozen 2", where - depending on the age - the audience gets something different from certain scenes). Want an example? Go on the search for "Herb Girls", who just *might* remind you of a certain girl band from your own childhood, LOL. 

And speaking of adults - if you have one of those adults in your life who "has everything" and "is impossible to get gifts for", Wonderbly created an adult version of the "Where are you" series, which I may or may not be acquiring soon...! Just saying! ;o)

IF YOU ARE READING THIS BEFORE DECEMBER 5th 2024, use

BFDHZIFB for a whopping 25% off AND free shipping*

*free standard shipping does not apply in Spain at the moment, sorry :-(

From December 5th 2024 onwards, you can use: MIRELLA, for 15% off.

 [As always, please let me know in the comments if the codes no longer work - I can hook you up with a new one!] 

Affiliate disclaimer: if you purchase the books via the links in this blog post, or use the above coupon/discount codes, I will - at no additional cost to you - get a small commission from the sale, as I am a Wonderbly Ambassador, but please rest assured that all of my above opinions are honest, and I would not be putting that much effort into writing a long post about something that I don't personally endorse or believe in! 

I have no idea if I will manage to write another blog post before Christmas, so just in case I don't:

 I wish you a wonderful & magical Christmas, 

and here's to 2023 full of fun, love & new adventures! 

Mirella

Get Cracking on Christmas 2022 - Christmas in July

Hi Everyone,

I think I write this every month, but somehow time seems to be totally flying - can you believe that it's July already?! 

This July is a special & quite complex one for our little family - it's my birthday month (there was no time for big celebrations, but maybe next year!), but also the month when we finally get to move houses, have many friends and family from abroad visiting, and when my youngest daughter will need a few procedures done in the hospital. Lots of positive excitement, stress, a bit of anxiety... but I am staying positive, and fingers crossed that I'll have nothing but good news for you in August! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, please. 

In terms of crafting, 2022 has been pretty poor for me so far, due to other things happening in our lives, but I am excited to create a little crafty nook for myself in our new house, and hopefully at least some aspects will become less hectic now... Lots of (probably years of) renovations ahead of us, so let's see how it all pans out! 

If you are unfamiliar with the Get Cracking on Christmas initiative, please check out Jenn Shurkus's blog here. 

This month, we are celebrating "Christmas in July", and so some of us might have sweet surprises/giveaways for you! Want to know what mine is? Keep reading! 

I have a relatively simple card to share with you today, but I have to say - I am really loving the result, and might make a few more in various colour combos & even backgrounds made with various mediums! 

As you know, I have only recently started playing with alcohol inks (yes, I am totally late to that party!), and - whilst I was practising - I ended up making quite a lot of various backgrounds. One of these got used for today's creation. 

I am generally a fun/cute critter and a punny sentiment kind of gal, but today it's all about the traditional sentiment, bling and... not so 100% traditional colours! In fact, when my daughter saw the finished card, she was first mesmerised by all the bling, but then she asked "Why is there no red colour, mama?"... Well here you go, I am a rule breaker! LOL

This fun sentiment stamp is by Trinity Stamps, and since I love its price point and potential - I I wanted to share it with you early enough in the year, before it sells out closer to Christmas! 

I hope you enjoyed this bling galore! Do you think non-traditional Christmas colours are okay, or are you personally more about the reds, the greens and the gold? I, actually, am a bit of both!

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And now, for the GIVEAWAY part (for those of you who participated last year - I am keeping it the same, as everyone seems to really enjoy this idea!)...

I am giving away 1 stamp set (with coordinating dies, if applicable) or 1 die set, up to the value of €15, from my Instagram Destash Page (@destashbymirella) - so the real value of the item you choose might be much higher than that, really, since my destash prices are of course already reduced in comparison to the original prices of the products. There are both new and used stamps/dies there, so it's up to you what you want to choose!

Rules?

- be my follower on Instagram (@handmadebymirella), following my destash page (@destashbymirella) or this blog is optional but always welcome :o)

- leave me a comment here, letting me know what caught your eye on the destash page (that doesn't mean that this is what you have to choose as your prize if you are the winner - we can agree on that later)

- I will choose the winner on the 6th of August, and announce them here in this blog post. The winner will then have 2 weeks to contact me, via the "Contact me" tab on the blog

- Please note that I cannot guarantee that all of the items currently listed on my destash page will still be available there on and after August 6th, since I might make sales from it in the meantime. But I do hope that you will find something for yourself there either way :o)

- open internationally, if for some reason I am unable to post the prize out, due to Covid 19 restrictions or others, we'll come up with a solution, I'm sure!

Winner [post edited on August 6th]:

Thank you so much for commenting & participating in my giveaway! The random number generator chose comment number 5 as the winner, so Janis - congratulations, and please contact me with your name & address details, as well as the prize you would like me to send your way! :o)

Stay safe and crafty Peeps, and good luck with the giveaway

Mirella

SUPPLY LIST (please see affiliate disclaimer & essential supplies info here):

FROM TRINITY STAMPS:

Jingle all the way stamp set

FROM SCRAPBOOK.COM:

 

FROM SIMON SAYS STAMP:

Trinity Stamps: Jingle all the way stamp set (sorry, no photo for some reason!)

Waffle Flower A2 Layers dies (sorry, no pic for some reason!)

Studio Katia: Gold sparkle crystals (as above!)