Lunch Box Love

Want to give a little surprise gift? How about a lunch box love note? Click here to get the free printables to make somebody's day. Simple little surprises can mean the most!

In A Pinch?

St. Patrick's Day is almost here! If you are in a 'pinch' (get it?) and need some holiday decor then you are in LUCK! Check out what Heather at Lulu's Tiles has been up to. Thanks to her you can whip out some last minute stuff for St. Patrick's Day!

Lucky Banner made with circles, letter stamps, and ribbon.

This Shamrock Frame is a five minute project using stamps and paper! Heather traced a shamrock shape onto the paper with pencil, stamped the word "lucky" around the line, erased the line, and popped it in a frame. You could do this with so many themes too!

These lucky clothespins make a last minute gift super easy to put together. And all you need are clothespins (I found some at the dollar store - 30 for a $1!), magnets, and stamps to do this project.

Go on over to Lulu's Tiles for the full story. She's got a lot of other great ideas you won't want to miss.

Spring Wreath

Here is a clever idea using plastic bottles to make flowers. Isn't this a cute spring wreath? You can get the tutorial over at tatertots and jello. This could be a great gift idea for anyone that needs a little bit of Spring in their life right about now.

Valentine Paint Sample Cards

photo credit

Have you seen these cards made out of paint swatch samples yet? So you can get those free paint sample cards from Home Depot or Lowes and turn them into beautiful Valentine cards. And these samples would be great for any holiday card. We're talking lots of possibilities here. Check it out here and here.

Free Giveaway

Do you want to enter a free sewing machine or embroidery machine giveaway? Click here.

And check out this video:

A "Snappy" Valentine

You can print this cute little alligator out and put him together in a 'snap'! Then you can fill him with a fun Valentine treat. Just go here for the free download. And to think I grew up handing out boxed valentine cards. What was I thinking? These are so cool.

For Kids: A Unique and Personal Candy Valentine

If you are looking for a unique valentine candy and card combo for your children's school classmates look no further! This idea was found here. A picture was taken of her child holding her fist out. A "Happy Valentine's Day" was added to the picture in Photoshop. Then once the picture was printed out (4x6") she cut a slit just above and below the child's fist and inserted the sucker. She added a little glue to the back of the picture where the stick came through to keep it from falling out.

This is a fast and easy Valentine idea, but still so cool! I absolutely love it.

Don't have Photoshop? Download Gimp for free here.

Free Disneyland Tickets?

Free Disneyland Tickets for Service:

If you like Disneyland and you might be planning a trip in 2010 take a look at this cool service promotion Disneyland is sponsoring. Ages 6 and older can spend a day of local service and earn a free day pass to a Disney theme park. You must preregister so click on the link below. Type in your zip code and find out what you can do. What a great gift idea!

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/WhatWillYouCelebrate/index?name=Give-A-Day-Get-A-Disney-Day

Raggedy Ann Doll

My sister found a great site called ohsewdollin where she got a free pattern for this darling raggedy doll that she made for my daughter. There are tons of cute patterns to choose from that can be purchased as well. My sister estimates that the materials for this doll cost her about $5 (although she had to spend more than that on the materials, but she can make multiple dolls with the leftovers). Don't you just love it?

Keep your eye out for those limited time only free patterns on the website. Or purchase a pattern and put it to good use.

Treat Cups

I know it's really early to be thinking about Valentine's Day but sometimes I find really cute ideas a little too late and I always wish I would have started earlier. So here I go. This is one of my favorite packaging ideas because it is simple - found here. These are made with clear plastic cups with a piece of cardstock wrapped around it. And I love the heart cut-out window, don't you? Then you glue a piece of double-sided crepe paper around the top of the cup and fill it with treats or gifts and tie a ribbon around it. Click here to get a free template for the paper that fits around the clear cup.

Rustic Wood Sign

This is a fun idea with endless possibilities. You can turn a piece of scrap wood into a fun, rustic sign. Paint the sign, trace some printed letters (or fins letters at Michael's), paint the letters with an angled paint brush (to get a nice edge on your letters), and then use a power sander to distress some parts more than others. Keep your eye out for some wood!

Create Your Own Pop Top Treat!

Save your pop top cans! These cute little treat cans were found here with a great tutorial here. Don't pop the top on your grocery cans. Instead, use a can opener to open the BOTTOM of the can and empty the contents and clean out the inside (make sure the bottom of the can is flat and not rounded so that you can actually open it with a can opener). Then, fill it with a treat and glue the bottom back on with hot glue or E6000. The lucky recipient gets to pop the top to find your special treat. Totally cool!

Window Art

This could easily be a free gift. Here is a great alternative to vinyl if you are looking for a nice, clean look. I found the idea here (great tutorial) via here. Basically you type out anything you want and then open your image in Sumo Paint (a free download) and flip the image and print it out. Then tape the image face down on the front of the window or glass exactly where you want it. Flip the glass over and paint the letters with acrylic paint.

In the free section of Craigslist and also on freecycle you can look for vintage windows and glass pieces that won't cost you anything!

I would love to see what you come up with. Email me your pictures if you do this gift idea.

FHE Lesson Ideas

If you want to do the FHE Lesson gift idea and are looking for some ideas for FHE lessons go here for a whole bunch of links to sites where you can get materials and ideas.

Family Tree

I found a beautiful family tree template here. Go here to get this template and take it to a copy store to get it enlarged. Fill out as many names as you can and give it to a family member to display in their home. Family names can be added to it through the years.

Join Freecycle

Have you heard about freecycle?? A friend introduced me to it. It is a Yahoo! group you can join for free and it is all about getting and giving stuff for free wherever you live.

It is amazing sometimes the things that people give. This little 18-month girl Gap coat was found through freecycle and it is like new. If you are willing to be patient and keep your eye out you could find a lot of treasures. Also, consider keeping your eye out for the materials you need for the gifts you are wanting to make and give (like fabric and scrap wood).

Note: You can request "porch pick-ups" whether you are giving or getting items to avoid going into or inviting strangers into your home.

FHE Lessons

I have an accordion file folder with enough Family Home Evening lessons for one year. Some lessons are detailed and some are brief.

Each of the manilla folders has a detailed lesson inside.

A detailed lesson includes: an attention getter, songs, scriptures, quotes, various activities to choose from depending on the age of your children, a story, visual aids and a recipe for a themed treat.

Here are 9 brief lesson plans. They have an opening statement or question, a song, a few scripture references, and an activity suggestion.

This could be a great gift! You don't have to do lessons for a whole year. Try a month. Or put together 1 lesson, make copies, and give it as a gift to all the families that you know.

You can get all kinds of material here and here.

You could also do a similar gift for families who don't do FHE. Find a craft that is great for the whole family and include instructions and materials to make it.

Printable Favor Boxes

These are the cutest little boxes. They are actually meant for wedding favors, but I think they would be fun for any occasion. If you have a color printer then you are set. Print some of these out and get them ready for a quick gift wrap solution.

More Printable Packages

These look so fun to print and make into templates too. Can't wait to try them out!

Printable Packaging

Go to this website to print out unique packaging templates. There are 36 to choose from. Just print them out on cardstock and cut them out to make your template. Then you can make patterned paper designer packaging. I'm excited to try these out.

What a great way to make your gift more extraordinary.