2011 Gift Tag Round-Up

Okay folks, only one week left until the jolly old elf slides down your chimney bearing toys and Christmas joy. That means you only have 8 days to get everything wrapped and under the tree. My favourite part of wrapping gifts is the tag and with so many awesome (and free!) options being offered, there is no need to spend your money on the sticky labels from a big box store.

Here are some of my favourites that I came across in my searches. Any of these can be printed on card stock or full sheet labels and cut out.

Chevron Tags from Marry This

Bookmark gift tag by A House Full of Moxie
{download at Simply Modern Mom}

Blush Printables can always be counted on to have beautiful gift tags.

These traditionally coloured tags are this year's offering.

These round tags using the Skunkling font are also from Blush Printables.

These modern gold and purple tags are another Blush Printables design.

{download at The Sweetest Occasion} 

Modern red and green tags from domestifluff.

Feminine gift tags by Hello!Lucky.
{download at How About Orange}

These tags from Jones Design Company are available
in five different colourways.

Finally, if you are making any gifts or doing any canning, Frugal Living has various canning labels available for download. I particularly like these traditional ones.

Are there any labels you've come across that I missed?

Merry Christmas and happy wrapping!

Ode to Pinterest

If you are an avid blog-reading, internet-surfing, Twittering fool nerd person you probably come across several items of interest a day that you want to save for future reference. Recipes, products, photos, book reviews, design tips - I love them all! If you are at all like me you probably have a massive list of starred items in your RSS reader, a links folder in your email, photos saved on your hard drive or a Google document with a list of your most coveted items. Half the time you forget what you've actually saved or you know you bookmarked something, you just have no idea where. You've probably wished that you could gather all of these items in one place that not only lists a link to the item but a picture! and a price! and any other information you care to add! Oh, what joy that would bring! Luckily for you, such a place exists and it's called Pinterest.

I've heard Pinterest mentioned on several of the blogs I read and recently, thanks to a kind invitation, I've been able to try it for myself. And let me tell you, I'm in love! Pinterest has made "pinning" items for the future so much easier! All I had to do was add a little bookmarklet to my toolbar in Firefox and any time I come across something I like (as long as there is an image to pin) I can add it to one of my Pinterest boards. Neat and organized with everything categorized and in plain view.

Here are a few of the items I've pinned recently.

Source: spiritbeautylounge.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Source: jonathanadler.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Source: locallemons.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Source: notcot.org via Courtney on Pinterest

Follow me on Pinterest!

Printable gift tags

So you've picked out the perfect gift for everyone on your list, you have the wrapping paper and ribbon but you are stuck on the gift tag. You'd really rather not use the cheesy Christmas gift tags found in department stores and don't have the time to make your own. Why not download some awesome gift tags from your favourite artists for free?! You'd be amazed at the great options out there. Some come out with a new set every year but some of my favourites are several years old and standing the test of time.

Just choose your favourite and print on either card stock (punch a hole and attach with ribbon) or a whole page label and cut them out.

 West Elm has four different patterns available including this cute animal suite.

Their gift tags can be downloaded here.

These whimsical gift tags from A Fanciful Twist are available to download as a PDF here.

Crafty Carnival has baking labels and gift tags available. You can find the PDF for the gift tags here.

Camilla Engman offered gift tags in 2006 & 2007 and again this year.
The 2010 gift tags can be found here.

Bucklette is another place that you can find gift tags in various patterns. See them all here.

These cute tags from The Black Apple can be found here.

I love these bird tags from Creature Comforts. The PDF can be found here.

Then, of course, there are these colourful tags from Martha Stewart. The PDF can be found here.

These graphic tags from Paper Crave come in three different colourways. The PDF for the red and teal tags shown above can be found here.

These festive tags from Delight.com can be found here.

Last, but certainly not least, come these adorable tags from one of my personal favourites, Ashley G. She has two different sets available and the PDF for the set shown above can be found here.

Happy wrapping!

Gifted magazine

Looking for inspiration for a holiday project or just the right gift? ('It's never too early to start' is my motto!) Check out Gifted Magazine published by Creature Comforts Blog. It's a lovely little slice of Christmas heaven.

I particularly like the project ideas, like the one for fabric twist ties seen below, and their gift guides are spot on. You should be able to find something for everyone on your list!

Seen on Poppytalk.

E-Magazine round-up

The number of quality e-magazines out there is getting larger everyday. Here are a few that I have been enjoying.

Lonny magazine

Sweet Paul

Rue

By Fryd

Covet Garden (Canadian!!)

Vintage Printable

I discovered this site through an office makeover featured on Young House Love.



Vintage Printable is a collection of vintage illustrations that are in the public domain and free for download and printing. What a fantastic place to go for free artwork! Definitely a resource I will be making use of when decorating the guest room in our new house.

Best Star Wars synopsis ever!

I think my ovaries just exploded.

Who let Celine out?

As someone who has never been a big fan of Celine Dion I thought this post at fourfour and the included video was hilarious! Who knew she was so delightfully strange?

HA!

From xkcd.

Link roundup

The Good:

Nepalese Wrapping Paper. Made from the inner bark of a wild shrub called Lokta.

Atonement the movie. I am sooo looking forward to seeing this!

Elf Yourself. Upload 4 different photos and watch your friends and family dance.

The Bad and the Ugly:

$1200 for Hannah Montana tickets?! You have got to be joking.

Australian Santas banned from saying "ho, ho, ho" because it may offend some women.

It's gone viral

For all of the YouTube addicts out there, AOL's The Videologist presents the Best Viral Videos of 2007.

I think my favourite is still The Landlord from Funny or Die.

Sweet mother of pearl

Only watch the following PSA from WSIB Ontario's prevent-it.ca if you don't scare easily. I swear to always clean up any kitchen spills!

Podcast Love

If you've ever read Dan Savage's column Savage Love, you know that his advice on all things sex is often crude but always funny and insightful - he definitely doesn't sugar coat things.

On the recommendation of my friend Aaron I decided to check out his podcast, or lovecast as they call it. What I found was yes, full of naughty language, but also funny, interesting and informative. Definitely a good way to spend 40 minutes at work - just make sure you plug in your headphones.

Savage Love Podcast

For something a little more family friendly but no less humourous, check out Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe podcast from CBC Radio.

Stuart's Vinyl Cafe show is a CBC Radio mainstay and his hilarious stories about Dave, Morley, their kids Sam and Steph, and a cast of other neighborhood characters are even funnier when listened to.

What's your stereotype?

Because I have nothing else to post today here is a link to a funny blog that Kyenta sent out last week.

See if you can find one that applies to you. Here's mine:


Left Handed People Can Get Drunk From Drinking Candle Wax

GoogleTube

Check out one YouTuber's theory on what will happen once Google starts playing with YouTube.

Watch: GoogleTube

via. Table of Malcontents at Wired blogs

The evolution of beauty

Dove has always been known for promoting real and natural beauty and they generally use normal, but still beautiful, women in their advertising. It's refreshing to see a large corporation acknowledge the fact that most women aren't 5'10" and 115 lbs. Their latest commercial, called Evolution, takes a nice looking girl and transforms her into a billboard model, all in a 60 second spot. You've probably seen snippets of this commercial on TV and now you can watch the whole thing.

Watch: Evolution

Link of the week

Trying to cut down on what you carry around in your wallet? Try out the Jimi wallet. It is made out of hard plastic and has enough room for 5 cards on one side while the other side has a money clip that will hold three or four folded bills. It also comes in various colours to suit your style. If I didn't have so much crap I needed in my wallet, I just might try one for myself.

Link of the week

Are you interested in some knock-down, drag-em-out literary brawls? Check out The Morning News' Tournament of Books, "in which 16 of the past year’s best novels are pitted against each other in a battle royale for the coveted Rooster award."

I have to admit that I haven't read any of the books on this year's list but I'm pulling for Ali Smith's The Accidental because it sounds like an interesting story and well, it's the book I've heard the most about.

Link of the week

As some of you know, I work for a service that provides alternate format library materials to BC college students who have print impairments. Some students, especially those with learning disabilities, like to have the text on their computer screen read aloud while they follow along with the book. The problem is the screen reader software most students use, JAWS for Windows, is expensive and not everyone can afford it. If this is the case we usually recommend two free screen readers that students can download. One of these products is ReadPlease.

ReadPlease is an easy to use product that will read what is showing on your screen. It's not perfect but it's much better than the reader that comes with Windows. It uses a synthesized voice which can be difficult to understand but again, greatly increases the ease of learning for students. It's products like this one that only make my job easier.

Canadian Culture

We received an informational package from Canadian Heritage about their new website culture.ca. It looks really cool - check it out.