You can do this with just about any surface but I thought a cutting board would be fun to make for the Mom who loves to be in the kitchen.  The video is under 40 seconds and will tell you everything you need to know. All supplies were purchased at Walmart for under $10 bucks! Enjoy!

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Follow me and my fellow Walmart Moms as we share our experiences and ideas! Walmart has provided me with compensation and gift card in return for my time & efforts to create this post. My participation in this program is voluntary and my opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.

I bought the supplies at Walmart for next to nothing.  Your flowers are under $5 bucks depending on which ones you choose and the floral tape was $1.97.  A 10 pack of Pens cost $1 and if you can find a container at your home, no cost there. If you can’t, I recommend those tall mugs that are around $5 bucks.  That’s under $15 if you have to buy a container, which is pretty good don’t you think?   I know you’ve seen them but have you made one?  If you have your own tips or ideas about pen bouquets, I’d love to hear them!

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Follow me and my fellow Walmart Moms as we share our experiences and ideas! Walmart has provided me with compensation and gift card in return for my time & efforts to create this post. My participation in this program is voluntary and my opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.

I had the chance to see these first hand and know the quality that they are.  There are so many styles too that you are sure to find one that suits your taste!  Some things you should know:

• Safe, clean heat source.  (25 watt lightbulb)
• No flame
• No residue
• Lovely fragrances!!!

At under $16 bucks, you’ll be able to afford to give these as gifts to more than one person.

If you find the “Love, Live, and Laugh” wax warmer, you should get it. It’s so pretty and the message rocks! This is probably my most favorite gift idea for this holiday season.

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Follow me and my fellow Walmart Moms as we share our experiences and ideas! Walmart has provided me with compensation in return for my time & efforts to create this post. My participation in this program is voluntary and my opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.

THE DEAL

• 40% off all photo cutting boards
• Expires June 22nd at 11:59 PST
• Shipping and Tax Not Included
• May not be combined with other promotions
• For online orders only
• Promo code: kitchen-6

Photo Cutting Board Deal Link

See their terms and conditions for any other relevant info.

If you get one made, I’d LOVE for you to send me a photo. I know we’d all enjoy seeing what we each would make!  cuttingboard@mywoodenspoon.com  <–Send a pic to this email.  If I get enough, I’ll share them here!

I’ve been giving my house a good spring cleaning and along the way, I keep finding items that I’ve never used, opened, or have duplicates of.  I thought this would make the perfect opportunity to create a gift bundle.  I started with a fun, Summer insulated tote.  I’ve had this bag a while and it’s still in perfect shape so I figured I’d reuse it instead of tossing it.   I planned on doing a themed bag but once I started finding things, I just went with a surprise bag.

In my bag are things like:

• a Glamour magazine that I already read but is still fresh for the month for someone else.
• extra beauty items like nail decals, carmex, and Bath & Body soap that I got during a special purchase.
• a piece of jewelry that I wore once and thought it would be great to give to someone else to wear, and perhaps pass on later as well.
• notebook and pen
• Spring candle
• fun cookbook

These are things that I had around my house and completely appropriate to regift.

I personalized with it a handmade card using my new Silhouette cutter.  I picked the Fourth of July graphic, cut it, and glued it onto the card.  More on how that works later and just a hint, I’ll also be giving one away, a $300 value.

Have you done this before?  If so, what kind of gift bags/baskets have you created?

Creating a basket of goodies is so much fun. Included were things like a movie, perfume, a scarf, tweezers, makeup sponges, emery boards, a CUTE big flower ring, and so much more.

I know that H-E-B might not where you think you can pick up items like this for gifts but they have so much to offer.  And hey, while you’re there, you can pick up some food to cook on the grill, a bottle of wine, and perhaps a special Mother’s Day cake from the bakery!

Am I the only who loves special baskets with lots of goodies? Surely not!! What are you doing for Mother’s Day?

Let’s say you’re buying her that oh so pretty white iPad.  What’s an iPad without apps though right?  What a great way to make a piece of cool technology special, you know?  Take the extra time to set it up for her and load it up with some apps.  As an avid foodie, I have a whole list of food apps you can choose from!  The list was made for the iPhone but you can easily find the same app for the iPad.    What are your favorite apps?

You might also consider a customized skin or pretty case to put it in.  There are so many available now. I actually really need one myself. Maybe I’ll be me one, reckon?!  I currently carry my iPad and MacBook Air in my handbag without a case.  I truly should do something…HINT HUSBAND IF YOU’RE READING THIS! teehee

As I type this and think about what else I’d like customized, I think about something I’ve never had, a Mother’s Ring.  I realize that’s something that has to be ordered but I have to admit, I’d love to have one………

Just a couple of ideas guys!

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Follow me and my fellow Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with compensation in return for my time & efforts to create this post. My participation in this program is voluntary and my opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.

First hints revolve around a new camera.  I really want a Canon DSLR so what have I been doing to drop a hint?  Well, for one, I ALWAYS leave the tab open to the camera I want when I know he’s going to be on the computer.   Don’t tell me you’ve never done that!!!  You know you have.

Something else I’ve mentioning around the house is the fact that Summer is almost here and the heat is already blaring through the windows. I have sheer curtains at the moment but keep telling my husband how some pretty tan suede curtains would keep the heat out and look pretty.  Do you find that curtains help keep heat out?

Finally, something else I keep hinting about is a little relaxation.  Probably not what you’re thinking though…….Everytime my husband and boys leave the house, I turn off the TV for the silence so that I can work.  But something I’d really like to have is a relaxation fountain, one of those HoMedics soothing ones.  Ahhhhh, I can hear it now.  Can’t you?

So have you been dropping hints like me?  What ARE you wanting this Mother’s Day. And don’t say something like “I just want my kids with me..blah blah blah”. That totally doesn’t count because it’s a given.  Tell me something you want for yourself!

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Follow me and my fellow Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with compensation in return for my time & efforts to create this post. My participation in this program is voluntary and my opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.

It’s also your last chance to buy a gift before Christmas. Perhaps you are short on ideas??  I know that most years I am but this year, I experienced so many wonderful things that I had plenty of gift ideas and wanted to share a few of my favorites.

First up, we’ll start with something you might not have thought of, Rosetta Stone’s V4 TOTALe.

Now even though I am Mexican (half), I don’t speak any. I understand some but don’t speak much at all which is why I wanted to learn so badly.  I really like the way this teaches you and have picked up on enough already to have a small conversation with my husband is a full Spaniard.  It’s been fun and I highly recommend it!   A friend of mine used it to learn German so I know that it totally works and my small successes are proof as well.

Do you work at home like I do? Do you do any kind of contract labor and save receipts for tax time?  I was dying to try this out every since Amy from MomAdvice.com raved about it a long time ago.  I am that person, that person that walks in with the shoebox full of receipts.  It’s gotten ridiculous to be honest so I was thrilled when NeatReceipts offered to send me their product for review.  I am totally impressed by this machine. It’s amazing and I absolutely love it!!! It’s a must have for anyone who needs to keep organized with their receipts.  I only wish I had had it at the beginning of 2010 but I will have for 2011 baby!!  What a fabulous gift huh!  Look for a more thorough review of it, including video over at ELM.

Another of my favorite things is the new NOOKColor.  To be quite honest, this thing is pretty dang cool and I feel like it’s a fabulous alternative to those who can’t afford the high price tag of the iPad.  The features are endless and the quality of the screen images are amazing, just amazing.  You can listen to music, surf the web thanks to the wifi feature, download files, photos and of course read books and magazines and more.  At the price of $250, I can honestly say that it’s worth every penny.  I truly think it’s a great product.  I just attended a webinar that really allowed me to see all that it does and it just blows me away.  It’s such a huge change from the original Nook (B&W) that I also have.  Two thumbs up from this Mom!

BACK that computer up y’all!!  Over the past year, I’ve seen some blogging friends lose all their computer data and it something that just puts that pit in your stomach.  You know you never want it to happen to you but yet have you taken the precautions to make sure it doesn’t?  Probably not!  Another item in experienced in 2010 is Hitachi’s LifeStudio Desk External Hard Drive. Now while I can’t provide feedback on the stability of this hard drive yet since I’ve only owned it for a few weeks, I can tell you that it’s super easy to hook up and start backing up your computer.  You simply plug in the wall, plug in the computer and you’re on your way. It’s definitely priced right for the enormous size of the hard drive and it’s a must for any computer user.

If you’re looking for games, I have a few to recommend in that category as well.

Wii

• Active Life Explorer – Truett cracks me up with this game. It does what it says, it keeps you active and you’re totally exploring new adventures.  Fun for kids!
• Family Game Night 3 – I have to say that my favorite games on this are Clue and Life.  Me and Toby play both of them nonstop.  We’ve always played the board game Clue so I was excited to see this in action on the Wii.  It works the same in a lot of ways and it’s one of regular games we play before bed.  I don’t think I played the game of Life much as a young’un, however, we LOVE to play this.  It’s fun to see who wins at the end because it doesn’t always end how you think it will.  This is by far our favorite Wii game lately!! I must have for every family!
• Disney Epic Mickey -  Truett thinks it’s AWESOME. We’ve only played a few times but so far so good. It’s always fun to have the ‘new’ games out!

XBOX 360/PS3

• Tony Hawk’s Shred – I felt kinda silly at first doing this but once I got the hang of it, I was acting like Tony Hawk himself but on a high of Dr. Pepper.  Setup is easy just takes a tad longer than some things would to setup.  The older boys tried it and also felt silly because well, they’ve never been on a skateboard before. I cracked up at them flailing their arms about everywhere.  lol  fun stuff.
• HALO Reach!! – Anyone who has played Halo must have the final one. It’s awesome, we love it, we love all of them.  For teens and up.
• Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood – Great game. We have all of them and again for the older ones.  We really like the first shooter games.

Well, that’s all for now. If I think of anything else, I might write about it but if I don’t, keep an eye out on my facebook or twitter page for ideas because I’m always spittin’ them out!

BIGFOOT

Up first, is one of the hottest out there, BigFoot.  He’s big, he’s funny, and he is athletic!  My son absolutely loves him. The remote is in the shape of a footprint with very large buttons that have pictures on them of what BigFoot does.  That makes is super easy for the kids to use.  He’s geared towards kiddos in the ages of 3-6 and is full of personality!

WIN ONE!  Right now (and I’ll update this when it’s over), you can enter to win one of your very own over at the cool BigFoot facebook app!  And since it’s sold out at Walmart and selling out at other retailers, this may be your only chance to get one!  Fisher Price has some of the best toys don’t they? Anyways, pick your mood and background and publish to your FB wall to share with others.  It’s totally worth checking out, especially if you want a chance to win one!

Here’s a quick video of BigFoot in action. He does much more than we put in the video but it should give you an idea.

DANCE STAR MICKEY

We all love Mickey right? Add a dancing Mickey to the mix and you’ll have little ones giggling and dancing right with him.  Geared towards 18mths – 6 years, he’s plush, happy, and has the moves!  He plays a different song for each move. He talks, walks, and of course dances.  He’s just the thing to make your child’s eyes light up!!

SPY NET VIDEO WATCH

This spy net watch is super cool and geared towards some older kids (finally). It’s hard to find gifts for the older ones that aren’t just games. It’s not to see some creativity.  Here are just some of what it does. I’ve seen in this in action and it’s pretty dang cool. I highly recommend!!

• Record and playback video, audio and photos
• Secretly record up to 20 minutes of video
• Secretly record over 4 hours of audio
• Capture photo evidence – up to 2000 pics

PLAY-DOH MEGA FUN FACTORY PLAY SPACE

Truett LOVES play-doh.  He can sit there for HOURS creating different things and this new factory place space, he’ll be there for days more than likely.  What I like about play-doh is how it brings out the creativity in a child’s brain.  And once they realize they can make something cool, they just keep imagining even cooler things to create and do their version of it.  I really really do love play-doh. It’s fun for the younger crowd yes but I know that me and my husband have set there forever playing and creating things with Truett and play-doh.

What are some of YOUR favorite toys this holiday season?? What will you buying the kids?

Disclosure: I am being compensated for my time and efforts to create this post. All opinions are my own, always have been, always will be. LEGIT y’all, LEGIT!