Gift Ideas | Darling Doodles

When life hands you lemons…

By Brie @Darling Doodles | May 10, 2013 - 4:30 am | gift ideas

Ah the age old question…what to do when life hands you lemons? Well there is a lot you can do actually! One of the best things is to put those lemons into a gift basket and use it to send some cheer. Because everybody has trials. Everybody goes through difficult times. And if you know someone who is right in the middle of one of those dark times let them know you’re rooting for them and will be there to help them make it through to the other side.

This is a fun take on the old saying and each little tag coordinates with a specific item. You certainly don’t have to use every tag but here are some ideas of what to put inside.

When life hands you lemons:

- Make Lemonade. (of course. pair with lemonade)

- Throw them back and yell I wanted chocolate. (with a chocolate bar)

- Be grateful life gave you something. (lemon head candy)

- Sell them on EBAY (cash!)

- Forget lemonade. Squirt them on lobsters. (silverware wrapped in a cute napkin or gift card to a restaurant.)

- Eat them. They’re good for you. Life knows best. (an actual lemon!)

- You could also throw in any lemon scented lotion, candles, or body spray or add in some cute yellow accessories like a necklace or socks.

On a budget? Each one of these items would make a fun surprise on their own. It really is the thought and love behind it.

And I’ve got all the tags you need! Just download the PDF, print, and send some sunshine!

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Taking A Meal Printable Label Set

By Brie @Darling Doodles | May 6, 2013 - 4:30 am | gift ideas, Good Causes, recipes

10 Comments

Bringing a meal to family or friends is a great way to show you care whether you are welcoming a new family to the neighborhood, comforting someone who has experienced a loss, celebrating with a new mom and dad, or just giving the lucky recipient a night off of cooking! I recently took some dinner to one of my friends who had a baby girl and I thought it would be fun to create some labels to go with the dishes. With these labels I can write down any cooking or storing instructions or write a personalized note.

I have been on the receiving end of a warm meal from a friend when we were going through a hard time and it is amazing how something so small offers so much healing. It didn’t matter if the food was fancy or something simple. It was just the act that mattered. Another thing that was pretty great? When someone included some disposable dinnerware so that there was no clean up at all. I really appreciated that so I made sure to include it when I took a meal to my friend.

Mother’s Day is coming up! What mom wouldn’t love a night with no dirty dishes?! This would be an easy and cute gift to give all on its own.

I made two different sets one with a little more blue and one with a little more pink. But neither one is “baby-ish” so you can certainly use them for any occasion.

Download the PDF- Blue or Download the PDF- Pink

Here are a few other tips for taking meals:

- Always double check with the family to see if there are any allergies or foods that they don’t enjoy. It isn’t much help if the family has five frozen lasagnas in their freezer for a year that nobody wants to eat. Also call ahead to let them know you will be coming by. It can be stressful to have visitors dropping in without any notice.

- Don’t worry if it isn’t fancy or even homemade. A deli platter and some hearty bread can make sandwiches for days. Pizza and breadsticks are usually a hit with kids. Sometimes simple really is the best.

- Take meals that can easily be stored and reheated. Nothing that will become mushy if it sits in the fridge for a few days. Soups, pastas, and casseroles are great standards.

- Make sure you take it in a dish that you don’t expect to be returned, and let the family know that you don’t need it back.

- If you don’t feel comfortable cooking a full meal then think about taking quick grab-n-go, healthy snacks. Sometimes people can be inundated with heavy meals but they might not be stocked up on items to snack on throughout the day. Muffins, cut up fresh fruit and veggies, string cheese, granola bars, etc. are all great items.

- If you have the means think about including a few extras like a gallon of milk, jar of apple sauce, or boxes of pasta to help stock the pantry.

As one who has given, and received, the gift of a meal I think the main thing is to just let them know you care!

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Lollipop Bouquet with Printable Tag

By Brie @Darling Doodles | May 3, 2013 - 4:30 am | crafts, gift ideas, teacher gifts

4 Comments

Lollipop flowers are a sweet twist on a traditional bouquet and they are really easy to make. With Mother’s Day just ahead and the end of the school year approaching I thought I’d share a quick tutorial on how to put one together, along with sharing some printable tags to make your bouquet complete.

The supplies you need:

- Lollipops (small ones work a little better)

- Plastic Wrap

- Ribbon

- Silk Leaves

- Paper

- Glue

- Container (flower pot, bucket, etc.

- Styrofoam to fit in the container

Once you have all of your supplies gathered there are only a few simple steps to making your bouquet.

My Cricut cuts out the flowers with a hole inside them already, but a hole punch would work just as well. I also inked the edges of the flower petals with an ink pad just to give it a little more detail. Once you have your lollipop flowers created insert the sticks into the Styrofoam and place in your container.

If you have extra lollipops you can stick them around the bottom and fill in any little holes.

The colors are completely customizable too. I think these would be adorable centerpieces for a party and then everyone could take home a lollipop flower as a party favor! Lots of possibilities.

I also have two tags created, one for Mother’s Day and one for a teacher appreciation.

Download the PDF- Mother’s Day

Download the PDF- Teacher Gift

Berry Gift Basket for the End of the School Year

By Brie @Darling Doodles | April 29, 2013 - 4:30 am | gift ideas, teacher gifts

4 Comments

If you read Friday’s post you’ll see we’re talking about end of the year gift ideas for teachers. Here is another fun gift basket that is bright and cheerful and simple to put together.

I found most of the items for this basket at the Dollar Tree, including the little basket! Inside you can find strawberry bath soap, orange-scented lotion, strawberry nail files, strawberry chapstick, a pair of pink and orange socks, and even an actual orange!

There really isn’t anything that specifically has to go in this basket, you just want to look for any item that is berry or orange scented/flavored/colored. And it all ties together with this cute tag.

Like the Mint Gift Basket from below I’ve also included a blank tag so you can write a message to your teacher thanking them for all the hard work they’ve put in over the past school year.

Download the PDF

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End of the Year Gift Idea- Mint Basket

By Brie @Darling Doodles | April 26, 2013 - 4:30 am | gift ideas, teacher gifts

3 Comments

Fun story with this basket- I had bought everything to put it together and take pictures but ran out of daylight before I could get the photos taken. I set the items aside planning to revisit the basket another day but apparently I waited too long because when I went back to it the Junior Mints were mysteriously missing. My husband has a weakness for those minty little treats….

Hopefully your child’s teacher also enjoys mint and will appreciate this basket!

Sometimes it can be hard to think of a gift idea for your teacher if he is a man (how cutesy can you get?) but this one would definitely work for either a Mrs. or Mr.

To fill this basket you basically want to look for anything minty! Gum, candy, hand soaps, lotion, lip gloss or chapstick all work. And I’ve got the tag all ready to go for you!

Download the PDF

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Sending a Birthday in a Box

By Brie @Darling Doodles | April 22, 2013 - 4:30 am | birthday, gift ideas

9 Comments

I have gotten quite a lot of emails asking if I have any gift ideas for someone who is far away. This could be anyone from a friend or family member who doesn’t live close, a student away at college, a missionary, or a loved one in the military. So if you can’t be with that special person and want to wish them a happy birthday beyond writing it on their Facebook wall then this is the perfect gift to send.

If you can’t be there in person then at least you can send them a little mini party! Inside your box you can put a cake mix, frosting, candles, noise makers, balloons, a birthday banner, and wrap it all up in some colorful tissue paper.

I think this would be a very fun box to receive in the mail. I’ve also made a little card to go along with the gift. If you print the card you can fold it in half and then have a tent card where you can write your birthday message inside.