Family Trees

We all seem to have one or two people on our gift lists that are difficult when it comes to finding the right gift.  Often these are our grandparents or parents!  When I saw the beautiful Family Tress offered by LoviDay on Etsy I knew they would make a great gift for these members of the family!  Your Family Tree is an illustration of the amazing family they have helped create and what a wonderful gift for them to display in their home.

The names of the family members are randomly placed on leaves of the tree - love this!

Are you more of a DIYer?  LoviDay offers a Family Fingerprint Tree that includes a printed 'bare' 11" x 14" poster and 2 ink pads (1 light and 1 dark green) for you to create your own custom tree.  This would be a fun family activity on Thanksgiving or any of the upcoming family gatherings!

Looking for something for your little family?  LoviDay also offers a Whimsical Family Tree that has the parents names at the bottom and their children's names beautifully illustrated n the leaves of the tree.

LoviDay also has a wonderful selection of Guest Book Alternatives for weddings, baby showers, etc.

Total processing and delivery is typically 2-3 weeks, so keep this in mind when ordering for the holidays!

Free shipping for the holidays!! Use coupon code HAPPYHOLIDAYS.

Doily Coasters

These wooden Doily Coasters from uncommon's Etsy shop are adorable!  They are useful, of course, by protecting your furniture surface and super cute with their unique vintage styling.  These coasters would make a great hostess or housewarming gift.

The set of five Doily Coasters are made from sustainable birch and measure 3.5" across.  Priced at just $16 (plus $2.50 shipping), and a square set is also available which are just as adorable!

Family Tree

This Family Tree from Naturally Meg's Etsy shop is one of many brilliant handmade creations on Etsy.  But who would have thought of putting together these elements.  Certainly not creatively-challenged me!

Fabric + cardstock + hand stitching =

a gorgeous piece of artwork to celebrate your family

The fabric tree is sewn onto 8x10 textured cardstock then the initials of parents and children are stitched onto the tree with a "carved tree" look.  You can request a removable mount so that additional initials can be added in the future.  Also, how about requesting hand stitching of two names.  Wouldn't a 'Jack + Diane' look so cute!  Great gift for an anniversary.

Be sure to check out her shop!  Naturally Meg offers these beautiful trees in a few different styles:  Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring and other fun patterns like dots, blossoms, and ones with a bird nest.  Priced at just $25 (plus $3.50 shipping).

Really Cute Stuff GIVEAWAY -- closed!

I was so happy to stumble upon Really Cute Stuff a few weeks ago.  Once I read their line 'Put the Fun Back into Hand Written Notes with Our Line of Custom Note Cards' I was hooked!  I've shared my love for note cards here before, especially personalized note cards, and I love an affordable gift idea.  These note cards can easily be customized with font and color of your choice.  For me, note cards are a no-fail gift idea.  From babies (so cute to see a new baby's name on stationary!) to small children to young adults to grownups, personalized note cards are perfect!

Really Cute Stuff has four different designs of note cards all sold in sets of 15, priced from $10-$15.

Signature $10 Note Cards

You can have lots of fun with the font and color choices on these cards!

The Color Collection
What a great selection of vivid complimenting colors to choose from.

Family Style Note Cards

Think outside the box with these. 

I love the suggestion of Teacher Cards with the name of the school in the background.  Also great for Summer Camp teachers as well as Swim Lesson teachers (name of pool in background).

Monogram Note Cards

(not yet pictured but available!)

A classic.  You can't go wrong with monograms!

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Today we kick off another great GIVEAWAY here at Penguin's Gift! Becky and Sally from Really Cute Stuff have generously offered my readers a chance to win one set of 15 super-cute note cards! If you are the lucky winner you can pick the personalized note cards set of your choice along with the color and font, all shipped directly to you from the lovely ladies at Really Cute Stuff.

You have 5 chances to WIN! Make sure to leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry, and leave your email address if it is not easily visible on your profile or blog.

1. Hop over to Really Cute Stuff and leave a comment on this post telling us which of the wonderful note cards are your favorite (remember, the monogram note cards are so new they haven't made it to the store yet!).

Bonus Entries:

2. 'Like' Really Cute Stuff on Facebook.
Already 'like' Really Cute Stuff on FB?  You are eligible too!

3. 'Like' Penguin's Gift on Facebook.
Already 'like' Penguin's Gift on FB?  You are eligible too!

4. Subscribe to Penguin's Gift via blog reader or email subscription.
Current subscribers are eligible also!

5. Post/Blog/Tweet about this giveaway on Facebook, your blog, or Twitter and post a link with your comment.

This giveaway will close on Tuesday, July 27th. Please leave all of your comments by 10:00 p.m. on that day.  Good luck!!

Cupcakes!

Everyone loves cupcakes!  Am I right?  They are the perfect dessert because cupcakes are just the right serving of sweetness.  Yum!  I would love to expand my cupcake baking skills with the book Cupcakes! by Elinor Kivans (under $7 from Amazon).  She offers great tips on baking and decorating cupcakes as well as some easy, delicious recipes.

Pair Cupcakes! with a few packs of baking cups from Bake It Pretty for a completely yummy gift. 

Have you been to Bake It Pretty?  Stop by to see the amazing selection of baking and party supplies from baking molds to chocolate molds to party candles to bakery boxes and much more. 

 

These are some of my favorite baking cups from Bake It Pretty and each of them would pair with the Cupcakes! book perfectly.

Letter Banner

I have been obsessed with banners lately.  Remember my daughter's birthday banners?  Well they are now hanging in her room (and her sister's birthday banner from January is still in her room!).  Currently hanging over our fireplace is a beach ball banner spelling SUMMER! from Pumpkin Petunia. 

A few weeks ago I saw the Letter Banners made by Karina, Ink featured as a giveaway by mary elizabeth and fell in love.  Each letter is hand cut from beautiful coordinating cardstock and strung with ribbon or twine or raffia.  I think having a name (first or last) or an important/inspirational word banner would be so fun!  Great gift idea for the family that has it all.  Or to welcome a new baby.  Or a funky graduation gift.

Fortunately for all of us Karina, Ink has re-opened her Etsy shop and is now selling these beautiful letter banners.  Just $2.50 per letter with $4 shipping.

Disclaimer:  I featured these Letter Banners for a chance to win one myself.  Although I've wanted to featured them anyway after seeing them on the giveaway in May because I really do love them ... and I have thought about giving one to a new little bundle of happiness and now I can since the Etsy shop is open!

Cloth Napkins

Last year a friend remodeled her kitchen. They gutted the entire room down to the studs, moved the pantry, relocated appliances and light fixtures. Not only was it a huge investment of money but also a sacrifice for her family during the remodel. To help her celebrate the completion of her beautiful new kitchen I gave her a lovely cookbook and a set of cloth napkins.

Gifts that mark a milestone in our lives are not limited to birthdays and anniversaries. Try to mark the other life events in some one's life with a little present. Or just a note. Sometimes its as simple as writing a few sentences in a card and dropping it into the big blue mailbox, you know the old fashion way!

The napkins I sent my friend were from Little Birds Boutique on etsy ($18 for a set of 4 - 15 inch square napkins). Stop by their shop and check out all of the beautiful items they have in addition to napkins ... little girl hair clips, keychain wristlets, and reusable fabric Happy Birthday banners.

GiftsIn24.com - and a GIVEAWAY!

I don't remember how I found GiftsIn24.com but I am so thankful to whomever shared the link with me! I've purchased many gifts for others and my family from their website, and everyone has been pleased with the personalized stationary.

There are so many occasions and recipients for stationary that the ideas are almost a long as your gift list. Here are three of my favorites:

~For the Tween girl - note cards with just her first name on the front like this.

~For the newly married couple - note cards with their married monogram (his first initial, last initial, her first initial). I love this style!

~For the couple with a new baby - note cards with 'The Jones Family' embossed on the front of a classic style card like this one.

The last one has to be my favorite gift I've given from GiftsIn24.com. Oh, so many fun gift ideas!

I really love this site - can you tell? Don't forget to follow this and other favorite websites on Facebook and Twitter! Its great to be one of the firsts to know about promotions and new products. Here are two quick links to become a fan of GiftsIn24.com on Facebook and Twitter.

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Okay, now for the GIVEAWAY! Yay! GiftsIn24.com has generously offered one of the Penguin's Gift readers a set of 50 Traditional Monogram Notes (pictured above and details here) with a return address up to three lines. Wow! That is a $53.95 value.

To enter the Giveaway simply leave a comment on this post. Please be sure to include your contact information if it's not easily accessible on your profile or blog.

This Giveaway ends at 11:00 pm EST on Thursday, November 12, 2009.

glassybaby forever!

This is the most beautiful votive holder you will ever find! And solid, its a heavy piece in your hand. Each glassybaby is hand blown in Seattle with the belief that it can uplift a room and a room full of people. A quote from the website that I love is 'glassybaby serve as a metaphor to symbolize hope and are humble in spirit but not beauty' - so, so true. I have a thing for green lately so the glassybaby pictured above is the color greenlake. They come in over 70 colors, some transparent and some opaque. Display one solo or a grouping of complimenting colors, either way you will have an inviting warm glow in your home.

The glassybaby website was shared by a friend starting her own online business many years ago. I fell in love with the look as well as the colors. I quickly ordered two, one for me and one for my sister. My sister burns a votive in her kitchen daily so I thought a glassybaby would be a perfect gift for her. Once they arrived I couldn't believe how sturdy they were in your hand. Glassbabies look so delicate sitting on a shelf yet they are so solid.

You can shop for glassybabies here, $40 plus shipping.

Personalized Wedding Bowl

Have a wedding this fall? Maybe an anniversary that should be marked with a small gift? Then you must check out Elm Studios on Etsy. I'm in love with their Personalized Wedding Bowl (pictured above) as well as the Tree of Life Bowl.

Elm Studios has created two bowls for me already. Each time I've opened the box and I'm instantly in *love* with the piece. In the past I've ordered this bowl as an anniversary gift (40 years and 50 years, oh my!) and each couple has cherished their Wedding Bowl.

Check out Elm Studios, the Wedding Bowl ($20) and other lovely personalized pottery gifts at their Etsy site here.