Category "Christmas"

Butterfly Fairy Hair Clips

Queen Darlene - October 24, 2018 - Birthday, Christmas, Gifts for Me, Mother's Day, Wedding

I love handmade gifts. I remember watching my mother create beautiful gifts from vintage jewelry.

My mother and I would also help each other handcraft unique gift ideas waaay before Etsy ever came along. Mom would have loved Etsy.com where you can shop for anything made by creative people everywhere and where she could have shared her gifts too!

When an Etsy email pops up, I’m always curious to see who created what. Oh my… what a find this time. Butterflies! They are exquisite!

Wild and Free Jewelry created by Corina Alulquoy Brown are inspired by the ocean, wildlife, and Native American culture. You have to look at her website!

Handmade Butterfly Hair Clips

My favorites are the beautifully handcrafted butterfly hair clips by Corina.

Changeable Felt Letter Board

Princess Diana - August 31, 2018 - Birthday, Business, Christmas, Get Well, Going Away, Graduation, Housewarming, Retirement, Teacher Gifts, Valentine's Day

Everyone has favorite quotes or sayings they absolutely love.

They could be inspiring, funny or motivational, and almost always elicit positive and powerful emotions from within us.

This one I probably say the most…

WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU
MAKES YOU STRONGER

It reminds me to see the positive side to something I’ve experienced that was hard, negative, or hurtful.

This one has changed my behavior…

WHAT WOULD YOU DO
IF YOU WEREN’T AFRAID?

Want to know my new favorite?

Bug-A-Salt | Insect Eradication Gun

Queen Darlene - August 22, 2018 - Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Mother's Day

“I love flies landing on my food,” said No One Ever!

The Bug-A-Salt is a pump action gun that shoots a shotgun spray of ordinary table salt to decimate flies on contact.

Bug-A-Salt is Non-Toxic swatter!

Did you catch the play on words? A-Salt. Assault. Love it!

No more backyard BBQs with yucky flies buzzing around!

It’s a surefire fun way to enjoy a disgusting task and get rid of pests while having a blast doing it. Don’t worry it’s a lot easier to clean up a little bit of salt compared to smeared fly guts on countertops and walls. Continue Reading

Jump & Stomp Rockets | STEM Toy Gift

Princess Diana - August 15, 2018 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Kids

Toys that get kids active outside grab my attention. They are a double whammy because they combine fun and physical activity.

The latest ones I’ve found are called Jump Rockets & Stomp Rockets, and they’re 100% kid powered!

Run, Jump & Stomp to Launch Rockets

Kids run, jump, and stomp to launch foam rockets up to 400 feet in the air!

They quickly learn that the higher they jump and the harder they stomp, the higher the rockets fly into the air.

Sounds like a blast, right?

This toy gift has an ADDED BONUS.

STEM = Stomp Rockets

It’s a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) toy that teaches kids about force, gravity, trajectory, and power of air.

This gift can inspire children to go into a STEM career building rockets or becoming an astronaut!

Coin Sets & Gold Dollars for Kids

Princess Diana - August 1, 2018 - Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Kids

While adults get excited about a $100 bill, young kids get excited about a shiny quarter with a cool picture on the back.

My oldest son loves to receive coins for his piggy bag, some for spending and some for collecting.

National Park Coin Sets

Because our family likes to visit national parks, I purchased the National Parks Quarters Set. My set contained 34 coins.

The back of each quarter features the name and iconic image of a different national park in one of the 50 states.

For a Christmas gift, I gave my son 5 national park quarters. He went crazy! He felt rich, and he liked looking at the pictures on the back. In his excitement, he turned to me and asked, “Can we go to all of them?!”

It turned into an educational opportunity for him to learn about the names of national parks and the names of the states.

Professional Family Photo of Three Generations

Queen Darlene - July 11, 2018 - Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Experiences, Family, Mother's Day

I’m on summer vacation and reposting a favorite by our readers. Speaking of summer, it’s a great time for family photos!

It’s not an easy task to get three generations of one family scheduled on the same date and time for professional photos. Life just seems to get in the way.

That’s even more reason to pause and take the time to pose for those precious photos.

Professional Family Photos

Most people have nice cameras and even smartphones take excellent pictures, but professional photos should not be overlooked.

For my mother-in-law’s 80^th birthday gift, the family decided we would have a professional photo of three generations of our family made.

A photo of three or even two generations of family is a keepsake many family members will cherish.

Unique Knitted Metal Jewelry

Queen Darlene - June 27, 2018 - Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Teacher Gifts, Valentine's Day

My grandmother knitted throughout her lifetime. She tried to teach me, but I never really showed much interest.

Oh, how I wished I had learned because you never know when old skills can turn into new talent.

This past Mother’s Day weekend, my husband, Randy, and I attended an arts festival in our community. Over the years, we have purchased art, prints, pottery, jewelry and leather goods at this event.

Since we no longer need stuff to hang on the walls or decorate shelves, I’ve become interested in jewelry made by artists. Randy likes to look for unusual artistic designs on leather belts.

Arts festivals are wonderful places to have the opportunity to speak with artists face-to-face. To me, this makes the art more personal.

I’m always on the lookout for jewelry that is different when I spotted a booth by artist Susan Baile of Spiritus Designs.

I ooohed and awed over her necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. I asked her, “What are these made of?” Susan replied, “Metals and I knit them.”

Well… that really piqued my interest!

She went on to say she started knitting at the age of 11. When Susan retired, she wanted to do something to keep her busy. Since she loved to knit, she found a way to knit metals into jewelry.

Bombas Socks | 1 Purchased = 1 Donated

Queen Darlene - May 30, 2018 - Birthday, Business, Christmas, Father's Day, Get Well, Kids, Military/Veterans, Mother's Day, Retirement, Teacher Gifts, Thank You

For Christmas, my grandparents would give my brothers and me socks. They lived through the Great Depression and their gifts were very practical.

My friend, Linda, introduced me to her favorite socks–Bombas!

These aren’t your grandparents’ socks!

Ever heard of socks that support the midfoot? Me neither until now. Now my whole family wears it!

They feel wonderful on my flat feet because of their comfort, support, and softness.

My son loves Bombas because he always turned his socks inside out so he wouldn’t feel that annoying seam across his toes. Bombas found a way to get rid of it!

They also have anti-microbial and moisture-wicking properties to keep feet dry all day which makes them perfect for my husband’s feet.

The name Bombas is derived from the Latin word for bumblebee. Bees live in a hive and work together to make their world a better place. They’re small but their combined actions have a big impact on the world.

Socks are the #1 most requested clothing item at homeless shelters. This fact is the driving force behind Bombas–to support the homeless community and to bring awareness to this problem in the United States.

I work for an organization that provides housing to the homeless and every Christmas we collect socks for homeless shelters. So you can see why I would be intrigued not only in the comfort of the socks but also in a charitable company like Bombas with a mission of giving back to communities.

8,641,077 Pairs of Socks Donated

One pair purchased = One pair donated.

Wooden Beer & Soda Caddy

Princess Diana - May 26, 2018 - Birthday, Business, Christmas, Family, Father's Day, Food & Drinks, Gift Baskets, Gifts for Him, Going Away, Graduation, Host, Housewarming, Retirement, Valentine's Day, Wedding

If you know someone who likes to drink bottled beer, craft beers, root beers, or sodas, then this gift is for them!

Give someone six 12-ounce bottles of their favorite beverage in a Wooden Beer & Soda Caddy.

The wood has a rustic, handcrafted look, and it’s the perfect accessory for transporting drinks to picnics, BBQs and parties.

It also comes with a handy bottle opener attached to the side!

It’s so cute you won’t even need to wrap the gift. Simply attach a bow on top and you have a thoughtful gift ready to go. Easy peasy!

Personalized Wooden Caddy

For a thoughtful twist, give a personalized or monogrammed Wooden Beer & Soda Caddy with someone’s name or initials.You could also add a date, a custom logo, or a custom message.

They make really cool groomsmen gifts, but they can also be given as presents for Father’s Day, birthdays, graduations, housewarmings, and other occasions.

Unique Custom Painted Shoes

Princess Diana - April 25, 2018 - Birthday, Christmas, Gifts for Me, Graduation, Kids, Retirement

Do you have Hamilton fever? I haven’t seen the musical yet, but I’m obsessed with the soundtrack.

I have my niece, J’menii, to thank for getting me hooked on Hamilton.

This same young lady has a thing for Converse sneakers. I’m not exaggerating when I say she has more than 10 pairs of Converse shoes in her closet. All colors. The girl even wore a pair with her formal dress to high school prom!

J’menii is graduating from high school this year so I decided on a graduation gift that combined her two obsessions and I ended up with Hamilton-themed Custom Painted Converse Shoes!

Custom Hand Painted Shoes

For the shoes, I had an artist paint them gold and black with a couple of logos. Then I had the artist paint phrases from the musical to inspire my niece to kick butt in college and to achieve her goals in life!

The outside right shoe features the Hamilton logo with the words “I’m not throwing away my shot.” The outside left shoe features a silhouette of the Schuyler sisters with the words “Rise Up.”

The inside left shoe reads, “There’s a million things I haven’t done.” The inside right shoe reads “Just you wait…”