Gift Idea: Just because

Today I have another wonderful guest post by my dear friend, Jess! One of the things I love most about Jess is her thoughtfulness. Case in point, the sweet little gift she's going to share with you today...

I love giving gifts. The best kind of gift to me is one that is unexpected and for no reason or occasion at all, except because I want the recipient to feel loved.  When I saw this post on Smilemonsters, I had the perfect person in mind that could use a little reminder of how special she is.  Plus, who doesn’t love a little stash of happiness to break into on one of those rough days at work?!

First, I went to the good ol’ standby – Target – to find a plastic, reusable cup to stuff full of goodies.  While there, I found little snacks and other helpful/cheery/practical travel sized items to fill it with.

Deluxe Mixed Nuts (because regular mixed nuts just wouldn’t cut it for this special gal!)

Tinted Burt’s Bees lip balm (she’s quite fashionable and sometimes a little lip color can really brighten up your day)

Orbit gum (for that just brushed clean feeling)

Advil (we ALL need some, some days…)

Hand sanitizer (we do work in a hospital after all)

Chocolate bar (for that afternoon sweet craving)

Then I went to work on creating a personalized tag to tie onto the straw.  I know this particular friend is a huge Hawkeye fan, so I knew I wanted to stick with a black and gold theme (because who DOESN’T love the black and gold!)

I found this cute large polka dot paper on clearance at Michael’s.

I used the ribbon spool to make perfect circles and traced out two for the tag and glued them together so the pretty paper was on both sides.

I picked up some sparkly stickers (disclaimer – I love bling) that would really show on the black paper.

I stuffed all the goodies in the large cup, trying to arrange so she’d be able to see everything in there (I did remove things from their packaging to squeeze it all in).

Topped with a little gold ribbon and the personalized tag, it was ready to go!

She was very excited to receive the surprise and I was the recipient of a big hug and a happy smile!  And the best part? I’ve seen her using the cup around the office every day since she received it!

I hope you’ll use this idea to bring a smile to someone you know, or at least be inspired to give, just because. Be sure to stay tuned for more September Creative Challenge – you never know, I might make a repeat appearance!

So thoughtful, Jess! I especially love the bling letters and shout-out to the Hawks! Thank you so much for sharing this sweet little gift!! 

This lovely guest post is part of my September Creative Challenge. See the other guest posts from this month here and here. Thanks for following along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month. 6 more days to go!!