Gift Bag No More

How many times have you gone shopping for a gift and in the shopping cart you placed a gift bag that costs more than you want to pay? How many of you buy the cheapest gift bag you can get away with buying? (That's me.) How many of you have a gift bag full of gift bags that will probably never be gifted again?

If you said yes to any of those questions, this post may be for you. I was recently shopping for a little boy's birthday gift. After finding the gift I wanted to purchase I went to get a card and a gift bag. I found a reasonable card and began looking through gift bags, in the hopes of only going one store. I looked for about ten minutes and the cheapest one I could find was $4. I just couldn't spend that on a small gift bag, so I got in line to check out, annoyed that I had to make another stop.

As I was in line, in front of me stood a rack with recyclable bags. The light bulb came on! Why not buy a reusable bag, that's cute and useful, and save money, too? I got this bag for $1.99.

It was just as cute as a gift bag, if not cuter, perfect for a boy and fit everything perfectly. It made me happy to give it and know that it won't be tucked away in a closet, broken or thrown away.

I later did some research on where to find more and found out that you can find practically any bag you want- any shape, size, color, pattern, print and price.

I found this adorable classic Dick and Jane print bag. It would be perfect for a baby shower or baby gift. You can check it and more out here.

I found another website called Baggu Bags, that creates all types of bags out of recycled cotton. You should look at them. They have so many that I quickly fell in love with. Especially anything in this green stripe.

I also found a lot of bags being made out of recycled goods and the proceeds went to help a cause. This gorgeous lunch-size bag goes to help give employment to women in third world countries. You can see and more here.

In a world where you can find so much that is made to help our world, why not buy something like this?

Happy hoodies.

I am all for deals and steals. I am all for do-it-yourself crafts. I am all for finding them and sharing them with people I know. What's a good deal if you can't share it?!

So press rewind for a minute... Monday, the boys headed off to Atlanta and Jennie and I thought, "What could we do for just us girls?" We were leaving the office and I remembered how badly we had been wanting sweatshirts (especially in Tennessee weather) and that I had seen some plain ones at a store I shop at recently. I told her my idea-"Let's make sweatshirts!" So we went and bought these:

...and I went to work preparing a stencil and paint products.

First, I attempted painting our logo: no luck. (If you know me well, you know my level of o.c.d. and this didn't help it!) Next, I attempted an iron-on: no luck, again.

Since either of those didn't work how I had hoped, I thought of calling a friend who works for a screen printing business to see what it would cost to have two sweatshirts printed...Well, the cost was about $100 with printing, art charge, next day service and setup fee! No thank you. BUT, she referred me to this place:

Big Frog Custom T-shirts. I had never heard of this place but my friend said I definitely should try them. With wanting these back in 24 hours, most places won't and can't (if they do it costs way to much) but Big Frog specializes in turn-around printing, meaning you can come in and have things printed and get them back the next day! I went over there and took in my sweatshirts...and the outcome blew me away! Not only would they print on items I bought elsewhere (a lot of places won't do that) but I was in and out  in 20 minutes!!! She took our logo from my computer and put it on her flash drive, emailed it to the printer and five minutes later out popped an awesome sweatshirt.

Another great thing about Big Frog is the pricing. I got those two printed for a little over $10 each. It's the same amount you would pay for iron-on transfers at any craft store (or more). For $40 dollars, I got two awesome hoodies and had them printed with our awesome logos! I couldn't be more pleased with them. I took Jennie hers and she was equally excited. To add a personal touch, I added our names to the back. If you need something printed definitely try Big Frog. You won't be disappointed!