Still on the subject of Valentine’s Day, I bet you can’t guess what these roses are made of. The clue is in the picture. They’re made out of duct tape. The roses come in a variety of colours and each one contains an incense stick for fragrance. Like real roses you can mix and match colours and and you can buy them singly or by the dozen or half dozen. Unlike real roses they’ll last way beyond 14th Feb.

Check out Disquieting Designs for more unusual gift ideas. The link is www.megbrame.com/trash/.

With Christmas now a distant memory and the January sales coming to end, it’s time to turn our attention to Valentine’s Day. Gifts Define has a cute collection of dolls and goodies for you to send to your nearest and dearest. You can choose from quirky dolls bearing the name of a loved one, Valentine’s cupids and our favourite, the Valentine’s Goodies Suitcase. The suitcases are crammed full of rose scented petal soap, candles, heart shaped bath fizzes, photo frames, notepads and lollipops. They’re priced at just $35 (around £18) and if you spend $150 or more, they’re free!

Take a peak at www.giftsdefine.com.

So, I pay my bills and complete my tax return (well, it’s almost finished - do we need anymore adverts, posters, reminders? It’s Jan 31st - we get it). I run two businesses, cook, clean (well eventually, when I can’t make it through the hallway because it’s cluttered with ‘things to go upstairs’). I vote, read good literature and watch interesting films. And yet at the same time there’s something inside me that still goes a little bit gooey over Hello Kitty and glittery bag charms. And for those times there’s Pink Ribbon Boutique.

This candy coloured eBay store is bursting with kitsch, cute, dolly rocker, Lolita-esque, Harajuku charms and trinkets. Skip straight to the 80s Toy Box where Barbie rubs shoulders with My Little Pony, the Care Bears and C3P0. And don’t miss the ‘Harajuku Girl’ section where you can mix and match strawberry and faux pearl necklaces with fun banana bag charms.

Somewhere in deepest Cornwall sits Lee May. Surrounded by a menagerie of animals, she doodles and paints, creating hand printed tees and sweatshirts. Real and mythological creatures sit alongside each other in imagined conversation. And quirky characters appear against natural and dreamlike backdrops.

All of the t-shirt designs have been taken from Lee May’s own drawings and then hand printed onto 100% cotton jersey. In addition to the tees, Lee May also makes and sells a range of quirky jewellery, mixing silver, gold plate, vintage lucite and glass.

All of these charming and imaginative creations can be found at www.bonbiforest.com.

The Autumn/Winter Collection from Anais Jewellery takes its inspiration from the colours of the season. Rich gold chain and tassels are mixed with citrine, chalcedony, smoky quartz, pearl and iolite. Fine stems of wire wrap around droplets of colour and are woven into teardrops, leaves and long fluid shapes.

My favorites are the Citrine Leaf earrings on the right.

Take a peak at http://anaisjewellery.50webs.com/fall06.html.