I’m always looking for creative birthday gift ideas. One of my daughter’s teachers celebrated her birthday last weekend (on the same day as me!) and I wanted to be sure that we acknowledged her special day.
She loves coffee and tea, so I thought that a pretty travel coffee cup and a gift card to the gourmet market right next to the school would be a good present. A box of tea bags or gourmet coffee would have paired nicely with it, too.
I found the pink chevron to-go cup at Home Goods (they usually have a good selection in the oh-so-tempting checkout line; TJ and Marshall’s do, too). I added a navy vinyl monogram using my Silhouette CAMEO (I added this month’s Silhouette promotion to the bottom of this post, so if you’re in the market, be sure to check it out since it’s a great deal).
For those of you who use vinyl cutters, the font is Monogram KK and it’s a free download. If you use lower-case for the first and middle letters, and uppercase for the center letter of the monogram, then your proportions will be perfect. I ungrouped the letters and moved them closer so that they interlock. I then regrouped them and welded them. I added the circle using the circle tool and just created two circles. In hindsight, I should have made that thicker–but I’ll remember it for next time!
I’ve mentioned the cellophane bags before–I use them constantly and have at least five different sizes in my gift wrap closet. A handful of shred from the dollar store in the bottom, and a few ribbon scraps to tie the top, and your gift is perfectly packaged! I buy my bags at the craft store using my coupon, but here are the ones that I use in case you need them shipped (affiliate link):
I hole punched the side of the gift card and tied it on the top. Easy!
Here are some of our other favorite gift ideas: monogrammed apothecary jars, teacher gifts, jewelry bowls, coffee gift cards, homemade bath salts, strawberry jam, and homemade mustard.
As promised, here’s the September Silhouette deal that I mentioned earlier. It ends tomorrow, so there’s not much time left, but you can purchase their Portrait machine bundle for only $149.99 (regular price is $179.99) if you use our coupon code MAGNOLIA. That is a fabulous deal! If you’re wondering, the Portrait does everything that the CAMEO does, but it’s smaller (it cuts up to 8″ instead of 12″) and less expensive (the CAMEO retails for $299.99). I (obviously) use my CAMEO all the time, around the house and in our Etsy shop, and I make TONS of gifts with it! And check out the fabric bundle goodies that come along with it:
Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to Vernon Hills, IL, just outside of Chicago. It’s the world headquarters of Rust-oleum, and I’ll be representing 11 Magnolia Lane at their Blogger Innovation Summit. How cool is that?! Be sure to watch on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, because I’ll be sharing the pictures from my trip on social media.
And if you follow us on Facebook and Instagram, then you know that I’ll be carrying my awesome birthday purse along with me:
Speaking of which, if you’re not already following us on social media, just use the black buttons below my photo to connect. You can also click {here} to sign up for our email list: you’ll get an email every time we post something new, and we’ll never spam you or sell your address.
Disclosure: Some of the links used are affiliate links; if you click through and purchase an item using these links we earn a small commission. You don’t pay a penny more than you would otherwise (and in the case of the Silhouette monthly deals, you get a much better deal if you shop using our coupon code!).
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Do you use anything over your vinyl designs, like modpodge? I have a few projects I want to do but worry about the designs coming off in washing.
I do not put anything over vinyl most of the time. One exception was our cornhole boards–I put a clear coat of poly on top of those decals. On a project like this, I hand wash the item. Vinyl will go through the dishwasher but the high heat will make it peel off in just a few months instead of sticking around for the long haul. Hope that helps!