Christmas Gifts & Returns

...and then I returned to the web.  Friends, it's been too long since I've blogged.  I promise that it's because I have not had a functional computer for many months now... and not because I've been lazy about it...

Much has happened in the past few months so let me catch up...

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Birthday to Me

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year

I was really excited to blog about the gifts for my cousins Sheley and Stefanie, but then I had it out with my laptop (and camera).  So, here they are via iPhone!

Stefanie:  She had been eying this Disneyland blanket for months.  On a trip out there, while she was in the restroom, I secretly ducked into a store and bought it for her.  Oh, how excited I was!  I truly couldn't contain my excitement so I called Lauren to tell her my scheme.  From that single item was birthed the "Cold Day Survival Kit."  With the blanket as the focal piece of the theme, I was able to build around it: 2 coffee mugs (from the 99cent store!) with some pattern doodles that I drew on with a gold Sharpie, and some hot chocolate and marshmallows in a chalkboard-topped mason jar... oh, yeah, and a little mini Bailey's bottle for those extra cold nights.

Sheley: In passing, she had mentioned that she wanted to own the Sound of Music, so I scoured the bookstores for it and, huzzah, found the last copy in the back of the store.  Now that she's finished school, dear cousin will be looking for a new place to live and I thought, "what would be better to warm up a new home than a Movie Night-In?!" hence, the "Movie Night Starter Kit."  Even though the DVD was the focal piece of the theme, we all know that the most exciting part about the movies are the snacks.  So inside the kit was some candy (I happened to purchase my own personal favorite candy in case she didn't want any...), some kettle popcorn (Sheley's favorite), and the cutest little popcorn boxes that I picked up at the craft store.

You see friends, gift giving is my love language.

 

 Ideas to take away:

• Use simple wrapping paper (here, I used a muted gold, almost brown paper bag-esque discount paper) and then dress it up with some ribbon, some mini tissue paper flowers (tutorial coming soon) and letters cut out from pretty paper pasted right onto the box for the name tag!
• It's always my favorite thing to give gifts in kit form.  Find a single item that can be the focus of your theme (i.e. books, concert tickets, etc.) and then buy smaller items to complement it!
• The 99 cent store is your friend.  They've got so many cool plates, jars, mugs, containers, doo-dads (oh, the list can go on!!!).  Especially with the ceramic items, you can decorate them with any kind of Sharpie marker, then bake them for about 30 minutes in the oven at 350degrees and you've just found your new favorite hobby.
• Chalkboard paint is such a fun craft item!  I've been chalking everything- I think I need an intervention... You can chalk anything.  For this gift, I chalked the top of the mason jar so that it is easy to erase and change the label to fit whatever the contents of the jar are!
• Punch holes into some cardstock weight paper, tie a ribbon through it, and it's a lovely and inexpensive tag.