Last minute gift idea for your girls
Photo garland with your kid’s photos
Holiday Entertaining:
Balloon signs for your party decor
Party Foods, Treats and Drinks:
Kitchen Sink Oreo Cookie Balls
Edible Confetti for hot beverages and cocktails
More Holiday Gift Ideas
December 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I’ve already created this season’s Gift Guides, but I have come across some more great gift ideas that I wanted to share while you are all in the midst of your holiday shopping!
(I was sent a light to review) This AWOX light has my kids world turned upside down. This is a lightbulb and speaker all in one! It works with Bluetooth to play music from your phone or Ipad (with an easy to download free app). What is even better is that it comes with it’s own remote control and changes colors! This has been in my son’s room since we got it. And while I have had to confiscate the remote control during homework time, it’s a really fun gadget to have. We’ll move it to the front room when we have company, but it is the perfect speaker to have in a bedroom also. There are several versions to choose from but this is the one we have: AwoX StriimLIGHT
(I was sent these games to review) My kids are 8 and almost 6 and we are finally finding our groove with games. They are asking to play board games and we can finally get through a whole game with no cheating and no tears if they lose. But they are also really in to puzzle type games that they can play themselves. I first came across Think Fun games when I was looking for the Robot Turtles game that I put on my first gift guides. They make awesome games for kids that are fun an educational. Gravity Maze
game. I know he will sit with it for hours.
(I was sent this book for review) This book is so great! It’s written by a well known blogger and it is all about teaching kids about serving others by doing one good deed at a time. I can’t think of a better time of year to talk to your kids about thinking about others. Jillee Bean and the One Good Thing is bright and cheery and illustrated beautifully. I’m not sure if your school has a program where your kid donates a book on their birthday to the library, but this would be a really great choice!
Here are some other great items I’ve found:
This awesome pave chevron cuff.
A cool weaving loom for your crafty gals.
Wooden name block puzzle for the kiddos.
Amy Poehler’s new book, Yes Please
These peace and plaid sweatshirts from Hello Apparel are awesome.
This fun board game where you get to tell stories from growing up. The more family baggage the better!
And don’t forget to check out the gift guides I’ve already shared this holiday:
My holiday wish list – or gifts perfect for your girlfriends, mom, sister
*This post contains affiliate links. Read more about my editorial policies here.
Tiny Prints for Custom Entertaining
November 20, 2014 by 6 Comments
This post is sponsored by Tiny Prints. Because they are an awesome company that likes to work with bloggers and that, in turn, allows me to put on some really fun events for bloggers.
You guys! How fun are these napkins!? So I just got back from a trip I got to plan with 7 other bloggers. It included wine tasting and a sleepover. Fun, right?! More on the trip in the next week or so but I wanted to hurry and share these fantastic custom items with you before the holidays are completely over. If you aren’t hosting parties full of friends that love their social media the way bloggers do, then maybe you don’t need custom napkins with your event hashtag on them. But we did. And they were awesome! Tiny Prints has tons of colors and designs to choose from, you can write just about anything and they arrived pretty fast! They certainly won’t make it by Thanksgiving (although you may be able to rush the order for more money) but there is still a chance for your Christmas entertaining. They also have themed napkins which are great for other things like baby showers and events that take place during other times of the year.
My favorite napkins, though, were the custom recipe napkins (there are two styles of glasses available for the design)! Aren’t those fun! These would be perfect for sharing the recipe for your signature cocktail at your party. Our tasting was put together in conjunction with Lorimar Winery so I worked with them to share one of their fun wine cocktails with the girls for our special dinner. (image above via @afabulousfete).
Having custom napkins was a total treat and made for a very fun event. Since we didn’t have a lot to do in the way of decorating for this event, these napkins were a fun, little touch. Anything custom makes it feel that much more special.
Tiny Prints also went above and beyond with items for the girl’s gift bags! (photo styled by Lauren). That darling little notebook in the bottom left of the photo would make a fantastic gift idea. Since we didn’t know who each person would be on the trip at the time of ordering, we had Lauren write their names, but through the website, you can fully customize these notebooks for the recipient. And of course we had to find a way to work in more of Lauren’s amazing writing. We uploaded this image she created to the Tiny Prints website and made these awesome acrylic blocks for the girls. While these would look cute on a bar cart, or styled in the kitchen, you could also customize these with party details, like a menu or social media info if you are hosting an event that requires that. Of course, they are intended to be used with photographs, but that is the beauty of Tiny Prints! You can customize almost everything to suit your needs!
Thank you, Tiny Prints, for being part of our fun blogger event!
And a big thank you to The Flair Exchange and Melissa Creates for providing additional items for the gals!
2014 Holiday Wish List
November 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Gosh dang it I love to buy gifts for people. But guess what, I also love shopping for myself. Shocker, right? Here is what is on my holiday wish list this year! [Read more…]
DIY Etched Glass Vase and Bespoke Global Giveaway
October 29, 2014 by 3 Comments
I’m partnering with Bespoke Global for this post with entertaining inspiration, a glass etched vase DIY and giveaway. This sea inspired girl’s night set up was inspired by some of the fantastic entertaining items available on the Bespoke Global site. Listen and read on to see how I used their rad items to be the catalyst to create a cool night of hanging out with your friends. *Giveaway is now closed*.
Press play: This song fits perfectly for the feel and look of the party.
When I was perusing the Bespoke Global catalog several items jumped out at me and they all happened to be things that were modeled after things found in and around the ocean. Immediately I started creating a cool girl’s night in party in my head. I am in love with the gorgeous deep mints and blues in the centers of these dishes and the urchin inspired bowls are both quirky and awesome looking. I loved that these items don’t give off a girly vibe, per se, but are organic and natural in their design with just a touch of color. And these delicate glass tumblers inspired me to create a centerpiece for my get together, a DIY etched glass vase.
Items: Kimura Glass, Urchin Bowl, Nesting Bowls
This simple DIY can be used to create custom glassware, including drinking glasses, vases, candle holders, and mirrors. And because you can choose the pattern, you can match them to any look you want to.
I grabbed an inexpensive glass vase from the craft store along with some glass etching solution. They sell stencils that you can use right along with the etching solution but I opted to do a custom pattern. I brought out my painter’s tape just in case, but didn’t end up needing to use it for my design.
I used a small paint brush and dabbed the etching solution on to the vase in a pattern similar to the one found on the Kimura glass from the Bespoke Global website.
I think the addition of the etching really added to the visual interest of the vase and reminds me of bubbles making their way to the ocean surface. It totally fits the look of the rest of my under water inspired girl’s night set up.
The etching solution was pretty easy to use and I can’t wait to make more things with it. While the instructions said to leave the solution on the glass for 15 minutes, I left it on for about an hour. I found with doing hand drawn patterns, where it isn’t possible to get a super thick layer of the goop, you need to leave it on for much longer. Also I had to go pick up my son and that added on a half an hour that was unavoidable, but was helpful in the long run.
So you should totally make this vase. But you should also enter my giveaway for a $200 gift card for Bespoke Global. Use it to buy Christmas gifts for yourself or others! They have tons of AMAZING entertaining pieces but also great gift ideas for the men in your life and lovers of fine things. Their selection is totally unique and are real works of art. While I can’t afford everything on the site, I still couldn’t help myself but browse every single section to see all the amazing finds they’ve curated.
Here are some of my other favorites from the site:
Kimura Glass with Stem, Wee Bit Candle Holder, Heather Knight Shell inspired art piece, Anna Karlin Decanter, Heather Knight Geode Bowl, Gold Zag Tray, Tiny Gold Lip Dish, Honeycomb Faceted Bottle with Gold,
Giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Lori Suvalle! Winner Winner Winner!
Contest ends November 12, 2014. Contest is open to legal residents of the lower 48 states and the District of Columbia who are 18 years old at the time of entry. One grand prize winner will be awarded a $200 coupon code for redemption at BespokeGlobal.com. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries. Items purchased in conjunction with this contest must be shipped to a valid physical address (no P.O. Boxes) in the lower 48 states or the District of Columbia. For complete rules, visit the contest landing page and click on “Read the full rules.”
