All the pretty little things

During the last couple of days I was scanning the online shops and aisles of the local shops for a farewell present. I didn't find one - which is sad, but I found other fantastic things.
One online shop especially caught my eye. This is not a new shop to me - in fact I have known Torquato for several years already. I bought China, Kitchen Helpers, Accessories and Office Supplies there. Lovely shop with great quality products. And no, I don't get paid for this - I really like their products.
So as I was strolling through the online catalogue I found a couple of things that went on my "To buy for Christmas"-List, it is way too early to purchase them, since I don't have enough space for storage. I thought you might want to have a look at it. So here goes...

Santa Christmas Mailing Set

Copyright Pictures: Torquato AG

Do you love sending letters and postcards to your friends, colleagues and loved ones? I do and not only around Christmas. Also I love Vintage and this is one of the golden ones. And did I mention that the set comes in a lovely tin case? So what's in it? According to the description you receive 24 cards and envelopes + stickers + 3 stamps + inkpad = basically everything you need to make someone really happy. I am thinking a nice Advent Calendar is a fantastic way to use this set. It all comes to you for 22,50 EUR which is not the cheapest, but let me tell you from my experience, Torquato doesn't rip you off.

Vintage Christmas Stickers

Copyright Pictures: Torquato AG

So we already saw a little tin case with lots of delight in it. Here is a second one, that goes on my list without hesitation. 100 Vintage Christmas Stickers are in this little silver wonderland. Gift Tags and "common" stickers go hand-in-hand with all the little projects that come naturally during the advent season. The gift tag stickers are such and easy way to embellish presents from Santa. And you find yours so much easier with your name on it. I also put the non-gift-tag stickers on little notes in the office to spread the Christmas spirit. It really helps: Imagine, you are sitting on a list, that is driving you up the wall and someone hands you a note for a missed call with a little dancing Santa - it makes you laugh and tells you better things are on the road ahead, you just have to work you way towards it.
Torquato offers this set for only 14,50 EUR.

Wrapping Paper from Florence

Copytight Pictures: Torquato AG

Presents, presents, presents - there was something on my mind - yeah, I got it! Presents need to be wrapped. Well, honestly - they don't have to be wrapped to bring you joy and delight, but a wrapped present is more fun for both the person opening it and the one wrapping it.
I love wrapping presents. If I have more than one present for someone I wrap every part individually. It brings me so much joy thinking of color combinations fitting either my holiday theme, the present or the person receiving it. Wrapping a present can be quite simple and fast or take up to two or three hours, when you build a diorama around it for instance (Yes I do those kind of things - but you have to get on my "Very Nice"-List for this). Me and Santa have a little wrapping contest going on each year. Most of the times the jolly man wins (many years of experience ahead), but every once in  a while he is quite pleased and surprised with my wrapping skills.
But let me get to the product at hand. I love wrapping presents in papers, not everyone uses. So I was excited to find those Florentine Papers from the family owned company  Rossi 1931  at the Torquato Shop. They offer 6 variations of decorative paper. Each variation costs 10,90 EUR and each order includes two sheets of paper (100x70cm). I can see myself wrapping a couple of presents in those lovely patterns. My favorites are the Ilex and Cinnamon prints ... with a red or green bow and some cinnamon sticks ... Christmas bliss.

A Present for a colleague

Copyright Picture: Torquato AG

Though I was looking for a totally different present, I stumbled upon the best present for one of my colleagues in the US. She was looking for a Christmas ornament, when she was visiting the German office last year. Though there was none. No I found a set of three Christmas birds hand-crafted in a glassblowing in Lauscha, Thuringia. They are a total bargain with 9,80 EUR per set and they come in 3 different colors: red, silver and golden. I like the red ones the best - I think it goes marvelous with the green backdrop of a christmas tree as well as with a glass display or snow covered branches in a vase. I hope this comes in a lovely little box - otherwise I will just have to find one - since this bird has to fly over the ocean.