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Queen Darlene

Money Disguised as M&M’s Minis

Queen Darlene - October 9, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Graduation, Kids, Money

My Mother started this Madness of Masking Money as M&M‘s Minis.

Mom loved being a grandMother to My two boys. One of her favorites was Making things different than they appear.

Want to know how she disguised Money as M&M‘s Minis?

She purchased the M&M‘s Minis that come in a cylinder tube and reMoved all of the M&M‘s Minis. I think she Munched on them until there were no More.

The cylinder’s round opening is the perfect size for filling the tube with Marvelous quarters.

The small tube holds 56 quarters of Money worth $14 and the mega tube holds 72 quarters of Money worth $18.

Balloons, GREY GOOSE® & Suitcase Surprise

Queen Darlene - October 8, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Going Away, Retirement

It thrills me to see others use Sunburst Gifts ideas in their gift giving. Hiding gifts inside balloons seems to be a favorite.

Linda’s friend once mentioned that she wanted a small purple suitcase for her travels. When it came time to purchase a birthday gift, Linda remembered her friend’s comment and created a Suitcase Surprise.

Linda’s usual go-to birthday gift for her friend is GREY GOOSE® vodka since that is her favorite drink. This year Linda planned a surprise by placing individual small bottles of GREY GOOSE® inside balloons. Then she placed all of the balloons inside a purple suitcase.

When Linda’s friend opened her gift, the purple suitcase was totally unexpected. Linda then asked her to unzip the suitcase and that’s when she discovered it was filled with different colored balloons. Continue Reading

Wind Chimes | Sympathy & Condolence Gift

Queen Darlene - October 1, 2015 - Condolence

When someone you love passes away, it’s like a piece of your heart has been taken. We’ve all experienced it, and appreciate those who want to ease our pain.

Sympathy cards are usually the number one item sent. Thank goodness for Hallmark and other companies that make cards that eloquently express how we feel.

But for those times when you want to do more than send cards or flowers, what can you do?

My mother’s cousin passed away not too long ago. Bob was our favorite cousin hands down or should I say hands up because he was one of the few who knew sign language and could converse with my mother.

Bob, his wife, Ann and their four children, Larry, Beverly, Denise and Mark were intertwined with our family all our lives. We have many wonderful memories and my brothers and I wanted to do more than get a sympathy card. Continue Reading

2 Liter Fortune Bottle

Queen Darlene - September 30, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Graduation, Kids, Money

Here’s another clever gift idea to give money. It’s the 2 Liter Fortune ~~Cookie~~ Bottle.

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Fortune Cookie saying inside bottle cap.

Place candy and money inside a 2 liter bottle. At first, the recipient may be puzzled as to how you placed the candy and money inside. Some may even twist off the cap.

That’s when you say, “Look inside the cap.” There they will find a message similar to a fortune cookie.

Fortune cookies are always fun to open and read. I created “Your fortune is in the bottle” inside the lid for a birthday gift. It’s a great saying for a graduation gift too!

Things you will need:

2 liter bottle
Variety of candy. I like “100 Grand” and “Pay Day” candy bars.
Money – bills and coins.
Create a large label and gift tag for the pop bottle appropriate for celebrating a birthday, graduation, Christmas or any other occasion.
Create a saying for the inside of the lid by Googling “fortune cookie sayings” for ideas or make up your own
Ribbons
Scissors and tape
Exacto Knife

Baby Growth Calendar Photos

Queen Darlene - September 24, 2015 - $20 or Less, Baby Shower

Parents love to capture precious moments of their baby’s first year, especially how fast they grow every month. I have a unique, cute and easy photo idea for every month – a baby growth calendar!

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7 month, 8 month, 9 month, 10 month, 11 month, 12 month click to enlarge

My cousin took pictures of her baby girl with a large calendar desk pad. The photos consist of her baby lying on top of the calendar every month of her first year.

I’m sure it was easy at first but took several takes to get the photos just right when she started rolling or crawling. It’s all about creating memories, right?

She would write on the calendar 1st month, 2nd month and so on. This made for the most adorable baby pictures. Continue Reading

“Good as Gold” Dollar Coins

Queen Darlene - September 23, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Graduation, Kids, Money

Turning 60 is a big deal! It was only yesterday, we were young, going to college, getting married, raising kids and taking annual girl trips.

Our Friendship is Golden – Birthday Gift

The five of my closest girlfriends have always celebrated our birthdays in some way or fashion.

We love giving each other gifts. Sometimes we would see a comedian, a musical, or play together as a birthday treat. Many times we would go to the birthday girl’s favorite place to eat.

My favorite birthday gift is a night of dancing. I love my girlfriends who are as good as gold for staying out late to dance the night away!

After 40 years of friendship, we have exchanged about every possible gift you can imagine. Continue Reading

Humourous Birthday T-Shirt for Gramps

Queen Darlene - September 17, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday

I couldn’t have asked for a better father-in-law, a quiet, kind man with a fierce love for his family. Including his in-laws.

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This t-shirt is guaranteed to get laughs!

Gramps was never big on celebrating for himself but that didn’t keep us from always looking for that perfect gift. In later years, it was either about comfort or something humorous.

It’s difficult to find a birthday gift for an 80 year old grandfather that would make him chuckle!

Well… I did! I created a birthday t-shirt that looked like a “For Sale” sign with these words.

80 YR. OLD

ONE OWNER

Needs Parts, Make Offer

Treasure Chest Filled With Silver & Gold

Queen Darlene - September 16, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Kids, Money

Ahoy, matey! Did you ever wish for your very own treasure chest?

As a kid, I remember the classic Walt Disney’s Treasure Island movie about pirates searching for treasure chests filled with gold. I later took my kids to see Hook staring Robin Williams.

My all time favorite pirate though would be the Pirates of the Caribbean movies with Jack Sparrow played by Johnny Depp.

I never fell in love with a prince in a Disney movie but I would have become available for Jack Sparrow. Don’t tell my husband!

Kids love fantasizing about treasure chests filled with silver and gold. It’s a fantasy that you can easily make come true! Continue Reading

Bird Feeder & People Feeder | Unique Gift

Queen Darlene - September 10, 2015 - Birthday, Food & Drinks, Host, Housewarming

For a birthday gift, I received a beautiful mosiac glass bird feeder. It was too pretty to let the birds poop on it so I made a decision to turn it into something else – a people feeder!

We love having celebrations at our house for birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, Christmas, and all the holidays in between. Food and games are the center of our family celebrations.

On the kitchen table, I placed my decorative bird feeder filled with peanut and plain M&Ms. My family and friends loved the idea of nibbling from the “people feeder.”

Because the bird feeder aka people feeder was such a hit, I decided to give something similar as a gift.

I purchased a beautiful bird feeder and a giant bag of M&Ms and called my gift “Birds of a Feather Flock Together” since it’s perfect to use for get-togethers with family and friends.

It’s also a thoughtful twist for a unique housewarming gift. It can be used immediately for a delicious snack and a fun conversation piece!

Money Robe | A Silver Lining

Queen Darlene - September 9, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Money

In our family, we always give money of the age of the birthday gal or guy.

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No one will ever guess that their new house robe comes lined with cash!

When my brother turned 59, I was stumped to come up with a creative way to surprise him with his birthday money of $59.

I recently visited him and noticed his house robe needed to be replaced. So I purchased a green (and blue) robe to go with the money theme.

At first, I thought I would place the money in a pocket. Boring! Then it came to me, why not line the inside of the robe with 59 one dollar bills? Now that’s fun!

I laid out the open robe, spread out the dollar bills in even rows, and taped them in place. (Even though the tape worked, I would suggest using safety pins to make sure the bills stay put.)

I folded up the robe and tied the belt. A money robe! You could not see any of the bills since I had placed them below the waistline. Continue Reading