Making the Case

Yesterday was my mother's birthday. While I am always excited to celebrate someone I love I must admit that the gift giving process is daunting. I want to give super thoughtful gifts, but I also prefer to give things that I have made or treasures that I have found or even donations and experiences. I decided that this year is all about very careful consideration when it comes to gift giving. I vow to avoid gift cards and generic gifts this year.

My mother was the first birthday of the year and I decided to do a couple of different things, come at it from various angles.

1. First I made a donation to a charity that she loves (Care Net if you are interested).
2. Then I made her a cake. I realized that it has been a small eternity since anyone made her a cake! I chose a blueberry cake from The Joy of Vegan Baking.
3. I made her a Kindle case. She had received a Kindle as a gift and I whipped up a little case for it.
   

What kind of gifts do you give? Any ideas for handmade or experiential gifting?

Bonus:
Yesterday I stumbled upon Miss Bumblebee gazing at herself in the mirror. Just thought I'd share...

That Guy

The other day a package arrived in the mail for Eric while he was at work. I assumed it had something to do with his volunteer work and just sent him a text message letting him know that it was at our house. He asked me where the package had come from. I checked the return address and told him that it had come from California.

A moment later he sent me a text (yes, we text now, we're so modern) directing me to look under a box on his bedside table and then to open the package. I did as I was instructed. Under the box on his table I found the sweetest letter thanking me for being a mom. It was a really wonderful letter, the kind that makes me misty eyed.

Necklace from Creative Manifestations on Etsy

Then I opened the package and found that Eric had been a bit sneaky. I had recently found this necklace and mentioned to him that I thought it was really cool. The necklace was sold out and I didn't give it another thought. Eric went on a little mission and was able to find one more from the same seller and he slyly bought it for me. What a guy! I love my husband so much.

If you are in love with the necklace I think she has a new one in stock.

The Kindness Bandit: Yo Mama

This week the Kindness Bandit is actually Shellyfish from the blog Musings From the Fishbowl. She has orchestrated quite a thoughtful birthday surprise for her mother. She put out a call to her blog friends to shower her mother with little birthday gifts from all around the world. You can read more about it here. The response has been amazing! You know I had to get in on it as well. The gift giving has been staggered so that her mother will get a continuous flow of gifts for nearly two months!


For my gift I decided to make a little stationery set. You'll recall that I have recently been making cards (read here) by recycling old Christmas cards. I made a matching set of five cards with blue birds on silver trees.


I wrapped them up and they'll go into the mail tomorrow as I am scheduled. Wasn't her idea wonderful?

Treasure

When I was a little girl I became infected with an obsession for horses. I don't know why this phenomenon is fairly unique to girls, but many a little girl has been fascinated by horses. I don't know if it is their long hair or what, but one thing is certain I loooved them. I was so crazy for horses that I tried to braid horse hair into my own hair in something like a glorified rat tail (remember I was a child in the 1980s).

I used to daydream about unicorns and Pegasuses taking me to some magical land. For some reason I always felt that horses could talk, a feeling that has really persisted into my adult life.

My parents were working hard to get through school and make a life for us. Naturally this meant that they were in no situation to buy a horse for me. They did try to cater to my dream in various ways. For instance they hired someone to teach me about horses once a week for a few months in Jr. high. They bought me horse toys for birthdays and Christmas. They also purchased this necklace for me. I can't say that I remember the exact moment I got this necklace, but it has always been a treasured item. I have carried this necklace with me through a dozen moves and several states. Something about this necklace has resonated with me throughout my whole life. I think that it reminds me of the dreams that I had and parents who did their best to nurture them.