My presents for myself, with thanks to Janice!

I've been very lucky recently, winning a $25 gift certificate to spend at Novica. This was a prize offered by Janice of The Vivienne Files. I had already been browsing the website when Janice blogged about it, and I was drooling over the many lovely items, so you can imagine my excitement when she announced that I was the winner!

I admit that it took me a long while to choose something - follow the above link and you'll realise why - but eventually I decided on a couple of silk scarves that can be worn together or separately, so ideal for a holiday capsule wardrobe. I also bought a cotton tote that won't take up much room in my suitcase and will also be ideal for going on holiday. As we already have a couple of holidays booked for 2014, my new purchases will prove very useful. Here they are:

Blue fantasy made by Vinita

Rose River made by Jiap Rojjana

I have to say that the service was incredible: I ordered these on December 19th and they arrived four days' later, just in time for Christmas. I was sent an email with a link, allowing me to track my parcel from Thailand to Spain, via Leipzig in Germany. The items were beautifully wrapped and the packages contained small cards giving me the names of the artisans who had made them. The two scarves cost $20.69 and the cotton bag cost $19.99 so I paid less than $18 to cover the difference in price and premium postage: a real bargain. Thank you so much Janice!

I admit that the jewellery on Novica's website was very tempting, however I had already placed an order with another website that I recently discovered: Forage & Find - and I couldn't justify buying myself even more Christmas presents. Forage & Find sells unique jewellery handmade by mother and daughter, using vintage fragments of the past, and they ship internationally.

My husband will be celebrating an important birthday next year, so I couldn't resist buying him an early birthday present from Forage & Find. As it arrived in time for Christmas, I decided to pop it inside his Christmas stocking. I also popped my "present to myself" into my own Christmas stocking!

Vintage Birthdate Sixpence Cufflinks 

My present to myself!

I have mentioned People Tree in a previous post, but as they have a sale on at the moment, I thought it worth mentioning them again. They are pioneers in Fair Trade and environmentally sustainable fashion, so why not check them out too?

Wearing my People Tree skirt!

If you are going to make a New Year's resolution, why not resolve to shop from websites like Novica, Forage & Find and People Tree, where you are supporting artisans and ensuring they are paid a fair price? Do you know any other websites with similar values to share with us?