The Gift Detective » Candles

Sleuthing Sunday: Investigating Deals and Discounts Here!

The Gift Detective — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 04:47:08 +0000

This Sunday, I want YOU to be the sleuth!

First of all, investigate my latest GiftAway for a great Mother’s Day gift!

Secondly, you know my post about the personalized candles? Well, Madison is offering readers incredible discounts!

* 20% discount on custom Mother’s Day candles
* Free consultation (usually $25/hour)
* Unlimited photo proofs and changes (a savings of up to $75.00)

To obtain these deals – just mention The Gift Detective sent you when you contact Madison Hill Candles!

Lastly, don’t forget that I have a great discount on the DVD, Yoga4Dogs.

Want to do even more sleuthing? Check out some of my previous posts by visiting any of the links listed below with LinkWithin.

Happy gifting!

Personalized Candles, for Mother’s Day and more!

The Gift Detective — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 20:28:33 +0000

Candles are a source of light and warmth. They can be colored or fragranced. They can come in a variety of different vessels that might compliment a home or be a person’s favorite color. And these are just candles that you can purchase from the store!

Click to Purchase - $14.99

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Attention!!! Madison is offering Gift Detective readers special discounts!
* 20% discount on custom Mother’s Day candles
* Free consultation (usually $25/hour)
* Unlimited photo proofs and changes (a savings of up to $75.00)

To obtain these deals – just mention The Gift Detective sent you when you contact Madison Hill Candles!

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But what if you could personalize a candle by not only selecting the right color or fragrance, but with a photo? Or adding a sentiment, quote, poem, biblical verse or something else to it? What if you had the opportunity to create a candle so perfect for your recipient that they might just be speechless? You would do it! Why wouldn’t you? Oh, because you think it would be too expensive? Not. At. All. You would easily pay this much or more for a candle purchased at a store that, although a fine option, would not be nearly as heartfelt as a custom candle.

And don’t you want your gift to be special? Something that stands out from the rest of the crowd? Something that with its very existence, shows what thought and love went into the selection and making of this present? Of course you do!

Madison Hill Candles can help you make the perfect candle gift for a variety of occasions. Birthdays, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Anniversary…I could list nearly every holiday or occasion here! Madison knows the art of thoughtful gift giving (she even did a guest post, here!) and will be able to help you create a gift that will be an outstanding example of how much you care for your recipient.

This candle is an example of a photo (Madison's son when he was a baby!) coupled with a poem he wrote for her when he was 11 years old.

Mother’s Day will be here before you know it (May 9th!), and she has a simple form that will help you get started making a beautiful, custom candle for mom. Get creative! Madison Hill is a master chandler and can help you make this gift become a work of art, not just a candle. Does your mom love a specific flower or do you want to embed a special photo in the candle? Madison can make this happen! After filling out the form, Madison will contact you to continue the design process to help make sure you are creating a one of a kind gift, sure to bring tears to her eyes and a smile to your mother’s heart!

Madison also has an Etsy shop where you can purchase some candles that are really gorgeous and ready to go! (prices range from $14.99-$24.99) My favorite one from her shop is pictured at the top of this post! Isn’t that beautiful? Below, you can see a gallery of just a few of her creations. (all photos courtesy of Madison Hill Candles)

What do you think your own mother would love to be incorporated into a candle? Don’t you think she would be wowed by a gift like this?

Happy gifting!

Come Back Tomorrow for the First Guest Post!

The Gift Detective — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:01:00 +0000

I came across Madison Hill’s amazing work and have been planning on doing a post that features her gorgeous, custom candles but, in the meantime, she has agreed to do a guest post about gifting from her perspective.

I’ve seen the post and I think you are going to love it, so please be sure to come back tomorrow and check it out! While you are waiting to see what she has written, why don’t you check out her website, her new Etsy shop, Facebook or Twitter pages? You won’t be disappointed!

I’m really delighted to have Madison Hill as the very first guest blogger and I hope you will give her a really warm welcome maybe even leave a comment on her post to let her know if you liked it (don’t be shy!).

Now, I’m going to go enjoy my day off!

Happy gifting!

Sleuthing Sunday: Last Minute Birthday Gift

The Gift Detective — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:01:42 +0000

The following is a true story…

It was late. Really late. After trekking through the new fallen snow and working a very long day, I was ready to relax. Somehow, I managed to work through dinner so I decided to oblige my snarling stomach and padded into the kitchen to pour a bowl of cereal, Isabelle at my heels checking to see if I put a tasty treat in her bowl.

I sat down on the couch and tucked my feet under me. Time to get comfy for a little Hulu watching. Ah, a new episode of Lie to Me. Perfect! I waited for the buffer to fill while I poured some milk on my “dinner”.

Because it was the holiday season with mere days to go until Christmas and Kwanzaa, I checked my e-mail one last time before settling back to enjoy my show. Phew! No new messages.

I pressed play and sat back with my cereal bowl to enjoy the show. Before the credits even began to roll, I heard the chime. A tad reluctantly, I paused the show. It had been a long day after all, but I love what I do so I decided to answer. A request for a present that needs to arrive by Wednesday…and it’s Sunday. Well, technically it’s already Monday. The good news, it’s an Amazon Prime customer – that will save us a bit of headache.

So, on to the detecting phase. I start off with some questions. Who is the gift for? What is the occasion? I learn that the recipient is a longtime friend and employee and it is her birthday. Ouch. A birthday a couple of days before Christmas? This is an important gift! It is hard for anybody to feel forgotten at their birthday, let alone for someone who has undoubtedly received a few too many “combo gifts” – no wonder my client was worried about nearly forgetting her birthday!

I began getting into more detailed questions and I started taking mental notes as I come across each clue – she seems to have a fun side, loves to entertain in her new home, though he just got her a housewarming gift specifically geared toward entertaining already. I immediately cross that off my list. No need to be repetitive!

“What colors did you see in her home?” I ask. “Did she paint the rooms herself or were they already those colors when she purchased the house?” Okay, now I have evidence of some of her favorite colors. Off to a good start.

Through a series of brief but pointed questions, I learn that she loves photography and she lights candles every evening. Oh, and she has a cat she adores that is pretty high ~~strung~~, er, energy.

Knowing that I have to perform quickly I promise to get back to him within 20 minutes. Ten minutes later, I e-mail him a list of urls with a brief note letting him know I will call him to discuss the details.

I go over my suggestions with him, one-by-one. I warm up with the subject of candles. Clearly she likes them so I explain it is safe gift…but maybe a little too safe. He definitely likes a few of the options that I sent, and we even talk about the newest craze, candle warmers, but it doesn’t feel like the right gift to either of us, so I move on.

She has a creative side and a new home that she has already been stenciling so I included a book I’ve seen mentioned a number of times. “Nope, I think she done with decorating!” is his emphatic reply.

Now I move on to one of the two ideas that I think are the winners – she loves photography, but he didn’t notice that she had a way to print her own photos, besides a regular printer. She loves to take pictures of her nephew and at social events, of her friends when they visit her…not a serious photographer but one who enjoys making memories. “How about this photo printer?” I can hear the delight in his voice when he says he loves the idea and I know we’ve found the perfect gift. This is the part I love! Solving the mystery.

Just to be thorough, I mention a few other ideas that I had, a neat camera that is pretty beloved to many (which was my runner-up bet) and some fun 3D photography items but he has already made up his mind – the photo printer it was! I suspected as much and I smiled to myself. Now time to add a little extra something to her package – I suggested a gift for her cat as well, mentioning that I included a few suggestions in my e-mail, the last being the best bet, in my opinion. (hopefully the cat agrees!)

He’s a frequent Amazon shopper so he needs little help with the check-out process, but I stay on the line with him anyway. I make sure he’s sending it to her new home instead of her previous address and remind him to check the option for adding gift wrap and a personal note. Since he contacted me about thirty minutes ago, he’s gone from stressed out to confident that, with a little guidance, he has picked out the perfect present. Instead of feeling frazzled he is now excited to be giving her something that he is sure she is going to love. Now that he is relaxed, he has no problem writing her a lovely note, explaining why he thought she would love the photo printer, writing a brief story about how he loves one of the photographs she’s sent him. As he read me the note, I was really touched by why he chose the photo printer because, although I followed the evidence to be able to make some suggestions, he was the witness that told me what clues I (we) were looking for and came to me with the desire to give, not just a present but of himself.

Nearly done he adds the cat toy to his cart as well and balks when I remind him to add the gift wrap for that item as well. He insists that the cat doesn’t need the present wrapped so why spend the $4 to wrap a $6 present? Because it is a present, and she will be opening it, never mind it is a present for the cat. He is adding the cat toy because she loves her cat, and so they present for her cat will still be a present to her. The wrapping will make her feel remembered instead of feeling like her birthday is an afterthought.

I ended the call satisfied that she had gotten a nice gift. Because he was stressed out to begin with, he might have accidentally picked a token “I didn’t quite forget your birthday” gift. Instead, he was sending her a thoughtful, “I thought about what you liked and wanted to show you that I appreciate you, your friendship and all of your hard work!” gift.

After I hung up the phone, I made a note on my calendar so that I could offer my services next year and, at the very least remind him of the upcoming date. I wrote up some notes for my files and since I already had my creative juices flowing decided to save a few ideas that, if we had more time to work with, may be good options for other occasions.

It was too late to go back to my show so I wrote up my notes instead and, satisfied that I had helped find the perfect present, I hit ‘save’ and closed my computer.

Case closed!

Here are the actual suggestions I sent my client:

OIL WARMER WITH 6 TEALIGHTS AND 6 ASSORTED OILS VOT-008

Bath & Body Works White Barn Everything Apple Home Fragrance Gift Set including Perfect Autumn Apple, Alluring Apple, Applemint, and True Temptations Warm Apple Pie Scents, PLUS an Oil Warmer!

Biedermann & Sons Glass Mosaic Vase-Shaped Candleholder and Oil Warmer, Mirrored

Stencil 101: Make Your Mark with 25 Reusable Stencils and Step-by-Step Instructions

The winner! Canon Selphy CP780 Silver Compact Photo Printer Under $75

Lomography Diana Mini- 35mm Camera

Mission 3D

KONG Squirrel Catnip Toy, Cat Toy, Brown

FroliCat BOLT Automatic Laser Toy for Cats

Sm. Talking Babble

KONG Daddy Pompom Legs Catnip Toy, Cat Toy, Brown/Black

KONG Kickeroo Pattern #3 Catnip Cat Toy, Tiger

And the second winner! Play-N-Squeak Ball of the Wild

Do you have an upcoming holiday or occasion you need some help with? If you fill out a Sleuthing Sunday request form you might get free help from me!

Happy gifting!

Frugal Friday: Simple & Sweet Idea for Hanukkah

The Gift Detective — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:36:45 +0000

This is such a simple idea but I really love it!

For an easy but memorable gift, decorate a small box of matches for Hanukkah and pair it with nine candles.

This is the type of craft that requires very little time or effort but you can really personalize it and make it into a lovely gift. This present would be nice alone or as an accompaniment to another gift. You could wrap up the candles and even use the matchbox as an adornment to the gift wrap by attaching it to the ribbon!

Very pretty, tasteful, useful and affordable!!!

Happy gifting!