Give-away time! 3-D Laser Cut Greeting Cards

Give-away now closed.

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These greeting cards are the ultimate in cool, y'all!  They're from 3D Cards based out of Newton, Australia.  Lucky you...they sent me a few to review and then pass on to you.  Who's ready for a give-away?? (details below!)

First up is my favorite - the 3D Ferris Wheel.  The front of the card is simple, allowing you to use it for anything...birthday card, thank you card, shower card, congrats card, etc.

Then, you start to open it up...

And the party begins!

Check out the detail and craftsmanship that goes into these cards...

Beautiful, huh?  

3D Cards also sent me a heart card and a clothes line card to share.  They're super darling as well!

You'll have to check out the 3D Cards website to see all the other cards they offer - they have something for EVERY occasion.  The quality and craftsmanship of the cards are outstanding.  They are heavy duty and would last far longer than the typical greeting card.  Right now, 3D Cards is offering 20% off their cards online if you use the code "TWENTY" at checkout!

Now, for the fun stuff.  One lucky reader will win the 3 featured greeting cards! (sorry, US residents only)

To enter for the win, simply do one or more of the following (you get one entry per comment):

1. Leave a comment below saying which card you like best on the 3D Cards website.  

2. "Like" Inspired Whims on Facebook {here} and leave a comment saying you did.

3. "Follow" Inspired Whims on Twitter {here} and leave a comment saying you did.

4. "Follow" Inspired Whims on Pinterest {here} and leave a comment saying you did.

5. Subscribe to Inspired Whims email posts or RSS feed {here} and leave a comment saying you did.

If you leave an "anonymous" comment, make sure to leave your name and email address so I can contact you.  One comment will be selected at random at 2pm Eastern Standard Time on Monday 8 Sep, so make sure to enter by then.  You can check back to see who the winner was later Monday afternoon.  Best of luck and happy weekend!

(Disclaimer:  I was not reimbursed monetarily for this post; however, I was sent cards free of cost to review and give-away to my readers.  The reviews are completely my own.)

Teacher Gifts: Thanks for Helping Me Grow!

We're a little behind the rest of the country, I think, but tomorrow is our last day of school for the year! After a few snow days, we're high near pushing July but at least we don't go back again until after Labor Day.

Here's what we came up with as end of year teacher gifts for Addison's four preschool teachers, all of whom we completely adore:

We found the plants in pretty little pastel pots at Trader Joe's, which I'm pretty sure is the grocery store they have in Heaven because it's so wonderful!

Next, we downloaded the "Thanks for helping me grow" tags from the Mombot blog and the butterflies (meant for a butterfly mobile craft) from Activity Village.  After a little printing and cutting, we attached them to some paper straws we had on hand, and stuck them in the little flower pots.

Pretty adorable if you ask us!!  Anyone else have any affordable teacher gift ideas to share with us?

Thanks teachers for an AWESOME year!  We love you and appreciate you to the moon and back!!

Monogrammed Gift Ideas

Hi friends!  Sorry I've been away from the blog for so long...we were on vacation and I didn't prepare posts for while we were away like I usually do.  We were down in Charleston and Hilton Head, SC for a week enjoying the sunshine, the beach, and the pool.  And, we tried our darndest to get a bit of a tan to bring home to Boston.

While we were there, I couldn't help but fall in love with the Southern trend of monogramming EVERYTHING.  You name it, they monogram it.   It's so charming, preppy, and wonderfully classic looking.  A monogram makes a gift so much more personalized!  So, I thought I'd share some of my favorite monogrammed gift ideas with you for summer birthdays, hostess gifts, showers, Father's Day, general decorating, etc.

We'll start off with this gem of a giant monogram that I love for a nursery or even for a preppy entryway:

My favorite little gift that I indulged in while at the C.Wonder store in Charleston - initial earrings:

(you can't tell me that "H" doesn't look a little Hermes-like to you...)

You can also get them in cufflinks for Dad on Father's Day:

I also love this C. Wonder monogrammed plate for a hostess gift:

A monogram pillow for him:

And, a monogram pillow for her:

A monogrammed clutch is perfect for summertime soirees...

And, I simply couldn't resist this monogrammed initial beanie for babies (so cute!!):

A monogrammed wine stopper would be an awesome wedding favor or hostess gift:

And can you honestly get any more "Southern" than this - a monogrammed mason jar:

Anyone else diggin' the monogram like me?  Have you seen any other cute monogrammed gift ideas lately?  Do share with us!

Splurge vs. Save: Pretty Plates Edition

For those of you serving an Easter meal this weekend, how about some pretty springtime plates to wow your guests?  I've seen the trend of dipped plates all over the place this season, and I can't help but love their simple but graphic and colorful look.

splurge  |  save

Wouldn't they be beautiful paired with white dishes and serving pieces?  If you go for the "save" version make sure to find a Bed, Bath, & Beyond coupon online or laying around...they even take expired ones!!

Thrifted Frame Chalkboard

The chalkboard paint strikes again...yes, we're still on the same quart-size can that got me through at least a dozen other craft and DIY projects.  This time it was used for a little heartfelt gift for a dear friend!

First, the backstory: I found a pretty little frame while visiting an antique store up in Portland, Maine last year. Problem was...it had a not-so-pretty knock-off Renior portrait of a lady in it.  I hung it in my Curated Powder Bath for a while to play up the crazy decor theme of "let's keep them guessing".

There she sits atop the quirky eye chart...

But, after a while she started to look a little creepy staring down at the unassuming powder bath occupant, so I removed the frame from the wall and put it aside in my "to be crafted into something else" stash....and there she sat waiting for several months.

Just the other day, having not used my chalkboard paint in a while (ok, a long two months), I decided to bust it out and cover up the faux-Renoir.

Hasta la vista, baby!  

After a few coats of paint, it was "hello, matte beautiful chalkboard finish"!!  I wrote out a verse with chalk that reminded me of my sweet friend...and voila!  A pretty little chalkboard was born.

Much better than the blue bonnet lady, huh?

Moral of the story, you ask?  Don't pass by a pretty frame at the thrift store regardless of what it's framing...with a little chalkboard paint it can become something beautiful!

(Disclaimer: I don't typically recommend gifting something off your walls.  This was just a "special" circumstance in which I created something for someone from something I already had...on my wall.  Or, that's what I'm telling myself.  Amanda, you know I love you - and I know you love me despite my quirky gifting!)

A Gift Idea for You and Your Valentine

We don't really "do" gifts for Valentine's Day (yes, my husband is a lucky lucky man).  Rather, we pick random times throughout the year to buy something special to give to each other.  If I did throw our tradition out the window and give a gift, it would be this...

Our Q&A a Day is a 3-year journal with a question for each day of the year that both you and your mate answer and then share/discuss.  There are a total of 365 questions - each question is revisited on the same calendar day, 3 years in a row.  After the first year, you will be able to look back and see how you answered the same question on that same day the year before.  Make sense?

Some questions are silly and simple like "How would you describe your partner's hairstyle today?" and then some are more thought-provoking like "Where would you like to travel with your partner?" or "What is your top priority today?".  I see this book as a great conversation starter and it would be really cool to see how the questions are answered similarly or differently each year.

What do you think?  Would this be something you and your spouse would enjoy doing together most days?  Any other gift ideas that are good for both guys and gals?

Happy New Year! 2014 Calendars to Get Your Year Rolling

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you each had a wonderful holiday season filled with love, joy, and celebration.

Now that we're up and running again, I thought I'd share some fun calendar options with you for 2014.  I have wall options, desk options, planner options, and more...all of which are both functional and pretty to display!  Here we go...

First off, we have the wall calendars.

1) The one-sheet mid-century mod option.  Pro: you don't have to remember to flip it each month.  Con: no space for writing in details.

source: etsy

2) A more classic flip calendar featuring US cities.  Pro: you get a new fun graphic to grace your walls each month.  Con: you have to remember which column goes with which day of the week. (column 1 is Sunday...)

source: Rifle Paper Co.

Next, we have the day planner.  

Pro: this is made for details, details, details and it's oh so pretty.  Con: the far more pricy option when it comes to calendars.

source: etsy

Our surprise entry is the calendar tea towel.  How cool?!

Pro: it's so unique and could be famed for your wall or used as a towel.  Con: once 2015 rolls around, it may be harder to part with that a paper version.

source: anthropologie

Now we have the smaller desk calendar option.

1) The black and white minimalist.  Pro: such pretty classic lines and such a dear little stand.  Con: I'd worry about the paper falling off with the slightest of breeze.

  source: Sugar Paper

2) The desk-top flip.  Pro: it features cities of the world that would induce world travel dreams.  Con: can't think of one really...a travel theme hooks me every time.

source: Rifle Paper Co.

Lastly, I found this great FREE desk calendar for download on the Finding Nana blog.  

They're 3"x4" cards you can print on card stock and place in an open-end business card holder like this one...

source: Athens Art & Frame

Or this cool acrylic one...

source: Source Supply

Aren't calendars fun?  They're like art that keeps you on track.  Guess which one I settled on for our home??

Last Minute Christmas Gifts for Teachers

It's always so hard for me to come up with Christmas gifts for teachers.  Anyone else with me?  I think it's because they truly deserve so much, but by the time you get around to buying them something there isn't any money left in the gift budget.  My little one is blessed to have 4 teachers in her classroom (1 teacher and 3 aids)...YES, 4 teachers!!  And, gifts for 4 teachers can really add up.

This year I had originally planned to give gift cards.  (Let's face it, we all love gift cards!)  But, when I thought about handing each of them a $10 Starbucks gift card, I just thought it sounded kinda lame.  So, I decided to come up with something that cost the same but took just a little more effort than a run to Staples for the gift cards.  Here's what we decided to do...

I found the mug for $5 at Homegoods and the Salted Caramel Chai Tea Latte Mix from Trader Joe's was only $3.99 (and it's AMAZINGLY delicious!).  I know teachers have plenty of mugs, but at least this one is pretty and doesn't scream "I'm a teacher!".

Here it is all wrapped up with a pun-tastic tag attached.  I downloaded the "Merry Christmas" text  and banner clip-art for free, combined them in Powerpoint/Keynote, added the "Thanks a LATTE for all you do!", printed it, cut it out, and attached it to a cute gingham bow on the wrapped gift.

No, I didn't come up with the "Thanks a LATTE" line.  I found that online too!  It was so fitting for this gift idea and the 4 wonderful teachers that they're going to.

Anyone else have any good last minute teacher gift ideas?  Do share with us, please!!

Gift Ideas : The Royal (Crest) Treatment

Chivalry is alive!  And it couldn't be more in-style.  Crests/shields are a hot trend in jewelry design, home decor, and even for the tiny tots.   I've been "pinning" away at them not even realizing how much I was drawn to the simple but regal shape.

Check out these crest finds, many of which I'd love to see underneath the Christmas tree!

 Sources: gold cuff bracelet / cufflinks / toy sword and shield / pillow / cup / mirror / knob / print

Anyone else have their eyes on crest-like objects of late?  My favorite object above?  Definitely that crest mirror. I'd love to have it for my entry.  Here is where I first spotted the mirror, which totally fueled my crest hunt...

via

And, my most recent crest acquisition, you may ask?  This metal vintage crest I picked up from an antique store in Portland OR.

So, what do you think of crests?  Royal cool or too old school?

A Gift Idea: Custom Recipe Print

How adorable is this custom recipe print from Provisions by Food 52?

You can customize it with the recipe of your choice - whether it be a family favorite or an heirloom recipe that was passed down through the generations.  I think it would make such a fantastic and meaningful gift for a loved one.

Provisions is a new affiliate of Inspired Whims - see the new banner in the margin to the right?  They have such beautiful artisanal kitchen wares, beautiful table linens, useful culinary gadgets, and edible wonders.  It's totally worth a gander especially as we all prepare for holiday gifting.

What do you you think of this super cool print?  Don't you want one of your own?  Which recipe would you choose to immortalize on a custom recipe print?