National Unicorn Day?… Let’s go quirky on these mystical creatures!

Unicorns are quirky, they are basically horses with a pretty horn on their head, weird but beautiful. They have become amazingly popular over the last year or two, and I can totally see why, they are fabulous. They are mostly seen wandering around rainbows and sparkly things, so magical, so beautiful, extremely majestic.

With the intention of embracing this oh so random national day, I thought I’d have a little looksy for some unicorns. The gift industry is saturated with unicorns, so it is a crazy but stunning world to explore, and most items are truly gorgeous, but I want to find more than gorgeous, I want to find the quirky and the unusual unicorns. Here goes, wish me luck, I may not come back!!

Shall we start with jewellery? (always a good place to start!) This ring is stunning, so unbelievably quirky in it’s design. I love that it’s a unicorn horn to begin with, but the way it is twisted just adds to the quirkiness. It is so delicate and elegant. I would have seriously considered this as a Wedding ring if it had been available when we were getting married. So special, I love it. I want it!

Speaking of Weddings, these unicorn place card magnetic holders are so unusual. If you’re looking at organizing a quirky Wedding full of magic and wonder, these would be perfect. They would double up as a cute little favour too! Very classy-looking, I definitely would have considered choosing these for our Wedding.

And adding a bit of class to an otherwise yucky product, this unicorn toilet brush holder is amazing. It’s just fab, not over the top flashy, it is quite a subtle piece so would blend in quite well with any bathroom. But it is an adorable unicorn, and that makes it quirky!

I do love a bit of novelty quirky too, with plastic straws hard to come by these days, it makes sense to invest in reusable straws for your children (or for yourself!) These are shaped like unicorns, and they’re pink!!! I think they’re so funky and fun, kids would love them. I have seen them as dinosaurs too which are cool.

Sticking with the novelty, you can’t get more kooky than these unicorn hats for cats! I would have absolutely 100% bought these for my cats when I had them! Probably best-placed on a placid pet that is used to being dressed up though! Would your pet let you turn them into a unicorn? This is probably my favourite unicorn find. I expect to see many of your pets prancing around in these soon!

A small selection of quirky unicorn bits and bobs to mark the occasion of National Unicorn Day. Hope it serves you well. It probably won’t be the last you see of unicorns on this blog don’t worry. With so many unicorn products available, they will be sure to come out to play here again soon. And if this has wet your appetite for quirky unicorns, you will find lots more quirky unicorns on my facebook page today too.

My dream house would probably look like a Fairy House!

If you are indeed a quirky shopper like me, you will most definitely have at least considered buying a fairy house either for yourself or for someone else at some point in your life! I prefer the solar ones, they have a little bit more magic to them. I love how quirky they look, they come in so many different shapes and sizes and they are so beautiful, it’s hard not to imagine yourself living in a proper normal-sized house that resembles one of them. Wouldn’t the World be a more interesting and colourful place? I am envious of the fairies who get to live in them!

A few years ago, Mr Quirky gave me a Solar Fairy House for Christmas and it has lived on our windowsill in the kitchen sunbathing for quite a while, it was a nice thing to look at whilst washing up! But I have found that they have a bigger purpose, a power, that I didn’t realise they had until a month or so ago, the power to quieten a toddler meltdown! When my two-year old niece came over one day, I found that she quietened down as soon as I asked her if she wanted to see the fairies. I have since moved my fairy house to the living room windowsill so that she can see it easier, and she’s so cute ‘sssh’ she says ‘the fairies are sleeping’ Works like a charm!

This is the one I’ve got, it looks quite impressive and would be up there as one of the grandest fairy houses.

I was so impressed with this idea as a gift that the next Christmas I wanted to get my Mother one. I thought it was something a little bit different that she would like to look at. Her favourite colour is purple so I was trying to find one that had purple colouring, and I was trying to find something that was completely different to the one I was given. And then I found this teapot, this was spot on. My Dad loved it more than my Mother and they have it on the windowsill in their kitchen diner so I know they like it. It is so pretty and quirky, I love it. There are many many more teapots available that are just as quirky, and just as fun as this one, but I think I made the right choice for my Mother with it’s purple flowers on top.

I am so impressed with how the designs have moved on in the short time since I was looking for this teapot! They have them in so many different shapes and themes now. These fruit and veg themed fairy houses are amazing, and they really do spark the imagination. It makes sense that fairies would build houses out of what is available to them…we’ll forget that they would probably rot though shall we?! This pineapple themed fairy house is fantastic, looks so funky, it would look so good in a kitchen or in the garden. You can also get a pumpkin, a broccoli,a bunch of carrots and a bunch of asparagus!

There are quite a few floral fairy houses too as you can imagine. These are beautiful ones, but what I like about this one is that it looks like a bouquet of lillies. No need for a vase, no need for you to arrange, and the flowers won’t die. This seems like a fabulous alternative to a bunch of flowers if you ask me!

I also adore the really quirky shaped fairy houses you can get like caravans! Caravans always look quirky, they have funny shapes, they have retro and vintage vibes and they just lend themselves so well to this type of product. I have a soft spot for this gypsy caravan, and it might need to be added to my fairy house wishlist. It would look amazing in the garden.

I do love the gypsy caravan, but this retro tin can of a caravan is so quirky, I had to include it! They would both look so fab in the garden, I can visualise it, at this rate I’ll be setting up a fairy caravan park out the back!

Another gorgeous fairy house that would look absolutely perfect in the garden is this watering can. There’s a choice of purple or silver, but I love the purple, really stands out, and that’s what we want from our quirky purchases surely?! I love that it hasa ladybird on it, adding character and even more colour. Thumbs up from me!

I do have a deep appreciation for the boot-shaped fairy houses too. The detailing is exquisite. It’s an extremely elegant kind of quirky, and automatically makes you think of childhood stories about the little old lady who lived in shoe, I think that’s the story I’m thinking about anyway! Either way, it has a nostalgic vibe, takes you back to the imagination of youth, and that’s what fairy houses are there for, to create magical moments and memories.

I just love all of these fairy houses, and it would be amazing to be small enough to live in one, even just for a day. Maybe one day I will be able to build my very own fairy house, I’m only 5ft nothing so it shouldn’t take long! I think mine would have to be a palace fairy house like this one…after all, I am a bit of a Princess!

Which one would you live in?

Sausage dogs are taking the quirky world by storm!

Most people have a preference, they are either a cat person or a dog person. I am scared of dogs so I am a cat person by default, but, there is something about a funny-looking sausage dog that I just can’t resist, and whenever I see one, whether it be real or as a product, I can’t help myself from smiling.

This is a fun ‘theme’ to research and no doubt I’ll be adding to this post as I explore more funky websites. However, on Amazon alone, I have found masses of these adorable little pooches in an array of forms, from classy to crazy, they are there in abundance, and they look amazing.

I think a little bit of colour is needed on this post now don’t you? If you’re looking for a special gift for a special lady, this is stunning. Quirky and fun, the colours are out of this world, such a beautiful design. Very unusual and totally kooky with the top hat. A statement piece to be adored for years to come. This would make the plainest of outfits pop, a definite must-have for any sausage dog super fan.

This cast iron sausage dog toilet / kitchen roll holder is the bees knees. I would personally use it as a kitchen roll holder because it is so handy to have one and I don’t have one yet…on the wish list now for definite! It would stop the bottom of the roll getting soggy too I’d imagine and it just looks cool without being over the top.

And how about these funky sausage dogs nail files?! This particular listing is for one nail file, but I adore them, so colourful and pretty, I love the purple / blue one. Is anyone having a sausage dog themed wedding? These would make quirky little favours, it’s an unusual idea that’s for sure!

Speaking of weddings, the happy couple will of course need somewhere to keep their precious rings safe when they’re not wearing them. I love my stag ring holder, but how gorgeous is this sausage dog one?! It lends itself so well to this type of product. It’s stylish and is very elegant, it can sit quite comfortably in any environment as there’s no flamboyance here, it is subtle in it’s quirkiness.

I have noticed that sausage dogs are gaining momentum in the gift world at the moment, and they are starting to show up on everything! I have seen them on mugs, on jewellery, you name it they are there right in the thick of it, giving unicorns, llamas and flamingos a good run for their money! But can you get any more quirky than this…sausage dogs in your cocktails? yes please! I mean, who wants boring old cubes when you can have sausage-shaped dogs?! These would be fab for a fun sausage dog themed birthday party, young or old! I’m sure children would love using them as moulds for clay too.

Sticking with the party boys and girls theme, this is the type of gift I like to give. Practical and quirky! It is probably up there in the top 10 gifts you can give to men over and over again without it being weird. I have found some funky bottle openers in my day and Mr Quirky has been given quite a few as stocking fillers over the years, but I have never seen one shaped in this way before. The only thing that would make this sausage dog bottle opener more quirky would be if it was rainbow-coloured! This is one of my favourite things I’ve found so far.

This is a little bit of a cheeky addition to this post, but as you may know I do have my own online quirky gift shop too, and sausage dogs have started to find their way on to our little shop. I won’t be adding loads of links to my shop in this blog don’t worry, but there are some themes I just can’t go by without showing you what I have too. Sausage dogs is one of those themes and these salt and pepper sets are just awesome.

If I was to invest in a salt and pepper set, this sausage hot dog and mustard set would be my number one choice. It’s so funky and cute, and such a cool talking piece on the dinner table if you had guests! They would make fab new home or engagement gifts. Something fun but practical.

As sausage dogs, or dachshunds as they are sometimes called, gain popularity in the gift industry, I am bound to find more funky bits and bobs to add here so stay tuned!