Etsy Valentines Day Gifts

Andy and I are not big gift people. We have everything that we could want, so we don't usually give gifts. For Valentines Day we will probably go out to dinner and exchange cards. This doesn't mean I don't enjoy looking for fun gifts though. As I have mentioned plenty of times before, Etsy is the perfect place to find homemade gifts along with supporting the small business community. These gifts are so much fun, I may actually give a gift this year. :)

For Him:

 Wild cent for your wild man. Cedar and Lime, with subtle hints of Lavender and Rosemary, wow. Find it Here.

 Hot chocolate with earl grey for the man with a more defined pallet. Find it Here.

A leather cuff for him with the latitude and longitude of your favorite place. (Andy would love this!) Find it Here.

 Guys like getting gifts of chocolate too...bacon covered chocolate! Find it Here.

For the coffee lover man. Some morning joe with a sweet note on it. Find it Here.

For Her:

 Dried and laminated bougainvillea petal earrings for the nature/flower lover. (I want these.) Find it Here.

 

 An anitomical heart illustrated tank for the literal woman. Find it Here.

 Fancy gourmet chocolate truffles. Flavors like bourbon, raspberry, and spicy mayan. Yes! Find it Here.

 Care for a mug of sensuali-tea? Calming herbal tea for the hot drink lover. Find it Here.

A simple delicate gold and red bracelet for the jewelery gal. Find it Here.

If you find something good, order it now so you'll have it by Valentines Day- next Thursday! And no, Etsy, nor any of these products endorse me for this. I just love Etsy.

Etsy Gifts for Women

Etsy gifts for the lady in your family under $40

In my opinion women are SO much easier to shop for than men. Last week I did a post about Etsy gifts for men so now I am doing one for women. Yeah, we need cool stuff too! Really the possibilities are endless, but here are 10 of my picks of rad gifts for women that can be found through Etsy. And like I said before, buying from Etsy also helps to support the small business community...so do it! Plus who doesn't like shopping online from the comfort of your couch with a cup of jo in hand?

 For the lady into beauty and scents. Vanilla lavender aroma therapy gift set. $29 Here.

 For the nature/art loving iphone user. Geometric on wood ipone case. $16 Here.

 For the lady into natural beauty. Eco friendly charcoal mask. $24 Here.

 For the modern art-deco lady. Modern copper cuff bracelet. $40 Here.

 For the fun homemaker. Burlap leaf print pillow. $32 Here.

 For the avid tea drinker. (I have several of these friends!) Bamboo tea box. $29 Here.

 For the lady who always wears fun jewelery. Wood and malachite pendant necklace. $20 Here.

 For the entertainer who already has everything. Modern colorful ceramic vase. $18 Here.

 For the hipster lady, or not. ( I love these!!) Vintage bicycle earrings. $20 Here.

For the fashion-forward lady who's always cold. Gray chevron infinity scarf. $25 Here.

Etsy Gifts for Men

Etsy Gifts for Your Dude under $45

Tis the season! It's about that time to hit the pavement and fight the dreaded crowds. I love shopping, yes I do, but I hate holiday shopping. Maybe I'll try something different this year and shop for gifts online. (Good idea eh, who ever though of that!?) I'm a strong supporter of Etsy, so enjoy this list of 8 pretty sweet gifts for men (in my opinion) that also helps to support the small business community.

 For the technology man. A leather ipad case...with a sweet engraved bicycle. $45 Here.

 For the adventure man (ie: my husband). A personalized engraved knife. $26 Here.

 For the hairy man? A genuine shaving kit with handmade soap. $31 Here.

 For the musical man (you lucky lady!). A personalized engraved guitar pick. $18 Here.

 For the clean man, or the coffee lover. Coffee body wash! $7 Here.

 For the cellphone savvy, or the texting man. Thumb-free gloves. $25 Here.

 For the commuter man, or coffee lover. A personalized engraved travel mug. $16 Here.

 For the hip working man. Some brightly colored skinny ties. (yes please!) $19 Here.

Back-to-School Backyard Bash

We hosted a little back-to-school backyard bash this afternoon for a hand full of John’s first grade buddies…think ice cream sundaes, slip ‘n sliding and a gaggle of water gun wielding, sugared up six year olds!  I didn’t do a single solitary thing to prep for this shindig until about noon – which makes me pretty darn proud of myself for not over-thinking or over-doing it for a change :-)

Customize this invitation in my etsy store!

Honey pulled the baby’s old changing table out of the attic and we set it up as the dessert/drink station.  I expect to get a lot of use out of the “first grade” bunting!  The red buckets came from the PCP’s room and the vintage milk bottles are the same Starbucks Frappucino bottles I keep using at every party shown on this blog.
     

I rigged up a little photo booth using left over fabric from the porch and cut the props out of clip art and taped them to dowel rods.  I fully intended to get individual photos of all the boys but they were stripping down to their swimsuits pretty much the second they disembarked their cars so there really wasn’t a chance.
     

The boys had a rollicking good time slipping on the slip ‘n slide, flying on the zip line, dousing each other with water guns and making big bubbles – such a great way to bid farewell to summer!
       
And so went the last hurrah before school on Monday!!  Needless to say, my littles were out like lights!
xoxo

Meet and Greet and Treats {Free Printable}

We spent our day yesterday anxiously awaiting the posting of class lists for the new school year.  At four on the dot we were in the school parking lot pouring over the list of Mrs. B’s first grade class!!  I snapped a quick pic of the list and last night we looked everyone up in the yearbook so that the PCP could see his new classmates. 

Today was back-to-school spirit day and John could hardly wait to proudly escort us to the first grade wing of the school.  His new teacher is young, extremely friendly and remarkably organized.  We should get along splendidly!  John had a great time exploring the class room, sorting his school supplies and settling into his new DESK!  I seriously went a little weak in the knees when he walked straight up to Mrs. B and said “Hi Mrs. B.  I’m John W.  It’s nice to meet you!”  Fingers doubly crossed that he keeps that up all year :-)  (Are those black tennies not the most atrocious things you've ever laid eye on???  He was literally hugging them and professing his love for them in the store.  How could I say no?)
 



I thought the Back to School Magic Confetti in his folder was too too sweet.  We will definitely be putting this out next to his bed come Sunday night!


After tossing about loads of ideas for a little Meet & Greet treat with Mother and Sister, we decided to start the year off with a new book for Mrs. B’s classroom library and a set of personalized book plate stickers.  The PCP predictably chose a Phineas and Ferb reader and already looks forward to picking it to bring home one night once school starts.  Inside is a special label saying “For the library of Mrs. B – From John W. – 2012.”  He also made a card for her this morning.
      
I printed mine on full page label paper and then cut them into 3” x 4” stickers.  You could also print on cardstock and just tape into your books.  Download a free printable below. 

Every time I put a free printable out there I get loads of requests for personalized versions.  Soooo, I’m thrilled to be able to offer this for just $3 in my new etsy store.  See the listing here!

Book Plate

When we finished up in the classroom, we headed to the gym to pick up his new school t-shirt and to sign up for the Chess Club.  Sounds awfully scholarly – but you know what they say about the apple and that tree. 

I’m terribly proud of John for being so brave as he embarks on his first grade adventure.  And of myself for holding back the tears…for now.  It seems like we were down the hall in Kindergarten just yesterday! 
xoxo

See more teacher gifts here!

Flattered for the features at Uncommon Designs and One Artsy Mama!