Fun Pantone Inspired Products

Host Bee — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 02:00:47 +0000

Fun Products Inspired by the Colors of Pantone!

With the recent announcement of the Color of the Year for 2010, a fabulous shade of turquoise, I thought that I’d take a look at some of the fun gifts inspired by these classic color charts!

Mugs

Choose your favorite shade from this assortment of ten colors! Or, an entire set of ten! (individual mugs, $14.99)

Travel Accessories

Each one of these items is really practical, but pack a punch of color with creative flair!

Laptop/Messenger Bag, $88
Passport Cover, $23.99
Coin Purse, $16.99
Luggage Tags, $14.99
Wallet, $39.99
Book Bag, $44.99

Playing Cards

Bring a touch of class to your card games with this colorful card set by Roger La Borde. (Playing Cards, $13.99*)

T-Shirts

Match your preferred strength to the relevant Pantone colour and get that perfect cup every time! (Pantone 4 Coffee T-Shirt, from $25.14)

Cufflinks and Key Rings

Designed to resemble the iconic Pantone chip, these cufflinks and key rings are made of stainless steel and feature coloured enamel in seasonal colors. (Cufflinks, $67; Key Rings, $45)

Each one of these items would make a fabulous gift for the creative people in your life – both those who create art and those who are inspired by it! What Pantone color are you?

You may also enjoy:

Color Trends for 2010

* It’s serendipity when the products we love are from the sponsors we love

Handmade Gifts for Teachers

Host Bee — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:21:24 +0000

Handmade Gifts for Teachers: Thoughtful Ways to End the School Year!

I’ve always believed that our children’s teachers deserve anything and everything that we can do for them! They instruct, mold, encourage and entertain our kids for eight hours every day of the school year! These early June days are the right time to be thinking about what we (and our children!) can do to thank them! Without getting too complicated or requiring too much artistic talent, here are two ideas that I think any teacher will enjoy!

Super Easy Scrap Book!

The idea of putting together a scrap book can be intimidating, but the approach I’ve taken in the past isn’t bad at all. Instead of giving kids (and their parents!) a pressure filled blank scrap book page, provide the children with an open ended sentence to complete. Some good examples are:

Mrs. Smith is a star teacher because….
I’ll never forget the day that Mrs. Smith….
My favorite day in 1st grade was….

Have one parent collect the replies and retype them on colorful paper using a fun font. Cut out the individual answers and paste them onto individual pages in a small scrap book. Decorate with stickers, class photos or rubber stamps. Viola – that’s it!

This idea also works well for special birthdays, graduations, anniversaries and other milestone occasions!

Perfect small memory books can be found at Amazon. The fabric covered 8-inch by 8-inch album is just right for this project and well priced at $12.99!

A Custom Quilt!

Not to fear, sewing is not involved in this project! At Oriental Trading, clever kits are available to create a fabulous class room quilt! The kit includes 24, eight inch, white canvas squares with pre-cut holes for tying the squares together with the included 96 pieces of multicolored ribbon! Also included are 80 colorful fabric markers in 8 colors.

Over the course of a few days, send 8 quilt squares home, along with 8 fabric markers, for the children to decorate for their teacher as they wish. Repeat the process until all of the students have had their chance to create their contribution. When all of the squares have been returned, assembly is easy using the fun ribbons!
(Classroom Quilt Starter Kit, $39.95, pictured right)

I hope that these ideas inspire you to take the lead in creating a sentimental and well deserved thank you gift for your child’s teacher!