Tag: holiday gift giving

Gift Ideas, Hot Tips , , , , , , ,

Friday’s Hot Tip: Casey Robin Prints and Stationery

by Corinne November 28, 2014

It’s Black Friday. For many folks, that means long lines at big box stores or frantic Internet searches for the best price(s) on The Most Perfect Gift Ever. For me, it means doing as little as possible because I am still recovering from Thanksgiving.

Should you opt to shop online this holiday season, I present you with a delightful option for those you know who love whimsical prints or stationery. Casey Robin is a visual development artist who’s worked at Disney; take a look at her portfolio and you’ll see the Disney influence. (You should also watch “Chalk,” the animated short she put together with several fellow summer associates at Walt Disney Animation Studios.)

I’ve interviewed Casey a couple of times – once for an article and another time for a Disney-themed writing project. She is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever worked with, and while we have yet to meet in person, the photos I have seen of her make me think she’s actually a Disney character come to life: blonde pixie haircut, big beautiful eyes, mischievous smile. I adore this young woman.

A few months ago, after I completed work on the Disney character project Casey helped me with, she sent me a sampler of notecards featuring her original designs. It’s hard to choose which ones are my favorites, as the images just pop with color and whimsy, but I’m a big fan of the Lady Bugs series.

Click on each image to be taken to purchase the cards in her Etsy shop, or visit her Etsy shop directly to browse through available prints, as well as the stationery.

Casey Robin, Etsy, stationery, cards, gift cards, thank you cards
Sweet thank you card by Casey Robin (excuse the bad lighting)
Casey Robin, Midsummer Nights Dream, faeries, fairies, fairy, whimsical art, artwork
Midsummer faeries note card series by Casey Robin. Clockwise from top right: Lantern, Bluebell, Poppy, Snowdrop.
Casey Robin, Lady Bugs, notecards, artwork, prints, starlets, Hollywood
Lady Bugs notecards by Casey Robin – Bluey Holiday, Marilyn Monarch, Betty Bumble and Amelady(bug)
Casey Robin, cats, cat lovers, cat lady, note cards, stationery
Cat Parade notecards by Casey Robin. Perfect for corresponding with cat lovers!
Hot Tips , , , , , , , ,

Friday’s Hot Tip: Moxie’s Mini Drugstore Kits

by Corinne November 14, 2014

We’ve all been there: you’re at the office, out with friends, shopping, eating, whatever. You spill a little marinara sauce on your shirt, get a paper cut, discover your period has started early, feel the early pangs of heartburn. But you’re nowhere near a store to get what you need to feel a bit more put together, or it’s inconvenient to find one. What do you do?

mini drugstore kit, first aid supplies, emergency kit for purse, drugstore items
Moxie’s Mini Drugstore Kit

Enter the Moxie’s Mini Drugstore Kit. (I just made that name up. Catchy, eh?) It’s a little pouch containing various and sundry items you may need in the event of a not-dire-but-mildly-upsetting emergency. I’ve made a few kits for myself and recently I realized, hey, other folks might dig this, and it’s a great holiday gift, too.

What you need:

  • Small bag or pouch. You can repurpose a cosmetic bag, as I did with one I got from Jo Malone (shown above), or you can buy an inexpensive pouch or bag at a drugstore, dollar store or office supply store. If the kit is going to get banged around a lot in a backpack or totebag, then you may want to use a hard acrylic box or tear-resistant fabric instead of plastic.
  • 1-2 pill boxes or containers – these Nalgene vials, hinged boxes, or hinged lid jars are good. You can also repurpose a small candy or mint tin; just wash and dry thoroughly before you use it.
  • Drugstore stuff – This is where practicality and ingenuity meet. You’ll want the basic first aid stuff: adhesive bandages, alcohol swabs, aspirin, antacid pills, individually wrapped throat lozenges. Beyond that, you can add items such as:
    • stain remover pen – Tide To Go pens are my preference
    • bobby pins
    • safety pins
    • dental floss
    • mini toothbrush – Wisp by Colgate are perfect for this
    • feminine hygiene products – tampons, pantiliners, pads, Instead SoftCup
    • lip balm
    • hand wipes – individually wrapped wipes are the most compact
    • sewing kit
    • pocket pack of tissues
    • eye drops
    • hand lotion – travel size
    • sunblock – travel size
    • antibacterial gel
    • nail file and/or nail clippers
    • breath mints, strips or spray

Once you have everything, it’s time to start putting together your kits. Fill the pill boxes with a selection of pills, separating them as needed and labeling the boxes. (If you’re doing this for someone else, you may want to leave the pill boxes empty so they can fill them with their preferred over-the-counter medicines.) With the single-use items, such as the bandages and handwipes, insert at least 3 of each – these items should be flat & compact enough that they won’t take up much room in the bag.

Moxie's Mini Drugstore Kit, personal hygiene, first aid, emergency kit
The Moxie Mini Drugstore kit from my backpack contains all these items inside a green mesh pouch.

Pro Tips:

  • If you’re putting together more than one kit, then you may want to look for items at the dollar store.
  • If you tend to grab hotel freebies such as lotion, mouthwash or sewing kits, these are the perfect size to include.
  • Making kits for yourself? Be sure to do a kit inventory every 3-6 months to refresh your supplies, check expiration dates, etc.
  • These kits in a larger size are also great for bridal parties (crazy things are known to happen in the hours before a wedding), new moms (add baby wipes, a pacifier, and other baby supplies), college grads off to their first job (perfect to tuck in their desk at work).