Holiday Gift Guide For Her 2012

Hey everyone!

As I'm sure you all know, Christmas is right around the corner!  So, I thought I'd do a little gift guide to help all of you who have a few last minute gifts to get for the women in your life!  Now, some of the items I bought while I was home for Thanksgiving, so I don't have pictures of them, but some I have my own pictures of because I did a little last minute shopping yesterday.  So, without further adieu, here are some of my ideas for gifts, both big and small, for the holidays! 

1. Candles

Whether they are from Yankee Candle, Bath and Body Works or Target, candles are a good gift for any woman in your life.  They are good for anybody from a sister to a mother.  I'm giving candles to multiple people this year!  Candles are also a great gift for your boyfriends parents--since they can be hard to shop for ;)  Check out my most recent candle haul here for some ideas of holiday candle scents!

2. Perfume

Perfume is always a good go-to for most women.  Who doesn't like to smell good, right?  But, it can get tricky if you don't know what scents they like.  That's why gift sets can be a great idea.  They have them everywhere from Bath and Body Works to department stores.  The one I have purchased is from Victoria's Secret.  It comes with 7 mini perfumes, which is the perfect way for someone to pick the one they like and buy it for themselves.  This is over a $100 value, and originally retails for $42; BUT, if you go right now to Victoria's Secret (or their website), it's on sale for only $25!  It's a great deal, and you can give them all as a set to someone, or split them up and give them out as little gifts or stocking stuffers!

3. Lotion/Hand Cream

Lotion is good for anybody, but this product is particularly good for a grandmother, mother, or anyone with dry hands!  I know my mom is always looking for a nice hand lotion that won't dry her hands out, the way some scented lotions do.  While doing a little shopping yesterday, I picked up this Limited Edition L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Creamfor her.  The limited edition version is not any different from the regular--it just has different packaging and a small face cream sample!  L'Occitane creams are extremely moisturizing, while not making your hands feel greasy, making them perfect for those dry, cracked winter hands!

4. Nail Polish

If you're shopping for any girl, nail polish is pretty safe for anyone.  Almost anyone would like a basic red, bright pink or neutral color.  If you want to do something a little more creative, or just give her more options, you can go with a mini nail polish set.  You can find these from multiple brands, like OPI and Essie, but this set caught my eye more than anything. It is the Ciate Caviar Mini Bar.  You can purchase this from Sephora.  While I did not personally purchase this, I would love to receive it as a gift!  It includes 8 nail polishes--4 of them are regular polishes and the other 4 are the "caviar" polishes, that paint onto your nails as little caviar beads.  This retails at Sephora for $29, and much like the perfumes, you can give this as a set or break them up as multiple gifts.

5. Hair Ties/Accessories
While this may seem a little boring, my sister has been driving me crazy about these hair ties.  They are like Emi Jay hair ties, which are elastic bands in many different designs and colors.  They hold your hair very well but don't crease or tear your hair out as easily.  The only problem with Emi Jays is that they are a little pricey--around $3 for one hair elastic!  I've seen these at Target by Goody's and other hair brands, but they are always in boring colors! So, after a little browsing on Etsy (the best website ever), I found a 20 Hair Tie Grab Bag for $13.  That's an awesome deal--especially if you're still looking for a stocking stuffer for someone!

These are all of my generic, go-to gifts for any girl!  Of course, the better you know someone, the easier it is to personalize it to their tastes, but here are some last minute ideas!  Tomorrow, I'll do a post on a gift guide for men, because they are SO hard to shop for!  Make sure to check back for that!

Follow me on here and on twitter for more updates!

xo Sarah

DIY: Chalkboard Piggybank

Hey everybody!

Today I have a really cute Do It Yourself post on how to make a chalkboard piggybank.  Chalkboard paint has been all over the place lately; there's so much you can do with it!  So, when I went to Michael's Craft Store yesterday I had to pick some up.  Here's what we're making today:

All you'll need is:

A piggybank (Michaels has them three for $10!)

Chalkboard Paint ($.99 at Michaels!)

Chalk (any craft or grocery store probably has this!)

A brush--I used a foam brush :)

Step 1: Paint one coat on your piggy bank. 

The kind of chalkboard paint I used said to paint two coats, one vertical and one horizontal.

After 1 coat:

Step 2: Paint a second coat.

Make sure to leave about an hour between coats for the first to dry.  Paint this coat using horizontal strokes :)

Let your paint dry over night, just to make sure the chalk doesn't chip or stick when you try to draw on it.

After it dried, this is what mine looked like:

Now, decorate however you want and you're done! :)

That's it! It's super easy to make one of these, all you need is chalkboard paint, chalk and something to paint!  They will also make great presents! ( My cousin is about to have a baby and I'm thinking about making her one that says "college fund" ;) )  I hope you all enjoyed this post! :)

What do you use as a piggy bank?

Comment and let me know!

Follow me on here and on twitter for more updates?

xo Sarah

Other DIY's:

Princess Birthday Present

Flower Wall Decor

Tiny Treasure Boxes

Glam Anything Holders

Necklace Organization

Gifts That Give Back: Beads of Hope Africa

Hey everyone!
I'm here to tell you all about an AMAZING new company that I've discovered, thanks to my older sister.  See, we have a tradition that every year for Christmas we will get each other a gift that does good for somebody else.  This year, she got me two bracelets from Beads of Hope Africa, which you can access here .  So, what's the BEST part about this company? Beads of Hope jewelry is made in Uganda, Africa, and the "women support their families by hand rolling the beads from recycled colored paper."  The money goes directly to the women that make the jewelry and they also "invest in scholarships for orphans to avoid future poverty."  All of that was directly off the card that came with my bracelets!

These bracelets are called "The Dream Bracelets", because the woman that made them, Kevin Aloyo, came up with this design in a dream.  They come in many different colors, but I have the red and the multicolor.  They are only $12 each, not including shipping and handling.  The Dream Bracelets aren't the only things on the website though, so everybody should go check it out and look around! Needless to say, I'm obsessed with this website! The jewelry seems to be fairly sturdy, but because it IS recycled paper, you have to be careful not to get them wet.  

You should all definitely look at this website! I'm going to be doing other gifts that give back posts in the future, because it is something that is so important to me! If you have any questions about the company or anything else please feel free to let me know :) I'll do my best to answer them! 

Have an amazing day!