Posts by:

“No Ugly Crying” Personalized Handkerchief | Wedding Day Gift

- - $20 or Less, Wedding

Leading up to my wedding day, I prayed I could contain the waterworks so I wouldn’t become a crying, sobbing mess. I didn’t want to ruin my make-up or my pictures.

personalized-handkerchief-wedding-thoughtful-gift

Click to enlarge

Thankfully, I mostly teared up with only a few tears escaping.

I’m pretty sure I’ve never met a woman who didn’t spill at least one tear on her wedding day. Tears of happiness are just impossible to contain on such a special day.

When tears spill, a person needs a handkerchief. A personalized handkerchief makes a wonderful gift that a bride can put to great use on her wedding day to dry any tears that may fall.

Handkerchiefs can be customized and embroidered with a wedding date, initials, monograms, Bible verses, quotes or personal messages.

On the day of my best friend’s wedding, I gave her a handkerchief with the words, “No Ugly Crying.”

Continue Reading

Tell Someone the Things You Admire About Them

- - Business, Experiences

My mentor called me one day and said, “You’re in trouble.”

I knew he was joking, but I was still a little nervous. What could this be about?

He said, “Diana, sometimes in life we don’t always get feedback on how we’re doing as a boss, as an employee, as a friend, as a spouse or as a parent.”

i-admire-you-thoughtful-gift-idea

Telling someone that you admire them is one of the most thoughtful acts of kindness.

“Just in case I get hit by a bus tomorrow, I wanted to make sure the people whom I admire know how I feel about them.”

He went on to share very specific qualities of mine that he admired: educated, good attitude, plays well in the sandbox with others, good communicator, good mother and wife, good work/life balance, and head screwed on tight.

As he told me these things, I sat there in a positive state of shock, and I felt a tear collect in the corner of my eye.

Hearing someone tell me all of the things I was doing right gave me that same magical feeling of opening presents on Christmas morning, except this time each kind word my mentor spoke to me became its own present.

Continue Reading

Lottery Ticket Wedding Anniversary Bouquet

- - Anniversary

Have your wedding anniversary gifts become predictable and expected? Even worse – boring? Don’t stress…

lottery-ticket-wedding-anniversary-bouquet-thoughtful-gift

Click to enlarge

This wedding anniversary gift idea has it all! It’s creative, unique, sentimental and funny!

Take lottery tickets and arrange them into a lottery ticket bouquet inside a flower pot. Read “Lottery Ticket Bouquet | 40th Birthday Gift for the items you’ll need and instructions on how to assemble the bouquet.

You can purchase a random number or the same number of lottery tickets for the number of years you’ve been married.

For the “thoughtful twist,” add a message that says, “Being married to you is like winning the lottery every single day.”

Continue Reading

Saying Thank You With a Short Video

When more than 20 of my friends and family helped me raise $1,500 for the Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma’s storm shelter campaign, I was extremely grateful.

thank-you-short-video-sunburst-giftsTheir donations will ensure the safety of girls and volunteers at Camp E-ko-wah during tornadoes and other severe weather.

As part of the campaign, their generous support also pushed me to go Over the Edge – literally! – by rappelling 16 stories down the side of a skyscraper in Oklahoma City. It’s an experience I will never forget.

Instead of writing thank you cards, I decided to record a personal message and combined it with photos and rappelling footage from my GoPro video camera. I put together a short thank you video with the intent of sharing my rappelling adventure and expressing my heartfelt gratitude.

Continue Reading

We’ve Opened Up an Etsy Shop!

Sunburst Gifts Thoughtful Heartful Etsy ShopYou can now visit the Sunburst Gifts Etsy Shop at www.etsy.com/shop/sunburstgifts!

We’ve had requests for babysitting gift certificates so we made that our first product. Thoughtful gift givers can purchase instant downloads of our printable babysitting gift certificates in yellow, pink and blue colors or buy them as a 3-pack bundle.

Every parent can use more time for themselves so babysitting gift certificates always make popular  gifts for baby showers, birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Christmas.

Continue Reading

Cheer Someone Up With a Box of Sunshine

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkYN1Vlpjpg

Do you know those people who are naturally crafty? They can do things like sew, cook, bake, decorate, paint (probably spin straw into gold too) and everything they create looks like it came straight off the page of a Martha Stewart magazine. They drive me crazy jealous!

Box of Sunshine Get Well Gift IdeaWell, my co-worker Kelly is one of those people. Mucho talented. And she’s always using her talents to bring joy to others – like when she bakes her famous cinnamon rolls and brings them to the office.

Kelly shared with me that when she has friends or family who are sick, hospitalized, homebound, in physical rehab or dealing with chemotherapy, she makes them a Box of Sunshine. Then she fills it with everything YELLOW!

Continue Reading

Bachelorette Party Gift | Lipstick Kisses Picture Frame

- - $20 or Less, Wedding

I love the tradition of the Bachelorette Party. Having the bride’s girl friends all together for a girl’s night out is FUN FUN FUN!

Bachelorette Parties are also a big deal because friends will drive in or fly in from long distances for the special occasion of kissing the bachelorette’s single life goodbye!

lipstick-kisses-bachelorette-party-thoughtful-gift

BEFORE (click to enlarge)

For my best friend’s Bachelorette Party, I wanted a way for her to remember our fun weekend in Dallas and everyone who attended.

For her gift, I gave her a picture frame that said, “Sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs to find your Prince Charming.”

When she opened it, I told her that wasn’t the entire gift. I said the picture frame has a wide mat so everyone can add their lipstick kiss to it and sign their name below their kiss. I also told her that she can later use the picture frame to hold a group photo of all the girls from her Bachelorette Party weekend.

Continue Reading

Upgrade His or Her Lifestyle | Thoughtful Gift Ideas

You probably know someone who is hard to shop for. It can be frustrating finding this type of person the perfect gift because they seem to have everything.

upgrade-lifestyle-egyptian-cotton-sheets-thoughtful-giftDon’t worry. For those who are hard to shop for, buy them a nicer version of something they already have in order to upgrade his or her lifestyle!

By upgrading, you’ll be giving someone a higher level of quality, comfort, beauty, performance, protection, or utility.

These types of gifts really work well when someone doesn’t typically spend money on themselves or when someone isn’t aware of what they’re missing by not owning a better brand that provides additional benefits.

Continue Reading

Queen Size Sleeping Bag for Two

Imagine cuddling under the stars… Sharing body warmth… Inside a sleeping bag for two!

sleeping-bag-for-twoCamping is definitely more fun, cozy and romantic when you’re sharing a queen size sleeping bag designed for couples.

If your special someone is not interested in camping, a two-person sleeping bag might be just the thing to make the idea of sleeping outdoors more attractive. If you think about it, being zipped up together will make camping feel more like sleeping in a regular bed and less like tent-sleeping.

If you and your loved one already enjoy camping, well… a two-person sleeping bag gives you the opportunity to do more at night besides (*cough) sleep.

Continue Reading

Three Gifts Representing Your Relationship’s Past, Present & Future

past-present-future-thoughtful-gift-valentines-day

We often say, “I Love You” but Valentine’s Day gives us the perfect opportunity to show “I Love You.”

Taking the time to come up with a thoughtful gift for your sweetheart can actually strengthen your relationship.

That’s what happened last year on Valentine’s Day, when my best friend, Leslie, received three gifts from her boyfriend that represented their past, present and future. Not only was it romantic, but it gave a deeper meaning to the holiday.

Here is how Leslie described the past, present and future gifts she received:

Continue Reading