Five things + A giveaway!

I started my wrapping last night and not surprisingly, there’s going to be a lot of books under the tree this year. It’s my favourite gift to give and receive! And today I’ve got one for you too! Wrap it up for a crafty friend or call it a wee present for yourself. You’ve been good this year, haven’t you? 

1. Lily started The Adventures of Miss Petitfour one day when she was home sick. What better to perk you up than a modern-day Mary Poppins and her sixteen cats? (It’s the first children’s book from Anne Michaels, author of Fugitive Pieces.) She’s since put it down to start another Geronimo Stilton but we’ll pick it up again soon. I think some of the vocabulary was a bit challenging for her.

2. I’m unpacking some of the Christmas things and wondering what it says about us that we’ve had this soap for years. That we don’t wash our hands? (Ewww!) Or maybe that being good means you don’t use the special Christmas soap.

3. Some more book-shaped presents. (We don’t have our tree yet — that’s a frosty fern from the grocery store.)

4. Giveaway! Thanks to Thomas Allen & Son, one lucky try small things reader is going to win a copy of Amy Anderson‘s new Washi Tape Crafts: 110 Ways to Decorate Just About Anything, which includes 55 metres of super cute washi tape! (Wahhh!) You’ll learn techniques for wrapping, weaving and making bows; how to protect your designs to make them permanent; and impress your friends, family and yourself with all kinds of unique projects that are easy to do.

Some of the ideas are a little off the wall — the wishy washi window blinds and the statement ceiling fan, for example — but I can easily think of a few people who would love them. (My favourites are the more subdued cord organization system, the dressed-up notebooks and the paper planes wall mural.)

To enter to win a copy, leave me a comment telling me something you might make with washi tape. (This entry is mandatory.)

For a second entry, tweet the following and leave me a separate comment with a link to your tweet:

#Win a copy of Washi Tape Crafts (with 55 metres of washi tape!) from @ThomasAllenLTD & @trysmallthings! CAN 12/16 http://wp.me/p4xBed-Qd

(Feel free to tweet once per day, just make sure to leave me a separate comment with a link to your tweet.)

The giveaway is open to Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) ages 18+ and ends December 16 at midnight EST.

5. Oh, and if you’re looking for book recommendations to gift (or keep!), Penguin Random House has a fantastic service called The Penguin Hotline that will help you find just the right ones. Just tell them a little about your reader and they’ll email you some suggestions (not just Penguin books either, but books from all publishers). And for using the service, you’ll have a chance to win one of the books they recommend! I used it today and can’t wait to see what they come up with!

Have a great week, everybody! And thank you for reading. 🙂

Update December 17, 2015: Congratulations Ophelia C!

Thomas Allen & Son sent me a copy of Washi Tape Crafts to review and The Adventures of Miss Petitfour is a review copy from Penguin Random House Ltd. All opinions are my own. I love sharing books with my readers!