photo credit: Nancy Zhang||每一天都是禮物。

Here are a few things I’ve spotted around the web that you can check out:

Photo Courtesy of Paper Source

Check out this sweet how-to from Paper Source – Recycled Origami Hearts show your love for the planet for Earth Day, make some for your mom for Mother’s Day (Dads, help your kids make some for Mom!!!) or make some for your Sweetheart! Brighten someone’s day with this spectacularly easy recycled gift. Below is a picture of one I made using a paper bag – it took less than a minute to make!

I made this heart!

Personalize these little hearts any way you want! Make a love note into an origami ...read more]]> Okay, it could be any color you want it to be – I mean “green” as in “eco-friendly” not the actual color!

Photo Courtesy of Paper Source

Check out this sweet how-to from Paper Source – Recycled Origami Hearts show your love for the planet for Earth Day, make some for your mom for Mother’s Day (Dads, help your kids make some for Mom!!!) or make some for your Sweetheart! Brighten someone’s day with this spectacularly easy recycled gift. Below is a picture of one I made using a paper bag – it took less than a minute to make!

I made this heart!

Personalize these little hearts any way you want! Make a love note into an origami heart and mail it to your love or tape one to the bathroom mirror for them to find. Pack one into your child’s lunch, make the mobile pictured above for mom on Mother’s Day, send one to a family member, make one for a friend and tuck it into the book you are gifting them so they can use it as a bookmark…what ideas do you have? Leave me a comment and let me know!

I {heart} Paper Source and this fab how-to!

Happy gifting!

Now that the long winter has ended and warmer weather is gracing our days, you notice yourself going out more, accepting more invitations to get-togethers and find yourself seated at some dinner parties so you might be needing some nice, easy Spring-like hostess gifts for these impromptu meets. Or maybe you made so many excuses to spend time outdoors you find yourself in dire need of a last minute birthday present that doesn’t scream “I forgot!”

Photo courtesy of Paper Source

I found these cute little conversation hearts, otherwise known as Sweethearts at, where else?, my local Paper Source.

Of  course Sweethearts are readily available at most grocery stores, convenience stores and anyplace else that is usually well stocked with Valentine candy at this time of year…but ...read more]]> Part of the wonder of gift giving is that you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to be thoughtful.  Little things that are meaningful and sweet can have a huge impact.  Now, I would say that this falls under the category of “surprise” more than “present” but both surprises and presents are something given to a person to show you care (a.k.a. GIFT!). Note: when I say “surprise” I mean a token gift – not like a surprise party or startling someone!

I found these cute little conversation hearts, otherwise known as Sweethearts at, where else?, my local Paper Source.

Of  course Sweethearts are readily available at most grocery stores, convenience stores and anyplace else that is usually well stocked with Valentine candy at this time of year…but what makes these guys particularly special is that they are all in Spanish!

Let me explain – my boyfriend has created a Spanish learning program that I am one of the beta testers for, being a perfect Guinea pig since I started out not knowing more Spanish than most actual Guinea pigs.  You can obviously see where I’m headed with this…now that I am learning Spanish, and from his program no less, the conversation hearts spoke to me (figuratively, of course), even though I was only at the store to get pretty mailing labels. I got my box of Spanish Sweethearts for a mere 95 cents.  Sure, too many impulse buys, even those that are less than $1.00, can start adding up quickly, but keeping your mind, heart and eyes open can sometimes really save you money, especially with gift giving.  It is often last minute gift shopping that prompts us to overspend to try to compensate for feeling like we haven’t quite gotten the right gift, or spending too much on shipping to make up for not having planned in advance.

Sweethearts won’t really speak to your Sweetheart?  No problem – just think along the same lines.  Another example: My boyfriend and I eat pizza.  A lot.  We love it and it is just one of our things.  So one year I got him a heart-shaped pizza.  Sure, that may seem stupid to some but he loved it! That’s the whole point – it doesn’t have to be flashy or expensive, it has to be touching in some way.  He was touched, especially after I slogged through a snowstorm in order to surprise him with his special delivery. So, as you begin planning for Valentine’s Day (you are planning, aren’t you?), think about some of the special connections you share with your love.  What are the little jokes you share?  The things that are mundane in your life that feel romantic just because of the person you share it with? These are things that you can use to your advantage if you plan in advance because that little something will catch your eye as you stand in the checkout line and you’ll pop it on the counter and wrap it up and give it to your Sweetie on Valentine’s Day, or any other day you wish to touch their heart, and such a little gift will have such great meaning.

In searching for a suitable picture of the Spanish Sweethearts, I found all these other cute little confections that are similar, so check them out below, maybe one of them will “speak” to you or spark an idea!

Happy gifting!

The end result:  a very personalized New Year’s card and gift.  The reason I chose a chalkboard was to symbolize the idea of a New ...read more]]> Remember last Sleuthing Sunday’s post? I had a puzzle of sorts for you to solve with clues (or red herrings!) as to what sort of gift idea I was cooking up.  Well, if you weren’t able to suss out what sort of project I was up to – here’s your answer!

I made New Year’s cards with a special twist. I purchased a few items from Paper Source: pretty cards, labels, adhesive chalkboard and two glittery pens.  I provided: a little creativity, patience, love and time.

The end result:  a very personalized New Year’s card and gift.  The reason I chose a chalkboard was to symbolize the idea of a New Year/Clean Slate. All at once it is something both meaningful and useful.

Here is how I did it:

1. I printed a simple New Year’s greeting on the labels. Why?  Because my handwriting isn’t so pretty and I really wanted my “Happy New Year!” message to be one of the unifying factors of the card since each note was going to be different (a.k.a personal).
2. I took a glitter pen in a color that coordinated with the card, and wrote over the “Happy New Year!” to make it extra pretty.  I used a Gelly Roll pen in Sky Star.  This actually is less difficult and time consuming than you might think because the labels are big enough to use a font that is large enough to trace easily.  I chose Monotype Corsiva because I thought it looked a bit like actual handwriting without being as messy as my own!
3. I centered each label on the top, inside flap of the note card.
4. I cut the adhesive chalkboard into 3×5 inch pieces. The set comes with four 9×12 inch adhesive panels, so I was able to get six 3×5 inch pieces out of each panel.  I chose 3×5 inches because a.) this fit in the card and b.) I figured my recipients could have some fun personalizing their gift further and that this standard size would work well.  More ideas about personalization below.
   
5. I wrote a word that had meaning for each recipient or my relationship with them in some way on the chalkboard stickers.  Words like Gratitude, Hope, Love, Cheer et cetera.
6. I wrote a personalized note to each person, explaining why I chose that particular word. I used a Gelly Roll pen in Red Star to write the notes since I thought it coordinated well with the note cards and labels.
7. I included a typed message explaining why I chose this gift and how they might personalize and use it in their own life as well as care instructions (copied from the package).  See my message and ideas here.

If you have the time and money to personalize these yourself, you can use some of my ideas or come up with your own to make these into very personalized and different gifts for people in your life.

I think the idea of a Clean Slate makes a meaningful gift for anyone going through change; new job, divorce, new marriage, new child; someone who is experiencing a challenge in their life; someone that you want to apologize to.

Courtesy of Paper Source