personalized pens.

there have been a lot of tutorials floating around the blogosphere, with ideas for hand-made gifting. i have to be honest... they're all pretty things, but i just don't have the time to handmake things. in fact, we all know what happens when i try to make handmade things... i half-finish, and then it becomes the family joke that i still owe my mother-in-law a hand-knit sock from christmas, 2006.

but i do think handmade gifts can be more meaningful, and easier on the budget... which is why i'm going to share with you one of my favorite handmade gifts...


it's a pen (one of those RSVP pens... pretty cheap), and a strip of paper from our wedding invitation :) i love this pen, because it's still got ink (3.5 years later... though i admit that i don't use it that frequently), and every time i see it, it reminds me of our special day :)

my friend, jessica, made this for me. she cracks me up, because she's an incredibly intelligent woman who is a great wife and a working mom who likes to de-stress by making her office supplies chic. [seriously, you should see the binder clips she dresses up!] and those of us who wear both the work and family hats know how important it is to find that little thing that helps you relax.

and really and truly, all it takes to make this is a small piece of paper, cut the length of the ink shaft, and tucked in there! i personally think this makes a great "here ya go" gift for all those people you maybe should get something for, but don't want to have to spend much money.

here's a close-up.


this particular one is so meaningful to me, because i designed our wedding invites [meaning i slaved over photoshop to find a pattern i liked and to get the aqua and red right... one of those projects you *almost* kill yourself over], so this is a nice little reminder to me of our special day, but also that all that work i put into the details of our wedding was worth it :)

in other news, i put up a new poll on the page of the blog... it's about the rewards tickets i got from southwest this past week, and where you think i should plan to use them :) [note, i spelled san francisco wrong... because i'm brilliant like that... but people have already voted, and i can't change it without losing their votes, so consider it my little reminder to myself to edit what i write.]

linking to...
tattertots and jello
funky junk interiors
what allie makes
the diy show off
the girl creative
between naps on the couch
keeping it simple