Care Packages

Do you ever feel like your friends deserve a wee pick-me-up? Especially if they've been feeling down or sick, or if you don't get to see them very often? A few weeks ago, we decided that it might be a nice idea to make up some care packages for two people in particular - nothing massive or expensive, just some small treats! We started picking up little things that reminded us of them or thought they might like and soon had two small stashes. The best part is that a lot of stuff was made by local and independent producers so check them out below. Some of these were snatched up at St. George's Market but we've added some Etsy links so you can check them out for yourself!

 These cards are just absolutely perfect. I'm heartbroken that neither of us can remember the original artist of the first (please let us know if you do!) but a few of these beautiful cards can be found in the Cultúrlann on the Falls Road, and it reads "Ag smaoineamh ort" - "thinking of you". For anyone unfamiliar with it, the Cultúrlann is the heart of Belfast's Irish-speaking community.

The second card is the work of Sarah Majury of Blue Door Studio, a talented trio of Mammy, Daughter and Daughter. Their cards and prints are lovely and Sarah's are perfect if you want to get a laugh.

No joke, these candles, produced by Bog Standard at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, smell a-m-a-z-i-n-g. We both ended up buying 'Irish Hedgerow' for our packages but are desperate to get our hands on the rest, and hope our respective recipients enjoy the beautiful scent of these.

If you live in Ireland or Britain, you've probably heard of (and love) Lush, and you'll understand why some bath bombs and melts were a must for these packages.

... And what's any sort of friendship without the odd mixed CD? No matter what the mood, music just makes it better so we burned two playlists - one for when you just need to wallow for a little while (here) and a more upbeat one for when you're ready to kick those bad moods out on their backside (here).

By the way, this little sleeve was made using this really simple tutorial - the paper is from Paperchase!

It was pretty important to sneak in a geek treat and we came across the perfect stall while skulking around St. George's. Personally, I think Taryn's Kawaii Candy Couture is tumblr on a market table, perfect for fandom needs and this Hobbit necklace was just too nice to pass up.

Mugs. Mugs are very important, especially because these are care packages, and how can you offer care without a vessel for tea? We picked up the pink mug at the Belfast Welcome Centre in Donegall Square North (opposite City Hall) because the landscape that wraps around it is really cool. The second mug features an illustration of some of Belfast's terraced houses - this is the work of the absolutely fabulous Flax Fox. We cannot stress how much we love their designs.

Books are very important too. One of our recipients loves and studies music so when we came across the Everyman's Dictionary of Music in a second hand book shop it seemed like a pretty obvious pick. We also picked up a little notebook with a lovely illustration of a squirrel on a bike (hipster, I know) and Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close in Eason's.

This dandelion seed locket was a really special buy and came all the way from Paperface Studio in the United States (from New Mexico to Ireland to Oregon - that's some journey).

And last, but by no means least, we have another return trip. This patch was produced by breatheresist in California and you should definitely check their other patches out!

Seriously, picking out these little gifts and putting together a package is a lot of fun and it's always the best feeling when you surprise a close friend.