The gift of time and talent...

I know it sound cliche, but giving the gift of your time and talents is a generous gift.  I have a lot of friends who have mad skills in one area or another and if they offered that up as a gift to me I would be so excited to receive it!

I paint.  A lot.  It's what I love and how I make my living.  It took me a long time to realize that not everyone could do what I do, or wanted to do what I do!  So this year I am going to give my mom  the gift of my talents.  My parents houses went through two floods due to hurricanes and a flash fire.  Her wood furniture went right through it too- and some of it is in need of a facelift/transformation.  The one piece you see as you walk in her door is a large credenza.  It is an ebony stained piece, very dark and very ornate.  My plan is to print up a card for my mom explaining how I would transform the piece with paint.  I am going to include a date on it for painting, because I know how my mom is about "asking" someone to do something for her even though I am offering to do it!

I'm thinking doing something like this:

via

And the card will look like this...

Ha!  Wrong year...takes me a while to get used to the idea of 2014!

So think about what you are good at, babysitting?, painting?, sewing?, cooking?  Give that as a gift, because although you may not think of what you do as a big deal- given as a gift someone else will!

Oh deer....

Travis and I have very different views on hunting.  Don't get me wrong, I am all for thinning out the deer population to prevent disease and starvation, and I love a good batch of deer venison and jerky.  I'd just rather not hang his hunting trophies in the house.

Deer heads just don't scream coastal cottage with a touch of industrial.  Much.

So for Christmas I ordered him a deer head I could hang in the cottage.  One that combines both of our loves.  Hunting and reading.  This one is covered using vintage children's dictionary pages.

I found this artist on Etsy....you can order one here  It was the perfect gift for my hunting hubby : o )

Teacher's Gifts...

I was overwhelmed with the teacher gifts that I received last week from some of my students. Kids whose parents do not have much to spare in the way of finances brought me Starbucks cards, Barnes & Nobles cards, James Avery cards...yes, they grew to know me well.
So this week it was my turn to thank the teachers and therapists who help my children on a daily basis without much thanks in return. Since I have over ten teachers/aides/therapists alone for Sara I get creative on a budget.

For the teachers & Therapists: Mugs from World Market $4.90
Starbucks Card: $20.00
Crinkle paper, brown bag & bow: free

For the aides: Pencil bouquets and attached note of thanks. (I got this idea from My Sweet Savannah)

Bus drivers: Homemade blueberry muffins and chocolate chip cookies : )

Even if your budget does not allow for end of year teacher gifts, be sure to have your child draw a picture, or better yet write a letter to their teacher's students next year telling them what they enjoyed about being in his/her class.

Say thank you!