Ideas for a Thrifty Christmas

It's that time of year again - where Capitalism has a collective orgasm - as we lose all sense of control and vomit Christmas all over everything in an explosion of commercial excess!

I'm being a little facetious, of course (but just a little...)

It's so easy to get carried away at this time of year. Everything is shiny! How can you resist?

Everyone is either telling you to spend, spend, spend - or save, save, save.

I'm on the saving side!

There are plenty of great lifestyle bloggers talking about how to have a successful, yet thrifty Christmas - I'm calling it 'Thriftmas'

#Thriftmas


I don't have children and have a relatively small family, therefore, a not unwieldy list of presents to provide.

Let the social convention commence - How much to spend on who? What's appropriate as you predict how generous, or stingy, each recipient is likely to be?

Let's just ignore all that nonsense and create gifts that are personal, heartfelt, tailored to the receiver and don't break the bank, instead!


I love having an excuse to get my craft on and make things at this time of year!

I had a homemade Christmas last year and blogged about it: All I Want For Christmas, 2015

Here are a few quick things you can do to have a crafty and thrifty Christmas... 


Quick Thrift Tips

Gift tags: Cut up last year's Christmas cards to use as gift tags. It's pathetically simple, cut out an image or word, some larger cards with lots of small images can even become several tags. Hole punch a corner and thread through scraps of ribbon.

Ribbon: Keep the ribbon scraps cut from clothing, off cuts from other projects and from presents you've received. I also take the tiny bits of ribbon off crackers once they've been pulled. Keep ribbon scraps collected throughout the year in a box (I have a drawer of them) and use them for gift tags, wrapping etc.

Wrapping paper: We waste so much wrapping paper. I saw a report online saying in the UK alone there is enough wrapping paper wasted at Christmas to stretch to the moon!

Get into thrifty habits and start saving any gift wrap you can reuse. Save any tissue paper or other large sheets of paper used to wrap purchases you've made throughout the year.

Pages from magazines and newspapers, even brown paper can be dressed with ribbon to make lovely gift wrap.

Wrap any household gifts in a tea towel so the wrapping also becomes part of the gift. Scraps of fabric can also make lovely gift wrap.

Fabrics: When I have an item of clothing that is irrevocably stained or damaged (therefore unsuitable for charity), I cut it into fabric squares that can be used for other projects. Some basic sewing skills can turn these scraps into patchwork projects, cushion covers etc. for gifts. Or, if you are giving a gift to a crafty friend, trim the scraps into fat quarters with pinking shears, iron flat, fold nicely and wrap with ribbon to give as a gift. My sister, Artist Chloe Birnie, always loves getting little fabric stacks as a gift!


Hampers: I made hampers last year and will do some again this year.

They're so simple (and inexpensive) to put together and look expensive and impressive.

As an example, last year I made an 'Indian Cuisine themed hamper' for my mum and dad. I bought a cheap balti dish then sat some sachets of Indian spices, a bag of Bombay mix, mini cans of coconut milk and a jar of homemade Mango chutney in it, padded out with shredded tissue paper, wrapped it in cellophane, secured it with ribbon and added a nice printed tag. It looked great and cost me less than a fiver!

Made from brown paper and doilies

Save baskets and nice boxes throughout the year and repurpose them for hampers. Or, make your own!

I'm making baskets again this year by weaving strips of brown paper or magazines together. Here's a handy how-to Pin.

Ideas: I have a secret Pinterest board of ideas for gifts that I fill throughout the year so when it comes to the run up to Christmas I have no shortage of inspiration.



What are you doing to save  money and create lovely, memorable gifts this Christmas?

My Favourite Writing Haunts in Bristol

Writing can be a lonely process.

In many ways, it's necessary, to enclose ourselves in our little writer's bubble and keep the world at bay, but when you live in such a fantastic city as I do - Bristol UK - there are so many great places to hang out and so much inspiration to be had outside of the four walls of my house!

Any creative and cosmopolitan city worth its salt has a buzzing cafe culture, and Bristol is no exception. Proud and stubborn supporters of our rich tapestry of independent businesses and cultural diversity, there are always new coffee shops, cafe's, bars and eateries popping up in this foodie city.

Being a writer is a perfect excuse to sample the many delights Bristol has to offer.

I pack up my notebooks and pens, my neat little Acer laptop, and love to venture out and explore.

When seeking out a space to work in, I usually end up in a coffee shop.

I'll give any place a try and here's the evidence...

My wallet of shame...

These are the coffee shop loyalty cards my wallet is bulging with:

I touched on my hunt for the ideal space to work in on a blog last year:

Coffee Shops: Office of Playground

With so much to choose from in Bristol, it's important to have a strategy, or at the very least, some criteria.

And just to be scientific about it, I created scoring criteria to measure different venues against.

I've scored independent places higher and chains lower, as I want to support local businesses - I'd rather my money went to the people that work for it, instead of shareholders and faceless corporations.

I've also scored child-friendly places lower. Sorry - I have nothing against children, but it's hard to work with children screaming and running around. There are enough places in the city for all of us, and for working, meeting poeple and writing, I favour places that don't double as a schoolyard!

I've marked the highest scoring, and my favourite places:

There are many more places than this, some I've tried, some are still on the list. This is just a snapshot!

One thing that did surprise me from the scores was the variance between Boston Tea Party's.

The one on Whiteladies Road scored the lowest: I scored them lower for environment, (it's dark, cramped, noisy and busy), low on Value For Money (the food and drink are expensive and although good, the portions aren't generous). The one on Park Street similarly, although the staff there are really friendly and attentive and seem to enjoy their work, so they scored higher. My favourite of the three is the one by Stokes Croft. They have a lovely outside area at the front and being a more studenty part of town, there are rarely children in there. It's narrow and twisty so the tables tend to be for two (ideal for working at), larger tables tend to attract crowds of noisy people and families.

My all time favourite snack when working is from BTP: 'Crunchy peanut butter on sourdough toast'.


Of all the coffee shops on this list, the ones that stand out, and that I spend most time in are:

Bakesmiths on Whiteladies Road

Book editing in Bakesmiths

They are a bakery and coffee shop, and the range of baked goods made on site is fantastic, and good value. I often get little free samples and they'll happily keep topping up my teapot with hot water. The staff are really friendly (they recognise me now!) The only drawbacks are it can get very busy and noisy in there and with all the big windows it can get really hot in the summer and pretty chilly in the winter.

Cafe Du Jour on Park Street
It's less busy and child-friendly than the one on Whiteladies Road, it tends to be frequented by office workers so there is never any issue with holding meetings or working on a laptop in there. The staff are really friendly too (they recognise me now!). Sometimes the coffee is a bit hit and miss, but the tea is always a winner and they are happy to top my pot up with hot water. The food selection is limited but excellent (although sometimes the cakes have been sat in the open for a while and can be a little dry).

Crazy Fox
One of the few independent coffee shops in Broadmead (most are chains). The coffee can be a bit hit and miss and it gets busy, especially at lunchtimes, the service can be slow (but at least they bring food to your table). I sometimes feel like I'm outstaying my welcome in there but its central location makes it a great place to meet people from outside the city, as often visitors don't know parts of the city other than the Broadmead and Cabot Circus main shopping districts.

The music is also great in here, it's as if they've hacked my favourite GooglePlay playslists!

Watching the world go by in Dom's

Dom's Coffee House
This place is new to Bristol and I met the owner, Louis, at an event in the summer when he was still working on the refurbishment of the building. Since then I've watched its progress with keen interest. The coffee is exceptionally good, staff are lovely, the big upstairs lounge is inaccessible for pushchairs and dotted with plug points to encourage people to work there. It's rarely busy and is easy to direct people to as it's right on the central promenade by the Hippodrome.



And on a sunny day, the best place is...

Bridgstow Bar and Kitchen

Pretending I live in Nice at the Brigstow

On the waterfront, with views out to the SS Great Britain, it's off the beaten track enough to be relatively quiet (except at weekends). The whole front opens out and with chilled beats gently throbbing through the speakers and seafood to die for, it feels very continental.


Some other noteworthy things about places on the list...

The Arnolfini shop is a highlight (it's often better than the exhibitions!) - I could spend hours in there looking at the gorgeous books.

At The Well have bite-sized cakes for when you want a sugar hit but don't want a sugar hangover!

Bristol Coffee House do the best Pastel de Nata (Portuguese custard tarts) in Bristol.

Cafe Amore has the feel of a brown cafe in Amsterdam (without the smell of pot!). The food is great value too, ideal for lunch.

Cafe Kino is vegan and veggie (I'm not) - their veggie sausage rolls are amazing (dare I say it, better than a meat one!).

Hennesey's is bursting with literary quirkiness, really sweet little place, my favourite cafe in Bedminster.

Although I wouldn't actively choose a Starbucks, at Christmas I love their seasonal coffees - 'Egg Nog Latte' is just warm creamy loveliness, it's like a hug in a mug!

The Bristolian is rather conveniently located at the bottom of my brother's street and our hangout of choice. Their breakfasts are phenomenal, generous and delicious!

The Playground has playground stuff in it - I love the swing seats!

I always bump into people I know in the Watershed, and famous people randomly turn up there. I met Natalie Bennett (at the time, Leader for the Green Party) in there and had a long chat with her about sustainable small business and we've chatted on Twitter since. I also ended up in the middle of a Roni Size pop-up DJ set in there! With free WifFi, it's the go-to workplace for luvvies and media-types.

Where do you like to write?




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Rediscovering Sheridan and Blake - Falling in Love Again

The initial spark, that lit the tinder, that started a flame in my imagination, then caught and became the inferno that is The Sheridan And Blake Adventure Series was a 'what if?' moment...

That moment struck during a visit to the Varna Archaeological Museum where I saw a collection of finds unearthed accidentally in the 1970's by a construction crew. The artefacts were a cache of gold and grave offerings that, when carbon dated in 2004, turned out to be oldest worked gold in the world. Archaeological excavations of the site revealed a  Chalcolithic Age (commonly known as Copper Age) necropolis, a necropolis that changed our view of that transition from humans using stone tools to developing complex societies.

The 'what if' was:

"What if something ancient and powerful was unearthed by archaeologists? What would men do to get their hands on that ancient power? Who would they kill, and who would die to protect it?"

That became the premise for the series of books.

My protagonist is a female, Bristol based archaeologist, Dr Sasha Blake and the hero is an agent, Tom Sheridan, who works for a covert organisation that repatriates stolen antiquities from the black market, The Agency.

Together they embark on an international mission to find the Bronze Box, four rings that act as the keys to the box, and an ancient manuscript - its instruction manual.
  

It took four years to research, develop, plan and write the first book, The Bronze Box. I finally published it in 2013. The rest of the books were already in my head, I always knew it would be a series of books, the complex web of intrigue and conspiracy I weave into the books needs four books to unravel! It was just a case of making a plan, having a routine and sticking to it so I could write and publish the rest of the series over the course of the next three years.

To culminate this seven-year project, I'm about to publish a 4 in 1 bumper eBook Boxset. All four Sheridan and Blake books in one eBook. Instead of buying 4 separate books, you'll be able to buy the whole lot in one book and binge-read it. 

This is what it will look like:

The book includes:

• The Bronze Box
• Solomon's Secrets
• Gabriels Game - Part 1, The White Queen
• Gabriels Game - Part 2, The Black Knight

• As well as more about me, my journey and inspiration for the books in an author summary.

Adding all the books together into one book this week, I'm going through the stories again, making small changes to ensure consistency in formatting etc. and naturally, I can't help but tweak bits of it too!

I've been immersing myself in the world of Sheridan and Blake and enjoying the experience all over again. Falling in love once more with my characters and their story!

I've also come across more spine-tingling quotes. Here's a few:

The Bumper eBook Box Set is coming soon...


I hosted a webinar recently 'Meet the Author' - here's the recording. In it I share more about my journey into writing, my process and inspiration. Packed with insights for curious readers and tips for budding writers:






 

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Conquering Creative Constipation

There's always some sense of being repressed, deep in your forever-questioning brain when you are a creative.

I say 'a creative' like we're a species unto ourselves. 

I believe that all humans are naturally, innately creative - you just have to spend a couple of minutes watching small children play as they make sense of the world as proof of this.

I wrote a blog on this 'You're More Creative than You Think' last year and I also blogged on 20 Ways to Keep The Creative Juices Flowing.

When I say 'a creative' I mean people who identify themselves as creative and who perhaps make a living doing something conspicuously creative: visual arts, music, sculpture, design, photography, writing etc. These are the things people usually associate with 'creativity' and will say "I'm not creative" because these forms of self-expression don't resonate.

Perhaps your creativity is in the kitchen? Or in finding ways to entertain your children? Or building complex spreadsheets to solve a problem? Essentially, creativity is how 'problem solving' manifests itself. Any by-product or solution that you 'create' to overcome an obstacle is a form of creativity.

My creativity comes at me from many places. I go through peaks and troughs in the way I express myself. 

Having published The Sheridan and Blake books in such quick succession - 4 books in 3 years - I've struggled to get back to creative writing.

I've had the concept for my next novel - a new series of books - floating around in my head since I first met 'Katarina Orlov' defending Tom and Sasha from an assassin at a tube station when I wrote 'Gabriel's Game, Part 1: The White Queen'.

I knew then that the sassy, bi-sexual, multilingual, freelance finder and single mum with the black cat tattoo on her back - Kat - would be my next star!

I decided to designate August as my month to bash out the first draft of that book 'Finding The Scream' and blogged about it HERE.

Here's the blurb for the latest book (I managed to extract that from myself last week!):

Alas, my month of writing wasn't to be, when a flurry of bookings and jobs landed in my inbox and screeched from my voicemail. 

I couldn't even manage the two tips I offer to anyone facing a similar dilemma:

1) Build writing into your routine

2) Bum in chair, write!


I call this inability to conjure the muse 'Creative Constipation' - the discomfort and frustration of being blocked up!

Last week I had a breakthrough. I did two of the things on my list of 20  ways to get those creative juices flowing:

no. 14) Hang out with creative people

no. 18) Do something you've never done before


I went to a 'Boost Your Natural Confidence' event hosted by the lovely Hils Crisp and I went to a 'Creativity Circles' event hosted by the wonderful Mags MacKean as part of Bristol Festival of Literature.

Hils' event took us through some techniques to discover our confidence triggers. 

I was heartened by how open the other people in the group were, considering we were complete strangers, we all shared our confidence challenges openly and it was great to see that we all recongnised so many of them. I came away feeling invincible!

The next morning I took out my free writing notebook and let the ideas pour from me. 

Later in the day I went to Mags' event, already feeling rejuvenated, the creativity circle provoked a surprisingly emotional reaction.

Now, just to get one thing straight, I'm pretty cynical about anything that's too 'hippy-dippy' - the kind of mumbo-jumbo that makes my eyes roll because there is always a danger that if you are too open minded, your brain might just fall out! 

On the face of it, what I'm about to share may seem to contradict that. However, I've known Mags for many years, I like and respect her so, although I wasn't sure what to expect, I trust in Mags' approach. 

There was plenty of closed-eyes deep-breathing. There were stones to pass our doubts and fears into. Then we went looking for our tree - something solid, something we could imagine, something we could go back to, something that could embody our creativity.

I had a vivid image of my tree. It was enormous, broad, I could only just span my arms across it, heavy with fruit.

Without really realising what was happening, I shed tears of relief at finding and knowing the tree, a voice in the back of my brain whispering: "I see you!"

As the tears settled in the hollow of my throat, I imagined them seeping into the pounded earth and nourishing the roots of the tree. My tree. Laden with fruits of soft, juicy peach and crisp, zingy apples. I bite down on the resistant globe of an apple and feel the satisfaction of that crunch between my teeth. My apple, from my magic 'Papple tree'.Well, I guess there's no doubt in my mind now how powerful our imaginations can be!





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