Christmas gift ideas: Fitness Fanatic

I've tried to come up with ideas that will work for both seasoned sports girls and the ones who are just finding their feet, encouragement is a great thing, but possibly the best thing you can give a newbie is to go with them!

Under $30:
As I've previously mentioned, I do quite like a fun slogan singlet, Asana makes some good ones if not slightly in your face a times, but like I also said back then, I look down on anyone who uses the word 'chockies' (I don't care if you earn them one step at a time... chockies is a stupid word!)

Slogan Singlets $29.99 each

Under $50:
A lot of sportswear comes with pockets for your gear but not all of them do, a bum bag is one of the ways you can carry your keys and ipod. Yeah, they are a little daggy but I like this Lorna Jane one, it's flat and fashionable in a way that won't date.

LJ Bum Bag by Lorna Jane $39.99

Under $100:
I thrash the crap out of my gym bags, and they only last a few months without something falling apart on me, so I'm almost always in the market for a new one, I look at them having enough room to hold everything, looking good, having a long over the shoulder strap and some pockets to hide little things.

adidas Clima365 Team Gym Bag $59.95

Would you wear it? Prada

There are times when I look at what is coming down the catwalks at the big elite fashion shows and can't help but laugh out loud. I think that sometimes they're just trying to come up with the most ridiculous look possible for us to emulate so we can claim we're in fashion, when all we actually do look like is utterly insane and stupid. Take these for example:

Have you ever seen a more WTF moment in fashion? And seen people actually wanting to buy them? Kooky sunnies are OK but who would be caught dead in these?

Another curveball for our sense of fashion? why yes, here we have another pearl from Prada.

No .... just no.

Christmas gift ideas: Girlie girl

For starters, I would assume that this particular friend of yours is partial to looking and keeping her house in a girlie manner?

Under $30:
This Bunny ring dish is adorable, it reminds me of Thumper from Bambi.

Ring dish $24 from Have You Met Miss Jones

Under $50:
I love this key hook and have it in my mind to buy it for myself too! don't think that renters can't put it up either, some of those temporary picture hooks will hold this up nicely!

Brass Key Hook $45 from Prue Trollope

Under $100:
The gleam of an Alannah Hill bag waiting in your hand is enough to make most girlie girls squeal. Alannah has a range of accessories that will do the trick nicely, I really love this belt, it will complete a simple dress perfectly.

Hello Sailor Girl! belt $99 by Alannah Hill

Christmas gift ideas: Crafter

The problem is with some crafty types that sometimes they stick to their niche and don't really stray from that. There are stacks of crafty activities; knitting, sewing clothing, scrap-booking, card making, crochet, quilting, pottery, even glass-work. So I'll try to come up with ideas that will cross a wide variety, but even then, you may end up poking them into something they love with a gift a bit to the left of what they're already into.

Under $30:
One major problem that I find that comes with being crafty is that it is damn messy! and I never have enough space to put everything, looking into what sort of craft they do and finding a suitable storage solution to what they already do will be infinitely appreciated. Little plastic sets of drawers are great for papercrafts, while storage portable suitcases are good for sewing, Even tackle baskets are awesome for sewing bits and pieces.

Under $50:
Updating your friends stock of tools she uses is another good idea. as I often don't even realize that the needle I've had in my machine is about 5 projects old, and I didn't even realize that I shouldn't use the same pair of scissors to cut both fabric and paper for a long time. Buying them a new set of scissors, a new crochet hook set (and roll to keep them in!) can prove invaluable.
Another idea is to book them into lessons in a craft that they have mentioned in the past, but this is a tricky one, you need to have listened really carefully, and maybe even stalked their google history!

Under $100:
This present can seem a bit nana-ish, totally get that but so can half of crafty activities when you think about it, I still get called a babushka for my willingness to sew my nieces and nephews presents (FFS! it's cheap and chips and really personal, what's wrong with that??) So I'm going to suggest a Cuttlebug machine, or if they already have one, some  stencils for it. It's worth hunting on the internet as they come in a wide variety of sizes, big shot are sturdy and can cut more materials, Cuttlebugs are your go to user friendly machine, there are other ones and if you're really confused, find yourself a shop assistant or online forum to see what other people think.

Cuttlebug 2

Pre Christmas Warehouse and Sample Sale Brisbane

Just a heads up before it finishes. This sale is at 101 Jane street West End, and features labels such as Ben Sherman, Miss Sixty, Energie, Scotch & Soda, Havaianas and Maison Scotch.
Friday it is open from 7 to 7, Saturday from 7 to 5, and Sunday 9 to 4.
Personally I'm eager to check out the Maison Scotch!