The Daily Ritual

This week's Christmas gift idea is for the men in your life. I found out about the product while working at Moors & Cabot.

Ritual is a really cool company that has an original, useful, and unique product line. For starters, their motto is "Goodbye Metrosexual, Hello Machosexual." So cool. They produce Men's Health and Grooming Products that come in manly packaging and have a manly scent. My favorite product is called Nature Calls. You can drop a couple of drops into the toilet, and the odor is eliminated. Very useful and helpful to others. My gift of choice would be The Kit. It is a gift set full of products that come in a branded box. It's only $79 and is full of good stuff.

My hubby used the products, and he LOVES them. He has The Kit, and he will be VERY sad when it runs out. Visit their site to order at http://www.myritual.com/. David Arquette liked it. You will too.

Word!

This week's Amazingly Wonderful Christmas Gift Idea has been a favorite of many, but I thought I would remind everyone of the infinite ways to use Uppercase Living products.

You can stick these bad boys on walls, votives, hurricanes (the big glass vases, not the natural disaster), wood, glass blocks, windows, cars, picture frames, picture frame glass, white boards, front doors, plates, sinks, refrigerators, trifle bowls, serving dishes, metal signs, pizza pans, pumpkins, Christmas ornaments, mirrors, wood blocks, shelves, breakfast trays, wooden chairs and other furniture... WOW! They have quotes, graphics, and all sorts of wonderful things.

On a wooden tree, beautifully created by my Grandpa...

On a glass block...
On a wooden board... beautifully painted by my hubby. I can't wait to hang it on the wall for Christmas. Pudge wanted to be in the photo...
"Our Wedding" on the wall above a frame from Red Envelope...
Graphics on a wall above the bed...

To order, contact me, and I will put you in touch with my wonderful Aunt Nancy Cummings, or you can e-mail her at ncummings@att.net.

Personalize It!

This year, it's easy for you to make Christmas gifts extra special by personalizing them! My favorite personalized gifts throughout the years include a pillowcase my mom gave me with my name embroidered on it (for college) and a throw pillow we created for my high school girl friends with our photo on it. The options are endless!

A cool idea... Paint a small canvas a fun, bright color, and have your child put his or her hand print right in the center. They are cheerful decorations and great gifts for a grandparent. Red Envelope even has a kit!

$39.95 from Red Envelope

Red Envelope is a fantastic place for personalized items. For the man in your life, consider this personalized watch case. For the girls, you can never go wrong with jewelry. I love the "B" that Betty wears in Ugly Betty. Either make your own or purchase a beautiful piece! My favorite initials are from Tiffany's Alphabet Collection. JCPenney has their version as well! See below.

$79.95 from Red Envelope

$165 from Tiffany's

$149.99 from JCPenney

This year, I created the Fat Stack, which is a tall, personalized, square notepad tied together with a ribbon. I don't have a very good camera, so I couldn't capture the fatness, but basically, it's a really tall stack of paper, and each piece has the person's name (or whatever you want) at the top. They work really well for grocery lists, reminder notes, etc. I also have them available in spiral bound. Stationery is a great gift! I always love having notecards around to use for thank-you's. Contact me to order!

Fat Stack-

5x5 = $13.50 7x7 = $18.50

Stay tuned, more gift ideas to come!

Tis' almost the Season to be Jolly

Christmas is upon us! It's starting to feel cooler at night, thank goodness.

This year, I promised myself that I would be organized and get a jump start on gift buying. I LOVE buying gifts. I also love wrapping gifts. I want to have extremely unique and pretty packages, so I come up with a theme and color scheme. I've done it since junior high, and it's a skill that I learned from my mother. We had pristine, coordinated trees that were way cooler than the ones in department stores. Her packages were BEAUTIFUL, and she would make her own bows. She is like a short little Martha Stewart, but with a way better personality and a better sense of style.

So, that's why I'm blogging about Christmas. I know that it's annoying that they already have Christmas stuff out at the stores, but it's time to think about family photos, Christmas cards, gifts, travel plans, wrapping paper, and decor.

I will be posting gift ideas... from handmade gifts to designer duds throughout the next three months.




GIFT POST NUMBER UNO-------------- Anything from Cross

A Cross pen... I know some people may not understand the value of a good pen, but I've loved school supplies since forever, so I love nice writing utensils. Cross has the cutest paisley pens for the girly girl in your life, and really nice chrome ones for a gentleman. They also have watches, computer bags, journals, etc. My picks are the Fulham Cross Town Computer Bag in Grape, the Women's Slim Envelope Wallet in Pink and Orange, and their New Paris watch for men. For pens, I like the aforementioned New Century II Paisley in Rose Blush. Be prepared to spend a little more for these gifts, but it's well worth it! You can have the pens engraved to add a personal touch.$195- Fulham Cross Town Computer Bag $60 - Rose Blush Paisley pen$90- Slim Envelope Wallet

$150- Paris Watch

Bold Black and White

Jenna and Travis were a fantastic and beautiful couple. Their wedding was coordinated by the always amazing Sandy Walker of In Awe Weddings. You can check out more of their pictures on the In Awe Weddings Blog.

Jenna had really creative ideas for her paper products, and it was a pleasure to work with her. It was a joy to create products that were unique. Thank you to Kevin King for the photos.

Jenna chose a patterned paper from Envelopments. They had a black and white color scheme, so it worked well and set the tone for a fun, yet elegant, atmosphere. I LOVED that she chose such a bold pattern for the outside of the invite. We put them in clear envelopes, so it had a lot of impact upon arrival in the mail. Jenna wanted stand up menus, which also included a favor, for each guest (pictured below). It was a refreshing twist to the normal flat menu!

Martha Stewart Blogging Show

If you want to learn a few tips and tricks about blogging, tune in to Martha Stewart tomorrow, Wednesday, September 17th. Perez Hilton is going to be on, so it should be interesting! Go to Martha's website for more info.

Sneak Peak

Here is a Sneak Peak of my new blogplusweb site designed by Ryan Brannen :) I am so excited to be nearing completion! Recently, Emily Estfan of EME Photography and Renee Bergman of Renee Bergman Photography each shot photos of my work for my website. The photos are EXCELLENT, and I can hardly wait for everyone to see their fine work! Check out a few of the photos on Emily's blog!

My mom and I have started the Christmas shopping process. Wedding Season will be in full swing soon, which won't leave us much time to shop! I have been having a hard time getting into the Christmasy mood, so I watched Elf and the new Miracle on 34th Street while designing the 2008 Christmas cards. Both are excellent flicks, I must say! Starting in October sometime, I am going to post the "Christmas Present Idea of the Week" so make sure you check back in for that!