gifts Archives | The Good Hearted Woman

The Best Board Games for Family Gatherings

Our top picks for the best board games for family gatherings, parties, reunions, and multi-generational groups. {Plus gift-giving advice for everyone on your list!}

^{This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.}

Whenever we get together with Mr B’s side of the family, we inevitably end up playing games. We play marathon rounds of Mexican Train dominos and Farkle, and penny ante poker like there is no tomorrow, and of course, board games. Lots and lots of board games.

The benefits of a long-standing family games tradition are manifold. When we sit down to play a game with the family, we set aside our phones and screens. We talk with one another. We find common ground. We make memories.

If board games are something your family enjoys, check out our Best Board Games picks to learn what you might want to add to your games cabinet this year. If family games is a tradition you’d like to kick-off, use our list to get you started on the right track. Either way, here are our top picks for the best board games for family gatherings, along with a little gift giving advice for everyone on your list!

Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride is the newest addition our board game collection, and one of our very favorite for family gatherings. Not only is the play interesting and engaging, but the game often inspires intriguing conversations as well.

In the simplest terms, the goal in playing Ticket to Ride is to build your own rail network to connect cities listed on your Destination. The game is easy to learn and provides hours of fun for families and experienced gamers alike. There are versions or expansion packs that cover just about any inhabited place on the globe, so hop on board!

Number of Players: 2 – 6+ players; more with expansions or if played in teams.
Time to Play: 30 – 60 minutes (according to the box). However, in our experience, the time can vary wildly based number of players and how much they like to visit with one another.
Who Can Play: Everyone, although younger players may need to team up with an adult. (Be sure to check out Ticket to Ride: First Journey for ages 6+.)

Gift Giving: Ticket to Ride makes a PERFECT gift for families, history buffs, travel enthusiasts, genealogists and genetic testing recipients (i.e., 23andMe, AncestryDNA, etc), and anyone who loves beautiful, well-conceived, entertaining board games.

Ticket to Ride offers a number of game versions, as well as expansion packs to add to the original game.

Ticket to Ride: Stand-alone Games

Each of these versions is a complete game and does not require the original version to play.

Ticket to Ride: Days of Wonder [Original]
Ticket to Ride: First Journey [For ages 6+]
Ticket to Ride: Sails & Rails
Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries
Ticket to Ride: Europe
Ticket to Ride: Germany

Ticket to Ride: Expansion Packs

Expansion packs require the trains and train cards from an original copy of Ticket to Ride or Ticket to Ride Europe to play.

If you already have a boxed set of Ticket to Ride and you’re ready to take it to the next level, check out this cool Ticket to Ride “Accessory Kit,” complete with Vintage Style Suitcase Storage Containers!

Codenames

Mr B and I were recently introduced to Codenames, and we love it! It’s easy to learn and play and can accommodate a wide variety of ages. Even people who don’t consider themselves “game players” will have a blast playing it.

Codenames is a social word game with a simple premise and challenging game play. Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates know the agents only by their codenames. The teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. There is also a cooperative variant where a single team tries to achieve the highest score they can by playing against the game itself.

Number of Players: 2 – 8+ players; more if played in teams.
Time to Play: 15 minutes [box]; 15 – 30 [our experience].
Who Can Play: Ages 8+ [recommended]; however, we have played the Code Names: Disney in teams with great success with players as young four.

Gift Giving: We highly recommend Code Names for families with young children, Potterheads, college students, Maxwell Smart fans, Disneyphiles, and anyone who loves an easy, fast-paced game that doesn’t require them relearn the rules every time they open the box.

Codenames in available in these versions:

Codenames [Original]
Codenames: Duet [Cooperative Gameplay; for 2+ players]
Code Names: Disney
Codenames: Marvel
Codenames: Harry Potter
Codenames: Pictures

Spontuneous

Spontuneous is one of my personal all-time favorite best board games for parties and big gatherings. As in, if I could only play one game on this list for the rest of my life, this Spontuneous would be IT.

Spontuneous is a simple party game that can be played by virtually all ages and musical tastes. A word is given and it’s a race to blurt out any song containing that word. For example: Can you think of a song with the word “COWBOY” in it? How about “HEART”? Blurt it out! Don’t worry about your voice, let it rip!

Spontuneous is a GREAT GAME for big, cross-generational groups; the more diverse the better. I’ve played it with well over 20 people at a time on more than one occasion, and it is Hilarious!

If you need yet another reason to get Spontuneous, check out all the awards it’s garnered: Music Teacher Approved, Mom’s Choice Gold Award, Dr. Toy’s Best Vacation Product, Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval, The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, Mom’s Best Hot Product Award, Creative Child Magazine Game of the Year, and Play Advances Language Award.

Number of Players: 4 – 10+ players; I’ve played this with up to 30 people.
Time to Play: 15 minutes [box]; 15 – 30 [our experience].
Who Can Play: Ages 8 & Up, 4-10 players/teams [recommended]. Spontuneous is one of the best cross-generational games I’ve ever played.

Gift Giving: Spontuneous makes an excellent gift for anyone even remotely musical on your gift list: musicians, music lovers, car karaokeists, harmonizers, grandpas who play bass on the weekends, cowboys, campers, college students, Randy Rainbow fans, classic rockers, Broadway divas, and especially that person in your friend group thinks that it is perfectly acceptable to break out into song at any given moment. (↩︎ Me!)

IMPORTANT: No talent required!! You absolutely do not need to be able to sing to play Spontuneous!

King of Tokyo

King of Tokyo is just good clean fun, as my Daddy used to say. I mean, who wouldn’t want to fight mutant monsters, gigantic robots, and other aliens to become the one and only King of Tokyo, right?!

The rules for King of Tokyo are simple and easy to learn, game play is quick, and even people that don’t think they like board games will jump right in. Roll the dice and choose your strategy: Will you attack your enemies? Heal your wounds? Improve your Monster? Stomp your path to victory!

Awards: Best Family Game, Best Children’s Game, and Best Party Game at the Golden Geeks 2012.

Number of Players: 4 – 10+ players; I’ve personally played this with up to 30 people.
Time to Play: 30 minutes [box]; 45 – 60 minutes [our experience].
Who Can Play: Ages 10+, 2 – 4 players/teams [recommended]

Gift Giving: King of Tokyo is great for families with kids, watchers of old Sunday afternoon movies, Robot Chicken fans, and anyone who is up for good game of robot wars with a space penguin.

Trivial Pursuit

OK, I just heard someone groan… I know, I know – Trivial Pursuit isn’t for Everyone. It’s just so… 80’s. But I have a head for trivia and a soft spot for this game, so it made the list.

Trivial Pursuit was extremely popular during my college years, and at that time, my circle was heavy with engineering students. The rules we played by reflected that imbalance to an unfair advantage. Our modified rules of play required non-engineering students [me] to answer all six questions on whatever card was drawn card in order to earn a pie piece. Conversely, they [engineering students] only had to answer the green “Science & Nature” questions to earn a pie slice, no matter what color square they actually landed on. Nevertheless, sometimes our games went on forever, because not one of us could ever answer the orange “Sports” questions. Luckily, nowadays I have Mr B on my team, and he is a Sports Trivia Master, so we have all our bases covered. 😉 Good times.

The Trivial Pursuit Classic Edition game features the classic gameplay that you know and love. Great for game night, this game contains 2,400 questions in six categories.

Number of Players: 2 – 6+ players; more with teams.
Time to Play: Game time can vary wildly, but a full game should take about an hour, give or take.
Who Can Play: 8+ or 16+, depending upon version.

Gift Giving: Trivial Pursuit is a solid choice for trivia lovers, Star Wars fans, movie buffs, Beatlemaniacs, Potterheads, Millennials, and people who fancy themselves to be Smarter Than a 5th Grader.

In addition to the Classic Version Master Edition [ages 16+],there are plenty of Trivial Pursuit variations and subsidiary card sets for everyone on your list! Here are just a few that caught my eye:

Beatlemaniacs – The Beatles Trivial Pursuit [Full game; 2592 questions]
Families – Trivial Pursuit Family Edition [ages 8+; Full game, faster paced, 1200 questions]
Movie Buffs – Silver Screen Edition [Subsidiary Card Set, for use with Master Game]
Potterheads – World of Harry Potter Edition [Full game; 600 questions based on the Harry Potter movies]
Millennials – 2000s Edition [Full game; 1800 questions]
Star Wars Fans – Star Wars The Black Series Edition [Full game; 1800 questions]

Mad Gab

Technically, Mad Gab is a card game, not a board game, but I just had to include it here because when my kiddos were smaller, this was one of our favorite games to play at family gatherings. It’s super easy to learn, fast-paced, entertaining for all ages, and can be played in teams so an almost infinite number of people can play.

One of the reasons we enjoy Mad Gab so much is because very young children (i.e., non-readers) can have an discernible advantage. Why? Because in Mad Gab, it’s not what you READ or SAY, it’s what you HEAR!

Mad Gab is played by reading (or listening) to a string of unrelated words and trying to figure out what the secret phrase is. For example, your card might read, ‘Canoe Key Pace He Grit,” which when read quickly, sounds like ‘Can you keep secret?‘

Because non-readers are listening and not reading, they go into each round with no preconceived ideas about the outcome. Without “words” to confuse their brains, they can just listen to the other players reading the phrase, and often guess the target phrase before the readers on their team. Back before my youngest learned to read, she was always our most sought-after player when we chose up Mad Gab teams.

Number of Players: 2 – 12+ players/teams.
Time to Play: 45 minute [box]; in our experience, a game can last 10 minutes up to an hour.
Who Can Play: All ages. (Having a non-reader on your team is a plus.)

Gift Giving: Mad Gab makes a great gift for wordsmiths, lexicologists, etymologists, haiku writers, crossword puzzle doers, families with young children, and anyone who enjoys a little lively word play.

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Do you have a favorite game that you think should be on our Best Board Games list? Please share it with us in the comments!

^{Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!}

The Gift They Will Remember, Treasure & Love Forever: Songfinch Personalized Song {Review}

April 24 By Renée ♥ 24 Comments

This year, give them a gift that they will remember, treasure, and love forever – a Songfinch personalized song, written just for them.

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

When Songfinch reached out to me last year and asked if I’d like to try out their personalized song writing services, I thought, “Cool. Sounds like a it could be something that my readers would LOVE. Plus, what a great way to give all those young, hungry singer-songwriters a solid side-hustle!” (Really, it’s all side-hustle when you’re a young, hungry songwriter, right? 😉) So I put a pin in it and waited for the right time to come around.

That “right time” happened last month as Mr B and I were preparing to leave on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I wanted to do something really special for him, and at first thought of writing a song myself. But then I remembered Songfinch, and I thought, if there was ever a great time to try their personalized songwriting service out, this is it.

Songfinch promises that, in a week or less, one of their professional songwriters will craft a one-of-a-kind song, based on your story, that you can give to the one you love. And boy-o-boy, do they deliver!

**Giving a Songfinch Personalized Song is Easy!**

When I began ordering my song from Songfinch, one of the first things I noted was how smooth and streamlined they had made the entire process. It was far easier than I had imagined; especially when we’re talking about asking a complete stranger to craft something so personal. The whole Songfinch ordering process took me just 30 minutes.

Once you pay for your song, a series of clean, easy-to complete screens will walk you through the process. The first one is literally a MadLib:

After I filled it out, mine read: I want to give my husband a song for our anniversary that makes us remember how much of a miracle our relationship is.

The next screen, on which you share your story, is the most time-consuming. Completing it took up about 25 of the aforementioned 30 minutes.

I’m including our personal story below in case you’d like to see how much of what I gave them is woven into the lyrics of our completed song.

Our story reads like a Hallmark movie. My husband and I met in choir during our sophomore year of high school. He was a gifted guitar-playing baritone who loved Elvis and old-timey country music, and I was a passable soprano with an affinity for ’70s singer-songwriters and classic arena rock. By the end of our junior year, we were engage to be married and had become one of those couples that everyone just knew was going to make it. However, after our senior year, when he went in the Navy and I went off to college, fate stepped in, and we broke up. Thirty years of life went by, and then by some miracle, we got a second chance. We were married on the same date we had chosen way back when, and the little diamond that he gave me back in high school is now in my wedding ring, flanked by two emeralds as a nod to our May birthdays. So now instead of celebrating our 35th anniversary, we are celebrating our 6th year of marriage. Some things don’t change though: music is still one of the cornerstones of our life. We play and write songs together, enjoy making music with our extended family, and can’t imagine our lives without music in it.

After writing up the story paragraph, there are just a few quick screens that allow you to specify a mood or two, genre (everything from country to hip-hop to acoustic pop), and whether you would prefer a female or male vocalist.

For mood, I chose Romantic & Reflective. For genre, I wrote that I would like “something singer-songwritery with maybe a bit of a country vibe.” (If you listen to our song, you’ll hear that our singer-songwriter, Will Duvall, absolutely nailed this one, despite my ridiculously specific description.) Conversely, I didn’t specify what kind of vocalist: I just wanted the best person for the job, regardless of gender.

After I submitted my song application, I received a series of emails from Songfinch letting me know that my song was on its way, and then I sat back and waited.

No. That’s not true. I ran around the house trying to pull everything together for our trip while I worried that the song might not arrive in time because I had accidentally forgotten to order it until exactly a week before we set sail, when I would likely have no wifi access. As I mentioned earlier, Songfinch promises to deliver your song within a week, but I cut it way too close for comfort, and that was on me.

Five and a half days later, however, on the evening before we were to take off on our flight to Florida from where our ship was to embark, I received an email letting me know that our song was ready. I could listen to it, download it, read the lyrics, and learn about our singer-songwriter on our personal Songfinch page.

Songfinch Personalized Song Review {Sound of a Miracle} | The Good Hearted Woman

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO LISTEN TO OUR SONG: This is our personal song page on Songfinch, where we can download our song, read the lyrics, share it on social media, and learn about our singer-songwriter.

How cool is that!?!?

Still, I pressed play on the website with some trepidation. I mean, a week is a pretty small window in which to write, record, and mix a song (unless you’re Jackson Browne or one of the Nashville Cats), and I was a little concerned about how well everything would turn out.

I shouldn’t have wasted my time worrying. To capture the spirit of the moment, here’s the exact email that I sent to my contact at Songfinch right after I downloaded our song:

Hey Rob –

One more quick note before I go dark for a week: I just listen to the song four times and I couldn’t wait to let you know how much I LOVE IT! Everything is perfect, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

I’ll check in when I get back, but in the meantime, please pass on to everyone involved my pure delight and deep appreciation! Thank you so much!

Peace,
Renée B.

So how did my gift go over? Well, after a wonderful day strolling the streets of Old San Juan, as we spent the evening sitting on our balcony and watching the lights of Puerto Rico drift off into the distance, I told Mr B that I wanted to play a song for him. That’s when things got a little funny (haha, not weird), mostly because I didn’t tell him anything else ahead of time. As he listened to the lyrics, at first he thought it was a song by someone with a story that mirrored ours to a remarkable degree. Then he thought maybe I had written it and had someone else record it. Then, when he finally figured it all out, he LOVED it!

Songfinch Personalized Song Review | The Good Hearted Woman

One night, we sailed into the moon. (Taken from our cruise ship balcony.)

One of the things we both love about our song, Sound of a Miracle, is that it has so many personal messages wrapped up in the layers of its seemingly simple lyrics. Will did such an expert job of telling our story, and we love it more every time we listen to it. We’ve already worked out the chords so we can sing it ourselves, and we see it as being a song we will be singing to our grandkids as they years go by. That, my friends, is a gift that keeps on giving. ♥

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This year, give Mom a gift she will remember, treasure & love forever! 🎶 A personalized song from @Songfinch 🎶 #ad #mothersday #perfectgift #giftofmusic Click thru for $20 #DiscountCode Click To Tweet

Who in your life would love the gift of a song? (Your mother. I know that your mother would love a song. Trust me about this.) I can think of dozens of people and occasions for which a Songfinch personalized song would make the perfect gift, including:

Mother’s Day
Father’s Day
Grandparent’s Day
Birthdays
Best Friends
Sibling Day
Weddings
Wedding Anniversaries
New Babies (Personalized lullabye, anyone!?!)
Family Reunions
Class Reunions
Graduations
Valentine’s Day
Retirements
Memorials

SONGFINCH DISCOUNT CODE

If you would like to order a song for someone you love, use this discount code – GOODHEART – when you check out for $20 off a Song From Scratch.

Who would you like to gift with a song? Let us know in the comments! {And If you use Songfinch, please be sure come back and leave us a link in the comments so that we can have a listen!}

Disclosure: Our thanks to Will Duvall and everyone at SONGFINCH for creating and recording our song, free of charge. This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images (except as noted) are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

5 Fantastic Last Minute Gifts for Grown-ups

December 19 By Renée ♥ 4 Comments

Someone on your list got you stumped? No worries – we’ve got this! (No lines, no waiting, no wrapping required!)

Scott Parrish | Creative Commons

Whether you’re shopping for an artist, music maker, crafter, film buff, or favorite aunt, we’ve got your last minute gift needs covered! All of these gifts can be delivered electronically, so even if you are reading this at 9am on Christmas morning, you still have plenty of time!!

This post contains affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

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1. Last minute Christmas gift for crafters, bakers, painters, quilters, photographers, and other creative folks: Craftsy Class.

Is there an artist or cook or crafter on your list who wants to up their game or learn a new technique? Craftsy is a great place to shop for them! Just pick the class you think they’ll love and Craftsy will enroll them and deliver your note to their inbox. There are tons of classes in over a dozen categories, including quilting, sewing, knitting, cake creation, cooking, baking, painting, drawing, photography, paper arts, and many more. The gifting process is super easy: First: FIND IT. Once you’ve found the perfect class, hit the “Gift This” button (circled above) to get started. Enter the recipient’s name, email address and special note. You can even plan ahead and schedule the date you want your gifted class delivered!

- Click here to send an Craftsy Class gift.

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2. Last minute Christmas gift for Musicians and other Music Makers: OnSong

If you have someone musical in your life {e.g., campfire crooner, shower soloist, carpool karaoke-ist, or semi-pro stage musician} who is the slightest bit tech-savvy and owns an Apple device [iPad 2 or later/iOS 9 or later] and has not yet discovered the miraculous revelation that is OnSong, then this is definitely THE BEST gift you can possibly give them. (Or at least the best gift you can give them that costs less than $20 and takes less than 5 minutes to purchase.) I mean it. This little app, available only for iOS, is the sole reason that Mr B has an iPad instead of an Android tablet, and at $19.99, it is an absolute steal as far as I’m concerned.

Mr B and I have been using OnSong for about four years now for all of our music library – sheet music, tabs, lyrics, works in progress – everything! OnSong has taken us from carrying around stacks and stacks of bulky music binders to using one slick little tablet app that catalogs, organizes, and displays all of our music exactly as we choose (font size can be bumped way up for older eyes!), scrolls automatically, allows us to transpose on the fly, and does (almost!) a million other awesome things, all on a super-user-friendly, intuitive platform. OnSong’s tech support is amazing, and their creative team – Wow! Just when we think they have achieved music app nirvana, they come up with some new innovation that blows us away. I will be posting an in-depth review of OnSong in the coming year; but seriously, if you want to give a gift that will make your favorite music maker love you forever, OnSong is it.

Already have OnSong? I highly recommend getting an iPad holder that converts a standard mic-stand into an music stand. Don’t know what we ever did without it!

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3. Last minute gift for family history buffs: Ancestry.com Membership or AncestryDNA Kit.Would someone on your gift list enjoy learning more about their family story? The gift of Ancestry.com can opens up whole new worlds to them! They can discover distant relatives, uncover their unique ethnic mix, and find new details about their unique family history with a simple DNA test. With an Ancestry.com membership, they can discover more stories, details, and insights about the people and places in their unique family story. Having had extensive experience in the world of genealogy (in fact, I used to a be part-owner in a family history company), I can tell you that the possibilities that may come from a gift of Ancestry.com are profound, infinite, and potentially life changing. AncestryDNA test kits are also available on Amazon.com.

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4. Last minute Christmas gift for graphic artists of all mediums: Blick eGift Card.

An eGift card from Blick will make your favorite Creative happier than a camel on hump day!

Blick is my personal first choice for art supplies, and I know that I’m not alone. My favorite thing about Blick’s is, in addition to their extensive selection of high-quality products and competitive prices, the people who help you are often working artists themselves. (Think of it like being able to walk up to an orange-aproned home improvement store employee and having them actually be able to tell you what you need, where to find it, and the best approach for using it.) Dick Blick Art Supplies is one of the largest and oldest providers of art supplies in the United States, and the first choice of professional and amateur artists, art educators, architects, designers, students, hobbyists, or anyone requiring quality art materials for work or pleasure.

Click here to buy an eGift card from Blick.

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5. Last minute Christmas gift for movie buffs: Movie Night!

Naoya Fujii | Creative Commons

Give the gift of movies! A free movie night is always a welcome gift, especially during the holiday season when so many shows are being released. And don’t forget, if you’re shopping for someone who prefers watching their movies in the comfort of their own home, a Netflix gift certificate is a great option.

Need more ideas? Browse through this list of eGift cards that can be sent instantly via email.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they will help us keep this site up and running – and (relatively) ad-free!! Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

The BEST “Handmade Holiday” Gift Guide

November 25 By Renée ♥ 138 Comments

Check out our “Handmade Holiday Gift Guide” for the best in handmade gifts from some of our favorite Etsy sellers.

This post contains affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

I’m so excited to present our “Handmade Holiday Gift Guide”! For the past month or so, I’ve been scouring Etsy to find the best in handmade gifts, and I think we’ve rounded up an amazing group of shops. This gift guide is made up of long-time favorites and brand new finds – Check it out – Etsy has something for everyone on your list!

Individual shop descriptions provided by Etsy sellers.

Star Lily Magic – Star Lily Magic offers needle-felted wool gifts for the inner child within – inspired by the Waldorf technique, the magic of childhood and the wonders of Mother Earth. Welcome to a world of angels, faeries, Mother Earth playscapes, mermaids, animal friends and more. Artist and owner, Asheya Ragna, felts each unique creation with great love and mindfulness. She believes that the wool has a special ability to invoke presence and personality within her creations, making each one very special. Asheya has found a great reservoir of healing from her connection with Mother Earth. animals, mermaids, angels & faeries. Her intention is to help people – adults and children alike – to connect with these powerful healing energies through the wool figures that come into being through her visions, her hands and her heart.!

The Best Holiday Gift Guide 2016 "Handmade Holiday" | The Good Hearted Woman

GHW Notes: We have purchased a number of items from Star Lily Magic, and every one has been absolutely beautiful!

AMP It Up Designs – AMPitup Designs is owned by a food scientist turned graphic designer and features simple and classic designs for the everyday family. A wide variety of Amy’s award-winning holiday photo card designs are available this year, along with prints that make perfect gifts or home decor. Printable or printed options are available for every product to fit your budget or life demands.

GHW Notes: I’m proud to note that I’ve known this particular Etsy seller since she was three months old! Amy is as kind as she is talented, and she is coming up with new designs every day. You can find many of her card designs now featured at Target.

Milk & Honey Luxuries – Premium Hand Stamped Vintage Silverware and Unique Gifts. As seen in Nordstrom, People Magazine, The Today Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Martha Stewart American Made, Whole Food Market, The Knot, Anthropologie, FOOD52, and People Style Watch Magazine.

Prairie Hills Pottery – Custom Recipe Personalized Gifts, Wedding gift Ideas.

GHW Notes: How great would it be to have one of Grandma’s recipes printed on a platter?!?

Belleza Mia – Find personalized jewelry, mothers birthstone jewelry as well as everyday, minimalist pieces.

Beads & Knots by Nina – In my shop, Beads And Knots, you will find only handmade jewelry. Natural stone jewelry, semi-precious gemstones, pearl necklaces and crystal beaded jewelry. Everything is made by me and is mainly one of a kind. I love choosing my material by their fascinating colors and shapes. Especially gemstones, carrying a great mystery locked inside their crystal, can give impressive results. Agate, jade, amethyst, citrine, lapis lazuli, to name a few, are stones of protection, support and encouragement, elevating thoughts and promoting optimism among other things. I am sure that the energy transmitted by the stones, finally reaches you enriched with my energy and love when I make them.

Branded by Beazer – Branded by Beazer turns your best ideas into real, everyday things: a handstamped bracelet with your favorite quote, a custom dish towel, or even a witty mug. In this wild world, not one single person is the same; we all have unique traits that make us who we are. Branded by Beazer wants to help bring that individuality to life. Offering a wide range of customized decals, iron-on prints, décor, clothing and jewelry — each individually handmade with love — there is something to make YOU shine.

Crafty Staci – My shop focuses on handmade accessories for makers, artists, photographers, teachers and people on the go. I happily fulfill custom orders for every item I make. I enjoy mixing fabrics, and I love how excited my customers get that they can design an item that reflects their personality. After making thousands of vendor aprons, coffee sleeves, camera straps, lens cap holders, memory card wallets and other accessories, it still makes me happy to see the final finished item and hear my customer talk about how she’s using it.

Cut. Color. Create.– We specialize in handmade personalized gifts and custom stamped jewelry.

debandf – Guitar Pick Holders for the Perfect Guitar Player Gift, wonderful for any occasion. Plenty of time for your custom engraved Guitar pick box to be ready for the holidays.

Jahna Vashti – Fine art originals, canvas wraps, cards, prints, and calendars from Portland artist.

Julia Paris Jewelry – Julia Paris Jewelry was born as a creative outlet and an avenue to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning a small business. Every piece of our jewelry starts out as raw materials which are meticulously crafted in our home based studio. These materials form special and unique pieces that express my vision in the hope they remind the wearer that there is beauty in every little part of their lives. The items in our shop are intended to evoke happiness and joy when they are gifted to loved ones and we ensure they can be tailored to suit the needs of the most discerning gift receiver. We strive to use high quality materials and hone our skills to ensure every creation is of a high standard and will withstand the test of time.

Lettered & Lined – Lettered & Lined offers customized typography art prints for every room of your home. (As Seen in: Country Living, Design Sponge, Houzz, iHeartOrganizing, Wedding Chicks, Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn, and many more!)

Made by Anna Liisa – I create watercolor prints, cards, notepads, and calendars inspired by nature. I love to spend time outdoors and I hope to express that in my art. Currently I’m based out of San Antonio, Texas. Occasionally I try to add some Texas flare to my work. I also love to create custom pieces, such as wedding signs, invitations, birth announcements, anniversary gifts, and more. Art is my passion and it gives me joy to share with others.

Pronghorn Ironworks – Pronghorn Ironworks is owned and operated by Christopher Trautmann. Christopher is a Professional Engineer by trade but spends his free time in his garage creating all types of various metalwork. Whether it be trying his hand at a handcrafted piece of furniture, such as a bed frame, or simply making various shaped dinner bells.

Raziela Designs – An eclectic mix of old world charm and modern beats, we offer one of a kind jewelry for the modern woman.

Spice Expressions – Magnetic spice racks, bbq rub gift boxes, organic tea gifts, Indian spice kits, flavor infused sea salts, popcorn seasonings, DIY magnetic hex jars. {Great ideas here for the grill master or foodie in your life!}

Upcycled Library – Real-life librarian Kelly Liberona upcycles used books into jewelry, stationery, and home decor in the eco-friendly, library-themed shop, Upcycled Library. Find the perfect gift for the literature lover on your list!

Want more ideas? Check out the Etsy Editor’s Picks for tons of great Etsy finds!

Thank you so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. ❤ Be sure to Pin this post!

Cookies by Design {Review}

November 16 By Renée ♥ 6 Comments

Looking for a thoughtful, easy gift that is sure to bring a smile? Then you should definitely check out Cookies by Design.

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

For over 30 years now, Cookies by Design has have has been delighting customers with freshly baked, hand-delivered cookie bouquets. With over 100 locations across the country, they offer same day delivery on dozens of cookie gift baskets and bouquets for all occasions. (Even if there isn’t a Cookies by Design location near you, they will quickly ship to any location nationwide.)

I was impressed with how much thought was put into the shipping of our bouquet. Our cookie bouquet – a customized version of the Butterfly and Daisy Birthday – arrived in a carefully packed box, wrapped in plastic. (Yay! No broken cookies!)

The colorful, decorated cookies arrive individually shrink-wrapped, with a plastic sleeve stuck to the back with a dowel inserted, allowing the cookie to be securely placed in the base.

I loved the cheery vibe that our Cookies by Design bouquet brought to our home! The colors were bright and vibrant, and it just seemed to make the whole room a little sunnier!

Cookies by Design {Review} | The Good Hearted Woman

As you can see by my “Good Vibes” cookie, you can customize cookies with your own special message.

So, the cookies were bright and beautiful, but how did they taste? Cookies by Design makes all their cookies from scratch, but I have to be honest: they weren’t my mom’s sugar cookies. (Nor did I expect them to be.) For reference, like my mom before me, I use the my trusty old Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook sugar cookie recipe. These were slightly less sweet than mine, but not too much so, and I actually think less sweet is better than too sweet, especially considering many of the cookies are completely covered in icing, which just brings more sugar to the party.

The Cookies by Design cookies were also significantly thicker than my homemade cookies – well over a quarter-inch thick – and a bit more solid than I personally prefer. However, I found that when we were ready to actually eat the cookies, just ten seconds in the microwave did a world of good for the texture, bringing them back to a more “freshly baked” feel and softer consistency.

Cookies by Design bouquets are great for any occasion: holidays, birthdays, celebrations, or just to say “I’m thinking of you.” If you take a little time to browse through their website, you may be as surprised as I was at the sheer number of occasions for which they have created cookie bouquets. (I know I was. Did you know that there is a “Father-in-Law day?!? Yep, they’ve even got a bouquet for that one!) You can customize also any bouquet with your own message. Prices start at just $18.99 and go up from there, depending on how many cookies you want in your bouquet.

**Find the latest sales & discounts from Cookies by Design on our Partner Page.**

This is just a handful of the multitude of cookie bouquets that Cookies by Design offers. (Click on the image to browse their website.)

In addition to their colorful cookie bouquets, Cookies by Design also offers made-from-scratch gourmet cookies, cookie trays, cookie cakes, and (new) chocolate truffles!

Bottom line: a cookie bouquet from Cookies by Design is a great choice for brightening someone’s day, whatever the occasion! You should definitely check them out!

Disclosure: Many thanks to Cookies by Design for providing this beautiful cookie bouquet to us for review free of charge. As always, all opinion are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they will help us keep this site up and running – and (relatively) ad-free!! Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Capturing Adventure {Blurb Photo Book Review}

August 17 By Renée ♥ 22 Comments

Capturing adventure in a Blurb photo book is simple, easy, and so worth the effort!

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

Preserving memories in book form is a passion of mine. Since my preteen years, I’ve been an avid scrapbooker, adhering images and ephemera between the pages of weighty albums with everything from old-fashion black photo corners to high-end archival-approved adhesives. Keeping those images accessible and leafing through them from time to time with the people I love brings our experiences back with vivid clarity, and gives us all a chance to enjoy the memories together once again.

About fifteen years ago, I made the conversion to digital scrapbooking and never looked back. The end products of my efforts are now high-quality hardback books, printed through one of a handful of dependable self-printing book services.

My most recent scrapbook project focuses on the trip Mr B and I took to Hawaii last July. We were on Oahu for ten days, and while we were there, I took well over a thousand pictures. (If you’ve been reading me for a while, you may remember that when we got home, I wrote so many blog posts about our trip that I had enough material to create our Ultimate Oahu Vacation Guide!)

Our adventures in Hawaii were a perfect subject for a stand-alone memory book, and this time I chose to print it through Blurb, a well-renowned print-on-demand company that I have used a couple of times in the past.

Blurb offers a number of both online and print formats, but for this review, I’ll be focusing on printing photo books.

Printed photo books are available in three formats: soft cover, image-wrapped [hard-cover], or dust jacket [hard cover]. (My preference for photo books is nearly always image-wrapped hard-cover.)

Blurb offers three options for shape and size, ranging from a small 7” x 7” square book to a large 13” x 11” in portrait or landscape. I chose a moderate 8” x 10” landscape book for our Hawaii album.

There are also five paper options, with varying weights and/or textures; everything from the standard semi-matte up to Premium semi-gloss or Proline pearl. Blurb’s basic, standard weight is 80 lb. paper, (about the same as good-quality printer paper), but it cost very little to upgrade to the 100 lb. Premium paper. I strongly encourage that you upgrade too, especially for a book with a lot of images. (I went with 100 lb. semi-gloss paper for Our Hawaiian Adventures.) You can print up to 440 pages in one book: our Hawaiian Adventures came in at 114 pages!

Now, let’s get to the two things we all really care about when it comes to making photo books online: Ease of use and quality of final product.

EASE OF USE

This is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to online photo book creation. Some photo book printing sites are a little intimidating, but Blurb is not one of them. In fact, one of the things I like best about Blurb is the wide variety of options that they offer for content creation, and the ease at which a book can be completed. Whether you are a professional digital Creative or can barely turn on your computer, there is an option for you.

Make Your Book Online
Make your book quickly and easily without downloading anything. You can pull in images directly from Facebook or Instagram, or upload them from your computer and use Blurb’s templates and layouts to create a beautiful photo book quickly and easily.

Adobe InDesign Plug-in
If you have Adobe experience, this may be just the thing for you. Blurb’s Adobe InDesign Plug-In is free to download, and lets you create and lay out books directly within InDesign, with output options for both print and digital formats. You can also work on your book within Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Upload PDF to make your book
If you prefer, you can use Blurb’s specifications calculator to fine-tune your PDF to a Blurb-friendly book size.

I’ve used all of these options at one time or another, but for this project, I wanted a fast, simple method that would give me complete control over my layouts – and I needed to be able to do in while I was on the road and away from my primary computer. With that in mind, I decided to go with my all-time favorite online photo editor, PicMonkey.

My 3-Step Streamline Blurb Photo Book Creation Process

Step 1 – Create individual pages on PicMonkey. Save as high-resolution JPGs.

PicMonkey is a simple, easy-to-use tool for editing photos online. From Capturing Adventure {Blurb Photo Book Review} | The Good Hearted Woman

↑ I created all of the images for our Hawaiian Adventures book in PicMonkey.

I created all of my pages in PicMonkey, saved them as high-resolution JPGs, and then uploaded them to Blurb. Then all I had to do was drag them onto the pages as full-bleed images. After that, I just proof-read everything about 100 times (but that’s just me), and then ordered my book. That’s all there was to it.

Step 2 – Upload Full-page images to Blurb. Drag and drop.

Step 3 – Proofread, proofread, proofread. Then proofread one more time, and order book. 🙂

PRODUCT QUALITY

As far as I’m concerned, Quality is the online photo book creation endgame. I expect my photo books to Pop! with bright, true-to-life colors, clean, clear printing, and solid, well-crafted construction. Anything less is unacceptable. Blurb did not disappoint.

Overall, the quality of our Hawaiian Adventures book is excellent. The cover is solid, smooth, and semi-matte, which discourages fingerprints, and the cover image is clear and vivid. The printed images inside the book are sharp and clear, and the resolution is good to excellent. The colors are vivid and true to the digital preview. I do think that paper selection makes a significant difference here, so once again, I strongly encourage you to upgrade to Premium or Proline paper.

BOTTOM LINE

Mr B and I could not be happier with our newest photo book. Flipping through those pages is like reliving our adventure all over again (yes, fellow grammar divas, I know), which makes all the time and effort it took to create totally worth it, and the book itself priceless.

Ready to start your own photo book? Visit Blurb’s website to get started today!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. (Rest assured though, we will NEVER recommend anything we don’t believe in just to make a buck. We like to sleep at night.) Anywho, while clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they will help us keep this site up and running – and (relatively) ad-free!! Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

12 Unique, Handcrafted Gifts Your Grad Will Love {All Under $25}

June 1 By Renée ♥ 21 Comments

Graduation Gifts don’t need to be expensive or lavish to be treasured.

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

It’s interesting to me, how we choose the things that stay with us. I find that it is rarely the most lavish or expensive gift that finds a permanent spot our lives, but rather it is some token that strikes a cord between giver and receiver that we end up holding on to, or an item that becomes a part of our daily routine.

Regarding the later, I’m not one for knickknacks generally, but when I graduated from kindergarten, my Aunt Gwen sent me a pretty little piece from Missouri – a fancy ceramic cup filled with plastic and silk violets, with a kitten curled up next to it. I remembered my mother fussing over it for days. She could not for the life of her understand why Gwen would send such a fragile piece to a five year old, so she eventually commandeered it, tossed the violets, and put it to use in our bathroom as a toothbrush holder. When I left for college, I took it with me, and Mr B and I still use it today for our toothbrushes. It’s not the sort of thing I would normally keep, but after all these years, I have grown very fond of it, and can’t imagine resting my toothbrush anywhere else.

Personally, I tend to give gifts of time (which doesn’t fit well in a box), or things I make myself, or some combination of both. However, during this time of year, with all its accompanying end-of-the school year preparations, both time and making can be overwhelming. With this in mind, I scoured Etsy to find a few standouts – unique, handcrafted, inexpensive graduation gifts with the potential to make a connection and stand the test of time.

"This is Your Moment" Guitar Pick / Necklace

"Let the Adventure Begin" Hand Stamped Cuff Bracelet - $24

“Let the Adventure Begin” Hand Stamped Cuff Bracelet – This bracelet is the perfect gift for the new grad because it is both inspirational & sentimental. It is hand stamped with the quote “and so the adventure begins…” on the outside and “class of 2016” on the inside. Each letter is individually stamped, making every bracelet truly unique.

"Oh the Places You'll Go!" Mini 4" World Desk Globe - $18

“Oh the Places You’ll Go” Mini World Desk Globe – With a soft off white hue finish and light wooden circular base, this miniature customized décor piece is aged for a vintage look, and can be customized for any occasion. Available in Blue, Black, Yellow, Tan & Off White (as shown).

"Have Fun, Be Safe, Call Your Mom" Hand stamped Key-chain - $11

“Have Fun, Be Safe, Call Your Mom” Hand stamped Key-chain – This 1 x 2 inch aluminum rectangle stamped with a phrase we should all remember! Each keychain can be personalized, and is created by hand stamping each letter and character using steel stamps. Comes packaged in a decorative box, ready for gift giving.

"My Wish" (Lyrics by Rascal Flatts) Personalized Print - $15

“My Wish” (Lyrics by Rascal Flatts) Personalized Print – These beautiful lyrics are perfect gift for a child that is graduating or starting a new adventure.

"I haven't been everywhere, but..." Quote Watch - $16

“I haven’t been everywhere, but…” Quote Watch – As Mark Twain said, “Explore. Dream. Discover”, unleash the hidden YOU. This watch is a great inspiration for any grad who is passionate about travelling & adventure.

“Life is a Beautiful Ride” – Image is printed directly onto a vintage dictionary page that is 80+ years old, making each one unique.

Marimo Aquarium Kit – Marimo (Japanese moss balls) are said to bring a sense of tranquility and calmness. Kit comes with everything you need to create a lovely underwater living environment that will brighten any room.

Custom Folded Book Art Sculpture – These handmade sculptures are painstakingly constructed from upcycled discarded books by folding the pages into the desired letters. Great as gifts for any occasion, books are made to order, and can accommodate as many as 10 letters.

“Call Your Mom” Hand Stamped Spoon – Slip this vintage hand stamped, silver-plated teaspoon into your graduate’s care package with some coffee or cocoa they’ll be reminded to call home each morning when they stir their cup.

Personalized Graduation Mason Jar – What better way to celebrate! Designs are laser engraved directly into the glass, permanently etched into the drinking glass. It will not wash or rub off, fade or peel.

“This is Your Moment” Guitar Pick / Necklace – Inspiring quote is hand-stamped onto a beautiful brass guitar pick that can be worn or used for playing. Comes gift-wrapped, with your choice of chain length of your choice.

Personalized Brown Leather Bracelet – Choose your inscription, up to 12 characters.

12 Really, Truly Last-Minute Mother’s Day Gifts {That Will Save Your Budget and Her Heart}

May 9 By Renée ♥ 2 Comments

So Mother’s Day is – TOMORROW!!

You put off getting something for her again, didn’t you? Of course you did – that’s why you’re here!

Never fear! Read on for quick, inexpensive gift ideas that will save your budget and her heart.

Quick & Crafty

Marbled Jewelry Holder {Maria Provenzano}

Professional-Looking Flower Arrangement {Jillianastasia}

DIY Burlap Memo Board {Jillianastasia}

3-D Mother’s Day Card {The Beefy Life}

Teacup Pincushion {Crafts on Sea}

Scrubs & Lotions

Berry Sugar Scrub {Mommy’s Bundle}

Pedicure in a Jar {Evermine}

Treasures from Little Hands

Give her something she will treasure now and forever. Great for Moms and Nanas. {Just sayin.}

Handprint Apron {Simply Kierste}

Handprint Sunshine Canvas {Glued to My Crafts}

Printable Gifts

Out of All the Moms in the World Print {Weekend Craft}

Mother’s Day Card {Country Chic}

“Thank You” Mini Bunting {Snap Happy Mom}

Redwork Chicken Tea Towel {with Free Pattern}

April 25 By Renée ♥ 13 Comments

Fast, inexpensive, and easy to create, this Redwork Chicken Tea Towel makes a fun addition to your kitchen or a lovely, thoughtful gift.

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

For the past week or two, I’ve been badly in need of a Craft-Fix.

If you know me at all, you know that I have an entire room full of sewing, painting, drawing and other craft projects to complete. (Don’t even get me started about the writing projects that I have “in-progress.”) How about you? What’s in your “Project Closet”?

But don’t you ever just want to start and finish a project in the same day? That’s how I’ve been feeling lately. So last week, I started cruising Pinterest for some creative inspiration, and ended up finding a huge board of old-fashioned redwork like my great-grandma used to do. Eureka!

Now, it’s no secret that I’ve had chickens on my mind lately. In less than a week, I’m off to Camp Blogaway, where among other things I’ll be representing Nest Fresh Eggs, and so I’ve been experimenting with all sorts of egg recipes lately. In addition, these little ladies just joined our family last week:

Meet Mamie Eisenhower, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lady Bird Johnson, Rosalynn Carter, and (for all you history buffs) Harriet Lane Johnston.

A chicken tea towel was a perfect afternoon project! Fast, inexpensive, and simple to create. Plus – so cute!

A quick search brought me to Knitting-and.com, where I found a collection of great free embroidery patterns. Even better, the images themselves are from the 1940’s and are all in public domain! However, the specific pattern I found to an Etsy seller, and since I wanted to be able to share a pattern that you could print directly, I drew up a new one just for this project. You can download my pattern PDF here → FREE Redwork Chicken Pattern. (You are welcome to share this pattern with others if you link it back to this webpage.)

Here’s my finished towel. Isn’t this just adorable? If you want to make one of these lovelies, it will cost you just a few bucks and a couple of hours.

Chicken Redwork Tea Towel – Step-by-step

You will need:

Embroidery needle – I used a DMC #5 sharp
Embroidery floss – I used DMC 816
100% cotton tea towel – I used a cool retro tea towel that I bought at Joann’s (3 for about $5 with a coupon). You can also use a plain flour sack tea towel, or just make one out of muslin.
Embroidery Hoop or frame – I used a 7-inch hoop, but I would have used my 5-inch if I could have found it.

Download and print the FREE Redwork Chicken Pattern.
Click on this image for pattern PDF.
Transfer the pattern to the front of your flour sack tea towel. For a design this simple, I usually just trace the main parts of the design directly onto the fabric with a soft pencil or removable ink. You can do this by using a light table, or just holding it over a window.
Hoop it up and embroider. Most of the needlework is done in a simple outline stitch using 2 strands of floss. The chicken eyes and the small flowers are worked in french knots, and the larger flowers are a french knot surrounded by lazy-daisy stitches.

This little Redwork Chicken Tea Towel takes only a couple of hours to complete, or even less if you choose to do a smaller portion of the pattern. It is well worth the time, and makes a fun addition to your kitchen or a lovely, thoughtful gift.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running, and at the same time allow us to keep traditional advertising to a minimum. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

The New American Herbal {Book Review}

November 14 By Renée ♥ 4 Comments

I have always had a fascination with herbs – the variety, the versatility, the lore. Hiking the trails of the Pacific Northwest as a child, my Dad taught me about edible plants and herbs that grow wild here, and shared with me the Native American wisdom he had collected throughout his life. Later, I quietly marveled at how my children’s Grandma Edith, who is a treasure trove of herbal insight, was always mixing up one herbal home remedy or another. (I remember entire one year when her whole house was brewing with calendula potions.) So it was with great interest that I opened the pages of Stephen Orr’s The New American Herbal.

The New American Herbal makes exploring the world of herbs interesting and accessible, and holds something for everyone from novice to expert herbalist. This beautifully photographed book is comprehensive compendium that covers the entire spectrum of herbaceous plants: culinary, aromatic and medicinal.

Meticulously researched information is alphabetically arranged by common name, and presented in an interesting, easy to understand format. The Table of Contents organizes information into Herb Basics, Herbal Preparations, Garden Projects, Kitchen Projects, and Specialty Herbs, followed by an “Herbs A to Z” page. Each featured herb is presented on a page of its own that details its history, size, season, safety, planting requirements, and includes at least one full-page color photograph opposite. The author shares his own experiences with each herb, fascinating details, appropriate suggestions for use, and everything else you might think of when it comes to herbs. Minor herbs find their way into the sidebars, making for more than 900 entries in all.

I especially appreciated the guidance and ideas about how to grow and cook herbs; and while no means a cookbook in the traditional sense, I found many of the forty-some recipes included inspiring, motivating me to extend my reach in world of culinary herbs. I was equally impressed with the information presented, both fact and lore, on healing properties of various medicinal herbs.

The New American Herbal would make a perfect holiday gift for your favorite cook or kitchen gardener, or anyone who wants to learn more about herbs.

Disclosure: I received this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. This post may include affiliate links.