Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Better Than a Gift Bag

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I were invited to our neighbors to celebrate their little boys first birthday. My husband immediately put his foot down, we are getting him a football!! A football for a 1 year old?! I don't know about that dear. Luckily, I came across a foam Toy Story child's football before my husband went all man and bought the NFL version for a 1 year old! I knew I wanted to get him something else, and something a little more practical so I planned on keeping my eye out.

One day I went into Target and as soon as I entered the door I spotted the $1 isle. I love looking through there and seeing what you can find. I saw this bright blue bin for $1 and I fell in love with it. I immediately thought about the birthday party, and how awesome it would be to fill the bin up with some toys and decorate it so they can get a little use out of it, instead of just wasting wrapping paper or spending $5 on a bag that would probably be destroyed. I ended up buying the bin, and a cute brown and polka dot blanket for the little one, and a set of sippy cups!

Later on that week, I went into Michael's to pick up some scrap booking supplies to document our honeymoon. I also knew that I wanted to either paint an "E" (the first letter of the little one's name) or decorate the bin somehow. I came across the cute curly E, on sale for under a dollar. I immediately grabbed it, this would require no painting or decorating just a dab of hot glue to secure it, perfect!! I also picked up a clear bag for 99 cents, that I planned on putting the bin in and tying a ribbon around it. I almost had everything I needed....

The following day I went to Walmart to pick up the pictures that I had printed for my scrap book and noticed a ton of ribbon on clearance. I came across the blue, white, and brown striped ribbon on sale for a $1, SOLD! It was the perfect match! I now had everything I needed for the cutest gift bag, including the gifts!

Check out my supplies:



The finished product was definitely a crowd pleaser. I got a lot of compliments on it, and  I absolutely LOVED the way it came out! I loved the way it looked and I loved that I spent $4 dollars on it, probably the same amount if not less then what I would of spent on a gift bag and tissue. And now he has the cute bin to reuse! Check it out.



It turned out to be a great birthday for him, and he really enjoyed the cake! Look at this cutie pie!





Thanks for reading! :)

28 comments:

  1. Kelli, we absolutely adore the basket! So practical and decorative!! I will definitely be using baskets instead of giftwrap in the future!!!

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  2. Here from Making the World Cuter- this gift turned out great! Good thinking using the chunky letter on the front- makes it even better! :) Hope you have a great week!

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  3. What is an absolutely adorable idea!!! I can't wait to use this idea soon! Thanks for linking up to the weekend soiree at Homemaker in Heels! :) I am your newest follower! Have a great week!
    Crystal
    HomemakerinHeels.com

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  4. it looks stunning. Love the idea of the letter on the box.

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  5. Very cute! I will have to remember this! I hate spending money on gift bags or paper since it doesn't last but a few minutes :( Thanks for sharing.

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  6. So cute... I do this sometimes for my sister in-laws birthday presents.

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  7. Cute! I love using bins or baskets to give gifts in. It's so nice because they are reusable and handy.

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  8. Very cute! I love the dollar section at Target and Michael's!

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  9. Cute idea! I love a bargain! Handemade gift is the best!

    http://itsabouttimemamaw.blogspot.com/2011/08/fav-craft-tutorial-contestant-reminder.html

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  10. I as well love the dollar section at Target! I love the idea of using a bucket instead of a gift basket.

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  11. Adorable, I love the idea. Thanks for sharing.
    New follower stopping by from the Creative Bloggers Hop. Hope you stop by for a visit. http://grandmabonniescloset.blogspot.com/

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  12. You are right... this is so much better than a gift bag. I love it!

    I just found your site through a blog party and am happy to be a new follower. I would love for you to link your post up at my Savvy HomeMade blog party at

    http://www.homesavvyatoz.com/blog-party-4

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  13. Turned out so cute! Love the dollar aisle at Target, too. Would love for you to link this up to my (wow me) wednesday link party going on right now on my blog. :) (I'm a new follower, too!)

    Ginger
    gingersnapcrafts.blogspot.com

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  14. I love this idea and I agree it is much better than a gift bag. Thank you so much for sharing and for linking up to Show and Share #2. I hope you are having fun at the party :)

    A mommy's life...with a touch of YELLOW
    tyandwhitneyulrich.blogspot.com

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  15. Definitely better than a gift bag!

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  16. Very nice--the ribbon is perfect touch! Thanks for linking this post up to Share the Love Wednesday!
    Mary

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  17. What a cute bin! I'm sure Mommy will put that to good use! I can always use more things to store my daughter's things in!

    http://www.waywardgirlscrafts.com/

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  18. What a great idea! :) Thanks for linking to Thrifty Thursday!

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  19. Really appreciate you linking up this fantastic post at the Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop. Hope you'll continually share your creativity with us at the weekly party :)

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  20. Really cute! I love how you added the letter E. That was a great touch!
    Ky
    http://burstofcreations.blogspot.com/

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  21. Thank you so much for linking up at Savvy HomeMade Monday, Kelli. We are partying again and I hope you will stop by! :)

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  22. Love this! It's super cute, and I'm going to feature it on my blog. Be sure and come grab a button!

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  23. I really Love this! And I love the "E"!

    I would love it if you would share this and/or any other projects you have been up to at Tuesday Talent Show at Chef In Training Tomorrow! Plus there is going to be a fun giveaway too! Thanks so much and I hope to see you there!
    -Nikki
    http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

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  24. So great!! I toasted you today!

    http://polkadotsonparade.blogspot.com/2011/08/toast-of-tuesday_30.html

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  25. That's a great idea, especially for a boy! And personalizing(the E) is always a good thing! Thanks for sharing on Fancy This Fridays!!

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  26. this really is such a neat idea! Thanks so much for linking up to Tuesday Talent Show! I would love to have you stop by and link up again tomorrow with more great projects!
    -Nikki
    http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

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  27. Good ideas! I like the way you express your idea and the topic you choose. KEep on your sharing! I appreciate it. olive oil gift bags

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