Hello Sunshine! 10 Fun In The Sun Gifts for Summer

Here Comes The Sun Sign by Oh Dier

Summer is here which means pool parties, sandcastles, and fun in the sun. Let’s celebrate with gifts! These ten sunshine-loving favorites are sure to get anyone beach ready and craving a piña colada.

1. Put The Love In The Coconut Beach Towel by Castle, 2. Fun in The Sun Tote by Alphabet Bags, 3. Sunshine is Delicious Tote by Alphabet Bags, 4. Hello Sunshine Mug by Oh Leander, 5. Viscid Watch from Anthropologie, 6. Endless Summer Tote by Fieldguided, 7. Zebra Beach Towel by Maslin & Co, 8. Sea Bags Tote for J.Crew, 9. Sorbonne Beach Towel by Lacoste, 10. Dive In Beach Towel by Kate Spade

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Wild for Spring! And Bold Colors, Patterns & Shapes

Cutting Boards by Little Studio

Spring is here! This season of fresh starts and new beginnings has me wild for bold patterns and geometric shapes.

Here’s a couple recently loved favorites. What do you think? Do they put a spring in your step too??

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Hand Stained and Painted Wood Bangles by Voz

Totem Collection Cushion Covers by Harvest Textiles

Golden Triangle Cross Stitched Pendant Necklace by Gamma Folk

Hand-Painted Felt Laptop Case by Ambette

Give & Tell

Give & Tell with Amy Turn Sharp of Little Alouette

I met Amy shortly after Alt last year. She’s a hoot, a poet, and the wood queen of Little Alouette, an organic wooden toy shop she runs alongside her master carpenter husband, Joe.

Their toys are beautifully handcrafted, wonderfully natural, and the kind you keep in the family for a long time. I gifted a wooden letter H to baby Harper last spring and I’m still waiting for the right little person to come along to give these gorgeous stackers to. Love the grain, don’t you?

If you need a gift for a wee one in time for Christmas or Hannukah, this wooden guitar and mustache rattle are in stock and ready to ship. And they’re awesome. Naturally.

Amy’s a mother of 3 in Columbus, Ohio. She’s also a public speaker, novelist, twitter addict, and blogger. Babble has named her as one of the top 50 Etsy Moms two years in a row. Thanks for joining us Amy!

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

When I had my last baby my friends bought me hours of mothers helpers in advance. That was ace. I will always think about that. Mother’s are good gift givers.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?

I think when I collected a life scrap book for my gran’s 89th birthday. I took photos and letters from everyone in her life and mementos and compiled them together in a large book. She cried for days and days. She held the book for a long time.
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Give & Tell

Give & Tell with The Jealous Curator (aka Danielle Krysa)

Have you ever looked at a piece of art and thought, “Damn, I love that.” And if you’re an artist like Danielle, you might also be thinking, “Damn, I wish I thought of that.”

The feeling is, as she puts it, “a rush of uplifting inspiration… and total soul-crushing jealousy all at the same time.” A couple years ago Danielle started sharing her jealousy out loud on her blog aptly named, The Jealous Curator. The site features the work of emerging contemporary artists from a variety of disciplines and may in fact, make you quite jealous.

Whether it’s their talent that’s got you green or your wish to acquire one of the lovely pieces Danielle shines a light on, you’d be hard pressed not to find something you adore on every page and admire her great taste and beautiful curation. I certainly do.

She recently started taking her jealous curation from the blogosphere, to the white walls of actual galleries. (So jealous.) Today she’s here with us. Sharing her gifting tales and favorites from Wantist, it’s The Jealous Curator!

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

When I was twelve, I got a one-piece pink snowsuit, and ski lessons for the winter. That was the best Christmas morning ever! Oh boy, I was going to look sooo good on that mountain!

Have you ever done any sneaky research to determine the right gift for someone?

My husband, Greg, has always wanted a wooden ring but could never find one (they’re really hard to make for men, because the wood is so fragile so making a ring with a big enough hole is tough!). Anyway, our fifth wedding anniversary was coming up, and I remembered that “wood” was the traditional gift. I set out to find a jewelry designer that would make a ring for the love of my life… and I found one! An amazing woman in Seattle who made cuffs, earrings, necklaces, and yes, rings from salvaged wood. I had to do a bunch of sneaky measurements from old rings, and a few really good guesses, but it worked! She designed a gorgeous ring that fit him perfectly. On the night of our anniversary I gave it to him, and he was surprised/thrilled/stunned! He has a men’s lifestyle blog, and actually wrote a post about it (yep, that’s how you know he really loved it!)
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Satisfy Their Lust for Life – 12 Gifts for Sagittarians!

Holstee Manifesto Poster, to view large go here

Happy Thanksgiving; or if you’re a Sagittarius, Happy Birthday! Born November 22 – December 21, Sagittarians are fueled by their independent sense of adventure and lust for life. Represented by their astrological symbol – the Archer – Sagittarians are are focused and intent. They believe that anything is possible and are happiest when on the move, curious to explore and to travel, sharing their experiences along the way. Optimistic and free as a bird, Sagittarians want to experience all life has to offer and any one of these gifts will help them do just that!

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Give & Tell

Give & Tell with Creede Fitch of Grassrootsmodern

Creede Fitch of Grassrootsmodern Creede coins himself a frugal design junkie. His site Grassrootsmodern is a long time favorite of mine filled with modern styled home goods at reasonable prices—in other words, many Wants!

He loves miminamist and mid-century influences and often finds himself with a hammer and drill in hand in order to achieve the style he wants without breaking the bank. He started Grassrootsmodern six years ago in order to share his ideas and inspirations on affordable design—you’ll recognize his blogging cohort, Wantist contributor Capree. (Design sleuth extrordinaire, that girl!)

Creede lives in Utah with his son, daughter, and golden doodle Ainsley. In between sharing awesome finds and working on his house, he took some time to Give & Tell with us today. Thanks, Creede!

What’s your favorite reason to celebrate with a gift?

I love holidays, and I definitely get into the giving spirit around Christmas. That being said, the best reason to give a gift, is no reason at all. I mean really, who needs a reason to be nice to someone, or show them you love them?

What’s the best food to give as a gift?

I could go two ways here. If the person is close by, there is nothing better than giving a gift of a home cooked meal. Everybody loves to have a nice dinner cooked for them, plus you get to share to food. Win, win. Of course that’s hard to do for you best friend out of state, so in that case I default back to my favorite food group. Chocolate. There is a fantastic selection of quality chocolate out there, my local favorite is Amano. If your friend isn’t chocolate savvy make sure you enlighten them as to the finer points of the bar you chose.
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Give & Tell

Give & Tell with Emily Fitzhugh from Sodapopgirl

Emily is a design loving, coffee-drinking, bike-riding, Portland gal with amazing curly black hair. She’s a social media consultant with an interior design background and stays connected to the creative world through her blog Sodapopgirl.net. Her finds there are inspiring, beautiful, and just plain fun—hence her tagline, “shake it”.

After admiring others’ creative masterpieces for years, Emily started to make jewelry and just recently launched her new Etsy shop Sodapopgirlshop. Such lovelies. I’ve got my heart set on these!

Tell us about a gift-giving ah-ha moment you recall.

Choosing a gift for my Dad is the biggest challenge. He is a Boston businessman who seems to have everything. For as long as I can remember, there has been a collection of helicopters on the top of the bookshelves in his office—wood, metal, toy and pieces of art. Okay, Helicopters. He also is a self-proclaimed “foodie”. Well, a little known fact is that if you type “helicopter/cooking” into the Etsy search you will find a very handsome, handmade, men’s apron with helicopters on the front, made in Italy. It even says in the description “for helicopter fans to enjoy while cooking.” SOLD!

Could you share a wrapping secret with us?

My grandparents taught me a great wrapping secret. Save all your Christmas cards from year to year and then cut them into pretty pieces to create a little Christmas collage on the top of special packages. With a little snipit of a card, you can create a mixed media work of art. Using plain craft paper, a simple ribbon and a glue stick, let your upcycled Christmas card art shine!
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Emily Fitzhugh's Gift Picks form Wantist

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20 Photography Gifts for Expressing your Analog Love

Make Magic Happen print, Jan Skácelík

Cameras and smiling go hand in hand, and I’m not just talking about picture posing. While most companies are focused on manufacturing slimmer, faster and better devices, it’s nice to go back to our analog roots sometimes. Here are 20 showstoppers fit for every photographic aficionado on your list this season.

Clockwise: Pink Slim Angel Wide-Angle Camera, Fisheye 2 I Love You Edition Camera by Lomography, Powershovel K202 White Cat 35mm Camera by Holga, Yellow 208120 135Tim Plastic Camera by Holga, Blackbird Fly Twin Lens Reflex Camera, Diana F+ CMYK by Lomography

These colorful 35mm film gems are top notch, and given their individuality and reasonable cost, they’d be great gifts for any photographer, rookie or pro. There’s wide-angle, fisheye and telephoto lenses, lots of flash and filter options and they shoot half frame, long and double exposures. Basically, they’re putting every point-and-shoot I’ve ever owned to shame. Oh, and the kitty Holga? IT MEOWS. I know, my mind has been blown too.

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