archives: Gift Items
Here in Chicago, the weather is threatening to jump straight past autumn and into full-blown winter. I wore GLOVES to work yesterday, people. GLOVES. In October. This just isn’t right.
I’m not ready to give up on fall just yet. I LOVE fall. It’s the season of crunchy leaves and rich butternut squash soups and yummy local apples just begging to be baked into rustic spice cakes. It’s just too great to skip, in my humble opinion. So if the weather won’t give us fall, we’ll just have to create it ourselves! I have just the thing:
“What are those?” you ask?
Those, my friends, are cake stencils. Are you the type who gets a little droopy just thinking about the effort involved in frosting and decorating a cake? Me too! Cake stencils are MADE for folks like us. You place a stencil on a cake, dust it gently with cocoa or powdered sugar, carefully remove the stencil – and voila! Beautifully decorated cake, without all the calories and spreading and swearing involved in frosting.
Making a single-layer cake and decorating it with a stencil is a simpler, breezier version of dessert for a casual dinner party or fun holiday party. Just imagine the possibilities- gingerbread dusted with powdered sugar! Super-orange carrot cake dusted with cocoa powder! Apple cake dusted with a cinnamon-powdered sugar blend!
Or, if you have kids and are looking for a super-fun Halloween treat, there’s a set of Halloween stencils- and it’s on SALE!
Can you imagine how cute that witch one would be with powdered sugar dusted on a dark chocolate cake?
I love how easy these stencils are. You could even use them to trace shapes to cut out decorative pieces of pie crust for your Thanksgiving pies! I’m not one for buying lots of specialized holiday gear or decor, but these are so cute, and take up so little space, at such a low price, that they’re hard to resist.
Note: the Halloween set is the only one that’s showing on sale online, but my local Macy’s had both of these, plus the super-duper adorable pumpkin-carving kit, on dramatic sale in store this weekend. If you have a Macy’s near you, it might be worth checking out.
Martha Stewart harvest cake stencils, $14.99, and Halloween stencils $8.99 on sale, in stores and at Macy’s.com
I was talking to my mother today and out of the clear blue sky she said to me: “did you order your Christmas cards yet? If not, you’re behind.”
Why yes, it is still October. Early October, even. There is only one conclusion: my mother is too organized.
But the woman has a point. I actually try to do some thinking in October about holiday-like stuff, largely in an effort to spread out gift-related spending over several credit card statements rather than being hit with one big punch in the gut come January.
Holiday cards (if you do them) are a good thing to order early, since you’ll often get a discount for ordering far in advance. I love giving and receiving holiday cards, and one thing that I know I’m going to be buying this year to go with them is a custom return address rubber stamp.
Custom rubber stamps are awesome. I used them to make business cards for BlogHer this year and let me tell you: huge success. They were totally unique, I could make them in many colors, and it was way more affordable than most of the pre-printed business card options I saw. When I saw how well they turned out, I promised myself I’d buy another one to use as a return address label on holiday cards this year.
I was totally surprised how affordable it is to make your own rubber stamps. I used A&E Rubber Stamp Co. here in Chicago to make my first ones, and they did an excellent job. There are also many vendors on etsy who make adorable custom stamps. I’m currently eyeing this one:
I think it would look great both on envelopes (I like to stamp the middle of the back of the envelope, rather than in the upper left corner) and on larger packages.
Some other standouts:
Though some might be bothered by the slight imperfections that come with hand-stamping, I think it lends things a pleasant handmade charm. You can use different colors of ink depending on your mood, and it saves the paper that’s wasted with adhesive return address stickers. Plus, a rubber stamp lasts indefinitely, so you can use it for years to come.
As a bonus, The myrubberstamp etsy shop is having a sale on custom stamps- buy 3 get one free. A stamp would make a great gift for someone who’s just moved into a new house, a family that’s just added a new baby, or as a gift set with a nice inky pen and a pack of simple, beautiful stationary. I believe I know what my mother, mother in law, and sister will be getting in their stockings….
Custom Rubber Stamp, $12 at myrubberstamp etsy shop (or at many other etsy and in-person vendors)
The Scene: My house, any given weekend, 7:58 p.m.
Katie: John! Come ON! We’re going to be late, this thing starts at 8! We’ve got to go!
John: I’m ready, I’m ready! Do you have the keys?
Katie: Yes, I do- oh hang on, I forgot makeup. One sec. (Runs frantically to bathroom, one shoe on, one shoe off, and applies full face of makeup in 35 seconds. This is easier to do when “full face of makeup” consists of “mascara and lip gloss.”)
John: Do you know where my brown socks are?
Katie: Have you considered the sock drawer?
John: They’re not there, did you move them?
Katie: Yes, dear, I relocated your brown socks on a whim, just to piss you off.
John: Oh wait, found them, here they are. Let’s go.
Katie: Oh CRAP. This is a dinner party, we need to bring them something! Do we have any wine that isn’t something we bought for $3 at Trader Joe’s? Check the front closet.
John: Okay, here, I picked one at random. It has a picture of a loon on it. That’s pretty, right? People like loons. Here, stuff it in a grocery bag and let’s go.
****
I’m almost embarrassed to admit how many times the scene above has played out in our house: the frantic search for a hostess gift if we’re running late ending in random selection of a random bottle of wine from the stash in the front hall closet.
Yesterday, I saw some sort of ad on tv that was giving women “helpful home-organization tips” and they recommended devoting an entire closet to be a “gift closet”, stocked with favorite children’s books, special bottles of wine, pretty cocktail napkins, etc. We only have two closets in our entire house, so chances of me devoting an entire closet to “just in case” gifts are approximately zero. But I aspire to be one of those people who is not thrown into a blind panic every time she realizes at the last minute that she should probably be bringing over a gift.
That’s why when I saw these, they immediately appealed to me:
This is a set of gift bags for wine bottles. Each one is printed with a different, tongue-in-cheek desciption poking fun at how serious conniseurs might describe a wine’s characteristics, like “an explosion of blackberries and cranberry zing” or my personal favorite “plummy with strong thrusting overtones”. They’re the perfect nice, not-too-stuffy presentation for a bottle of wine brought to a casual party with friends. They’re small enough that you can just stick them anywhere- no full-sized gift closet needed. And they’re sturdy enough to be reused, too, so the host who receives one from you can re-gift it the next time she goes to a party. All told, they’re exactly what my gift bottles of wine have been missing.
Set of six wine gift bags by Bob’s Your Uncle, $14 at Greener Grass Design
This morning while I was wrestling a very pissy 15 month old, Husband comes into the nursery and says, “Hey! I have something for you to put on your blog.” Lordy.
“What’s that?” I say. Meanwhile wishing he’d just contend with his son who recently decided I’m chump change and his father is King of All That’s Better Than Mom.
“You should talk about name brand things versus generic!”
(Blank stare from me.)
“You know that deoderant I used earlier in the week? Well, that was a store brand and I was stinky by 2pm. The other stuff is fine through the day and I’m not rank.”
And there you have it: one man’s experience with Old Spice deoderant v. jenky store brand.
I’ve been mulling it over all day and have decided to not do a review today, but simply put it out to the masses for you to tell us what’s been better in your experience: generic or name brand?
Leave your feedback in the comments section and be sure to mention a specific product and let us know whether you thought the generic or name brand version was better.
You know how some people love to browse the aisles of Sephora, dabbing on lotions and tinctures, dusting themselves in the fine powdery glow of bronzers, carefully evaluating the subtle differences between two apparently identical eyeshadows?
I am not one of those people. I ENVY those people, as I suspect they know how to apply eyeliner in such a way that it does not look like a toddler was practicing his artwork on your eyelids. I envy them, but I am not one of them.
But I CAN easily burn a couple of hours wandering through stores that sell craft supplies, paper goods, and kitchen wares. John, my husband, finds this habit charming.
Katie: “Look, honey! A ravioli press! If I had one of these I would totally make us ravioli, like, at least twice a year.”
John: “can we go now?”
/scene
Usually, these treks through kitchen and craft stores leave me marveling that anyone is so silly as to purchase most of these products. (Really? You need a separate device for slicing an avocado? It is like the softest food in the world! You could slice it with a chopstick!) But sometimes, my fiscal responsibility flies out the window and I impulse purchase something that seems frivolous, but ends up being AWESOME.
My Opinel knife is just such a thing.
I have long aspired to be a perfect picnicker, (if only so I can maximize my opportunities to use the words “picnicker” and “picnicking,” whose surprising “k” in the middle brings me inexplicable delight.) I imagine myself buying a crusty baguette, visiting the cheesemonger for something stinky and delicious, and taking myself and my darling, sailor-dress wearing children to the Jardin du Luxumbourg to eat and bask in the afternoon sunshine. Sure, technically, I don’t have children, and I do not live in Paris. But I have a vision.
So when I saw the Opinel knife in a bin in a kitchen supply store, I bought it because it looked, with its smooth wooden handle and sturdy looking folding blade, like something a French woman with sailor-dress wearing children would have for her picnics.
It turns out it looks that way because it IS something a French woman would have in her arsenal. Opinal is a family-owned French company that has been making these knives in virtually the same way since 1895.
The design of the thing is brilliant as well as lovely. (In fact, according to Wikipedia, the Victoria and Albert Museum selected the Opinel as one of the “100 most beautiful products in the world.” Don’t I have good taste with my impulse purchases?) When folded, the blade is stored safely stored in the handle. When you unfold it you twist the ingenius metal ring at the base of the blade to “lock” it open so it doesn’t slip.
That blade itself is nice and sharp- I’ve used it successfully on cheese, apples, bread, and once, in an emergency, a Snickers bar. Just wipe it clean when you’re done and you’re good to go.
The one I have is the “number 8,” which is apparently the most popular size. It’s small enough to carry anywhere, but the blade is long enough to slice comfortably through a block of cheese. Recently, I’ve been putting one of these and a corkscrew in the utensil pockets of a hand-sewn picnic mat and giving them to people as shower gifts- huge hit.
Opinel folding pocketknife, $11.95 at KnifeCenter
It seems, my friends, that moving season is upon us. Across the country, recent high school grads are gearing up to go to college, current college students are readying their duffel bags and keg tubs for another year, and recent college grads are moving to new cities to start new jobs. (Um, hopefully. Good luck, recent grads! So sorry about the lousy job market!)
And some of us full-grown adults are also moving, to be closer to our spouses’ graduate school programs. Ahem.
All of this moving means assembling and disassembling furniture, which can only mean one thing: we need tools.
Enter the MUJI screwdriver set:
MUJI is a Japanese company whose name is derived from the Japanese phrase for “no brand goods,” and they make basic, well-designed products that are well-designed, affordable and compact. They’re sold in the U.S. through the MoMA store, and they’re just generally swell.
Now, this set is not going to be enough for you if you’re, say, building a house from scratch. But for most dorm-dwelling, apartment-renting types, this is a thoughtful, lovely gift. It’s got 8 interchangeable magnetic screwdriver heads, a handle with a sturdy diameter (just about the only thing I remember from physics is you need a decently wide handle on a screwdriver to achieve the necessary leverage), and a compact carrying case small enough to stash in a desk drawer or under the sink. And did I mention it’s from Japan? Via MoMA? Seriously, what could make that college-bound kid in your life feel more worldly than that?
Best of all? You’ve just nailed the sendoff gift for a mere $10.
MUJI screwdriver set, $10 at MoMa Store
We all know that paper and plastic bags are wasteful and unnecessary. It seems, in fact, like the “it” bag of the past several years has been the reusable shopping bag. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has several reusable bags lying around- freebies from conferences, a few of the $1.99 ones they sell at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, etc.
But, if I’m being totally honest, having a bunch of scraggly totes around the house wasn’t actually enough to get me to use them all the time the way I knew I should. Sure, I keep a bunch in my car for big trips to the grocery, but was I going 100% plastic-bag free? No.
Not, that is, until I got this:
This is a Flip and Tumble bag, and it is amazing.
There are several things that make this bag different, and in my view better, than the average reusable bag:
It rolls up, much like you would ball up your socks, into this easy-peasy smooshable ball. No snaps. No elaborate folding. No separate stuff sack. It’s all integrated into the design of the bag. This is, in my view, hands down the best feature of this bag.- It is incredibly light.
- It has one wide shoulder strap, which is wide enough to sit securely on your shoulder and long enough to be worn across your body if, for example, you want to use it when you’re on your bike.
- It comes in lots of nice colors and is easily cute enough to pass as a purse which makes it extra super versatile.
I’ve had my Flip and Tumble for two years, and I use it almost every day. I keep it in my handbag at all times. No joke. It does so much more than just tote your groceries. I use it when I go to Walgreens, when I go to the Farmer’s Market, and when I buy a shirt at Old Navy. I have given them as gifts to others (my mom is a convert). In fact, we packed it on our recent trip to Europe and it came in super-handy for toting extra stuff that we picked up along the way.
In an especially nice twist, they have recently lowered the price of these bags to a super-reasonable $9 each. ($12 each if you want one of the ones with an adorable pattern.) Given how often I use this thing, and how much more versatile it is than your average floppy cheap-o model that gets all furry and stretched out after a few uses, I think it’s definitely worth the price.
And! Even better! Flip and Tumble has generously agreed to give one LiveWellSpendWell reader their very own Flip and Tumble bag!
To enter, leave a comment on this post. You can get extra entries by following us on Twitter (@livespend) and mentioning the contest, or by blogging about it and reporting back with a link to your tweet or post. And if you refer others here and they tell us you sent them (“Sam sent me!”) both you and the person you referred will get a BONUS entry!
Contest will run until July 14, 11:59 pm CDT. For full information on how we run our contests, see our Disclosure policy.
Flip and Tumble bag, $9 at flipandtumble.com
Summer is the season for barbecues and backyard parties and all kinds of fun things. This weekend alone, in fact, I went to three different barbecues, which is awesome. (Relatedly, I could use some advil.)
When you go to someone’s house, it’s often nice to bring something as a thank you to the hosts- but if you’re going to three barbecues in a weekend, the cost of those hostess gifts can really add up. So allow me to introduce you to my new favorite “thanks for having me over for this sweet backyard party!” gift:
Okay, I realize that picture is a little hard to see, but what you’re looking at there is a little jar-sized silicone spatula and basting brush. They’re a whopping $3.95 each, and they make excellent gifts. Tie the spatula to a jar of salsa or fancy pasta sauce (to help get the last delicious bits out of the jar) or give the basting brush along with a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce. Voila! Instant gift! You are definitely getting invited back.
Silicone spatula and basting brush, $3.95 each at Crate and Barrel
