I love to give these as gifts

I enjoy having a small bowl or "dish" to place my rings and other jewelry in. I use one on top of my dresser for my wedding rings and frequently-worn earrings, one next to my kitchen sink for my rings when I'm washing dishes and I like to have one for guests when they spend the night.



They're also lovely for paperclips on your desk or to hold lemon slices at a tea party. You could even use one at each place setting at a dinner party to hold a pat of butter or a condiment.



When I started looking for them, I found them at Goodwill and other thrift stores for anywhere from 75 cents to no more than $3 each.



These make lovely, thoughtful and inexpensive gifts. They're easy to collect and keep on hand for a gift-giving occasion and they're small enough to tuck into a gift bag. See? The one I just found was only $1.49 at Goodwill.



Just check the bottom to make sure it isn't cheap ceramic or "made in China." It's fun to hunt for one in a friend's favorite color or that matches her decor.



The hard part will be not keeping them for yourself {and keeping your mom from stealing them from you--that's what mine did!}!

Girls' Night In

Now that I am emerging from my postpartum fog (I call it a "milky haze"), I am trying to get back down to the business of taking care of the people around me. My love language to others is giving gifts and with us on a budget, I don't get to do it very often. But I felt led to do this for a dear friend who has been such a wonderful encouragement to me for the last several months.

She is due with a baby boy any day now and her sister and mother are in town for a visit, and hopefully to meet the baby. I thought it would be fun to create a "girls' night in" bag so I assembled this at the store and gave it to her this morning.



I got some Crunch N Munch, "Maid in Manhatten," some good candy, a facial mask, a nail buffer, nail polish and some cute nail decals. They can pop the movie in, enjoy some snacks, have a facial and paint their nails--soooo girly!

I hope it blesses them--I know I had fun putting it together! Just thought I'd throw it out there in case you thought of someone who would enjoy something similar. It's always fun to surprise someone with goodies!

Spring Swap Goodies

I am so glad I participated in this Spring Swap--I hope my "swap partner" is, too! I was expecting the box to be a baby gift so when it was ALL FOR ME, I was pretty excited!!! :)

Look at all these fun Spring goodies!! The green "clutch" on the left is a fold-up shopping bag, which I always need more of. I got a fun book to read, too, and some thank you cards (perfect for a mother-to-be).



I love the bird plaque, it's so cute!



She sent me these bird magnets, too, from my friend Shelly's Etsy shop
Lemon Tree Studio. I've been eying these for weeks and I adore them on my fridge!!

Oh, and see the cross bookmark?? Love it!



I love these card-making sets--it takes all the guess-work out and is portable, so I can work on cards away from home!



Thanks, Heather! I hope you like everything I sent for you! :)

Friday's Fave Five #8

Read more entries over at

Living To Tell The Story

1. A chance to hit a few stores with my mom. Without a car, Andrew and I are home-bound all week, so it is nice to get out! Andrew was a complete angel, which I never take for granted! Target popcorn and a new train we found for 50% off didn't hurt, either! heehee.

I scored this crystal-studded tee for about $8 at Ross! I wore it to Bunco Monday night and won back my $10!! This is me at 29 weeks.



2. More goodies from our shopping adventure. My mom got Andrew the shoes for his back yard adventures, after seeing his "good sneakers" caked with mud!! The sprinkles will be hard to find in another month, so I snapped them up! And I desperately needed measuring cups and I love the color!!



This was the "find of the day!" A pink tea pot, WITH a strainer, for $4!! I'm amassing a good collection and my goal is to have 8 or so for tea parties, so each lady can have her own pot.



3. This delightful surprise from my dear friend, Chrissy. It almost made me cry when I opened it!! It is so sweet, I will always cherish it. It's so fun to see "the brothers" names together!!



4. My mom brought over an origami card-making book so I tried my hand at this big envelope with a toothpick closure (meant to "Wrap" a scarf or tie as a gift)...



...then I got addicted to making these origami note cards! These are made of a traditional origami paper and are such fun to make!



I tried the origami envelope, too, and made one for the note cards to go in as a gift! Delightful!



5. New paper in the mail and a head full of ideas on what to do with them!! The best part is, I paid for the paper from what I've made on my cards! Yeah!







Can't wait to see what you all were up to this week!! Thanks for stopping by!

DIYP: Initial Ornaments

This is what I made for my nephews, niece and favorite kids for Christmas but they're so fun and easy, I think I'll be making a lot more of them, especially to attach to a gift for a new baby! They can certainly be Christmas ornaments but I could also attach a small hook to the back and just attach a ribbon for hanging.



Here's the super-simple tutorial (materials used are in bold):

1. Purchase letters at a craft store. I had the best luck at Michael's, with these white, script letters. There are also cursive styles and wood letters out there. I'd recommend sanding and priming the wood ones first.

2. Using acrylic paint in the color of your choice, give two coats to each side, allowing them to dry in-between. I used a foam brush but for the more intricate letters, you'll need a small paint brush to reach all the nooks and crannies.

3. Using a pencil eraser, choose a contrasting color paint and apply polka dots. A second dab may be necessary. Of course you can also paint stripes, curly-cues or whatever your heart desires!

4. Use a spray sealer, giving two coats to each side. I had better results with the spray than with a brush-on sealant, plus it's so easy to just spray it until you get the finish you want.

Here's the backs when I sealed it with Mod Podge. It was hard to get it smooth and it was still tacky, even days later. Yuck.



Here's the backs with the spray sealant. Much smoother and it dried super-fast.



5. Using a hot glue gun, attach a hanger or hook to the back (as shown above).

6. Tie on sheer ribbon (less bulky than satin) in a bow and adhere with a dab of hot glue so it doesn't twist around.

Here are my final results.

These are the ones I used spray sealant on--smooth and shiny!!



And while these were cute, the finish was messy and uneven with the Mod Podge.



Ta-da! Adorable AND personalized!!

Handmade Christmas

While I didn't officially announce, "This year is going to be a handmade Christmas!" to my family (and frankly, I didn't follow this 'rule' myself!), three savvy female relatives "got it," anyway!!

Check these goodies out. Make a mental note: giving handmade gifts doesn't necessarily mean laboring over some super-complicated sewing or art project for months--it can take on many forms.

Example #1: My mom purchased this from a fundraiser craft show, benefiting the crisis pregnancy center where she volunteers. It's a handmade apron, named after women of the Bible and this one, featuring my current favorite color, happens to be "The Tabitha."



Here's the story, from the Bible in Acts 9:36. Yes, my mother named me after this woman and NOT Samantha's daughter on "Bewitched!"



Example #2: My sister-in-law (hubby's sis') knitted (crocheted??) this shawl during a car trip! We'd seen one like it in a boutique over Thanksgiving weekend so she duplicated it (she's quite talented, she is), right down to the over-sized buttons! It's perfect just to throw over your shoulders when you're chilled. I keep it by my favorite chair for those chilly mornings.



Example #3: My other sister-in-law (my brother's wife) gave the ladies in the family this jar, which includes the recipe for her grandmother's shortbread! Just add butter! I can't wait to try it!!



Pretty neat assortment, eh? It inspires me to REALLY go handmade in '09!!

Initial ornament DIYP--cuuuute!

Need a cute gift idea that only takes about an hour of your time and $2.00 to make??

Then check this out!!



You can get those 4" letters at most craft stores for about $1.25, made out of either wood or that white, plaster-like material. I chose wood just because it's more...old-fashioned??

Here's a tip: sanding and priming these would make the painting #1, easier and #2, smoother. You're welcome! :)

There's a small hole in the bottom so I did most of my painting by perching it on the end of a paint brush.



First, I painted it with two coats of the aqua blue.

Then I did the orange dots with a pencil eraser...the white tiny dots with a toothpick...and the green dots with a slightly smaller eraser on a mechanical pencil. I'll be looking for three more distinct sizes for the rest of mine!

Can you see the tiny white dots??? I thought it gave it a little dimension.



Then I attached the ornament hook to the back with Mod Podge but I'll be using hot glue next time. See, I did all the trial-and-error for you!!

I Mod Podged the whole thing over, too, and tied the ribbon on.

I'd like to try a camouflage version for two of my nephews, and maybe add other personalized embellishments to some. Team colors (orange and blue, say) are another fun idea.

For my future letters, I'll probably use an organza ribbon, just so there's no "bad sides." For boys, I may just tie a know or forgo the ribbon altogether.

And of course the color combinations are endless! Stripes, too, or little curly-cues...I couldn't nap today, thinking of all the possibilities!!

I'll let you know what else I cook up--let me know if you try this!!

Projects

Isn't there always a project to do?? One gets done and another one starts to rear its ugly head.

I'm actually really good at staying on top of the mail, meaning that I bring it in every day, divide it up between the three adults in the house, recycle the junk and put my stuff "away."

Unfortunately, some of the "away" accumulated into a foot-high pile of mail, catalogs, fliers and other paperwork...



...which I JUST condensed into THIS.



Which definitely gave the area and the whole room a neater appearance...which made THIS all the more glaring!!

Does your craft area ever get to this state??



About 20% less messy and I actually work and function quite well. But this mess is a teensy bit too much. The "constantly searching for one certain stamp or ink pad" kind of mess. Oy, this'll be project, mainly cuz I've acquired more "stuff" and need to organize it into its proper place. Then I probably won't be able to find anything!! :)



And this is my Christmas gift project.

My inspiration came from this on Etsy.



Mine won't be nearly as fancy but it'll be the same idea!

I'm planning to make them into ornaments and give them to my nephews and niece, so I'm not really risking ruining the surprise. I doubt they follow this blog. Even their mommies don't follow this blog (sniff, sniff).

I'm going to do this one for my son as a trial and error, so I can give YOU step-by-step instructions on how to do it as quickly, easily and cheaply as possible!!

I've already figured out that sanding it and maybe even priming it would've been a good start but I'm too impatient!! This will end up being about a $1.50 each project, plus it's handmade and personalized!! So stay tuned!!



After the laundry is finished and I clean the bathroom, maybe I'll conquer that craft table!

Are sugar plums dancing in YOUR head??

They are in mine!!

Along with homemade cookies, kids' initial ornaments, pink Christmas trees, festive lip glosses, handmade purses...

Oh, I have a lot of ideas and of course I'll be sharing them!!

Here's the first round of my favorites, snatched right out of "Woman's Day" magazine.

Giving homemade cookies is no new idea but I love this fun way of packaging them! Cheap and cute!! A stack o' cookies, wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbon! Oh, yeah!



And I adore this idea. Instead of writing names on your gift tags, attach a photo of the recipient!! Do it on heavy paper (even laminate it) and it becomes an ornament!



BUT, before I get too caught up in the Christmas spirit, I have to get through November!! And November in our family is "The Month of Never Ending Birthdays." Here's the run-down:

TWO sister-in-laws
One brother-in-law
TWO nephews
my mom
my son
and ME!
And a handful of good friends, too!

Plus my parents AND grandparents anniversaries! Thankfully, those are just card occasions but the rest require GIFTS!

Alerting my hubby to the quickly approaching M.O.N.E.B.s, he said, "Don't even tell me. Just budget ten bucks each." CAN DO!

Thankfully, my holiday magazines are pouring in with wonderful "under ten dollars" gift ideas!

Here's Idea #1: Boots No7 Colour Compact at Target for just $10!! It includes three eye shadows, three lip glosses and a shimmer face powder, all in a lovely compact. Boots is Target's more "natural" brand. I've heard this is sold out on the web site so I will be checking my local stores and snatching them up! Perfect for SILs and moms!!



I'll be alerting you to other fun ideas and bargains as we go along! Happy dreaming!