Category "Experiences"

Hands-On Furniture Painting Class for the DIYer

Some things are harder than they look. Case in point – those BEFORE & AFTER photos on Pinterest where people take hideous, dull brown furniture they find at a garage sale and with a few coats of paint transform them into colorful, vintage chic furniture.

painted-furnitureIt’s amazing how distressed furniture can look so beautiful and modern! See the photo on the right for a perfect example.

You can spend hours reading or watching the tutorials online to learn how to do it yourself. But that approach can sometimes leave your more confused because you realize just how many options you have when it comes to paint, materials, and techniques. Arrgh!

What type of paint should I use? What’s chalk paint? What’s milk paint? Which is better for my project?
Do I need to sand my furniture first? How much sanding is even necessary?
What should I use for my topcoat? How do I apply antiquing wax?
What’s the best method for re-creating the gorgeous, distressed looks I see in online photos?

furniture-painting-class-diy-thoughtful-gift

A furniture painting class allows you to learn by doing with help from an expert.

After reading about milk paint, I really wanted to try it because it’s completely free of any harmful chemicals. In fact, it’s made with only five all-natural ingredients. Milk paint also has the reputation of being easy peasy to use to get a chippy, antiqued or distressed look.

BUT… because milk paint comes in powder form, I was intimidated to try it myself. Plus, what a strange name!

So I decided to take a local Milk Paint 101 workshop. In the furniture painting class, we painted our own step stool using milk paint. I learned how to mix it and the different methods for applying it to get various distressed “looks.”

Continue Reading

Glamour Shots Makeover for 90-Year Old Grandmother

How do you celebrate a 90 year old grandmother’s birthday that she can see over and over again? Take her to Glamour Shots!

glamour-shots-mother's-day-birthday-thoughtful-gift-ideaTo say the least, my family is very visual. Growing up in a deaf family, the “eyes” have it! The deaf members in my family may not be able to hear but they SEE everything!

Visual – Visual – Visual was a huge motivation for gifts to my mother, step-father, and grandparents.

I made an appointment at Glamour Shots to have my grandmother’s picture made for her 90th birthday.

The most make-up my grandmother wore was rouge. That’s what they called it in her day. We call it blush.

So when they styled her hair, applied eye make-up, foundation, and lipstick, and put her in fancy clothes and a cowboy hat, she thought “what a big fuss.” She had no idea how to “strike a pose” but they showed her and made it a big deal of how beautiful she looked, especially at 90 years of age.

She loved it and began to have fun being made up like a movie star! The final product? She looked like the famous actress Mae West!

Continue Reading

Give the Life-Changing Gift of a Summer Camp Experience

Every kid who goes to summer camp always comes back with stories to tell.

summer-camp-experience2-thoughtful-giftAt summer camp you do things you never get to do at home or at school, and it feels like one big slumber party at night! Everyone makes new friends and bonds from doing all sorts of fun activities together.

I treasure my summer camp memories of sitting around the campfire making s’mores, dressing head to toe in black to play Capture the Flag in complete darkness, and exploring the woods to see what I might discover whether it was a cave or a secret wigwam!

Going to summer camp is a life-changing experience that creates life-long memories.

I went to the traditional summer camp that provides first-hand encounters with nature but there are all sorts of summer camps that tailor to specific interests. There are sports camps, drama camps, leadership camps, band camps, church camps, academic camps, arts camps, and the list goes on!

What they all have in common is how they shape the characters and boost the self-esteem of children by exposing them to experiential education that allows them to learn by doing.

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

Grandparents Day for a Child Without One

My friend, Jody, told me her son, Austin, was crying because he no longer had any living grandparents to take to Grandparents Day at school. He lost his grandfather earlier in the year.

grandparent's-day-gift-idea-sunburst-gifts

“Grandmother” & “Grandson”

I have known Austin since the day he was born and could not stand it that he was heartbroken. I told Jody to have him call me. I would go as his grandparent. When Austin called, I asked him, “Do you want a young grandmother or an old one?”

In my mid-forties at the time, I prepared to be a young grandmother but as luck would have it, he asked for “old!”

I told him, “Old is what you want, old is what you will get!” Continue Reading

A Romantic Bed & Breakfast Getaway

Valentine’s Day is all about love and romance. Looking for something that will say that in a big way? Well, I have a lovely and romantic gift idea. Instead of buying flowers and chocolates spend that money on a Bed & Breakfast getaway.

Step away from the fast pace of the every day world and spend time focused on one another. Renew, rekindle and have a romantic fall-in-love-again-experience with the one you adore.Bed-and-Breakfast-Valentine's-Day-thoughtful-gift-idea

You can explore everything from luxury Bed & Breakfasts to sprawling inns. B&Bs offer different amenities such as themed suites, king or queen size beds, balcony/deck, in-room fireplace, in-room Jacuzzi for two, flat screen TVs, fitness facilities, hot tub, couple massages and spa.

Some have hiking trails and horseback riding while others are nearby art museums and shopping. There are a few that have their own entertainment.

You can choose a Bed & Breakfast that offers group dining or that delivers a gourmet breakfast right to your door.

Continue Reading

The Promise of New Experiences

I received a most thoughtful gift from my husband for Christmas, but it’s perfect to use for Valentine’s Day, birthdays and anniversaries. In it, he promised new experiences for us to enjoy together throughout the whole year.

promise-new-experiences-thoughtful-gift

Spend quality time with someone you care about by giving them new experiences you can share together.

The romantic way he promised it brought tears to my eyes. This was no empty promise.

In a letter, my husband wrote to me:

I spent some time thinking about what to buy you, but I couldn’t come up with any ideas for a new gadget or item that would make your life better or increase your happiness. I also thought about our life together, and how much I love you and how much we love sharing in new adventures. I want every year to be our best year together, so here are a few things I’d like to either do or start doing next year for us.

Continue Reading

Archer City, Texas | Road Trip to Yesterday

- - Birthday, Experiences

For years, I’ve wanted a D-H-R weekendDarlene, Harvey, Rodney. My wish came true on my birthday for my two brothers and me to spend time together.

road-trip-thoughtful-gift-idea

My brothers and I stand on our front porch in 1961.

We took a road trip to Archer City, Texas where we grew up.

It had been exactly 50 years ago on my birthday that we moved away. I was 12, Harvey was eight and Rodney was six.

ROAD TRIP TO ARCHER CITY
road-trip-archer-city-water-tower-thoughtful-gift-idea

Click to enlarge

It was a 2 1/2 hour trip from Oklahoma City and the time spent in the car was priceless. I brought along over 100 pictures of us as children during the time we lived in Archer City.

As we looked at each picture, we reminisced about our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, the water tower, the fields we rode our bikes and the friends we played with everyday. Continue Reading

72 Employees Surprise Pizza Delivery Guy With Tip of a Lifetime

- - Business, Experiences

This is a story of how small acts of kindness can change someone’s life in an enormous way.

random-act-of-kindness-pizza-delivery-guyDuring a company retreat of Wymer Brownlee, a financial firm based in Enid, Oklahoma, its CEO Kyle Brownlee asked his employees if they wanted to participate in a random act of kindness by expressing their gratitude to the pizza delivery guy who would be arriving at lunch. Together they could give him words of encouragement and appreciation and the tip of a lifetime.

All 72 employees agreed this was a great idea.

They spent part of their morning writing positive messages to this man they had never met before letting him know that he was important and that his job mattered. Then they pooled their cash together. Those who didn’t carry cash made trips to the ATM just so they could contribute.

Continue Reading

Christmas Gift Giving Passing Game

- - Christmas, Experiences, Kids

I have four nieces and I almost always give them some sort of experience as part of their Christmas present. So I thought it would be fun to have them play a Christmas gift giving game.

I bought four presents that cost about the same price and that all of them would like no matter which one they received. I wrapped them up but didn’t put names on any of them.

Christmas gift giving game Dirty Santa White Elephant Gift Exchange

My nieces sit in a circle and prepare to pass their gifts left and right while I read them the story about the Wright family.

I gathered my nieces together, gave each one a present, and asked them to sit in a circle. I told them the rules of the game. Every time they heard the word “left” to pass their present to the left and every time they heard the words “right” or “Wright” to pass their present to the right. I told them to listen closely because the story gets awfully crazy!

Then I began to read out loud the following story. To make it even more fun, I read it quickly!

Continue Reading