What Does The Perfect Gift Look Like? Let me show you!

The Perfect Gift: An all-occasion fill-in-the-blank gift book for adults is now available! What does The Perfect Gift look like? Let me show you!

The Perfect Gift - front cover

I am so excited to tell you about this book! I honestly think that it is going to make your life easier. What? How?

Read on, my book-loving friend...

My next book is now available, and it's a gift book for adults called, 'The Perfect Gift'...

Because it is.

So, let's take a look at The Perfect Gift. I'd love to know what you think!

Handrwitten and suitable for any occasion

This entire book is handwritten - to give that special homemade feel.

It has been illustrated in watercolour and fine liners.

Described as:

• Warm

• Lighthearted, and

• A little bit tongue-in-cheek

The Perfect Gift is suitable for any event, from a birthday, Christmas, or Mother's Day, through to a heartfelt apology, divorce gift for a friend who needs a pick-me-up, or just because.

Simple prompts with plenty of space to write

It contains simple prompts with blank spaces for the giver to fill in and personalise the book for their special someone.

It is only as mushy as you make it.

And contains a BONUS little heart-finding game and an optional Pay-it-Forward activity so the receiver can choose to pass the kindness along to someone else.

Laid-back style with suggestions to make filling in the blanks less daunting

Each page has been photographed to show a canvas-like texture and give them some colour and depth.

Some imperfections have deliberately been included to keep the homemade feel and make the project more approachable for the giver.

Watercolour paintings and canvas-like texture

At 25 pages (not all of them require any work), the book is not too long and does not seem like a daunting task to complete.

There is plenty of space on each page, and even a couple of blank pages at the end, where you can:

• Create your own pages and prompts

• Stick in a photo

• Add your own artwork

• Turn it into a pocket to slip in whatever you like

• Or whatever else you can come up with

This book is going to make gift-giving easy!

You can put your own spin on your answers and keep it funny and light for an office Secret Santa gift, make it mushy for your significant other, or keep it sweet for your bestie, Mum, or grandma (don't forget that Mother's Day is sneaking up on us!)

The Perfect Gift is now available on Amazon for $13.99 AUD. Check it out HERE.

Does this look like something that you would give to someone?

Happy gifting!

Much love - Marley xx

42 Cheap or Free Creative Ideas

Feel like being creative but not sure what to do? Or maybe you don't feel creative at all but you'd like to try anyway. Here are 42 cheap or free creative ideas for you to try.

Nature picture fun

42 Creative Ideas:

1. Write a letter It could be to 10-year-old you, an alien from Mars, or Charlie Sheen. Why Charlie Sheen? No idea, it was just the first name that popped into my head. What is he up to these days?

2. Bake and decorate some cupcakes This suggestion is on heaps of lists to fight boredom, but why not go one step further and decorate them to look like mini plants or gardens. Google them, they're adorable.

3. Collect rocks, sticks, grasses, flowers, and leaves, then arrange them into a picture. Take a photo of your creation. Get the kids involved. It's fun. (see picture--->)

4. Do some stamping Use things that you find in your kitchen - egg rings, a piece of celery, a fork, or some scrunched-up foil.

5. Watch a YouTube video on how to do a new hairstyle and try to copy it This generates heaps of frustration for me, but you might love it lol

6. Fold up a piece of paper or a napkin and cut out a snowflake Why? Just because (but this is also a great elf idea to store in the memory bank)

7. Make some ooblek with cornflour and water Such a fun sensory experience. Slap it, run your fingers through it, or do what Blippi did and put some on top of a speaker, play different music, and see how the music affects the shape of the ooblek (Google 'dancing ooblek').

8. Paint Put some blobs of paint onto a piece of paper, then use your fingers to make a picture with the blobs, fold the piece of paper in half and make a butterfly, or use a window cleaner to scrape the blobs across the page.

9. Write a poem Use the words: stem, frame, dance, blame, and stretch, or write one about your dog, job, or a tree in your yard.

10. Turn the sound off your television Watch a movie and try to imagine what people are saying based on their facial expressions and what they are doing.

11. Collect some sticks on a walk and use some string to wrap them together to make shapes, like stars and stick figures. Hang them in your yard. I have a star made of sticks hanging on the side of our garage. Kinda gives off Blair Witch vibes lol.

12. Arrange some twigs, grasses, and flowers in a jar Place the arrangement at the centre of your table.

13. Pre-write birthday cards for the rest of the year Get organised and creative at the same time. Doodle, include random things you find, write a poem, whatever you feel inspired to do at the time.

14. Press flowers Stick them between two pieces of paper towel and some heavy books. Slot them into the birthday cards when they're ready for a super lovely treat.

15. Bubble art Put some food dye into some water with a drop of dishwashing liquid. Using a straw, blow bubbles until they rise over the lip of the cup. Press a piece of paper over the top of the cup to get bubble prints. I have prints I made like this with my two eldest daughters. We then did hand and foot prints that we turned into fish with the bubble background.

16. Draw a face on a rock or paint it to look like a bug Place them around your yard, by your front door, or along the path next time you go for a walk.

17. Go to the beach and fill a jar with sand (if you are allowed to) You could add some shells or other things you find and keep the jar somewhere to remind you of your creativity (and your happy beach visit).

18. Paper mache Use an old newspaper to paper mache half a balloon and turn it into a bowl, or try to come up with your own paper mache creation.

19. Make clay Look up a recipe. Most of them only use flour, salt, and water. Then, make giant pendants to hang on some string around your house or neck.

20. Aluminium foil art Scrunch up foil to make flowers, shapes, or people. Dress the people with tissues. I have done this one at work and with the kids. Fun both times.

21. Try a different makeup look You may just find a new look or trick

22. Try stream-of-consciousness writing This is where you put your pen on the paper and start to write without thought. Do not let yourself stop writing even if it is nonsensical rubbish, for a set amount of time. Try 5 minutes. Then read over what you wrote.

23. Rhyming Choose a word. Try to come up with as many words as you can that rhyme with that word.

24. Words in a word Write your full name. Use the letters of your name to make as many words as you can.

25. Folding Try to fold your towels into interesting shapes and leave them on your bed like you might find in a dodgy motel.

26. Make eco-confetti Gather some leaves. Use a hole punch to make your own eco-friendly confetti.

27. Start a Goodreads profile Leave reviews for all of the books that have left an impression on you.

28. Send an email Write to someone just to say hello and see how they are doing. Tell them about your day.

29. Mindfulness Sit still somewhere and mentally run through your 5 senses. Think about what you can feel, see, smell, hear, and taste at that very moment. Then, close your eyes and pretend that you are somewhere else and do the same thing, imagining what you can feel, see, smell, hear and taste wherever you are in your mind.

30. Have a conversation out loud with someone who is not there Make up what they would reply to you. Try to imitate voices or accents.

31. Try cutting your own hair Make sure you have a hat or can still tie it up.

32. Try on new outfits Put together items of clothing that you would never think of wearing together in a million years.

33. Stand in front of a mirror and practice your best Superwoman pose Chest out, shoulders back, hands on hips, chin up. Smile. Then, try other poses.

34. Teach yourself how to play the spoons Get two spoons out of your drawer. Place them back to back and try to make music with them by hitting them between your leg and hand. (I can't do this, but it seems like a fun party trick to have)

35. Make a picture out of your food Arrange your apple slices into a flower or make tonight's dinner look like a face.

36. Play lego Build a house or a tower, or maybe try food, a boat, or a random brick creation.

37. Cook your entire evening meal outside on an open fire I challenge you. Why? Because outside is good.

38. Choose a letter and base your entire day around that letter Wear clothing that starts with that letter, eat food that starts with that letter, go for a drive to somewhere that starts with that letter.

39. Throw a themed party Think opp shop, rainbow, Aussie rock, hippie, art, nature, dogs. Whatever floats your boat.

40. Write an acceptance speech Imagine that you are receiving some sort of award. Make up the award.

41. Draw a spiral on a piece of paper Make it as tight as you can so it continues for the longest possible time and fills up the whole page.

42. Call someone whose number is saved in your phone and who you haven't spoken to in at least two years Don't pre-plan what you are going to say... I'm gunna sit this one out. But you should do it. Go on. It sounds like fun (if you're a weird kind of extrovert... which isn't me lol)

Stick art giving Blair Witch vibes

Bubble art with fishy handprint

Have fun! Let me know what ideas you try and how you go.

Love, Marley x

The Reality of Parenting Twin Preschoolers

Parenting twin preschoolers is NEXT LEVEL! How? Let me tell you (and maybe whinge just a little bit).

• Double the work This is the no-brainer. Of course it is double the work. Two bodies to bathe, dry, and dress. Two mouths to feed and sets of teeth to brush. Two bags to pack. At story time, they are NEVER going to want to have the same book read. At lunchtime, they will rarely want the same thing to eat. My twins even have differing toothbrush and paste preferences: Twin A gets the orange toothbrush and Spiderman toothpaste, while Twin B gets the white toothbrush and the white toothpaste. Ya get me? No cut and paste over here. One twin will want you to draw a picture of a crocodile, while the other will want a flower on Godzilla. It is absolutely twice the work!

• They feed off each other If one is being loud and crazy, then the other is bound to get loud and crazy too. If one is tired and wants to go to sleep and the other doesn't, you bet that the twin who doesn't want to sleep is going to stir up the twin that does so that you have two hyperactive little bodies that ain't gonna sleep any time soon and double grumpy tomorrow. If you're out and one starts misbehaving, the other will take their twin's cue and start misbehaving too, because, hey, why not? Yep. I hate to say it. Man, I reeeeally don't want to. It's killing me. I'm trying to hold it in.... Must... Not... Say... Double trouble. Darn. Yeah. That.

• They seek one another's approval and less of anyone else's If a single baby doesn't get your approval, they might not like that. If you show them that you're disappointed, or tell them that what they're doing is not making you happy, they might respond to that. But twins? It might slow them down for a tiny wee little miniscule moment, but then when they turn around and see the support and approval in the face of their twin, well, your disapproval doesn't seem very important all of a sudden. So what if you don't like me throwing food on the floor, my twin thinks I'm hilarious!

My boys really are the best

• No downtime With one child, you might find some snippets of time to yourself. Perhaps, a moment while they nap, watch a television show, or do some colouring. With twins, you can bet that if one is settled in front of the television, the other wants you to make them a sandwich and build them a tower. There is RARELY any downtime. No weeing in peace, no conversations with friends, no slow sips of coffee in the morning to wake you up while they stare at cartoons. None of that. Go. From the moment you open your eyes until the moment you close them again. And even then, a twin will probably wake you in the night because they had a bad dream or need to wee and want you to go with them.

• The fighting Oh em gee. If you know, you know. Twins FIGHT. Well, my boys do, I can't tell you if twin girls do too. Now, I'm not talking about a squabble over the blue texta or one pushing over the other in the sandpit here, I'm talking about a full-on WWE-style smackdown. Throwing chairs across heads, bodyslamming, scratching, chokeholding, punching, climbing up on ladders to jump off elbow-first and cleave skulls open with olecranons. All in a day.

• Toilet training Do I really need to expand on this one? Yeah, it could just be a part of the first point: Double the work, but I really feel like this needs a point of it's own. I've earned this point lol.

• Cost I bet you think that twin parents get deals and discounts. Most of the time, we don't. Extra nappies, groceries, photo packages, extracurricular activity fees, uniforms etc - and we're not even at school yet! I just know that this is going to get worse. The one thing I feel we can get away with less than double of, is toys (for now), and recently, we have an increased childcare subsidy for Twin B (which is a blessing and what made it worth me returning to work).

• You've got your hands full Ugh. Another thing that people like to point out regularly. It used to bug me so much. They mean that you look busy, but the thing with twins is that you literally have your hands full. Like, holding the hand of each twin leaves you with no hands to press the button on the pole to cross the road, or unlock the car, or pay for the groceries. And if you let go of a hand, then you can guarantee that one or both twins will be off like a shot. Gone. And then you have to yell. Or run. Neither are fun.

• It's harder to get them looked after With two children who require constant vigilance and attention, it is much harder to find someone willing and able to watch them while you do anything. It feels like a big ask of anyone.

• Non-stop noise They don't seem to care if their twin is already speaking, they will just talk louder and you will need to adapt to having two completely separate conversations at exactly the same time. Then, when they've finished speaking at you, they will go off and do loud things so that every single ounce of space is taken up with sound of some sort.

• The touching Add the touching to the noise, multiple conversations, fighting, dressing, climbing, pulling, screaming, playing, and draining, and you will likely end up with way too much sensory input and your head might just explode.

Yeah. Parenting twin preschoolers is EXHAUSTING, but, despite my sooking, I know that I am hugely, amazingly, and incredibly blessed. My boys are besties (and worsties) and I have the absolute joy of watching them grow and play together. When I pick them up from kinder, I have two gorgeous little humans running towards me to fling their arms around my neck and pass me artwork that they have done (we need a bigger fridge lol). I get multiple flowers picked for me when we go for walks. I get to see two very different and amazing minds approach the same thing in two unique ways. My twins share clothing and play well together with other children, while I get to lap up praise and admiration from other mothers who say "I don't know how you do it!" You know what? I don't know either. This shit is HARD, but the rewards are infinite (and hopefully when I'm old, someone will come and visit me lol).

I will always admire parents of higher-order multiples. I am certain they must be superhumans, or aliens.

Much love,

Marley x

P.S. My twinnies are the best.