I recently wrote an article featuring 20 ways to say congratulations to someone who is celebrating a special occasion. There are lots of things that you can do to congratule someone ranging from simply saying that you’re proud of them to buying a pricey gift for them.

What I discovered when writing that article is that the methods of saying congrats that interest me most are the ones that have a personal touch. Here’s the Top 5 homemade personal congratulations gifts that I’d like to receive if I was celebrating an accomplishment:

1. Scrapbooks. I love making scrapbooks and I’d really love to receive one from someone as well. A scrapbook of the events leading up to the celebrating would be ideal for me!
2. Home video or photo slideshow. Even better than a scrapbook is an active visual presentation put together to celebrate the event!
3. A letter. There are some accomplishments that are best celebrated with a letter. The letter might describe why someone is proud of you or offer you advice for the new stage of life that you’re entering. I’d love to get this one from my parents or other older people in my life.
4. A song. Even better than a letter would be a song or poem!
5. Cookies! Someone who didn’t know me very well but who wanted to congratulate me would not go wrong with a home-baked gift!

What would you want someone to make for you to say congratulations?

Tags: congratulations gifts, diy, gifts, homemade presents, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, say congratulations, ways to say congrats

One of the funnest blog carnivals that I’ve been a part of recently was a blog carnival called Make It From Scratch which, as the name suggests, consists entirely of posts about things that you can make yourself. A number of these posts were recipes for things that you can cook, including my recipe for vegetarian bigos.

Other recipes that can be found through the links at this blog carnival include recipes for almond milk, peanut butter balls, pasta carbonara, fruit tarts, tiramisu, pizza, pecan tassies, chocolate cake, chocolate mousse and even sauteed gourds and Irish potato candies. In addition to these recipes there were some other food and kitchen tips on things like dicing onions and canning.

Food isn’t all that you can make from scratch though. Other cool posts in this carnival were about kitty litter, fabric softener, paper flowers, cork mud mats, recycled Easter baskets and even how to make a chicken waterer. Don’t they all just make you want to go and make something?! That’s what I’m about to go do …

Tags: bigos, blog carnival recipe, cooking, diy, hub pages, kathryn vercillo, make it from scratch

One of the things that I’ve been looking into lately is how to create online storefronts where you can sell your artwork. I’m in love with the Etsy stores and constantly check out what creative people are doing with their little online storefronts there.

However, Etsy isn’t the only game in town. In fact, it’s not necessarily the best option if you are someone who doesn’t create your own handmade stuff because that site is all for people who do DIY crafts or who sell vintage items.

For those of us who want to easily design something online that doesn’t necessarily have quite the same DIY feel but which can be turned into a cool product for sale, there are many other options. Several stores let you easily upload your own designs or choose from various designs on the site and then create products there like T-shirts and coffee mugs and posters and calendars.

The store that I’ve been looking at most for this kind of stuff is Zazzle. However, there are several other good options as well including CafePress, Spreadshirt, and Printfection.

Tags: arts and crafts, cafepress, diy, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, online retailers, online stores, zazzle