Save The Bees: Bee Revival Kit

 

Even though bee season has nearly ended there are still a few buzzing around (I have taken the photographs) and readers may find this useful for next year. I have several 4ft lavender bushes in my front garden and kept finding exhausted/dying/dead bees on the flowers. I hate seeing any animal in pain or suffering. So I researched causes and solutions to the poor little bees plight. 

Bees collapse/ die because they are overworked, need a boost of energy or a drink of water. The bee revival keyring/ bee thirst aid kit is from the revive a bee store from Amazon. The keyring is £11.49 and the paper hang tag is plantable wildflower seed paper. The gold key ring unscrews to reveal a glass vial containing Invertbee, a combination of fructose and glucose liquid. Unlike sugar syrup this will not crystallise as it dries out. This will give the bees the boost they need. Do not offer it to bees that don’t need it, they won’t thank you for it! A percentage of every sale is donated to Rewilding Britain. 

A useful tool to help a tiny much needed member of the wildlife community which is often overlooked or seen as scary! I have used it several times and the bee did seem to be revived- it flew off. I know one definitely did survive as it only has three legs and I saw it back at work the next day. This is a great concept and I like that a donation is made to a worthwhile charity. 

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own.  

Review: Eco Chic Reusable Face Coverings

 I saw these reusable face coverings (£4.99 each) when buying my bird food from the RSPB online shop. I was intrigued as the coverings have little plastic bobbles/sliders/ on the elastic which makes it easier to tighten/ adjust. I chose the smaller sizes bees, wild birds and British wildlife. There are also pockets in the face coverings where you can pop in optional replaceable filters. 

The patterns are really fun. I love that the wildlife version has hedgehogs featured on it and it he bird covering has all the most well known birds printed across it. The coverings are washable and I shall keep mine in the resealable bags which they came in. The elastic is soft around the ears - especially important as a glasses wearer - and I love the adjustable ear loops. 

   

I purchased these items myself and the views expressed in my blog are my own 

Alex Monroe Sample Sale Review & #Win An Alex Monroe Butterfly Pendant

I have always loved Alex Monroe's jewellery and the emphasis he places upon nature and animals as part of his design aesthetic. Until now, however, his sample sales have been held in London, mostly at his studio in Clerkenwell. As this is too far for me to travel I haven't been able to go. He held his first sample sale on Manchester Foundation Coffee Shop on 2-3 December 2017 as part of his 30th Anniversary Celebrations.  As I don't live very far away I was able to attend. The prices started at £25. There were both discontinued and also slightly faulty items that haven't made it through their stringent quality control. 1st quality stock had 20% off.  The faults were clearly marked - my elephant pendant, for example, has a hole in his leg but when I looked for it I couldn't see it. My 22ct gold plate elephant pendant was £60 as were my rose gold bee and silver fox pendants. The silver bird and butterfly pendants and ring were £30 each. Some items - the ring, butterfly and bird pendants  had been discontinued.  Some of the Alex Monroe tags had "s" stamped on them.  All sales were final. Alex Monroe pouches were available to buy for £2 each.  The sample prices represented a great reduction - my elephant pendant, for example, would retail at £145 at the full price.



The staff were very helpful and would help you rifle through the boxes if there was a certain design or item you were looking for.  The items were all clearly marked as seconds or samples with the prices and separated into boxes depending upon material and whether they were rings, pendants etc. I enjoyed searching through the boxes but I went when it was quiet - I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if it had been a busy period.





The 22ct gold plate butterfly pendant and pouch can be won by entering my rafflecopter competition.
The competition is open worldwide and starts on 1 Jan 2018 and ends 14 Jan 11.59 GMT 2018.  This competition is in no way associated with Alex Monroe Jewellery. I purchased the item myself.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bacoca Boutique Bee Earrings: Review

 Bacoca Boutique are a online jewellery store that specialises in  "beautiful celebrity inspired jewellery with luxury, glamour and style.   I was lucky enough to win a pair of their bee earrings in a recent Twitter competition. They arrived today and they are gorgeous. They came well packaged in a Jiffy bag and wrapped in a little gift pouch, accompanied by a little jewellery care card.

The earrings are £18, gold plated and measure 1cm. They are fastened with butterfly backs.  They lay flat across my ear so there is no danger that they will get tangled in my hair or I will knock them out.

They look understated and elegant and bee jewellery is still very much on trend. There are also matching items available.

They run regular Twitter competitions so it is well worth following them!


Available from here
Twitter: BacocaBoutique