Category "$20 or Less"

Easy Peasy Oreo Popcorn Recipe | Edible Gift

Princess Diana - October 28, 2014 - $20 or Less, Christmas, Food & Drinks

I discovered something at the age of 32. No, it wasn’t the secret of life. But close! Oreo popcorn.

I’ve tried many different flavors of popcorn in my life, but never this. My mother-in-law brought some home from a party she attended, and my life has never been the same since!

I obtained the name of the store that sold this tasty treat because I planned on buying some for my son’s birthday party. Then I thought, “Waaaaaaait a minute. They can’t be that hard to make!”

I was right y’all. All it takes to make them are three ingredients. Easy peasy!

Halloween Monster & Zombie Spray

Queen Darlene - October 23, 2014 - $20 or Less, Kids, Party Favors

Older kids love dressing up in scary Halloween costumes like monsters or the latest craze – zombies! But the little ones often hate scary costumes and anything to do with monsters.

I have a fun gift idea that will help younger children get rid of any scary monsters and zombies. Monster & Zombie Spray! It’s like bug spray that gets rid of bugs but this special formula gets rid of monsters and zombies instead! It also smells good and doesn’t harm the skin.

I know, Halloween is not a typical gift giving holiday. I mean purchasing the kids’ costumes and candy is a gift in itself, right?! But… this gift is just too fun not to give!

HOW TO MAKE MONSTER & ZOMBIE SPRAY

Safety LED Lights Keep Children Visible on Halloween Night

Princess Diana - October 21, 2014 - $20 or Less, Kids

httpvh://youtu.be/R1u007zk5NI

When the sun goes down and sky turns black, the real thrills and chills of Halloween begin. I love a good scare and that’s why I pay people to scare me… at haunted houses.

On the other hand, I hate a bad scare – like a car almost running over your child while trick-or-treating because his dark-colored costume made him hard to see. Halloween is supposed to be scary, but the thought of something like that happening to my child is terrifying and sends chills up my spine!

According to SafeKids.org, children on average are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year.

Let’s be realistic, kids won’t be the ones to think about their own safety on Halloween night, so it’s up to us adults to make sure they stay visible to cars as they walk up and down the neighborhood streets trick-or-treating.

Parents and family members can make sure this happens with this thoughtful gift idea for Halloween – Safety LED Lights that blink and come in different colors and shapes so kids will think it’s cool and fun to wear.

Decorated Number Birthday Candles

Princess Diana - October 14, 2014 - $20 or Less, Birthday

Sometimes all it takes is some gold paint and rhinestones to take something from childish to stylish!

At the store, all of the birthday candles for sale look childish, especially the number birthday candles. No one over the age of 10 would actually want one on their birthday cake.

Unless… you gave those number birthday candles a make-over like I did!

For Queen Darlene’s 62^nd birthday, I bought number birthday candles in the shape of a 6 and a 2 from the dollar store and blinged them up. Saying that Queen Darlene loves bling would actually be an understatement!

I used two items to transform the number birthday candles:

Gold metallic dimensional fabric paint (Also known as “puff paint” in the 80s.)
Rhinestones

Hands of Love | Photo Gift Idea

Queen Darlene - October 9, 2014 - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Gifts for Him

httpvh://youtu.be/wukqoBeDhag

Hands are a beautiful thing because of all of the different ways they express love.

The hands of your parents and grandparents are the ones that held you for hours as a baby, wiped your tears when you cried, placed the Band-Aid on your skinned knees, threw the ball to teach you “catch,” held your bike up as you learned to ride it, showed you how to measure ingredients when baking cookies, and reached in their wallets to give you a few extra dollars to go out with your friends.

Their hands also taught you how to write your name, work math problems and start a lawn-mower. I’m sure you can think of a zillion more things their loving hands have helped you with throughout your life.

My son and I thought it would be a meaningful gift to capture pictures of both of his grandparents’ hands and give them to family member for Christmas. Dustin came up with the idea to take pictures of the things they enjoy doing now.

Baby Bump Congratulations Cards for Mothers-to-Be

Princess Diana - September 30, 2014 - $20 or Less, Baby Shower

Do you know someone who is pregnant? I’m sure you told the person, “Congratulations!”

pregnancy-baby-bump-contratulations-card

Baby bump congratulations card by Hallmark

When I was pregnant with my first baby, my co-worker, Jody, congratulated me and gave me this amazing card. At the time, I didn’t even know congratulations cards specifically for pregnant women and mothers-to-be existed!

The card showing a woman with a cute baby bump touched me emotionally. It expressed how happy Jody was for me to experience both the miracle of growing a baby inside me and the many joys of motherhood.

I proudly displayed the card on the shelf behind my desk. It was the only card like it I received during my pregnancy.

Play on Words Add Special Touch to Gifts

Princess Diana - September 25, 2014 - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Teacher Gifts

For my mother-in-law’s birthday, I bought her a gift card to a local shop that specializes in flavor infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars.

I knew she’d love it because my boss loved her Premium Olive Oil and Vinegar With State-Shaped Cutting Board gift that I gave her for Christmas from the same store.

I gave her a gift card so she could pick out her own flavors of olive oil and balsamic vinegar but a gift card just isn’t much fun to open. So what did I do?

I added a “thoughtful twist” to the gift card by creating a cute card on the easy peasy photo editing website PicMonkey. I combined a photo of my son, a chalkboard overlay, some doodle heart overlays, and text that said:

Oil always love my Mimi! Continue Reading

Passing on Important Life Lessons & Values

Queen Darlene - September 23, 2014 - $20 or Less, Catch All, Family, Kids

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Return with Honor – The Purpose of Life – To Make a Difference!

A powerful quote to live by and an important life lesson to teach children and grandchildren.

The Lillard boys – Joe, Sam and Luke are amazing kids! They are five, seven and 11 years old. Their grandfather, Dick, is the Chairman of where I work. Not only is he my boss, he and his family have become my precious friends.

This year was the first time all three boys traveled on a business trip together with grandparents and parents to Washington, D.C. to meet with Oklahoma’s congressional delegation.

We scheduled all day meetings and the boys were troopers going from building to building, meeting to meeting and sometimes waiting long periods of time. They were respectful when they met with congressional staff and the congressmen were extremely impressed! They looked so handsome in their suits!

Teddy Bears for Kids Involved in Domestic Violence

Queen Darlene - September 18, 2014 - $20 or Less, Catch All, Kids

My BFF, Linda, decided to donate a big box of her never-been-used teddy bears she used to have displayed in her office. Yes, she was a collector. She did not start out that way but through the years friends and family started giving her bears for birthdays, Christmases and celebrations.

These teddy bears will be used by law enforcement to comfort children involved in domestic violence so they’ll have a best friend to hug and to hold.

Linda enjoyed her stuffed animals but thought of a much better use for them. Children who could use their own BFF – best friend forever.

That’s where my husband, Randy, comes into this story. He volunteers as a deputy for the Logan County Sheriff’s Office. He gives his time to assist fellow officers patrol the 750 square miles here in Logan County, and he loves it! Continue Reading

Instant Photobooks Delivered Monthly | Groovebook

Princess Diana - September 2, 2014 - $20 or Less, Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Gifts for Me, Mother's Day

httpvh://youtu.be/jm8kGRjrcW4

Click. Click. Click. With the camera on our smartphones, we can quickly capture any moment with ease. Many of of us have hundreds of photos stored in our phones.

Besides the ones you’ve shared on social media, most of the photos you’ve taken on your phone have probably never been seen by another human being. That’s too bad!

You also probably don’t get many of them printed either. Heck no! That would be waaaay too expensive!

Or is it?

What if I told you that you could print 100 photos from your phone each month and have it shipped to you in a keepsake photobook for just $2.99? That’s the total price. No tax. No shipping and handling.