Over the weekend one of my good friends celebrated her 25th birthday. I wanted to put together a special little present for her without breaking the bank. I figure that if I can’t put a ton of money into it, I can at least put a ton of love.
She loves all things hearts, so when I found an image of lips puckered in a heart shape in a magazine I knew it would be perfect for the card I was making. I had leftover bits of red-and-white polka-dot paper, which complemented the lips so well, so I decided to stick with that color palette.
The envelope was made from one of my favorite J.Crew catalogs. I googled “DIY envelope” and it actually turned out to be relatively simple. I gently pulled apart an existing envelope, traced the shape onto the paper I wanted to use, cut that out and then folded it to make an envelope. Now that I know it’s not too difficult I think I’ll be making my own envelopes all the time!
We both love to paint our nails, so I picked out two bottles of Revlon’s new scented nail polishes for her. Aren’t the bottles darling? I haven’t actually tried them myself yet, but I plan to soon. My friend isn’t afraid of bright colors, so I also gave her two neon-colored hairbands. Finally, I threw in some fun red crinkle confetti and sealed up the box (that’s an old Birchbox by the way- I often save them and use them for storage!).
Putting together this present reminded me how much I like to create things. I need to remember to create with my hands more often! It makes me happy.
![It's a very belated book haul! These are the four books I picked up on my trip to Australia back in May. Of course I had to check out some bookstores on my first trip to Sydney and I think I ended up visiting 9 in total (check out my stories to see the mini bookstore vlog I made)!
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It was so fun book shopping over there since majority of the covers are different from our US covers. I couldn't resist this pretty edition of PACHINKO, which I've already read. And when I picked up this copy of PEOPLE PERSON, I was so excited to see it because it wasn't out yet in the US at that time. I also bought two books that I hadn't heard of before I discovered them in the bookstore: IDOL and LOVE AND OTHER PUZZLES.
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Do you tend to prefer US or UK book covers?
[P.S. This is an old photo that includes a HarperCollins UK title, but please note that I support the HarperCollins Union.]
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[ID: A stack of the following books sits on top of white bedding in front of a white wall (from top to bottom): PACHINKO, IDOL, LOVE AND OTHER PUZZLES, PEOPLE PERSON.]
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#Pachinko #Idol #LoveAndOtherPuzzles #PeoplePerson #whattoread #beautifulbooks #bookhaul #booksandtravel #travelandbooks #bookishaesthetic #bookstacks #bookstacklove #ukbookcovers #ukbookhaul #newbooks #bookbuying #bookpurchases #coolgirlsread #readerslife #bookishcommunity #australiatrip #stackofbooks #bookwormlife #booksandbooks](https://starcrossedsmile.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
that is really thoughtful of you! your friend is lucky to have you as her friend :)
Katrina Sophia Blog
Thank you Katrina Sophia!
This is the cutest birthday present!! I’m going to have to recreate this for a friend’s birthday!
~Sara
Thanks Sara! I’d love to see a pic if you do :)
so so sweet! love that envelop – such a great idea!
Thank you Jane! :)
The personalized handmade touch you added is lovely! Making things is fun!
Rowena @ rolala loves
Thank you Rowena! Yes, making things is totally fun- I need to do it on a more regular basis!
Umm, this is beyond adorable! The envelope you made is perfect – I have to google it myself but would love the link to the tutorial you used! Can you tweet it to me? Oh and those nail polishes are super cute!!
stylethroughhereyes.com
Thanks so much Jenmarie! I totally plan to try those nail polishes myself and I’ll probably post a mini review when I do!
This is super cute Nnenna! Personal gifts are always 10x more fun than expensive ones in my opinion. Love this!
Thank you Angel! :D
such a cute and thoughtful gift! i can only imagine how happy it made your friend to open, and that envelope is beyond adorable :)
Thank you so much Molly. I was there when she opened it and I think it went over well :)
This is such a fun, thoughtful gift!
Thank you Jessica! :)
i have the apricot nectar polish- smells so good, but it doesn’t last more than a day
That’s the one I want! I went to CVS to pick it up earlier this week but they didn’t have it. Good to know Jess- thanks! :)