If you are looking for a unique way to give a special memory, enter Instapaint. They make it really simple (and affordable) for you to work with a REAL artist to create a completely custom oil painting out of any photo. You choose your style, such as photo-realism, abstract expression or pop art, upload your photo on their site and an artist gets to work. The prices start at $99 and go up to $199, which is extremely affordable for a completely custom piece of art and a great price range for a wedding gift, engagement gift, Mother’s Day or Fathers Day gift.
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BEFORE
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TGI Tips: For your parents, get a favorite family photo turned into a keep-forever piece of art (even sweeter, if it’s a group gift from you and your siblings.) For your anniversary, turn a favorite wedding photo into a sentimental piece you can hang in your forever home. We even love the idea of honoring a beloved fur baby with a custom oil painting. We love the possibilities, we love how easy it is and we love that’s it’s affordable even for those of us without a crazy art budget.
PACKAGES:
1. Small oil painting package starting at $99 (10 x 10 square standard, or choose other available options)
2. Medium oil painting package starting at $149 (15 x 15 square standard, or choose other available options)
3. Large oil painting starting at $199 (22 x 22 square standard or choose other available options)
It’s time to plan ahead and start getting your gift list in order. Below are some deals and ideas to get you going on the right foot this holiday. Tune in to ABC Detroit on 11/13 and Fox Chicago on 11/17 to see some of our picks live.
1. Blue Sky Personalized Notebooks (30% off!)
The best part about planning ahead for the Holidays is you can get so many things personalized. Creating something just for them makes it even more special and thoughtful. The popular line of Blue Sky personalized planners and notebooks just launched the ability to completely customize their notebooks with initials, names and really cute pattern options. Perfect to give teachers, friends, coworkers, etc. Create a design unique to them!
Use Code GIFTINSIDER30 for 30% off
2. AVALON Virtual Reality Headset (20% off!)
AVALON is a brand new affordable virtual reality headset. VR or Virtual Reality is super popular but, most current VR options aren’t accessible to the masses and require an expensive computer or specific game console. What’s great about AVALON is that it’s universal for all smartphones & has loads of user friendly comfort. Perfect for your favorite gamer! $59
Use code GIFTINSIDER20 for 20% off
3.Ghoftdrone 2.0 (10% off)
No experience needed to fly the coolest Drone on the market, GHOSTDRONE 2.0. All you need is your smart phone & the Ehang app and you can capture amazing photos & video footage. Ready to fly right out of the box with 3 easy flight modes. Only drone that lets you see what the Drone sees with its cool FPV goggles. Black or White. $899. $200 off 11/20 – 12/31
Use Code GIFTINSIDER10 for 10% off
4. Tile Tracker (20% off!)
Tile is the perfect gift for the person who tends to forget all their latest gadgets and gizmos. (guilty!) Tile is a tiny Bluetooth tracker and easy-to-use app that finds everyday items like your phone, keys, purse, glasses in seconds. Easily attach it to the things you need most. perfect stocking stuffer! The Tile combo 4 pack includes 2 Tile Slims and 2 Tile Mates. Normally $110, now $90
20% off for holidays
5. Gift Crates (30% off!)
Perfectly giftable Gift Crates arrive at your door in a wooden crate & are to be opened with enclosed crowbar. They come in all different themes for all types of recipients. This is their Old School Gift Crate, the gift of favorite memories! Includes Old School toys … Slinky, Rubick’s Cube, Yomega Yo Yo, Pez Dispenser & of course Old School Cand. Tons of cool stuff from your past! $74.99
Use GIFTINSIDER30 for 30% off till 11/26/2016
7. Fin Fun Mermaid Tales
These gorgeous Fin Fun Mermaid Tails are a magical gift whether it’s for swimming or a costume. Swimmable & fun, they also have a flipper/monofin to go under tail. $99 for kids & $109 for adults, which includes a removable Fin Fun monofin, so that you can really swim like a mermaid. Fantasy accomplished.
8. David’s Teas
Cozy and beautifully packaged David’s Tea gift sets are perfect for anyone on your list, clients, coworkers, secret saints. Start a new tradition with their book-inspired tea collections, gift a color changing tea mug, or their warm and cozy tea set. $28
9. Habitree
Help them stay true to their eco values, even with their Christmas tree. Habitree is a new kind of holiday tree created for people whose values such as sustainability are as important as the joy they take in decorating for the holidays. Made from premium, sustainably farmed wood. Love these for apartment dwellers & businesses too. Made of Kebony Wood, available in Clear & Character wood types. 37″, 50″ or 70″ tall. $315 to $581.
Check out our clip on Fox Chicago News chatting about a few of these unique gifts.
We also chatted about this picks on ABC Detroit!
We’d love to hear what you are gifting for the Holidays. Check out our Hanukkah/Christmas gift section for more inspo.
This holiday, with the help of our generous friends and family we took our gifting skills to downtown Detroit. We worked with St Vincent, a HeadStart preschool in downtown Detroit and gifted a classroom full of 4-5 year old a few gifts they asked Santa for – lots of Ninja Turtle toys, Frozen dolls and these dream like Frozen princess dresses for all the little girls. The kids couldn’t have been sweeter and it was such a meaningful and memorial day. Can’t wait for next year!
The wrapping process!
Packing it all up.
Heading downtown, of course we wore santa hats.
Could they be any cuter?
Time to unwrap!
The Frozen dresses and crowns…what dreams are made of.
Just hanging with the girls.
Thank you to our family and friends for donating so many generous gifts and the folks at St Vincent’s for allowing us to join in on their holiday spirit and spend the day with them.
It’s no secret that we love small and independent products at The Gift Insider. We’ve rounded up gift picks + deals for those of you who love to #shopsmall this holiday season.
We partnered up with Lettuce Entertain You this holiday season to curate some of our favorite LEYE-related gift ideas. We’re huge fans of the group — as a former Chicago gal, I so miss Mon Ami Gabi, RPM, Paris Club and nights with the girls up at StudioParis. Lettuce Entertain You, you do it right! And I am honored to be curating a guide for you.
For The Hostess
For your holiday hosts and hostesses, we love the idea of a bringing a “Drink Kit.” Pair a nice bottle of booze with all the fixings you need to make a special cocktail. For a tropical vibe, pair the popular Tiki Mugs from 3 Dots and a Dash with their funky seahorse swizzle sticks and a nice bottle of rum. Or pair the host’s drink of choice with drink related touches like slate coasters, metal straws or festive cocktail napkins – it’s thoughtful but perfect for any type of host.
For Your Client
Foodease, in Chicago’s Water Tower Place, is the perfect spot to build your own artisan holiday gift basket. You can customize each basket to fit each of your clients tastes by mixing and matching different types of chocolate, wine, candy or specialty goodies. Feel free to splurge on something for yourself in their heavenly “chocolate closet.” If you need something quick and easy, go for their impressive assortment of chef created baskets. All the gift basket goods are local and small batch products, so it’s perfect for your most discerning business associates. Call Foodease at 312.335.3663 or head in and get creative!
For Him
For the grill master of the family that already has every grilling gadget, steak rub and cookbook – try gifting him something he can literally put on the grill this year. No matter what part of the country he lives in, you can send him a meal (or 2) worth of filets from Wildfire through Lou Malnati’s Tastes of Chicago.
For Anyone on Your List
The Lettuce Entertain You Gift Card. If you spend $100 on Lettuce Gift Cards, you get a $25 holiday bonus to spend on another gift…or yourself. So stock up. Let the way you present your gift card be just as much a part of the gift. Wrap your gift certificate in a chic pouch, a leather wallet or a monogrammed business card holder. Just make sure they know there is something inside too! Giving a gift card to a younger one? Make them work for it and hide it in a balloon. Before you blow it up, insert your gift card, add some fun confetti and then require the recipient to pop it before they can get their gift.
Insider Tip: Pick a theme (or a country!) and get creative. Give a Lettuce certificate themed around a “Girls Night Out.” Suggest Studio Paris and gift with a sparkly clutch, bright red lipstick or get super crafty and create a DIY Hangover Kit for the next morning. Or play off the country – go Italian and suggest RPM and gift with a set of italian spices, a cheese board, an Italian Cookbook and package it all in a cute wire basket.
Tis the season for holiday shopping & gifting! There are so many gifts to choose from, we wanted to bring you some totally unique picks for the season for all those people in your life who have it all. Tune into WGN Chicago to see these picks live in action. Happy Shopping!
1. Metal + Wood Photo Prints from Inkdot ($25 – $270) – Inkdot is a Chicago-based company that takes those photos that are stuck on your phone or camera & prints them onto wood or metal.
2. Emojified Custom Portrait ($75) – For the teen or tech-lover in your life, here is a way to spice up their walls and their texting game with a custom Emoji portrait. You receive a print AND digital file based on the customization elements you provide the artist and delivery within 1 week after customization details.
3. Three Dots and a Dash Tiki Mug ($28) – For your holiday hosts and hostesses, we love the idea of a bringing a “ Drink Kit.” Pair a nice bottle of booze with all the fixings you need to make a special cocktail. For a tropical vibe, pair the popular Tiki Mugs from 3 Dots and a Dash with their funky seahorse swizzle sticks and a nice bottle of rum.
4. Personalized Dart Board from Darts & Decor ($50) – Get him something personalized for his Mancave. This customized 18” regulation size Dart Board is made of quality cork & finished with a metal frame, wire numbering & inner grid. Full color is printed directly on the Dart Board. Comes with two sets of darts and is the perfect gift for Him.
5. Custom Candles Made from Your Own Bottle ($59) Coolest way to savor sentimental memories. Get Wickd from NYC, repurposes your special occasion bottles of wine/champagne/alcohol & turns them into luxe eco-friendly engravable candles. Save & mail your bottle, email your message & they engrave & fill your bottle with a natural soy candle & you choose the scent.
6. Sound Amplifying Cell Phone Cases ($29) – This new brooklyn-based line of tech cases, Goze, can amplify your phone 2.5x without needing additional batteries or plugging anything in. They are also bright, fun colors AND they are also antimicrobial so helps handle the issue of how many grimmy germs are on all of our cell phone cases.
7. Customized Gift Robe Set from Luxor Linens – A personalized robe for 40% off – the perfect gift for the spa or pamper lover in your life. You can monogram these robes or personalize with their name and include the comfy slippers for the ultimate relaxing gift.
TGI Deal // Deal Price is $59.95 after you use GIFTINSIDER40
We’ve teamed up with some of these cool companies to bring you exclusive discounts and awesome ideas. We fully recommend the picks we’ve suggested!
Site-wide Deals – Cyber Monday is time when a lot of retailers have site-wide deals vs. product specific deals so take advantage of those
Pre-shop – find what you want from stores before the holiday so you can focus on those discounts.
Promo Codes – To find them, go to RetailMeNot.com,TheKrazyCouponLady or Google the name of the shopping site with the words ‘coupon code’ or ‘promo code.
Set price alerts – Use search engines like Shopstyle and Pricegrabber to compare prices for all over
Bottom Up – Make to shop from bottom up on sale sites
Autofill – Be sure to set up autofill for your credit card or sign up for accounts on your favorite sites
What to Focus On/Avoid:
Buy: big ticket items, clothes, travel deals, beauty sets, gadgets and holiday decor
Avoid: Resist the urge to shop for yourself and hold off on winter accessories – gloves, coats, etc often go on sale even further after CyberMonday
