Needed: Men's Gift Ideas

The countdown to Christmas is on and for the first time in ten years of marriage, I'm having a hard time deciding what to buy for my husband. I've been searching the top men's gifts lists and can't find a thing. I want something that he will love and remember but that won't break the bank. So I'm turning to my blogging buddies for ideas.
What are you getting your hubbies and do you have any gift suggestions for me?
Thanks for the help!
Jacie

Crafting Some Halloween Cheer for the Neighborhood

Ok so, we have lived in Orlando now for about seven months. We live in a nice little neighborhood where everyone waves and says hello in passing. Well now that Halloween is here, I thought it would be a nice idea to start a tradition that I came across when we lived in both Georgia and California. It's called Booing. There are many variations of this festive tradition, but basically it involves giving a small gift to a neighbor who then places a Boo decoration (ghost, pumpkin, bat, etc.) on their door so that the neighborhood knows they have been Booed. Then that person selects another neighbor to Boo and so on and so on. Ideally, the entire neighborhood will be Booed by Halloween night. It is a fun way for the whole neighborhood to spread some Halloween cheer.

So for this week's craft, I'm going to show you all how I made the Boo bucket that started the Booing in my neighborhood. If you are a regular reader, you know all about my gift buckets. If you are new to my blog--I design and create custom gift buckets (previously as a business and currently as a hobby.) Basically, I made a small Halloween themed candy bucket. (See my previous post on how to make a gift bucket for detailed instructions.)I then added several copies of paper ghosts in the bucket for neighbors to hang on their doors. I attached a cute little poem to the handle of the bucket explaining the tradition and giving the neighbor instructions on how to keep the Booing going.

For the poem, I just searched the internet until I found one that was cute. Then I made a few adjustments so that it would work for the bucket to be passed along neighbor to neighbor. Below is the text of the poem. I simply cut it out and glued it to orange paper to make it more decorative.

Since this is the time for goblins and bats
Halloween spirits and ghosts and cats,
Happenings are weird and witches make brew
The following are the things I wish for you:

May the only spirit you chance to meet
Be the spirit of love and friends that are sweet.
May the only goblin that comes your way
Be the neighborhood phantom, the breeze takes away.

So by tomorrow, pick a friend down the street
And give to them a Halloween treat.
Fill this bucket with goodies galore,
Then place it at their front door.

You only have one day to do this, so hurry
Leave treats on their door and run in a flurry
As this bucket moves along from friend to friend,
All good wishes go on and never end.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

This is a fun and easy craft that is sure to get your neighborhood in the festive spirit for celebrating Halloween.

***If you are interested in purchasing a Boo Bucket or another Gift Bucket designed by me, please email me at schofield.jacie@gmail.com.

Happy Booing!

Lima Bean Kids T-shirt Giveaway at The Not-So-Blog Blog

Let's all start the day off right with news of another giveaway. Woohoo! We all love giveaways right? Well, The Not So Blog Blog is giving away a Lima Bean Kids Halloween or Thanksgiving tee. And these t-shirts are precious. I'm thinking Taylor would look fantabulous in the Lets Play Dress Up tee, and I'm loving the Christmas tees too.

Gift Buckets-Craft Sharing

I have to admit that even though I love the end result of craft projects, I'm NO Martha Stewart. I'm not crafty--I just don't have that "crafty" gene that some women have. I love all the fabrics, papers, stamps, ribbons, etc. but I don't have the desire to sit down to a craft project and complete it. There is only one real "crafty" hobby I have and so in an effort to explore my crafty side and become--well, more crafty--I am going to try to share a craft with everyone each week. This week I am going to share with you my one crafty hobby--GIFT BUCKETS.

I love making my gift buckets. When we lived in Georgia, I opened my own business making these unique and special gifts. We moved to California and then again to Florida (where we are now) and it just got to be too much to keep up with so now it's back to being my hobby. But I love this craft so much that I want to share it with you all.

Making a gift bucket is very much like making a gift basket--except you are using a bucket. My favorite sizes to use are the 2 quart pails, 10 quart pails, 16 quart pails and wash tubs.

Supplies you will need:

bucket
paper

shreds

gift items

glue dots

cellophane gift bag

rubberbands

scissors
ribbon

gift card/tag

Here are the steps to making a basic gift bucket:

Step 1-

First, decide on the products you will be placing in the gift bucket and create your color scheme from there.

Step 2-

Fill your bucket with crumpled paper so everything won't sink to the bottom. Then cover your paper with shreds. You want your gifts to stand up and be seen so the recipient with go "Wow!" when they see it.

Step 3-

Arrange the gifts into the bucket so that they can all be seen. It usually works best to put taller items in the back and smaller items in the front. It may take several arrangements to find the perfect one. Once you've got it, use glue dots to keep items in place.

Step 4-

Fill in gaps between items with shreds. You can also use shreds to make items stand up better.

Step 5-

Place bucket inside a clear cellophane gift bag. Pull up the sides getting rid of the trapped air. Tie off the top with a rubberband and cover the band with raffia ribbon.

Step 6-

Top it off with a decorative bow, tying the ribbon around the band tightly to be sure it is secure.

Add your gift card, deliver and enjoy the look on the person's face when they see their beautiful, CRAFTY gift bucket that you made especially for them by hand.