GC Giveaway + Pink Together

This October is of course Breast Cancer Awareness month and if you'll be grocery shopping at Sam's Club be sure to look for packages marked with pink ribbons, such as the Cheerios I found above, for a portion of proceeds to go back to cancer efforts. Then vote for how you would want that contribution to be donated at the site PinkTogether.com from now until April 14, 2012.

To get you started one of you will win a Gift Card to Sam's Club worth $25 and it's really easy to enter. Send an email to: gavethat@gmail.com with "Pink Together" in the subject line and tell me if your life has been touched by breast cancer in any way. One entry will be chosen randomly. One entry per household, person please and US only. You have until October 20th 2011 12:00pm EST to enter. MyBlogSpark will be fulfilling the winners gift card prize.

A big thank you as always to Sam´s Club and General Mills through MyBlogSpark for sponsoring this giveaway, providing the GC's, and doing so much for Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Foundation!

Congratulations to Tabathia, she was the winner of this giveaway! Thank you one and all of emailing with your personal stories of being touched by breast cancer. Hopefully better cures will be found in our lifetime!

Image: mam for Gave That

DIY Grosgrain Ribbon Napkin Rings

- DIY Gift Idea -
These grosgrain ribbon napkin rings are so deceptively easy to make! Here's how (see the video below as well)...

What You Will Need:
- Black heavy grosgrain ribbon
- A plastic plain napkin ring or recycle paper towel tubes
- Black duct tape
- Glue
- Vintage jewelry, Swarovski crystals, appliques, studs, flat back pearls, etc.

How To Do It:
Taking your plain napkin ring or a cardboard paper towel tube (mine has a 1 & 3/4 wide opening is 1 & 1/2 inches long) wrap a few layers of black duct tape around it. Then glue &/or tape one end of your grosgrain ribbon onto the inside wall of your tube or ring. Start wrapping your grosgrain ribbon tightly around the tube or ring overlapping it slightly (about a quarter of an inch). Try to keep the overlaps as even as possible.

Once finished trim your ribbon and affix it with glue to the inside of the ring. A clamp or straight pin may be needed to keep it in place while the glue dries. Once dried any embellishment of choice can be attached to the front of the finished napkin ring. On mine old earrings and pins were used. Antique shoe buckles would work too but would need to be threaded through the ribbon while it was being wrapped around the ring.





Image: mam for Gave That

LovingEco Farrah B

Love this little gold Love necklace by artisan Farrah Brothers of Farrah B. Her entire collection of vintage trinkets turned baubles are heirlooms in the making.

Right now a number of her pieces are featured in an online sample sale at a new site called LovingEco . This is a site that I immediately bookmarked a few weeks ago because it's filled with feel good finds, many of which give back, are handmade or eco friendly. The site itself will donate 3% of your entire order to charity.

Even better they've reached out and given me an exclusive discount coupon code to share with you. Now until October 11th, '11 use GIVE5 to receive $5 off a $25 purchase.

Image: LovingEco

Warming Up To Fall

Goodbye Summer. Breaking out some old chums as the weather gets cooler (and darker).

Bag: FEED Guatemala
Scarf: Yarnz
Boots: Minnetonka moccasins
Vest: Urban Behavior
Teacup & saucer: Seconds Areaware by Jason Miller
Bracelet: Gorjana ShopBop
Peacock feather earrings, local

Image: mam for Gave That

Dissolving the Rain

Something else tucked in my pretty Cerra package was a little Dissolving Notes kit. This is an attempt to dissolve the persistent rain... whatever the actual outcome it's neat watching your words morph and swirl away taking any negative feelings with it and leaving a sweet whisper of ylang ylang and patchouli behind. Kind of addictive!

Image: mam for Gave That

Torre & Tagus

Sophia Loren is always quoted as saying, “A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.” Change the "dress" to fruit bowl and this Torre & Tagus piece seems so fitting. A gift my Mum received from her dear brother that just had to make it on here. His eye is always incredible.

Image: mam for Gave That

Golden Ginkgo Leaves

Really simple DIY Ginkgo leaves spray painted gold affixed to natural papers used as gift wrap. For lots more pretty packages see the Gift Design Inspiration area of the blog.

Image: mam for Gave That

Cerra

This very pretty box came yesterday from Cerra and I couldn't wait to show you all what was inside. It is so right up this blog's alley!



Cerra is a new online boutique that has a mantra and basis of mindfulness through it's Seven Intentions - Grounded, Creative Energy, Gratitude, Loving Kindness, Courage, Wisdom, and Inspiration. Many things there also happen to be gift sets.

One that probably personifies Cerra's Seven Intentions the most are their series of Sensory Oils. These same scents appear to fragrance everything with the corresponding Intention including their journals and cards.

The one above is in Creative Energy and is said to be a blend of citrus notes blended with juniper berry and cardamom. All of the Sensory Oils attached to each Intention follows pretty basic Aromatherapy principals which made me think they would smell similar to essential oil blends. Instead, Creative Energy smells very perfumed in a fresh way and similar to the strong soapy fragrances by the line Clean.

Out of all of the scents my personal pick is the Grounded which is very light, unobtrusive and a little fruity with ylang ylang and patchouli.



Their teas tisane housed in triangular bags are so colorful and the taste, especially the red Rooibos based ones (such as Grounded and Creative Energy), is absolutely delicious.



Another gift find from the collection are these little Keepsake Notes. They're similar to a gratitude journal but they're loose and come in a small tin with a secret compartment. These Gratitude ones smell very strongly of what translates to my nose as clary sage (it's said to be peony, jasmine and balsam oil) but also come in all of the other Seven Intentions as well including the Grounded versions.



Using one of the Keepsake Gratitude cards... Think about something that happened today that makes you feel grateful. Act. Write about what it was and why it was special: Having a huge stack of magazines and a big cup of delicious Creative Energy rooibos tea on such a dreary, rainy day was pure Nirvana. Thank you Cerra and SheSpeaks for the introduction to this new project!

Image: mam for Gave That

Playing Games

Lately a lot more gift wrap has been coming with these handy cutting lines printed on the reverse side. Particularly helpful when it's someones last minute birthday party and all that's about is "Merry Christmas" paper. Sharpie to the rescue.

For lots more ways to package up your goodies see the Gift Design Inspiration area of the blog.

Image: mam for Gave That

DIY Floral Oils

Doctored glam favors: Dried flowers, berries and herbs almost keep for life when preserved in simple bath and cooking oils. In place of a bow miniature picture frames were hung on each antique glass bottle housing little pieces of ephemera and tiny labels.

Pictured: Dried red roses and cinnamon sticks, dried miniature pink roses, juniper berries and bay leaf.


Image: mam for Gave That

Half Moon Manicure

Love, love, love it when you can have your nails done at a party. One we (Magda was roped into this one) decided to try was half moon nails in glittery metallics and navy blue for Fall. For how you can do it too see the How-To tutorial video below:

Ring: Betty Carre
Nails: Milani "My Network" & Zoya "Edyta"

Image: mam for Gave That | Video: Magda & mam for Gave That

DIY Pokeberry Ink

After spending the day at an 18th century festival complete with calligraphy classes and a curious magenta ink which was revealed to be made of Poke berries (inkberry), it was only a meter of waiting for the local woodland berries to ripen for a little DIY!

Today the Poke berries were finally black enough to give it a try and the results are pretty much how it looked at the festival. Asking the Docents if they did anything special to the Poke berry ink they said no, it needed to sit and mature a few days and that was it. Over time the writing turns a pretty brownish color.

One caveat, Poke berries are said to be poisonous and the juice loves to spritz out staining everything (I knew wearing that nude shirt would be a bad idea, thankfully it fully washed out). Some also add a pinch of salt to the ink to help it keep.

- Making Natural Ink -

What You Will Need:
- Ripe (black) Poke berries (Phytolacca americana)
- Plastic gloves
- Glass mortar & pestle
- Glass jar
- A pinch of salt (optional)

How To Make It:
Wearing plastic gloves, remove the individual berries from the stems. Using a mortar & pestle smash the berries into a fine pulp or until your see the juice separating from the skins. Heat the pulp with a pinch of salt in the microwave for 2 minutes. Allow to cool and rest. Once cooled use a fine mesh strainer to strain off seeds and pulp. Juice can be further strained through coffee filters. Decant into glass bottles that are stored in a cool dark place. Works best after macerating for a few days.


Using the finished berry ink and some plain brown paper and floral rubber stamps created the above gift wrap.


For more gift wrap styles see my gift design inspiration area of the blog right here.

Image: mam for Gave That

DIY Wrap Bracelets

It's tutorial time! For the longest I've wanted to share how to create your own friendship bracelets to give as gifts but, well, many are rather involved and even downright tricky to pull off. While the ones above look hard to make (or so everyone so far has told me) they're actually pretty easy! If you can braid hair or sew a little you can do this. Here's how:

What you will need:

BRACELET no 1 (black crystal wrap bracelet on the left)
- 2 pieces of 19 inch lengths of black chiffon, silk or ribbon
- 19 inches of crystal chain (easily found at craft stores or use rhinestone junk jewelry)
- 3 inches of extender chain (an optional step to make it more adjustable)
- Lobster claw clasps
- O Jump Rings
- Wire cutters and pliers (sturdy scissors can work too)

BRACELET no 2 (crystal covered woven friendship bracelet on the right)
- 1 woven friendship bracelet (mine is handmade out of silk embroidery floss but you can find these for as little as $2 a piece)
- Some crystal chain (see notes above)
- A spool of thread and a needle
- A lobster claw clasp & O Jump rings (optional)

The video below shows how to put them together:




The above DIY bracelets are worn with a vintage rhinestone bracelet and bracelets by Alisa Michelle and Heather Hawkins


Image: Magda for Gave That | Video: Magda & Mam for Gave That

Patterns Gift Wrap Look

It's Fashion Week here in NYC and it seemed fitting to do a few gift wrap looks in its honor. Fashion is such an incredible inspiration when it comes to wrapping gifts. This one is a little behind the scenes using old brown tissue paper patterns, some jute twine, black paper with chalk line marks (really white out) and a twisted measuring tape ribbon.

For more gift wrap styles see my gift design inspiration area of the blog right here.


Image: mam for Gave That

Little Linus Bag

Something or actually many somethings to be really thankful for today! One being this gorgeous sturdy little canvas and leather pouch by Linus which my Mum was sweet enough to give me, thank you. It straps onto your bike a bevy of spots (in front on the handlebars, on the back behind the seat, on the cross bar of a Man's bike, on the book rack). Popped it right on. The second is the vintage bike is officially in the shop and on its way to having waterlogged wheels replaced and a much needed cleaning done.


Bag: Linus (find it at Terry Bikes)
Dress: Michael Stars
Ring: Betty Carre


Image: Magda & MAM for Gave That