American Stamp Collection

Ever since I saw a large collection of old stamps on someone's blog (who was it, does anyone recall?) a couple of months back I've been scouring ebay in the hope of starting my own collection. There's certainly a lot on there so I decided to buy a couple of large unwanted collections. If you search right  stamps are going seriously cheap on ebay, I picked up 200 (some used, stamped and dated, other in original condition) for around £1.50 with p+p. Some of them even have their original stamping dates on them, a few date back from before 1920 which is quite something. Best quid and a half I've spent this year.

I'm planning on picking my favourites out and framing them, they're just too good to be shoved in a photo album, never to be seen by anyone. When me and Hollie finally get around to sorting out a proper place together this is the first thing that's going up on the wall.

People would say stamps are the classic boring thing to collect but I don't agree, just look at them! They're fascinating. Big fan of the "Fire Pumper".

Sorry about the lack of posts of late, I'm pretty sure we're all in the same boat though right?

Merry Christmas

(source)

 Happy Christmas dudes, wishing you all a very merry time! For those who can make

 it home in time I hope you all have a lovely few days with friends and family. 

I'm finding myself very busy this Christmas so I'll be taking a few deserved days off from blogging.

 Take it easy.

Dicky Bow's Greeting Cards

Sweet and simple greeting cards by new UK based paper goods company, Dicky Bow. Quite fun aren't they, they're the kinda designs that would brighten your day up in more ways than one. Dicky Bow are so new that they haven't got a fully working site as yet but you can follow them on Twitter for more info.

In two weeks we're heading to Orlando, has anyone been at this time of year before? It's new to me.

Getting Around

I've finally got wheels guys, after nearly a year of trying to find the right bike and encountering countless problems I can now cruise around town rather than getting a soggy walk on. The model is by Create and was quite a bargain as it was bought through the Cycle to Work scheme. Along with a ton of accessories (helmet, gloves, lights, lock...) it came to just over £300. I must admit I wasn't planning on going for something that stands out like a sore thumb but the brown frame swung it for me. I doubt the white tires will keep their colour much longer so I'm already planning on replacing them with black ones, I reckon it'll look sweet if I change the saddle to a black one too. Keeping white stuff clean is a bitch but this is just crazy. Any cycling fans out there?

I've found it hard keeping up with bloglist at the moment so apologies if I haven't replied to any of your comments or visited in a while. Things are so busy around this time of year but visiting blogs is still one of my favouite things, therefore there will always be at least 5 minutes in a day to cram a few in.

Take it easy this week guys, have you finished your Christmas shopping? Myself, in a word, nope.

Harrop + Penny Giveaway Winner

I made the mistake on going for a ride around the park on a freezing Winter's day. It was lovely, really peaceful stuff, there wasn't many folk about but I sure did pay for it. My hands and feet have never been so cold. When I got home my fingers were hurting like crazy, I felt like screaming. That's with two pairs of gloves on too, anyone got any tips to combat this?

Anyway, down to the meat. Thank you all for entering the Harrop + Penny Giveaway, I can now reveal the winner of the £25 gift voucher is....

Paula of Pink Bow

Well done Paula, I'll contact you via email/Twitter to arrange the gift voucher. You can now spend £25 on "quality goods for everyday tasks". Sorry to everyone who didn't win, good news though, I'll be doing another giveaway before the year turns '13. Watch out for that. Enjoy the rest of your week guys, it's just about time for mince pies and lots of mulled wine.

Textures & Patterns

Lately my Instgram has been all about Textures & Patterns, I kinda like it this way. I have thee worst iPhone to be taking photos on but least I can have fun doing it. Life is very busy at the moment, as it always is as this time of years but I'm just about coping. Busy lad. Follow me @mat_buckets

Thank you for all your lovely comments on the Northern Goods Co. post, they're really encouraging to read. With the feedback and a few early sales we seem to be off to a cracking start, so thank you guys! It's extremely early days but Rome wasn't built in a day, as "they" say.

Have you entered the Harrop + Penny Giveaway yet? You can win £25 to spend on lovely homeware accessories, only 2 days left to enter.

Top Notch Christmas Gifts

Here's a few things that I think would make top notch gifts this Christmas -

Sandal Wood Candle - Fable + Folly

William Fox & Sons Gloves - Present

LED Bike Lights - Bookman

Scott Nichol Fair Isle Socks - Oi Polloi

Beard Oil - Herbivore Botancals

Mamnick Tie Slide - Mamnick

Futuristic Car - Present London

Roadside America - Amazon

Victorinox Pen Knife - Goodhood

Also this week -

Still time to enter the Harrop + Penny Christmas Giveaway

Me and Hollie have set up shop on Etsy, Northern Goods Co.

Northern Goods Co.

Hollie and I have finally got our acts together and opened up shop on Etsy, as the Northern Goods Co. We've been toying with the idea of creating something handmade, practical and modern for a while now and after sourcing materials from both our shores and the US I'm extremely excited to show you our first product, the "Shorty" Paracord Key Fob.

The "Shorty" currently comes in 6 different colours and is made from US Military Grade Paracord, featuring a nickel split ring to attach all your everyday goings-on to it and a trigger snap clip for any extras you want on there too. Our aim is to create pieces from our small home workshop (where I  currently do all my blogging from) and spend extra time perfecting the finished product.  We've been working on a few other products to add to the collection in the near future, currently we're experimenting with Paracord Lanyards and more variations on the classic key fob. Hopefully we'll have them up very soon.

We've been open a couple of weeks now so please do think of us if you're stuck for small Christmas gifts and stocking fillers. The "Shorty" Key Fobs are handmade by Hollie and myself and we think £7.99 is a pretty top notch price for a handmade piece. We would both love to hear your feedback on them as this is the first time we've put a product out there, so at this stage any comments would be greatly appreciated.

As an introductory offer you can receive 10% off all orders with the code "BUCKETSANDSPADES10", so go forth and get fobbed up.

Follow our progress? We would love your support -
Twitter // Facebook // Instagram // Etsy 

Have you entered the Harrop + Penny Giveaway yet?

Harrop + Penny Giveaway - CLOSED

Some of my favorite items at Harrop + Penny

The good folks at Harrop + Penny have been kind enough to give one of my readers the chance to win a £25 gift voucher to spend on their store. Ever since stumbling across their shop a month or so ago, Harrop + Penny has fast become one of my favorite homeware accessories spaces on the web (see my first post back in October here). This would be a great chance to nab some unique Christmas gifts.

They've recently had a mini revamp of the site and have added tons of new products just in time for the Christmas run. I've already picked out a few things I'll be buying as presents and added them to my Wishlist, which you can do by clicking on each product. Neat idea. 

To be in with a chance of winning the £25 gift voucher to spend at Harrop + Penny just follow these simple rules below - NOW CLOSED

• Like or Follow Harrop + Penny on Facebook or Twitter
• Visit the Harrop + Penny store and let me know what your favorite product is
• If you do both above you get two entries. Leave a contact detail so I know which you have done and can get in touch with the winner, either email or Twitter.

That's all you have to do, feel free to connect with me on Facebook & Twitter if you like too. The giveaway is now closed. A winner will be selected at random and will be announced shortly after. Good luck!