10 “No Bull” Gifts for Taurus on their Birthday!

bulls

Texas Longhorns – Fine Art Photo from Deirdre T

Happy birthday, Taurus, or Taureans, to be exact. Taurus, the second sign of the zodiac, is symbolized by the bull, a symbol of strength, tenacity, virility, and power—all traits used to describe those born April 21 through May 21. But aside from their stubborn nature, Taureans have much more to them than just outward appearances.

They are patient, reliable, warm-hearted and enjoy the good things in life, whether earthly, financial, sensual or cultural. With such varied interests, spoiling your favorite Taurus on their birthday should really be quite simple. Here are 10 no-bull gifts to celebrate the special bull in your life!

Comments Off

Gift it

Lytro: The No-Focus-Necessary Camera

I’ve decided that today’s Gift of the Day needed a little extra attention. It’s that rad. It’s a whole new kind of camera, and it’s pretty amazing.

The Lytro Light Field Camera uses new technology that captures all the light traveling in every direction of the scene you’re snapping a photo of. This means your subject, the foreground, the background, and everything in between is recorded in focus, without you having to adjust anything.

You know those gorgeous photos with a shallow depth of field where the most important part of the image is in focus and everything else is a little fuzzy? Well Lytro lets you take the photo and then decide what’s most important (what you want to be sharpest) AFTER you take the photo. And if that’s not impressive enough, you can focus and re-focus the image again and again.

On top of the no-doubt-about-it greatness of all that, Lytro has a slim, portable form factor. Because of the technology inside, there’s no lag-time before or between snapping photos which helps you capture moments right when they happen, and not a split second later.

Have a go at it with the pics in this post. Click on an image and watch the focus shift. So cool!

Comments Off

Gift it

Create a Custom Photo Strip Phone Case

What do moms love? Moms love photos of their babies. And what do moms use every day more than any other thing in their bag? Their phone. So doesn’t it make perfect sense to make mom a super cool case that lets her take her favorite faces with her wherever she goes? Of course it does!

That’s why we’re all over Case-Mate’s new DIY features to customize a case for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Best-Friendship Day, any day!

Use a single photo, or pick several!

Choose your layout using Case-Mate’s DIY Tool

In addition to decking out your case with a single photo, now Case-Mate’s easy DIY tool let’s you create collages, photo strips and other arrangements. Tell the story of a favorite memory—a big trip, an anniversary, a family photo session, a messy time baking in the kitchen—by recreating it on the back of her phone.

The DIY tool works with many many smart phone styles and you can upload images straight from your photo library or even right out of Facebook or Instagram—hello filters!

Comments Off

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.
Read More

Comments Off

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!
Read More

Comments Off

Emily Fitzhugh's Gift Picks form Wantist

Gift it

On the Road Again… 10 Gifts for a Well Organized Car

Car-Nivorous-DinosaurPrint

My Car-Nivorous Dinosaur Print from Christopher on Society6

We all lead busy lives. Multi-tasking and having a to-do list a mile long seems to be the norm these days. And many of us (re: ME) live in cities with less than optimal public transportation. All this leads to spending A LOT of time in the car. Sometimes I even feel like I live in my car, which can quickly become a hot mess. Trash on the floor, extra shoes and clothes in the back, work papers strewn all about, let’s not even look in the trunk … you get the idea.

But a clean and well organized car doesn’t just have to be something you dream about. With a little forethought and a few key items, your car can be neat and tidy and serve a higher purpose than simply getting you from Point A to Point B.

These 10 gifts are great for anyone who spends an inordinate amount of time in their car, or really anyone who’s just a complete slob in their vehicle. And what about the long drives ahead to visit family for the holidays? They’ll make those even better too!

Comments Off