Monthly Archives: September 2015

2 Liter Fortune Bottle

Queen Darlene - September 30, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Graduation, Kids, Money

Here’s another clever gift idea to give money. It’s the 2 Liter Fortune ~~Cookie~~ Bottle.

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Fortune Cookie saying inside bottle cap.

Place candy and money inside a 2 liter bottle. At first, the recipient may be puzzled as to how you placed the candy and money inside. Some may even twist off the cap.

That’s when you say, “Look inside the cap.” There they will find a message similar to a fortune cookie.

Fortune cookies are always fun to open and read. I created “Your fortune is in the bottle” inside the lid for a birthday gift. It’s a great saying for a graduation gift too!

Things you will need:

2 liter bottle
Variety of candy. I like “100 Grand” and “Pay Day” candy bars.
Money – bills and coins.
Create a large label and gift tag for the pop bottle appropriate for celebrating a birthday, graduation, Christmas or any other occasion.
Create a saying for the inside of the lid by Googling “fortune cookie sayings” for ideas or make up your own
Ribbons
Scissors and tape
Exacto Knife

“Welcome to Our Business” Handwritten Card

Princess Diana - September 29, 2015 - $20 or Less, Business

It’s not always a superior product or service that makes one business more popular with customers. Sometimes, it’s how a business makes its customers feel.

Sometimes, all it takes is a thoughtful gesture from a business to catch a customer’s attention and create customer loyalty. It happened recently to my husband.

After my husband’s first visit to his new dentist, he received a nice card in the mail from the dental practice.

The front of the card said, “Welcome to Our Practice.” Inside the card, a handwritten note read, “If you ever have any questions regarding your dental treatment or our office procedures, please feel free to give us a call.”

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Click to enlarge

The father and son who own the practice both signed the card. The card had personal touch written all over it, and it was a novelty!

Neither one of us had ever received a card from any of our dentists before. Come to think of it, we’ve never received a card from any of our other doctors. Have you?

Photo Album of Dead Presidents

Princess Diana - September 28, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Going Away, Graduation, Kids, Money, Wedding

The topic of dead presidents might be boring, unless you’re talking about cash money.

So not every man printed on U.S. paper currency is a dead president. Do you know which ones are and aren’t?

Dead Presidents
$1 – George Washington
$2 – Thomas Jefferson
$5 – Abraham Lincoln
$20 – Andrew Jackson
$50 – Ulysses S. Grant

Never President
$10 – Alexander Hamilton
$100 – Benjamin Franklin

If you’re looking to give a creative money gift, fill a photo album with dead presidents (but feel free to use $10 bills too like I did). No one receiving this gift will care about technicalities!

Photo albums that fit 4×6 pictures are just the right size for cash.

Baby Growth Calendar Photos

Queen Darlene - September 24, 2015 - $20 or Less, Baby Shower

Parents love to capture precious moments of their baby’s first year, especially how fast they grow every month. I have a unique, cute and easy photo idea for every month – a baby growth calendar!

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7 month, 8 month, 9 month, 10 month, 11 month, 12 month click to enlarge

My cousin took pictures of her baby girl with a large calendar desk pad. The photos consist of her baby lying on top of the calendar every month of her first year.

I’m sure it was easy at first but took several takes to get the photos just right when she started rolling or crawling. It’s all about creating memories, right?

She would write on the calendar 1st month, 2nd month and so on. This made for the most adorable baby pictures. Continue Reading

“Good as Gold” Dollar Coins

Queen Darlene - September 23, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Graduation, Kids, Money

Turning 60 is a big deal! It was only yesterday, we were young, going to college, getting married, raising kids and taking annual girl trips.

Our Friendship is Golden – Birthday Gift

The five of my closest girlfriends have always celebrated our birthdays in some way or fashion.

We love giving each other gifts. Sometimes we would see a comedian, a musical, or play together as a birthday treat. Many times we would go to the birthday girl’s favorite place to eat.

My favorite birthday gift is a night of dancing. I love my girlfriends who are as good as gold for staying out late to dance the night away!

After 40 years of friendship, we have exchanged about every possible gift you can imagine. Continue Reading

DIY Hand Stenciled Tea Towels

Princess Diana - September 22, 2015 - Family, Host, Housewarming, Wedding

As I browsed the Internet one day, I came across a set of tea towels for sale on a website. One towel said, “You Wash” and the other said “I’ll Dry.”

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Need to come up with a gift for a large number of people? Hand stenciled tea towels are easy and affordable to make in large quantities.

That’s exactly how my husband and I divide and conquer in the kitchen after dinner, and the tea towels reminded me of the great partnership we enjoy in our marriage. I also thought they would make great gifts for couples, family members, hostesses, and new homeowners.

I wanted to buy the kitchen towels so badly but they were very expensive – almost $40! Sheesh!

So I decided to make my own and ordered a pair of custom stencils from Etsy.com. I picked out the stencil font I wanted to use for the words, and for less than $20 received a pair of 6×6 inch “You Wash” and “I’ll Dry” reusable plastic stencils in the mail.

Money Stash | Hollow Book Safe With Secret Compartment

Princess Diana - September 21, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Congratulations, Gifts for Him, Going Away, Graduation, Housewarming, Kids, Money

It’s so much fun to give a gift inside a gift!

Hollow Books Safes look like ordinary hard cover books until you open them. Surprise! The book contains a secret compartment where you can place a small-sized item, such as CASH!

I call this gift the Money Stash. They’ll enjoy the money and they can use the book to hide any valuables or secret possessions in plain sight!

(Ahem. It’s also great for hiding a stash of candy you don’t want anyone else to eat.)

You can create your own or puchase a Hollow Book Safe from Amazon.com or Etsy.com. Some of them even come with keys!

If you’re into DIY, I’ve created step-by-step instructions for making your own Hollow Book Safe.

HOW TO MAKE A HOLLOW BOOK SAFE

Humourous Birthday T-Shirt for Gramps

Queen Darlene - September 17, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday

I couldn’t have asked for a better father-in-law, a quiet, kind man with a fierce love for his family. Including his in-laws.

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This t-shirt is guaranteed to get laughs!

Gramps was never big on celebrating for himself but that didn’t keep us from always looking for that perfect gift. In later years, it was either about comfort or something humorous.

It’s difficult to find a birthday gift for an 80 year old grandfather that would make him chuckle!

Well… I did! I created a birthday t-shirt that looked like a “For Sale” sign with these words.

80 YR. OLD

ONE OWNER

Needs Parts, Make Offer

Treasure Chest Filled With Silver & Gold

Queen Darlene - September 16, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Kids, Money

Ahoy, matey! Did you ever wish for your very own treasure chest?

As a kid, I remember the classic Walt Disney’s Treasure Island movie about pirates searching for treasure chests filled with gold. I later took my kids to see Hook staring Robin Williams.

My all time favorite pirate though would be the Pirates of the Caribbean movies with Jack Sparrow played by Johnny Depp.

I never fell in love with a prince in a Disney movie but I would have become available for Jack Sparrow. Don’t tell my husband!

Kids love fantasizing about treasure chests filled with silver and gold. It’s a fantasy that you can easily make come true! Continue Reading

S’mores Kit for Camping

Princess Diana - September 15, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Food & Drinks, Gift Baskets, Gifts for Him, Kids

It’s funny how your birthday plans change as you grow older. Instead of a fun night out on the town, this year I wanted to celebrate my birthday by going camping outdoors with my husband and son.

We’ve only taken my son camping once before and I was excited to continue want I wanted to become a family tradition.

When my boss heard about my big plans to go camping during my birthday weekend, it inspired her birthday gift to me.

She gave me a S’mores Kit for Camping which included an 8-piece marshmallow roasting fork set, a box of graham crackers, a package of Hershey’s milk chocolates, and a bag of marshmallows.