Tile Smile and cheap, cheap gift ideas!

I'm not sure how many of you were my "friends" way back when I made the announcement that we wouldn't be purchasing anything new this year (you can view that post on January 1st). I will say that we have done extremely well. The girls needed some clothing so we found some super cute stuff at Goodwill and our church consignment sale. I have posted "wanted" ads on our local Freecycle email loop and have received several of the items I was looking for. But this post isn't about that.

We had dinner with some dear friends a couple of months ago and I wanted to bless them with a gift. Remember, I couldn't buy anything new. So, here is what I came up with....

A glass jar (easy finds at Goodwill or your local thrift shop for pennies). Fill full of something yummy- in our case I filled it with free pecans my hubby collected from a friend's pecan tree. I also added an extra special treasure inside the jar. I bought this tile from the silent auction we hosted to benefit Reece's Rainbow back in October. It was made by Tile Smile and I adore Ms. Tile Smile! What a wondrous, Christian lady she is!!

Next, I just added some ribbon and coordinating fabric from my scrap box that I tore into strips. And viola! An extra special (inexpensive) gift for some treasured friends! Now these jars can be any size, filled with anything and topped by your favorite scraps and still look beautiful.

Here are the other 2 tiles I was blessed to win- this one is in my kitchen where I see it many, many, many times a day.

This one sits on my favorite old round wooden box on my hearth.

I challenge you, next time you need or just want to give something special try to do it for free! Or at least for pennies! Search those closets, drawers and pantries, ladies- you'll be amazed at what you can find.

And don't forget to check out Tile Smile. This lady does beautiful work and has so many to choose from! She even says "Custom Orders Always Welcome!". What a wonderful gift- get one personalized for a special occasion. Have some custom ones made to be installed in your back splash. Or do as I did and get some with sayings you love and scatter them here and there around your home. Oh, I just love it!

In Him,

E