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.

Stephen Joseph Kids Wallets

About two months ago my older daughter asked for a chore chart. She said she wanted to help more around the house. The girl likes to be accountable, so documenting her efforts is the best way for her to check off the daily and weekly duties. My husband and I thought this would be a great time to introduce an allowance. She is at the stage where she asks for all kinds of things, from bubble gum to going to Disney for the day - thinking they are about the same cost.

The chore chart has been a great success. The only problem is where to keep the money she is earning. As of right now it is in a plastic snack bag in her room. Not the best way to kick off financial responsibility.

Thankfully, last week a friend shared a link to these Stephen Joseph Kids Wallets. I ordered two from The Crazy Dazy on a Friday and they arrived on Monday. The wallets are so cute in person! It has a single fold with a spot for paper money, a zippered section for change, and a mesh pocket for gift cards. And the wallets close with a nice Velcro closure.

I ordered from The Crazy Dazy and used a 10% discount code (shoppingmama). The wallets are $7.99 each and come in lots of different styles for boys and girls. A great idea for Easter baskets!

Zingo

A fun game is on sale at Target - Zingo! It is just $9 this week online and in stores. My daughters love playing this game, and as a parent I enjoy it also! Zingo would be a great addition to your little one's Easter basket.

Thanks to Sara the Savvy Shopper for highlighting this and other great game buys this week at Target.

Prints, Prints, and more Prints

As I was putting together my nephew's birthday gift I realized that I might have a problem. I sat down and made a list of prints I've given in the last year. Here goes:

~Drum Kit for nephew's birthday

~U.S. Naval Academy Chapel for BIL's birthday

~Our Family for me for Christmas

~Bookworm Silhouette for niece's birthday

~Complimenting Silhouettes for my daughters

~Football Silhouette for nephew for Christmas

And there is one more sitting upstairs ... I can't wait to tell you about that one once it has been given!

Lucky Penny Printable from Pumpkin Petunia

We have been busy gathering and cleaning pennies in the last few days. Printing and cutting cardstock too. And having fun with school glue. Why, you may ask? To make theses adorable Lucky Penny cards from Pumpkin Petunia's blog.

We are giving them to the children in my daughter's preschool class as well as a few family members. These would also be great for friends and coworkers.

Share a little luck with the people in your life this St. Patrick's Day! Its the little gifts of thoughtfulness that make the biggest impression.

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.

eeBoo Classic Matching Game

Maybe I am young enough to have caught the tale end of the new trend to give 'gifts' inside Easter baskets. Or maybe my mom just caught on late! Either way, it was fun to get a little gift along with the chocolate bunny, jelly beans, and Cadbury Creme Eggs.

When I'm looking for an old picture I always seem to come across the one I took of my Easter goodies on a particular year. One of the items inside was a three pack of blank cassette tapes. How cool! I could tape songs from the radio, and of course miss the first few seconds of the song.

While thinking of the fun things for a child to receive in an Easter basket I came across the eeBoo Classic Matching Game on Amazon. First, I fell in love with the bright colors and classic images. I also like how this game has only 24 matches (my girls have a memory game that has something like 36 matches and it is way too many even for my almost 5yo). The background colors are slightly different which helps little ones visually distinguish between possible matches also.

Find this matching game for $13.95 on Amazon (qualifies for Super Savers Shipping).