GroopDealz - Magneblooms

I love the latest GroopDealz offer so much that I had to share!  Perfect for a graduate (add to a cash gift to make it a little more personal) or a friend's upcoming birthday.

Your choice of 2 Magneblooms and Magneband Headband, a $39 value - just $19 ($3 shipping).  The blooms are interchangeable thanks to a snap magnets on the headband.  So fun!!

Choose from 5 different magnebloom colors: Peach, Light Pink, Black, Black and Gold Cougar, Black and White Cougar.  Choose from a Black or Silver headband. 

Find out more information and order at GroopDealz!

ETA:   These lovelies are being sold at Tori Spelling's store in Cali!!!  Snag yours now!

Ideas for the Easter Bunny

Crunch time for the Easter Bunny! 

In less than two weeks those adorable Easter Baskets and decorated Easter Eggs will be found by the cutest kids in the world - yours! ♥ 

Just in case the Easter Bunny hasn't figured out what goodies will fill the baskets this year here are a few Stella & Dot ideas for the girls:

(For a discounted shipping rate order through my Spring Trunk Show - go to Stella & Dot and click 'find your hostess', enter Kathryn Gnagey and start shopping!  Get your entire order shipped for just $5.95!)

Foundation Bracelets $22

Gracie Headband and Barrettes $24

Dyland Necklace $24

Does the Easter Bunny have a Tween on the list?  Here are two great gift ideas for them:

Tween Stud Pack (set of three) $29

Pair the Princess/Crown Charm ($24) with a colorful Silk Base ($14)

The last day to order and ensure delivery in time for Easter is Saturday, April 16th.

13.1 Necklace {by resonates on Etsy}

When I saw this 13.1 pendant from resonates on Etsy the first person I thought of was my friend Suzy.  She has a personal goal to run 13.1 once each month of 2011 - wow!  Suzy is such an inspiration to me, I love reading about her running adventures at Running on My Time.

This half-marathon distance pendant is made using a United States 10-cent piece, hangs from a hangs on 16-inch stainless steel wire, and is available in six colors (below).

Priced at $15 (plus $2 shipping) this would be a wonderful gift for the runner in your life.  Other repurposed sports pendants from resonates include Tri, Bike, Ski, Soccer, and Boston.  Not a sports girls?  Check out their other repurposed necklaces and bracelets!

ETA:  resonates is offering Penguin's Gift readers a special discount!  Enter PENGUINSGIFT0311 during checkout and receive 20% off your order.

Sailor Tote Bag

Everything about this Sailor Tote Bag from Bayan Hippo says SPRING to me!

This tote has four inside pockets and a swivel clip for keys, and is lined in cotton.  Oh, the Sailor Tote Bag is really big and roomy and perfect for lots of different uses.  Everyday purse, Diaper bag, Weekly shopping, Book or magazine tote, and or course Beach bag.
 
Find it at Bayan Hippo's Etsy shop for $33 (plus $9 shipping). 
 
I have my eye on one of the Bella Bags too!

Fleur de Sel Caramels from The Caramel Jar

I'll take a box of caramels over chocolates any day!!  Mmm. 

These Fleur de Sel Caramels from The Caramel Jar on Etsy look so yummy that I want to order them for myself.  Well, I want to order a couple bags for friends and throw an extra bag in for myself ;) !

They would make a great Valentine gift for just about anyone you want to feel special on February 14th - friend, coworker, teachers, babysitter, carpool mom.  Oh, and caramels would make a fun thinking-of-you surprise for someone in your world. 

Priced at $9.50 for a half-pound bag (plus $5.65 shipping).  The Caramel Jar also offers larger amounts for Party Favors and a fabulous Caramel Clubs (yes, please!).

MEpad from LobotoME

Ah, the start of a new year!  Turning the calendar means there is a chance to make things better and brighter in your life.  Lots of people, me included, use the new year to motivate ourselves to become more organized.  In the first two weeks of 2011 I've been busy organizing little areas of our house - the craft bins, the hat/scarf/glove basket, my computer area, etc.  But before I start these little organizing projects I find myself making lists of what I want to do.

I love to write things down.  Even in this age of electronic gadgets that can remind us in an instant of a task I find myself still writing down my to-do list.  And I love having my to-do list on fun, funky, and sometimes inspiring paper.  That is how I discovered MEpad.

MEpad is a cute note pad from LobotoME designed to look just like the screen of an iPad.  I laughed when I read the description: Who needs an iPad when you can have a MEpad. It's always connected, battery never runs out, and all you need is a lead stylus to use it.

The MEpad is a generous 5.5 x 8.5 note pad including 50 sheets and printed on white recycled paper.  Priced at $9.95.  Quantity discounts available when you purchase 3 ($26.95), 5 ($39.95), or 10 ($69.95) MEpads.

This note pad would make a great gift idea for someone who is wishing for an iPad.  Also a great gift for anyone who loves to jot down their lists to keep organized.

Check out LobotoME for the MEpad and lots of other fun note pads!

Portland Beanie Company

Visor Beanie

I've told you about the Portland Beanie Company before.  Run, don't walk, to their Etsy shop and order one for each head in your house!  Yes, they make these great knit hats for adults too.  Then order a few more for baby gifts.

Flapper Beanie

And a few more for birthdays and the upcoming Holiday season.  All of their beanies are so stinkin' cute!

Newsgirl Beanie

You won't be disappointed! I was very impressed with my order last year.

Want to see beanies in action?  Check out my friend Ali's 365 blog where you can see her beautiful children wearing their Portland Beanie Company beanies!

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!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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!!

Eclipse!

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse will be released next Wednesday!  Next Wednesday, yippee!!  Eclipse was my favorite of the four books.  I would love to see the movie but need to sucker someone to go with me ... I have seen the first two movies with my sister but she didn't finish Eclipse, boo!

If you have a Twilight fan on your gift list, or are a Twilight fan like me, here are some of my favorite Twilight inspired gift ideas.

Forks Washington t-shirt

from Cram's Etsy shop ($16.95, free shipping)

Pearls of Alice - Friendship Bracelet

from Rapunzels Gold's Etsy shop ($7.25 plus $2.99 shipping)

ECLIPSE inspired by La PUSH beach Sugar Scrub

from SugarSugarScrub's Etsy shop ($6 plus $2.50 shipping)

Fold Over Clutch with Wristlet (Inspired by Twilight Saga Book Covers)

from Boutique Bows and More's Etsy shop ($22 plus $4 shipping)

Twilight Inspired Party Cupcake Kit

from Skyler's Party's Etsy shop ($8 plus $3 shipping)

snackTAXI

Earlier this week I read Kimberly's Earth Day post at Tippy Toes and Tantrums. I've been meaning to buy reusable sandwich and snack bags but hadn't done the research myself. My husband has been using these sandwich keepers from Tupperware for almost two years and has been very happy with them. Yet I still used plastic for my kids occasional sandwiches during the week. And a little plastic snack baggie nearly every day.

Well, after going to Kimberly's link to snackTAXI I decided that now, Earth Week, is the best time to make the switch from using the little plastic bags daily. Two cute sandwich bags and two adorable snack bags are one their way to me very soon!

Use promotion code EDAY2010 to get 20% off your order (shipping rates are reasonable).

Give a gift to Mother Nature, go reusable!

Crayola Create A Plate Kit

This week Penguin's Gift is featuring Easter ideas so I must include one crafty idea!

We have a decorated plate and bowl for each of my two daughters made by Make-A-Plate during a school fundraiser. Each girl uses her special plate for dinner, although sometimes dinner is served in their special bowl too. They love to see their names (and date) written on the plates.

Crayola has partnered with the plate making company and together they have a line of Create A kits (plate, snack set, tray, and plate group kit).

The plate kit include Crayola markers, five special paper templates, and one pre-paid certificate for processing artwork into one 10 inch melamine plate. One kit would be great for siblings as well, just pay the extra fee to have a second or third plate made.

The plate kit can be found here for $17.99 from Amazon. Also, check out the tray kit ($24.99) which would be a great idea for Mother's Day or a grandparent's birthday.

Some Kind of Magic

This 5 x 5 print from Wren & Chickadee etsy shop captures my thoughts for spring 2010 - bright, beautiful, blooming.

'Some Kind of Magic' print in a simple frame is the perfect reminder of spring and how the season renews our hope at the end of each winter. Great gift to brighten a friend's mood, and the perfect size to tuck into just about any little space throughout an apartment or home.

Find this ($13.50 and free shipping) and other prints here. Check out the cute cupcake papers photo print as well!

... 25 days until spring ...

My TWILIGHT Valentine ♥

'I love you more than Edward Cullen' Valentine card from DandeeDesigns, just $4 (plus shipping) and available for preorder today.

Its all in the details for me - I love how they used the same font for Edward's name as printed in The Saga.

Find Jacob's version here, with the same font detail.

Valentine Gift Set

Pumpkin Petunia is offering a super cute personalized Valentine Gift Set here. The set includes an aluminum water bottle, Valentine shirt, and a set of 6 matching notecards.

What a great Valentine gift that is useful well after the holiday has passed!

The set is $48. But they are being super-duper generous and offering 20% until midnight Wednesday EST, use code VALENTINE at checkout. That makes this lovely set just under $39 which is an amazing price!

Dot to Dot Towels

Need a fun and frivolous gift? Here it is! They just 'look' so happy! And really, why not add a little happy smile each morning to your giftee's life? I can see these towels in the kids bathroom as well as a grownup bathroom.
Dot to Dot Towels from Garnet Hill come in face, hand, bath and beach towel sizes. Priced from $10.50 (face) to $24 (beach).

70% off clearance at Expressionery.com

Yesterday I received probably my third email advertising an additional 70% off clearance items at Expressionery.com. The offer seemed too good to be true, but yesterday I decided to check out what they have on clearance.

OMgosh, get yourself over there NOW! Use code MADNESS after you place your first clearance item in your bag. I also used code HOLIDAY to be sure I got free shipping! Last time I checked there were 24 pages of clearance items, but they are not sorted in any way. So grab a glass of water and get comfy because you might be bargain shopping for a good chunk of time! Kinda like shopping at those discount retail stores where you have to sort through a rack of clothes to find an amazing sweater.

Keep in mind your upcoming birthdays as well as Spring gifts (Easter) and even teacher gifts for end of school gifts. There are lots of fun Christmas items as well. You can stock up now for Christmas 2010 gifts. And maybe get a thing or two for you ;).

Here are some of my favorites:

~These folded note cards just $5.46 for 25.

~Very 'spring' folded notes here just $5.46 for 25.

~Two small note pads, like these are $5.46 for both.

~These address labels are just $2.94 for 144!

~PinkDots flat notes, 25 for $5.46.

Christmas:

~Square labels like these, 80 for $3.78, would be perfect for labeling gifts (A Gift from The Smith Family), or labeling baked goods as well.

~Address labels here are just $2.94 for 120!

~Beautiful Nativity folded note cards here, $5.46 for 25.

~PinkForest flat note cards are $5.46 for 25.

Newsgirl Beanie

Got any heads that need a fun knit hat? Then go to the Portland Beanie Company on Etsy!

In October I ordered this flowered headband for the little girl that is so generous to give my kids hand-me-downs and this newborn flapper hat for a little baby that will be born any day now. When I opened the package I was blown away at how adorable each piece was in person.

I have the newsgirl bean pictured above on my wish list for my girls next fall. And maybe one for me too!

Mini Stockings

I was searching for small stockings this year. Basically what I found were just two sizes, regular and ornament. I wanted something bigger than an ornament but much smaller than the typical stockings.
Then I found these mini stockings at Meghan Designs' etsy shop. ♥ They are the size I was looking for, and totally adorable! I was so excited when I received my order I had to give them to my parents right away. There was no waiting until Christmas for these cuties.
At $6 each they would be a great final touch to many Christmas gifts.
Check out Meghan Designs' other Holiday items also!

Tween Scene Necklace

Just last week I purchased this necklace (for our younger niece) and love it so much I had to share! A great gift idea for the tweens on your list, the girls between 8 and 13.

The designers at vmdesigns decoupage Scrabble-sized tiles with fun and hip papers then personalize it with an initial, seal it up and add a Swarovski crystal for a little more flash. They string the pendent on three colorful ribbons that are tied in the back so the girls can adjust the length of the necklace themselves. The final product is too cute! And each necklace comes packaged in a little truffle box ready for gifting.

The Tween Scene necklace can be paired up with a number of other gifts ideas for the little girls ...

~Gift card to their favorite store or mall

~iTunes gift card

~Fun stationary or notepad

~Book(s)

We are giving our niece a set of Junie B. Jones books along with her necklace.

The price is great too! Just $9.50 plus shipping. Check out the necklace pictured above here at vmdesign's etsy shop and be sure to look around at the other funky styles.

Waiting for Twilight

This is how I pictured the trees behind Bella's house.

This is a TTV (through the viewfinder) photograph so it has some 'character' which I think adds to the charm of the picture. At 5*5 this photo is the perfect size for displaying on a desk. Pickup a 5*5 frame and this lovely picture, and you have a really cool gift for any Twilight fan.

Find this photograph here at Aral33 Photography's etsy shop for $15 (plus shipping).