olive you valentine

February 2, 2016

Aaah, yes. I still have a little more ‘pun’ up my sleeve for Valentine’s Day! Today, a valentine that appeals to the over 21 crowd!

My idea for ‘olive you’ was to incorporate a martini – seems logical when talking olives, right? I knew I wanted almonds coated in white chocolate, tinted green, with a red accent for the ‘pimento.’ I actually pitched the idea to a small, local candy store and they created some at my suggestion! So perfect for my valentine idea!

Next, I created a topper with a martini glass and the ‘olive you.’ I love it!

There are certainly more ways to incorporate the martini theme using this idea. The completed candy almond packet could be tied onto a miniature (‘nip’) bottle of vodka! Or, the almonds could be wrapped in a martini glass with an ‘olive you’ card tied to the stem!

I hope you are inspired to use the ‘olive you’ theme for your valentine!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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free candy valentine printables

January 26, 2016

I promised some free valentine printables and I always follow through on my promises! Today, I am sharing two cute toppers I created for Valentine’s Day treats.

Printed on card stock, they can be cut out (four to a page), folded, and stapled to a cellophane bag filled with Valentine’s Day candy for a fun surprise gift!

I created two designs. Both of my designs were inspired by the candy bar at Ikea! Have you seen the candy by the pound at your local store? I fell in love with the look (and taste) of the licorice candies that looked exactly like a piece of chalk – to me anyway! How perfect for a cute pun! So, I came up with these chalkboard looking toppers…

Aren’t they perfect? Click here to download the printable.

My second design inspiration came from the gummy lips at the Ikea candy bar. Of course, candy gummy lips just scream Valentine’s Day! For these, I used a “kisses” topper. With this topper, if you can’t find gummy lips, you can always use candy kisses. Click here to download the printable. (As I often do, ir you prefer, you can substitute the staples for two punched holes and ribbon.)

On both designs, I left room on the back to write a “to” and “from.”

I plan on creating one more design for a candy topper that is a little more “adult” ;) in theme – I will share that one next Tuesday.

I hope I have inspired you to create some candy Valentine’s Day gifts!

Thanks for stopping by. Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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love you to pieces

January 19, 2016

So far, the valentine ideas I have shared involved puns and treats. But, it is possible to be ‘punny’ with other types of gifts as well. Today, I am sharing a gift of a painted canvas.

I have made this gift for a new baby, but it can easily be made as a Valentine’s Day gift. It can be done with traditional Valentine’s Day colors of pink or red or with a color to match a specific décor.

In my case, I wanted to use lavender and gray to match the room of the gift recipient. I also decided to personalize the gift by adding the baby’s name.

I started with an 8” square canvas. I used acrylic paint in lavender and gray to paint the entire surface. After that was dry, I used a pencil – with a very light hand – to draw a heart and the writing I intended to add to use as a guide.

Next, I used an oil paint marker to add “love you to pieces” and the personalization I wanted, writing over the pencil marks.

I used Mod Podge with a matte finish to add the “pieces.” I painted the penciled heart shape, and the places below the heart that I wanted the glitter to attach, with the Mod Podge. Then, I sprinkled gold glitter onto the painted areas. The main part of the heart got a thick coat of glitter while the bottom section was sprinkled lightly.

That’s it! Doesn’t it make an adorable little Valentine’s Day gift for someone special? I hope I have inspired you to make one!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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valentine pillow box diy

January 12, 2016

Yes, I am still making ‘punny’ valentines! Today, I want to show you how easily you can make a pillow box to use for some Valentine’s Day treat boxes. All you need is a cardboard tube and a paper cocktail napkin! For my treat box, I am using napkins that have a graphic of river rocks that is very appropriate considering what I plan to put into the container – candy rocks!

If you don’t have a napkin with a pattern you like, you can use any wrapping paper or decorative paper you choose. By using a cardboard tube and a paper napkin I already had, I am creating my pillow box at no cost.

The first step is to cut a piece of napkin that will cover the tube. Use spray adhesive to spray the wrong side of the napkin. Roll the tube over the paper napkin to cover. Once the cardboard is covered, flatten the tube. At one end of the tube, push each side into the middle of the tube, one side at a time. (See photo below – bottom right.) Fill the tube with your desired treats. Fold the open end of the tube in the same manner you did for the closed end. Simple, right?

Such a fast and easy way to create a Valentine treat container! You can decorate your container like I did with a chalkboard sticker and ribbon, or in any way you choose. Now, you just need to come up with the corny pun to go with your treat! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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january book giveaway!

January 1, 2016

Happy New Year, my friends! Not only is it the end of 2015, but it is also the end of the month and time for a new giveaway. Since it is the start of a new year, I have something different planned for this month. Instead of a book title, I am gifting a set of journals and some pretty new pencils!

The idea is to start 2016 with plenty of new ideas and documented dreams right from the start! I am hoping to inspire your creative spirit and to encourage you to write about your dreams and goals instead of deciding to give up something or to come up with a resolution from the typical list of 10 or 12 everyone you know seems to also come up with.

Leave me a comment and you will be entered to win the journals and pencils. Good luck!

The winner of last month’s giveaway, Birds of a Feather coloring book by Vicki Sawyer, is Mari. Mari’s name was chosen randomly from the comments I received. Congratulations and thank you to everyone that left a comment to enter the giveaway! Send me an email Mari and let me know where to send the coloring book and coloring pencils! Enjoy!

For those with Instagram, this month’s challenge is to share a photo that gives a glimpse of your goals and dreams for 2016…use your imagination to share your dreams using hashtag #pleasuregram! Can’t wait to see what you share!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Wishing you many new dreams for 2016!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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a little place on the water

December 29, 2015

Okay, I didn’t get this past weekend off and I am working three jobs this week, but I did get to spend Christmas Day with the people that matter the most to me and it was pretty darn special. I hope your day was as wonderful as mine!

Because Friday will be the month’s book giveaway, I am sharing a quick field trip today…a few photos I took of a little getaway by the water I was lucky enough to visit…this is a detached family room that is pure heaven! Yes, please. I’ll take one! This is the type of place my dreams are made of!

Enjoy the photos and enjoy the end of 2015 and ushering in 2016!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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seas & greetings

December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas dear friends!

My wish for you is to be surrounded by those you love. The very best of the season to you!

And, remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie xo

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putting it all together

December 22, 2015

I have started to wrap gifts and I am having some real fun – using beach totes, wicker baskets, and wooden trays to package and display gifts for my sea glass themed holiday! I thought I would take a few quick minutes to show you how I am incorporating the things I have been making and sharing with you.

Remember the crab on the gift tag from this post? He is looking good with my sea glass colored dotted wrapping paper. :) And, the feather I made in this post is looking great with it as well!

The bottle labels I shared in this post are exactly what I needed to make the wine bottles for my table – as well as the ones I am giving as gifts – look right on theme!

You can see that the sea glass tags I shared in this post look great as well!

That is how I used some of my creations! I so do love a good theme – and, it is so fun when everything starts coming together! I have plenty more to do as I continue with my wrapping! I will try and share more photos to Instagram and Facebook as I continue. How are you doing with your wrapping?

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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christmas magic

December 18, 2015

The best time to visit a favorite store as the holidays approach is when Christmas gift buying has been completed. Sound crazy? Well, once the pressure is off to find the perfect gifts, the whole shopping experience changes. The perspective shifts from one that has been focused on gift buying to one that is enjoying the shopping experience in an entirely different way.

For me, I can genuinely appreciate my surroundings and soak in the effort that has been made to create a beautiful holiday aesthetic. If I should find a little something special to add to a stocking – fine. But, there is no real urgency to the gift buying.

You probably know by now that one of my favorite stores is Grace. Today, for Friday field trip, I am sharing some of the wonderful holiday aesthetic created by this marvelous shop in Niantic. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a wonderful weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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a few more gift tags

December 15, 2015

It is time to start wrapping gifts! I am way behind on my planned Thanksgiving weekend wrapping session!

I have all the supplies together. I made the sea glass gift tags and the painted metallic feathers to adorn my packages…But, wait…shouldn’t I have a couple sea creatures to add to the mix?

I decided to make a couple more quick gift tags and they are super simple to create in no time flat!

For the crab, I used a teeny, tiny rubber stamp I found at the craft store. The size alone makes it super cute! I added it to card stock using an aqua colored ink stamp pad. To add the holiday sparkle, I just used a cotton swab to add a few dabs of aqua sparkle craft paint. Super easy and super cute!

The starfish gift tag took even less supplies to create than the crab gift tag. I used a light gray watercolor marker to draw a quick, free hand outline of a starfish. To this too, I added a few dabs of acrylic metallic craft paint to give it a little more bling!