Monday, August 20, 2012

DIY College Survival Kit


I've been volunteering at my local library for two years now. I help out the Teen Librarian at all the events. In honor of today being my first day back to class, I thought I'd share the gift I made for a brother and sister (yes, twins) who invited me to their high school graduation party. They are both going to my college this year, but I think only the girl is staying on campus.

Awhile back, The Popcorn Factory was doing a deal on facebook where college students could have someone send them a tub of popcorn, hence the Survival Kit container above. I'm glad I thought of using it for the gifts because it worked great. Unfortunately, some of the items were too big or just didn't fit, so I had to give them a bag with some extra goodies too, but I still say the container was great.

I tried to add things for both a boy and a girl, as well as some on-campus items:

giant green Oops eraser
some bandaids
ear plugs
collapsable hampers
mini notebook
lip balms
hand sanitizer
two packs of playing cards
panda candy
binder clips (I use one for my planner)
box of m & m's because the twins names both start with an "M"
mini file folder
a couple containers for food/snacks
I even gave them a book about Graphic Novels because they love reading them and if they take the class at our college, they need the book (I took the class about a year ago so I gave them my used copy).

I had some other little items included as well, but it's been awhile now since I gave them the gift and I only have this one photo to refresh my memory.

It's a relatively easy and fun gift to give someone though. I love DIY gifts and I think the idea of themed Survival Kits is fun, so it's a great idea for college and beyond!

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I hope to link up at the following parties-

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Winnie-the-Pooh Themed Picnic


I've been a huge fan of Winnie-the-Pooh since I was little. Even when I got older, if I was home sick from school, I loved watching the cartoon. I suppose I get this from my mom whose a big fan as well, so it's no surprise that I thought a Winnie-the-Pooh themed picnic for Mother's Day was the way to go this year. Yeah, I know, Mother's Day is in the past, but you can use this idea for any holiday or event. Just change things to fit the theme/setting.

First off, I made the cute note above with one of my favorite quotes, by Pooh himself, that says:

Some People Care Too Much...I Think It's Called Love

I love the idea of having a picnic in the park, so I knew I wanted to find some food (and a drink) that I could give fun little names to fitting the Pooh theme. I packed everything up in a box and laid it out with my collection of Pooh stories, as well as the soundtrack for the latest Pooh film (which I actually saw in theaters with my mom!)


We listened to the soundtrack on the way to and from the park and I even pointed out a story about a party in the Pooh collection (I believe my mom read it later in the day).

As for the food, I went with-

Cucumbers and carrots with a dip my family loves - Rabbit's Garden

Cow Tail candy - Eeyore's Tail

Fruit punch - Piglet's Punch

Gummi-Bears - Gummi Winnie-the-Pooh

Cheetos- Tigger Tails

Peanut Butter Crunch - Owl Crunch


This is everything laid out at the park...the soundtrack is obviously still in the car and I didn't bring the veggies, because as you can see from the photo before this, they are in some large containers and we figured we didn't want to lug those with us. It was a bit windy the day we went, but nothing too bad. It was me, my mom, and my sister...and the park was fairly empty, which worked out nice! Overall, my mom loved the gift and we all had a fun time!

If you have any thoughts about this, ideas of your own, or questions, please leave them in the comments or shoot me an email!

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I hope to link up at the following parties-