Sunday, December 30, 2012

DIY Wild at Heart Gift Basket

I'm so excited to finally blog about a gift basket that I made for my dear friend's 22nd birthday.  Through some creative thinking, I came up with a gift basket idea that I knew she would love. 

The idea began when I was shopping online for Bare Escentuals make up.  She loves my Bare Escentuals eye shadow, so I thought I would find some to get her for her birthday.  I ended up finding a make up kit (complete with eye shadows, mascara, and lip gloss) called "Pretty Wild."  I ordered it right then, thinking that it described her perfectly.  (Plus, it was a great deal!)  It was shortly after I ordered the makeup set that I found the bedazzled liquor bottle idea on Pinterest.  Ah!  I had to do it!  After thinking about the bedazzled bottle of Tequila and the makeup set "Pretty Wild," I came up with the idea of making her a gift basket that had a theme.  The perfect theme that came to mind? 

Wild at heart! 

Here's the finished basket, and a breakdown of what I did, what I got, and roughly how much money I invested in this project. 

So, here the basket is all put together!  I basically made a list of things I knew I wanted in it, and then shopped to find the best deals.  Here's a breakdown of the things I purchased, and did not make: 
-The silky leopard print panties with lace trim at the top were purchased at Ross for $2.99.  She laughed when she saw them, and I knew a pair of fun, wild panties would be an inexpensive touch to add to the basket.
-The glittery frame with pink gems was exactly what I was looking for, and I found it at Ross for $4.99.  I wanted one for myself too!  I put a picture of us at a rooftop bar in LA to keep with the "wild at heart" theme.
-The polka dot box has a wine opener in it that says, "I drink better than I cook."  It was a funny Ross find for only $2.99, and I knew she didn't have a wine opener in her apartment.
 -Finally, the "Pretty Wild" makeup kit.  I ordered it online at a great sale price (less than $20.) 


Now for the DIY touches! First, the basket.  I looked everywhere for a sturdy, cute, bright or animal print basket. I ended up having to go to the Dollar Tree, just because I knew they would have bright colored baskets. (They have a ton there of all shapes and sizes.) To make it cuter, I glued gems leftover from bedazzling the Tequila to the front to make her initial. So, this monogrammed basket was $1.






Okay, so my bedazzled liquor bottle looks nothing like the fabulous ones I found on Pinterest.  But, I was at least able to add some sparkle with gems I purchased at Wal Mart and my handy hot glue gun.  The roundness of the bottle did make this project a little difficult, and gems did eventually fall off.  But I'm sure that's bound to happen.  Regardless, she loved it!







This was super easy to make.  The frame I already had, but it was originally purchased at the Dollar Tree.  The letters were a great buy I found at Target in the scrap booking section.  A pack of them for $.99!  Beware, they are VERY glittery.  I knew I needed to have something to show the theme of the basket, so I simply glued the words to a piece of paper and framed them.  Only $1.99 and super easy.  Plus, I love how it turned out!










Since I wanted to somehow incorporate chevron into this basket, I used a piece of ribbon that I already had to tie a bow to the basket for an extra touch.  I then used sharpies and glitter puff paint to add the chevron design to the ribbon of the bow.  It was just an easy touch to add since I had everything for it already.









And, ta da!  The finished basket.  She loved her birthday present this year, and I loved putting it together.  Now I'm constantly thinking of random gift basket themes I can make for special occasions.  I'll keep my blog updated with any more!


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Winter Date Idea: Christmas Lights

Now that the Holiday season is upon us, my husband and I get to do one of my favorite winter time dates: making hot chocolate to go, hopping into the car, listening to Christmas music and driving around looking at Christmas lights.  It's nearly free, relaxing, and very enjoyable.  Here is some inspiration from our most recent light-viewing car ride!


 Hot chocolate to go, check!

 
Just some of the pretty lights we saw!
 
 
 
It's such a wonderful time of year to enjoy the simple things.  Happy Holidays to all!