Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts

10.04.2012

31 days & gift giving

You may have noticed that a lot of bloggers are participating in a series in October focusing on 31 days of blogging. A lot are simply using this idea to blog everyday about what happens each day. Nina {at according to Nina} is doing a series on 31 days of gift giving. She has only just started it and I'm already really enjoying it. She decided on this topic because gift giving is her love language...and since I share that love language with her, I'm super excited about this!
I love buying gifts randomly and surprising people, even if it's just something small. I even have a pinterest board labeled ultimate gift guide. It's all about random, fun and unique gifts for people. Here are a few of my favorite ideas from this board. 
{original link here}
mailing a box of balloons full of money and notes for someone's birthday. I can definitely see myself doing this for my future nieces and nephews...and probably the twins too. I think  that a kid (or an adult honestly) would love opening a box and seeing this. Plus it would be super cheap to mail. 
{original link here}
frozen cookie dough...this way they can cook as few (or as many) cookies as they want...or if you're like me, you'll probably just eat some of the cookie dough. i think this would be a great addition whenever you take a meal to someone. 
{original link here}
this is a bridal shower gift but it's so cute, i had to share! you fill a basket with champagne bottles, each labeled for a different occasion. i definitely want to do this for Nealee...i just need to figure out which shower I should give it to her at. I'm sure this idea could be adapted to fit other stages of life too!
{original link here}
a stay at home mom survival kit. i this this is such a fun gift to give to those new moms who will be staying home. Again, i think this could easily be changed to fit other occasions in someone's life. i also love that this is a pretty random gift but i'm sure it's something that would be greatly appreciated! (and honestly the beer might be my favorite part)

Happy gift giving!

1.30.2012

things i'm obsessed with

here are a few things that i'm currently in love with...
tervis tumblers...serious love here, they are just so convenient and fun to use. i think that they make a great gift that's fairly inexpensive (especially if you use a 20% coupon at bed, bath & beyond) or you could use the cup as a "gift bag" of sorts like i recently did. i actually totally stole this idea from Amy and then used it on her later :) but i don't think she will care. i don't really know how i carried a drink with me before i had one...and i'm pretty sure that tervs saved grad school!

toms...i got my first pari of toms over 3 years ago. they are off-white with black (and minor pink) writing on them so naturally i was worried about them getting dirty & didn't really start wearing frequently until last year (guess there was just something about spending all day in the library that called for comfy shoes). anyways for christmas the twins gave me a brown pair and i'm definitely getting more use out of these. i'm excited for TOMS flats, which are coming out this spring!
mug from Anthropologie...i saw these all over twitter and two days later i was gifted one...the mug is just so cute and i really enjoy drinking my coffee out of it each morning...but that might have something to do with coffee time occurring during morning nap-time. this would also make a cute gift for the coffee lover friend...or really just a friend who likes cute things.
pick your plum...so if have even a minor crafty side, you should definitely check out pick your plum. it's a daily deal site (well daily weekday deal site) that has a different crafting supply each morning. i always like to check each morning and see how much i really need whatever is offered. it's not like i buy something every morning but i think that this is a good way to stock up on some fun and unique items. plus it's not like you can ever have too much crafty goodness (reason #72 why i'll need a 2 bedroom apt for just me) 

buying baby clothes...confession: i've always liked wondering through the baby section at stores and looking at all the cute clothes. but, i never had a reason to actually buy the clothes...well that all changed last year. with the arrival of the twins, i now have an excuse to buy baby clothes. and i get to buy boy and girl clothing...i don't even have to stick to just one! i think it's a pretty good thing that the twins came along because now i can buy clothes and give them to the babies as opposed to just buying the clothes and storing them in a closet for my future kids...cause that wouldn't be weird or anything. i just really, really hope that my kids are not complete opposite seasons of the twins...and that i have a girl or else i don't know what i'll do with the smocked dresses
chevron and stripes...i was a little hesitant to jump on the chevron bandwagon at first but consider me there now. i got notepads from erin condren with a chevron print at the top and i'm really pleased with how they turned out. i also keep seeing cute chevron ideas on pinterest and i think that i will have to incorporate it somehow to the apartment i hope i'm decorating soon.
{these adorable plates can be found here}

1.16.2012

pinterest love!

it's been a while since i've blogged about pinterest. don't worry i'm still horribly addicted and i can't imagine how i functioned without it. a few days ago i was thinking how could you have possibly planned an awesome party before pinterest. then i realized that i threw a pretty great baby shower before i got on pinterest. (missed it by about a month i think) so obviously life functioned before this website came into my life. for a while i wondered if i would actually ever do anything that i have pinned. sure some stuff will be handy when i'm planning my wedding, dressing my kids or decorating my apartment. other boards are totally applicable now, like all the *hopefully* yummy recipes i've pinned. so, in order to show that pinterest is actually a good use of my time, here are some of my pins that i've actually tried. i know, i'm shocked too.

(via)
made this Sin Dip for an evening snack on Christmas day while we played dominos. it was really good but honestly what isn't when cheese and bread are involved.

(via)
i gave a variation of this to my dad for one of his Christmas presents. i bought 2 strands of purple lights and tied orange and white tulle randomly along the strands. i think it will be perfect for tailgating next fall and trust me, my dad is serious about some Clemson tailgating so naturally he was pretty excited.

(via)
i have made these chicken and cheese lasagna roll-ups a few times and each time, i have been quite pleased with the results. they are really easy to make and taste delicious. plus they heat up really well the next day.

(via)
i made this craft with the twins right before thanksgiving. it was a lot of fun and i blogged about it here.

i also feel the need to mention that it really bothers me when someone's pinterest boards are not properly labeled/categorized...and not properly refers to my standards, not something official from pinterest. i might be slightly obsessive with my boards...shocker i know. however i would enjoy it if pinterest made everyone uphold my standards...one can dream right?!?

3.19.2011

THE Baby Shower

On March 5, I threw a baby shower for Cindy, Jackson & Riggs. It was a lot of fun and I love how everything turned out. I evidently need to consider a career change. This was the entry table with The Giving Tree for all the guests to sign.
This was the wish area where guests wrote advice, wishes and/or dreams for Jackson & Riggs. There were clothespins to attach the paper to the ribbon frame. I had a bunch of open-back frames that I spray painted over Christmas break. I then printed out directions for the wish area and attached them to the frame. I put ribbon in the frame by using a staple gun, which was lots of fun.

Banner at the gift area. I took a piece of navy twine and used clothespins to attach the letters. I just printed out the letters on my home printer and attached them to colored card stock. It was a very simple project but I really wanted to have their names displayed at the shower.


This was the candy area. I had bags for guests to make their own bags of candy that Cindy had been craving during her pregnancy. We had sour patch kids and sweet tarts. I sorted them by color prior to the shower. My grandmother had given me a box of mason jars so I used those to hold the candy. There are also pinwheels laying on the table to pull the candy table in with the food table.
This was the food table. While I know that Cindy doesn't really like the glass kitchen table, it is perfect for hosting events with. We had all sorts of yummy foods like hummus, fruit, cubed cheeses, raw veggies and dip, and raspberry preserves with cream cheese. All of the food was labeled with coordinating place cards. I made pinwheels using card stock, spray painted pencils and pushpins. I placed the pinwheels in IKEA glasses along with either purple rice, split peas or orange beans. 
The forks were in the green bucket. I had wrapped forks in yellow napkins and attached either a tissue paper pom-pom or a miniature pinwheel. 
We had mock champagne to drink. I used this recipe as a starting point but I didn't make a ginger ale ice ring and added frozen strawberries instead. 
An overhead stop of the shower, along with the pretty curtains that Cindy made. 

Gift time. This green basket is from me. I had a bunch of random baby items and books inside. It was only an introduction to my real gifts. These are onesies that say "I bite" and have alligators on them. I am  terrified of alligators/crocodiles and when I saw these onesies I knew I had to get them for Riggs and Jackson. 
And time for the real gifts from me. I made floor quilts for both Riggs and Jackson. Riggs' quilt is pictures above. I had never quilted anything before but I really, really loved doing it. I fell in love with both of the quilts and almost didn't want to give them up.
Jackson's quilt, which is really bright and super fun.
Cindy and I with the quilts. I really can't wait to see Jackson and Riggs' on their quilts (or really meet them in general). I used this tutorial for the quilts. I really loved every aspect of making the quilts, from picking out the fun, very non-traditional colors and patterns to actually doing the free-motion quilting. 
  Here is an up-close view of the free-motion quilting. 

I loved every minute of this baby shower, from planning all the little details to seeing Cindy open the quilts. Now, all I have to do with my free time is study, study, study. And anticipate the arrival of Riggs and Jackson!

12.02.2010

Recently...

So I've been a little busy with grad school and life recently but I'm back in the crafty groove now...and making some Christmas presents has had a little to do with that (more on that in another post)...and decorating my apartment little by little...



to


[to hold my embroidery thread]



[earring holder]


and lots of pretty (washed) fabric...ready to sew with!

Aside from school work and life, I've also been busy sewing gifts for baby showers...with lots more to come in the near future. I didn't get (or I forgot) to take pictures of my first gift but here's the second one. It's the only girl one I've got to do so it was fun.






All ready to go!