Not Just a Mom: My Go To Gifts

This month's Not Just a Mom we're discussing our go to gift ideas.  I hope to get inspired by this post as I don't always feel like I'm a great gift giver.  

I hope you'll head over and check out my co-hosts posts too and if you wrote up one of your own please link it up with us below. 


The first thing that came to mine when I thought of gifts was... scrapbooks!  

I often make scrapbooks for gifts-- any "special" occasion like weddings/ new baby/ new house, retirement or BIG birthdays (I made one for my husband's grandfather's 80th or 85th) etc. I make up blank pages in the color theme of said occasion (based on the shower or wedding invitation, the nursey colors/ baby wishlist) and make sure I keep all the spots to hold photos at 4 1/4 x 6 1/4 so they can just tape the photos in place. I usually include a tape runner if I remember too.  I scoured through my blog and found a few sample pages I'll show here but if you want to see any of the albums in their entirety you can click for baby here, here, here, or here and for wedding here).




You can tell from the watermark that this photo is from my old blog!




Since this was for my sister and she's crafty I knew I could veer from 4x6 photos





I often make handmade gifts too-- one year I gifted a set of personalized tumblers to my sister's family




some seasonal flags to my sister in law (the gardener).




I've made fleece blankets and pillows for nieces and nephews



A HUGE hit with my mom one year was the papercraft rose 3-d frame I pulled together.



 I've made ornaments of all kinds, personalized clothing for my nieces and nephews, and many signs/ home décor items too. 




I've made jewelry for my mother and sisters and I've gifted off handmade wreaths & floral crafts too. 

All that said; I don't always personalize gifts.  These past few years (now that pretty much ALL my nieces and nephews are tweens/teens) we've begun gifting off money and gift cards.

My favorite gifts are for friends and my sisters when I can gift off jewelry, spa items, or baskets of hair goods/ nail polish/books/ etc. for a little pampering "me" time.  I really struggle with gifts for men though and tend to stick to food items.

I've gifted off spices and rub mixes for marinades, pulled together a favorites food basket (coffee, or this peanut butter themed one for my step father last year that was a HUGE hit!)




I hope you'll join us next month when we share our dream travel destinations! 


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
Linking up with:











Comments

  1. HollyMay 9, 2022 at 5:40 AM

    Your cards and scrapbook pages are always so beautiful- I love getting personalized cups and things too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Handmade in IsraelMay 9, 2022 at 8:28 AM

    Wow, you have made some wonderful gifts! Your friends and family are very lucky. I love the scrapbooks with the spaces left to be filled in.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tamar SBMay 9, 2022 at 8:31 AM

    These are all so thoughtful!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Donna ReidlandMay 9, 2022 at 8:57 AM

    Great gift ideas! I frequently make scrapbooks as gifts, too, especially at Christmas time. But I usually make them complete with photos looking back over the whole year or after an event like a wedding earlier in the year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne May 9, 2022 at 1:36 PM

      I have gifted them complete with photos a few times too (and honestly I like that better!) but sometimes I just don't have any photos of the people I'm gifting it to.

      Delete
  5. LyshaMay 9, 2022 at 9:15 AM

    Love these! The mother's day frame is my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dara @ Not In JerseyMay 9, 2022 at 9:15 AM

    A scrapbook is such a great idea for a gift.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kim CarberryMay 9, 2022 at 9:34 AM

    Scrapbooks are such a fantastic gift for any occasion. You have given me an idea for my fellas birthday in a few months.
    The gifts you make are fantastic, I really like those tumblers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne May 9, 2022 at 1:37 PM

      Oh I am so glad!! I find guys can be so hard to buy for.

      Delete
  8. TorontoSAMMay 9, 2022 at 9:46 AM

    I love a good gift basket, especially ones that are put together by the giver, rather than the premade ones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne May 9, 2022 at 1:37 PM

      Yes, I almost always make my own gift basket so I can tuck a few homemade treats in there as well.

      Delete
  9. JenniferMay 9, 2022 at 12:29 PM

    Some great ideas here! I received a scrapbook yesterday for Mother's Day. Such a precious gift....of time and memories!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. All About That Mommy LifeMay 9, 2022 at 12:48 PM

    Oh my gosh, how thoughtful of you to make scrapbook pages for someone where they just tape in the picture. That is so sweet!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne May 9, 2022 at 1:38 PM

      Thank you! It's so well known now that the bride or mom- to- be expects one and have told me a few times they would have been so disappointed not to get one!

      Delete
  11. laurensparks.netMay 9, 2022 at 1:56 PM

    You are so creative and talented!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sparkles and LattesMay 9, 2022 at 3:52 PM

    I love how most of these are handmade. They make the best gifts.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jodie's Touch of StyleMay 9, 2022 at 5:43 PM

    You'll love my post this upcoming Friday after seeing your photo album pages. What a fabulous idea for a gift too!!
    OXOX
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. MarshaMay 9, 2022 at 11:35 PM

    What a kind and loving gift...a scrapbook...I know you think long and hard about color, design and photos! That rose 3-d frame you made your mom is gorgeous!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

    ReplyDelete
  15. Veronica LeeMay 10, 2022 at 4:09 AM

    These are all so thoughtful and beautiful, Joanne.
    A scrapbook is such a marvelous idea for a gift.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Lindsay's Sweet WorldMay 10, 2022 at 9:00 AM

    I absolutely love that you gift scrapbooks to people. It's such a thoughtful gift, and a treasure of a keepsake that can be passed down from generation to generation.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Adrienne PatenaudeMay 10, 2022 at 9:45 AM

    so many great ideas. i love the scrapbooks.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Tanya May 10, 2022 at 3:43 PM

    You are so creative - wow!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Jennifer WhiteMay 10, 2022 at 7:33 PM

    You are SO creative. I love your scrapbooks. How thoughtful. You have so many great ideas...I love the personalized mugs, garden flags and ornaments...something for everybody. I think I've shared with you that my aunt is a Stampin Up demonstrator. The cards she sends us are amazing...and my mom and Gma have learned so much from her that their cards are so cute too. I never throw away cards...but especially not from them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne May 11, 2022 at 6:22 AM

      Aw, thank you! Stampin Up was how I first got into card making and scrapbooking.

      Delete
  20. kitty@ Kitty's Kozy KitchenMay 10, 2022 at 9:13 PM

    You have given so many great, creative gifts, Joanne! I know your recipients appreciate your thoughtfulness.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite TV Shows Growing Up in the 80's and early 90's

Image
Do you remember the TGIF lineups on Friday nights? I can remember planning sleepovers and time with friends around TV Show lineups of our favorite shows... or else trying to set the VCR to record our favorite shows if we weren't going to be home. And through the years I had SO MANY favorites! Growing pains aired in 1985 which put me around age 8 and it stayed on the air until I was 15 or so; I'm pretty sure most people in my age group watched mostly for Kirk Cameron and all his antics.  I still have a soft spot for family sit-coms!  The Facts of Life aired when I was just 2  and stayed on the air until I was 11 so I'm sure the episodes I remember so fondly were either some of the later ones and then reruns shown later on when I was old enough to watch from the beginning. I think everyone would have loved an Edna Garret in their lives.   Benson another sitcom that began airing when I was just 2 and was done by the time I was 9 (another one I must have watched mainly through
Read more

Things That Make Me Laugh

Image
I loved the challenge of this week's list for our 26 lists link up.  I don't know about you but I really need to laugh more lately.  It's such a great stress reliever. 1.  Books-- I love a good funny book that makes me laugh out loud.  I haven't read one in a while but if you have any recommendations I'm all ears.  The last book I can remember making me laugh was the Un-Honeymooners. 2  The boys being silly. 3.  Watching shows like America's Funniest Videos or Family Feud. 4. My husband.  Most people don't realize it but he's actually pretty funny and often makes me laugh. 5.  Whenever my sisters/ family get together and we get to reminiscing (particularly if my Aunt Elaine is around) we end up laughing so hard at all the old family stories that we are all in tears by the end of the night.  It's fabulous. 6. Movies like Mom's Night Out, Christmas Vacation, and Grown Ups make me laugh out loud. 7.  When my boys were youn
Read more

Dorm Move In & Alec's Dorm Photos

Image
 Alec and I loaded up the car Wednesday morning. I was literally unable to sleep the night before thinking there was no way we were going to fit all his stuff ( see yesterday's post! ) into my car. But first try we got it all to fit! There wasn't really any room to spare but that's okay, we all fit and so did everything he wanted to bring with him.  Since Alec is in the honors program he got to move in 2 days before the rest of the school (on Thursday).. which meant we didn't hear a whole lot from the school on what to expect for move in day. We were told to be there anywhere between 10 am and 7 pm so we decided to shoot for the 10 am and give ourselves plenty of time. His roommate wouldn't be moving in until Saturday and Alec will have a full day of activities and meetings today (on Friday).  We did label everything with Alec's name, dorm name, and room # just in case and printed out a parking pass (again, just in case)-- none of which we needed to do but were
Read more