Wantist: Give Amazing Gifts

Posts Tagged ‘guest post’

Give & Tell with Geek Dad, Ken Denmead

Ken Denmead is a husband and father from the San Francisco Bay Area, where he works as a civil engineer. He’s also the editor of Wired magazine’s parenting blog, GeekDad, where along with a group of other geeky parents, he posts projects, book and movie reviews, podcasts, and more about being a parent and being a geek.

You’ve seen Ken’s work around Wantist before—he’s also the author of the Geek Dad series of books, Geek Dad, The Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun, and just released this month, The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists, filled with science experiments and MacGyvery exploits for the family to do together.

Needless to say, he’s a busy guy, so I’m completely geeking out when I tell you that we snagged some of his time to Give & Tell today. Thanks Ken!

Could you share a wrapping secret with us?

My favorite tried-and-true technique is one I learned as a kid – curling ribbon with the edge of a scissors blade. But I always take it one step further. I will snip the ribbon into smaller strings, and then curl them, for a very interesting curly string effect.

Have you ever given a gift in an interesting way?

Especially with our boys, we love to do treasure hunts. And it’s a tradition in our family to put interesting clues to a gift on its tag. Sometimes they’re funny, sometimes obscure.
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Ken Denmead's picks from Wantist

Give & Tell with Bridget Butch (aka BB)

Bridget Butch

Meet Bridget Butch (aka BB). She’s an internet heroine of mine. I’ve been following her blog for years and years, and years. Not to age you, BB, but she’s been sharing link-ity goodness since 2003, which is a long time ago on these here tubes.

BB is a user experience guru (nerd) living in Milwaukee, WI. She has distinct taste, two cats (Oskar and Eva), can’t quit Brooklyn (her home away from home), and enjoys cheese (on an epic level). See? You love her already. Say hello to Bridget as she shares her gifting stories and the gift she really wants from Wantist. (Bet you’ll never guess.)

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

The best gift ever? I don’t think I could possibly answer that. Too many people in my life have given me such thoughtful gifts. A few examples that spring to mind:

  • My mom’s given me two quilts that I absolutely love. She knows I have a spectacular weakness for quilts. One is a hand-made lap quilt that a neighbor made for her, and the other is a quilt that she picked up at an estate sale just for me. I absolutely love them. Who wouldn’t like to bundle up on a cold night with a quilt from Mom?
  • When I went to Paris a few years ago my friend, Gretchen, bought me a tube of Mac red lipstick because I couldn’t POSSIBLY go to Paris without perfect red lipstick. Since I’m awed by Gretchen’s ability to wear red lipstick perfectly and for HOURS (seriously – it’s a superpower), it was absolutely the perfect gift from her.
  • My friends, Lorraine and Tina, have both bought me airline tickets to see them when I wasn’t financially able to swing it. As a travel bug, airline tickets are the gift motherlode. I’m always grateful for a chance to travel. Doing it for free puts me over the moon.
  • Every year, my sister, Eileen, gives me Green Bay Packer tickets for my birthday. Packer tickets are nearly impossible to get and very expensive, but she and her hubs have four season tickets. They always take me and a guest to a game, usually in December. It may be incredibly cold, but, if you’ve ever been to Lambeau Field, you know it’s worth the eight layers of clothes.

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

I think the best gifts are the ones you get or give when there’s absolutely no occasion at all. Those are the gifts that really say, “I was thinking of you, and it made me happy.” They’re absolutely heartfelt and so touching. No one buys impulse gifts for someone they feel ambivalent about. Maybe they do on reality TV, but not in my world.
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Gift picks by Bridget Butch

Give & Tell with Cariann Burger of Cargoh

Cariann Burger from Cargoh.com

Cariann Burger is one cool chick. She’s got talent (of the super-creative kind), she’s genuine and sweet to everyone (that smile!) and she runs a company that empowers and celebrates the work of artists all over the world.

Cariann and her husband Paul are the founders of Cargoh, a marketplace of independent art and design—essentially a jackpot of wonderful things from an inspiring community of creative people.

Today she joins us for our very first Give & Tell. Thanks, Cariann!

What’s the most inexpensive item you could receive that warms your heart every time?

Flowers from my husband, even though I tell him not to buy them, and his love notes.

Have you ever given a gift in an interesting way?

When I first started dating my husband we lived in different countries. I would send him a meaningful gift weekly with a letter in it. The letters spelled a word, which was a clue to the surprise I had for him when we saw each other again.
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Cariann Burger's picks from Wantist

Saying Thank You with Holiday Matinee

Holiday Matinee logo

Expressing gratitude is a gift itself. You can say thank you for a present and for a gajillion other reasons too. Like, thanks for being such a swell host in your fine town. Thanks for saving me from the side of the road when my car broke down. Thanks for the pancakes. Thanks for being awesome.

After sharing birthday cheer, the gals of Holiday Matinee are back saying thank you. Now it’s our turn. Thanks HM for inspiring creativity, for always saying “you can”, and for sharing Monique and Hannah with us on the blog this week!

Saying Thank You with Monique

Merci Beaucoup by Yellow Owl Workshop

Merci Beaucoup, Yellow Owl Workshop

I will learn French someday, but in the meantime, I’ll fake it with this sweet note from Yellow Owl Workshop.

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Thank You for this Thank You by Sycamore Street PressMuchas Gracias Card by Beau Ideal EditionsElla Thank You Card by Rifle Paper Co.Hey Thanks Note by HammerpressSeahorses by Hello! LuckyThanks Man Card Set by Blackbird LetterpressHelicopter Thank You by AshkahnThank You for Being A Friend by Concrete LaceSpanish Notes by Redstar Ink

Saying Happy Birthday with Holiday Matinee

Holiday Matinee logo

Holiday Matinee is a a blog for creative inspiration. We’re big fans. We love them for their relentless appreciation of people making awesome, for their sense of humor, and their commitment to spreading good vibes. Oh and their monthly mixtapes. Hot.

Created by Dave Brown, the blog now includes five other contributors and we’re jazzed to have two of them with us today. Monique and Hannah have combed the internets to bring you some really fun ways to say Happy Birthday. They’ll be back tomorrow saying Thank You. Without further ado, the ladies of Holiday Matinee…

Saying Happy Birthday with Monique

Facebook Birthday Card by Sycamore Street Press

Facebook Birthday Card, Sycamore Street Press

Send this to the few and far between friend whose day of birth doesn’t require a Facebook notification.

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Grow Crazy by Dude and ChickDeco Owl by Night Owl Paper GoodsOctopus Birthday Card by DelphineHappy Birthday Bear by EggpressBirthday Sweet by Snow and GrahamYou're Only Young Once by Our ShopBoulder Holder Birthday Card by Dude and ChickHappy Birthday Sasquatch, Orange TwistStrung Up Birthday by Near Modern Disaster

Saying Thank You with Capree Kimball

Night Owl Paper Goods thank you card

Growing up, my mother encouraged me to always be grateful for every opportunity, good gesture, or bit of service that came my way – and to express it in words and writing. To this day, I’m still a strong believer in the hand-written “Thank You” card. Of course, my love of stationery and pretty paper doesn’t hurt either. But really, with beautiful cards like these, there’s no excuse not to!

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Elum Calypso thank you cardStitched Cards thanks cardSmock thank you cardRuby Press Modern Block thank you cardMulberry and Moss Sydney thank you cardsOddball Press Father's Day thank you cardEgg Press thank you cards

Saying Thank You with Brandi Bernoskie

We Heart Paper Thank You

A favorite quote goes, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” For our first in an ongoing series on thank you notes, here’s Brandi.

I started writing thank you notes routinely after watching a lecture on time management given by Randy Pausch. Randy was an incredible professor and person and firmly believed that one of the best things we could do was thank other people for their help. There’s always a pile of blank thank you notes on my desk, making it easy to grab one and write the moment I think about it. What’s even more amazing is how much people appreciate a hand-written thank you — I’ve been thanked just for sending a sweet thank you. Here are some of my favorite thank you notes out there right now:

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Terrain Thank YouSteel Petal Press Thank YouKTF Design Thank YouRifle Paper Co. Thank YouPositively Green Thank You

Saying Happy Birthday with Carina Murray

Hammerpress bicycle happy birthday card

Carina Murray

When we decided to reach out to our friends to share some favorite cards with you, we immediately thought of Carina. Carina is a bit of a stationery guru.

Five years ago she founded Crow & Canary, a fine art card and gift representation company that keeps her busy traveling up and down the West Coast. Today she represents a delightful and eclectic mix, with letterpress, screen-printed and hand embellished cards at the core of the collection. You can find her sharing all things lovely on the Crow & Canary blog, and her travels and other musings on twitter. We’re so happy she agreed—here’s Carina with ten ways to say Happy Birthday!

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Night Owl Paper Goods Party Animals birthday cardDear Hancock natural happy birthday cardRock Scissors Paper typewriter birthday cardSusyJack Happy Snappy Birthday cardTwo Trick Pony birthday stripes cardGreenwich Letterpress friendship bracelet birthday cardCoral and Tusk birthday bear cardAble and Game haha thirty birthday cardThe Social Type magical birthday card