Just a few thoughtful bits I’ve come across lately.

Lauren of Lauren Makes made a paper chain with a link to count down each day until her first nephew arrives. She packed it up oh-so-pretty and mailed it off to the mom-to-be. (I always enjoy catching up on Lauren’s projects, I especially love this ingenious idea she designed for Lowe’s).

Erin of Bird and Banner shares this sweet little gift given by a friend for her birthday years ago. Proof that little gifts can last. Happy birthday, Erin!

Heather of the Coterie Blog was having a rough day, so her husband brought her something to help cope. (And today is her birthday, so be sure to pop in and wish her a happy one.)

Junie Moon got a surprise phone call from her brother, who is taking a pretty amazing birthday suprise into his own hands.

Amanda Joy surprised her neighbors with something yummy and homemade (be sure to check out the free printable she made and shared for the package).

Happy Lady Eats had her foodie friend drop by a dish of these, which look amazing. Hooray for friends who appreciate food as much as you do.

I love that SamanthaLee got a pair of these in the mail and used them to cheer on the Olympic athletes in proper Olympic style.

And since we’ve been discussing men who know how to make a girl happy this week, here is one more happy girl from one more man who did good.

Hope your day is a happy one. I wish you at least one little unexpected thing that brightens your day.

All the ladies in the house, tell me this. How much do we appreciate a man who can pick up on a hint?

How nice it is to mention your favorite flower, and then be presented with a bouquet of them? Has anything similar ever happened to you? Men, if you’re paying attention, we like you to read our minds. And if you can’t do that, listening to our hints is almost as good.

I had a lovely reader tell me this story about her man, who not only followed through on a hint, but took it to the next level. Michele was once a journalist, is now a calligrapher (her work is beautiful, be sure to check it out). Michele mentioned to her husband, Todd, how she’d love a handwritten letter from him as a gift. And he delivered. Not only with a one hand-written letter, but one every month. And I have for you here, a picture from Michele of the real, actual year of letters.

(thanks for the picture, Michele, totally beautiful)

In Michele’s words:
“As 2009 unfolded, on the first of every month I found a handwritten letter waiting for me. The letters were wonderful and completely heartfelt. I consider each one a total treasure. So you can imagine how pleased I was when, in his December letter, he revealed that he would be renewing my “subscription” for 2010. Hooray! I couldn’t ask for a better gift or a more thoughtful husband!”

Way to go, Todd! This is for you.

If you have a man you’d like to gush about, and think it might work for this series, be sure to pass the story. I’d love to hear.

I’m completely thrilled to introduce you to Garnish, the newest sponsor here at GiversLog.

One of my favorite gifts to drop off with friends are gifts of food, like a batch of granola or a home baked pie or a cup of chicken noodle. Good food is thoughtful, handmade, and appreciated. But one of my biggest quandaries is often how to package it. I quandar no more (that’s not a word, is it?)

If you’ve never heard of Garnish, your life is about to change. You are about to find everything you need to host a party, package up goodies for a bake sale, or whatever your ambition may be. Take a look at some of Garnish’s offerings and you’ll see what I mean. Doesn’t it get your party planning wheels spinning?

DIY ice cream kits.

Apples for the teacher using Garnish’s clear boxes.

Garnish all dressed up for game day
(setting includes paper bowls, glassine envelopes, waxed tissue paper, pie clam box,and more)

Haven’t you been wanting to get yourself a handful of stripey straws?

This fun children’s party setting includes cone cups filled with gumdrops.

Deliver soups and bread to go using deli containers and loaf molds.

I love this place setting that includes their CD case with a clear label and confetti in a tube.

If you get a chance, head over to check out their other ideas or products. And stay tuned, Garnish has a few new fun products on their way. And they’ve promised to share them here once they arrive.

Here it is, the gift we picked out for my daughter for her birthday. They’re a pair of Gingher sewing scissors, and we gave them with a ribbon for hanging them around her neck, in true seamstress style. If you have a seamstress in your life and would like to pick out a pair to give, here is a great guide.

We had a seamstress friend stop by on my daughter’s birthday (this friend has taken it as her mission to teach me to sew from a pattern. Brave woman.) She inspected the scissors, approved, and told my daughter they should last her a lifetime. So of course now I have sentimental visions of her using them decades from now, making gifts of her own for the generation or two beneath her. I’d better stop before I get too teared up.

UPDATE: I just came across these while browsing though all the fun things here and had to share. What an heirloom these would make.

Our Mario birthday party was a hit, and I collected my pictures over the weekend to share with you. We had rain, so we gave up our plans for bike racing and stayed indoors to party. But it was pretty fun having five little Marios running around my house hunting for Yoshi eggs and dodging balloon bombs.

Invitations are my favorite part of planning a party. (Forget the party itself!) We included a gold coin and invited each Mario to come earn more. (I found the question block idea from here and here.)

Toad has got to be my favorite character, so we decided to make the cakes in his honor. Do you like the cloud garland? I’m pretty proud of myself for that touch.We had invincible Marios fighting our ghosts all party long. (I saw the idea here.)
I went a little crazy and made each boy a hat. I just couldn’t resist. I promise I kept it simple other than this.
In case you were wondering what a Mario hat pattern looks like, here you go. It took me a couple tries to figure out the right pattern, but once I did i was very happy with the result. This pattern also works for an artist’s beret if you leave off the bill.
Everyone wanted to give the pinata a Mario punch before we really got serious about picking up the stick and breaking it open. It was filled with, you guessed it, gold coins.
Despite the rain, I think all five Marios had a good time.

Now we’re hard at work pulling together a tea party. Stick around and hopefully I’ll have a few pictures to share. Somehow I get more nervous planning for little girls.

Today my little daughter turns seven. I can hardly wait to show you what sweet gift we picked out for her. (Right now it is all wrapped up, so I’ll snap a picture once it’s out.) It has to do with her new, most earnestly loved endeavor—sewing. She is taking a class and is fully engrossed in it. She has this adorable grandmotherly teacher, whom I love. And I also love that someone in the family will really know how to sew, if things keep going as they are.

So in her honor, here are a few fun gifts for the budding seamstress. (see more ideas here, and if you’re looking for gifts for the more experienced, grown-up version of a seamstress, try here).

Dress form for girls (via DesignMom), house sewing basket by Kath Kidson, mug pin cushion (via here), softies sewing book, sew your own skirt kit and doll kit, measuring tape sewing pouch, design sketchpad where lines dissappear when you photocopy your designs (via cupofJoe), hand printed mix pack of fabric from melbomba

Dear readers, have you ever stopped by The Mother Huddle? If you haven’t, you should, because it is bursting with inspiration. It’s a blog hosted by the lovely Destri and a charming group of mothers, and if you peruse their sidebar, as I often do, you’ll find yummy dishes, beautiful projects, simple sewing endeavors, and so much more fun. (And if you’re a small business owner or blogger, this post is a must see.)

One of the things I love about the ladies at TMH is that they appreciate a good list. Their bullet list is a regular feature, where a blogger stops by each week and shares something, really, wonderful in list form. Which is why I was so honored to get to construct my own bullet list. So if you get a moment, stop by the Mother Huddle today and see me there, sharing

11 of the most amazing gifts I’ve gotten or seen someone get

Hope to see you there.

P.S. I got some fantastic responses to yesterday’s posts of men giving great gifts. Thank you, readers! So stay tuned and be ready to swoon, ladies. I also have some very fun 13-ounces-or-less ideas to share. I am getting organized after yesterday’s birthday bash (which went great!), but promise to share all soon.

Spring fever is creeping in over here. We are all peeking out the window at the rain (today is our Mario party, looks like it may have to happen indoors) and waiting until we can burst outside and ride bikes and hike and picnic and play. I want to lounge in my hammock, bask in the sunshine, and read The Secret Garden. Doesn’t that sound nice?

On the topic of outdoor play, I have a something to share with you, and someone to introduce you to. Mark and Heather are a very impressive couple. Heather is a quilter and turns out beautiful quilts like nobody’s business. While browsing through quilt after quilt of hers, and having one of those moments when I ask “how does she get it all done?” I came across some handy work by her husband. How fun is this?

This is the actual skate ramp Mark built in their backyard. You are looking at some lucky kids in this picture.

Incase you’d like to transform your yard into a skater’s paradise, I found a couple places with great plans:
DIY Skate: How to Make Ramps, Ledges, and More
Free Halfpipe Plans

If you know a man who gives good gifts and think it might work for this feature, I want to know. Share the story with me so we can congratulate him formerly and officially. (Maybe I should mail out certificates, wouldn’t that be official?)

Today marks day one of extended birthday bash mania here in our house. I love that my kids share a birthday week. It’s kind of like our combed-down version of carnival or mardi gras. Parties for days! The kids and I go craft crazy while Brent shakes his head at our ambitious plans, disappears with a book for a while, then comes back to try to help me rein in the mess.

Just last night we finished mario hats, a mario pinata, toad cakes, and tea party invites. We were focused! We may have gotten further but my girl came down with a little earache. And before all falling into bed exhausted, we also managed to make these, which my son is taking to preschool to hand out to all his friends on his big day.

We thought we’d do a twist on melted heart crayons by adding initials. Didn’t they turn out sweet? They’re so bright and pretty they left me wanting to make more, maybe with a message on them next time. And they were pretty simple. Here’s what we did:

1. Ravaged the crayon drawer for all the ugly crayons. Anything that was still pointy was safe. But all the dull, broken crayons came out for us to peel the label off and break into smaller pieces. Next time I will keep the same brands of crayons together. The crayolas melted much slower than our stash of crayons collected from restaurants.
2. Preheated the oven to 190 and arranged the crayons in a candy mold. I wanted to keep the temp low because the mold I used was meant for chocolate and isn’t too heat resistant.
3. Melted the whole batch for a good ten minutes, until they’d all melted.
4. Pulled them out of the oven and put them into the fridge for ten minutes.
5. Next we worked on the initials. We scratched the letters into the surface with a pencil. The wax was still a tad soft and it was super easy to get the letters just how we liked. Then we melted a black crayon in the microwave and painted over the letters with a small brush. We had to throw the wax back in once or twice, but it wasn’t too trickey.
6. We wanted the black to meld with the rest of the crayon, so we put each crayon back in the mold, letter side down, and popped them back in the oven for another four minutes, as long as it took for the letters to just begin to show signs of melting.

After they cooled, we were quite pleased with the result.

Scratching out the initials.

et viola!

Have you heard? The latest Lovely Package Exchange is officially here. Are you signing up? You should. I just did. I couldn’t resist after the amazing package I recived last year from a lovely exhange partner.

If you’re on the fence, stop by and visit the LPE flickr group. It is great for gawking. And if you do join and need some inspiration, my gift wrap index could be a good place to start.

Do you blog? I’ve no need to ask most of you, dear readers, since reading your blogs gets me so caught up I nearly forget to write in my own some days. If you do, indeed, blog, or if you’re flirting with the idea of blogging, or if you run a shop, I have a treat for you.

Marta of martawrites (who not only writes the best things but also gives the best gifts) is hosting a blogging and business workshop. all. week. long. She has been buzzing around gathering ideas from some of the best bloggers and shop owners, and has now lined them up neatly, thrown in all her loving touches, and opened her doors to us for a full week of business and blogging repartee. I was quite honored to be among her panel of experts. So you may see one or two bits from me there.

If you’d like a peek at what’s to come for the week at martawrites, stop by and see the menu. Isn’t it tempting? I will most certainly be stopping in daily, and hope to bump into you there.

Am loving these details from this blog my S-I-L and I were drooling over recently.

Next week is double birthday week for us. Both my birthday-party-age kids are turning a  year older. It appears we’ll be having a Mario party and a tea party (any ideas, suggestions for fun things?) I’m trying to keep the parties as do-able as possible. Especially because we’ll be going to a certain magic kingdom soon (which they’ll find out next week), so I don’t want to go over-the-top with parties.

I have a few plans for keeping things simple. To start I’m pushing the tea party back so we don’t have two parties and two cakes in one week. I’m also thinking of centering each party around one event, which will be either decorating bikes or toenails depending on the party. I wonder if I could add an introductory craft. Will that be too much? I’m also considering having a book exchange at my daughter’s party instead of accepting gifts. Has anyone tried one? No one around here is doing them yet, but maybe I’d start something. I’d love any tips or links you have. And I’ll be sure to snap a picture or two of what we end up doing and share them here.

“In the Netherlands it is custom to open presents when the child gets them. The small givers keep their present with them at first when they arrive. Then cake eating starts after everyone has arrived and whilst eating the happy birthday boy or girl receives and opens each of his/her packages one by one.”

I loved this comment left by one of my readers (thanks, Ivy!)

We had a lot of fun with our latest package.

We couldn’t resist trying to bounce the whole package once it was all wrapped up.

It’s pretty sturdy, incase the postal workers aren’t able to resist.

We’ve been having a lot of fun with this series. And I’m really excited about the next couple ideas we have coming up. Stay tuned.

For more gifts that mail for 13 ounces or less, visit the flickr group.