Mother's Day Gift Ideas from Novica.com

Even though I am a mother myself, I find it particularly difficult to find unique gifts for my own mother for Mother's Day, for her birthday, and for Christmas.  Since I know that she always loves gifts that are beautifully crafted by hand more than mass produced items, I try to keep her in mind whenever I visit Novica.com.  Novica offers a wide array of gifts for women, including clothing, handbags, shawls, jewelry, and more that are all handcrafted by artisans from around the globe.

When I shop on Novica.com, I usually am looking for something unique to surprise a loved one, but this time I chose two items for myself.  Since I have been admiring all the wraparound bracelets I have been seeing for the 2012 Spring/Summer season, I chose this "Brown Trendsetter" Leather Wrap Bracelet made by an artisan named Khanittha in Thailand.

I chose this bracelet for the twisted style of the leather and its deep brown color.  Also, this bracelet is adjustable and fits my smaller wrist size very well.  Like with most Novica jewelry, this bracelet came in a beautiful gift box.  All Novica products are accompanied by a postcard from it's country of origin along with a story about the product and the artisan who created it.  At $22.99, this handcrafted leather bracelet is extremely reasonably priced.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

The other product I chose for myself was the "Purple Paths" Cotton Shawl.  It looks like this shawl is currently sold out, but there are many more wraps and other women's Central American accessories featured under new arrivals on the website.  This particular one was made by the San Jose Women's Artisan Association in Central America.  This cotton shawl is the perfect weight for Springtime and cool summer nights.  It was also very easy to steam out any wrinkles by just hanging the shawl on a shirt hanger in the bathroom during a hot shower.  I have to mention that this product arrived gift wrapped with a charming handmade "worry doll" gift topper with a very interesting story attached to it.

Be sure to checkout all the artisan-made products on Novica.com for Mother's Day, including brightly colored yellow, orange, and green scarves, and for Father's Day, such as men's cufflinks from Indonesia or beautiful chess sets from all over the world.  I have ordered Novica products from many different countries and have found that you should allow approximately 3 weeks for the item to arrive.  It is best not to wait until the last minute to order your gift since it may have a long way to travel.

Thank you to Novica.com for providing a gift code for me to shop for products to base this review upon and for providing an additional gift code for our contest prize.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

Review: Kymaro Cardi Wrap . . . a Cardigan and Wrap in One

Offering the practicality of a cardigan, but also the elegance of a wrap or a pashmina, the Kymaro Cardi Wrap is the perfect fashion piece for most body types.  For someone like me, whose body never really recovered from carrying twins, I feel most confident when my mid-section is camouflaged.  With nearly 60 recommended ways to wear the Cardi Wrap, I chose the ones to try that would likely hide my tummy the best.  There were clearly some styles that I absolutely loved, but also a few that I did not care for.  It was certainly fun trying them all though . . . like making different dresses for my Barbie doll with a handkerchief when I was a child.

It was difficult choosing the color Cardi Wrap I wanted.  All seven available colors are actually colors I would wear.  Although red, black, and grey are my usual go-to colors, I decided on the purple and am extremely pleased with my decision.  I also opted for the Plus size verses the Misses because I figured having a little extra fabric to work with would be better than not having enough.

Accompanying the Cardi Wrap is an accessory kit, which includes 3 triangular bangles in silvertone, goldtone, and black,  plus two dyed to match woven pins . . . a bow and a flower.

Although I could definitely wear the Cardi Wrap as a simple duster cardigan, since I just love the cascading hemline and the way the fabric drapes, these are two more of my favorite ways to wear it . . .

The style shown on the left is not one of the ways shown in the Cardi Wrap booklet, but it was actually the first way I thought to wear the Cardi Wrap with a pin or a brooch.  The style shown on the right is style #18 in the booklet and perhaps my favorite style out of all the ones I tried.  It is comfortable, stylish, elegant, and hides my tummy well.  The styles that involved using the bangles plus tying the Cardi Wrap always turned out to be a little bulky for me.  Perhaps I would have had different results with the Misses size Cardi Wrap instead?

If you are in need of a gift idea for the woman who has everything, I would highly recommend the Cardi Wrap.  You can learn more about it and view all the colors available by visiting BuyCardiWrap.com.  Currently you can receive the Cardi Wrap in either size plus the accessory kit for $49.90.

Thank you to Kymaro for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.  This review has been written as part of a campaign for the Family Review Network.

Giveaway & Review: Pashmina Shawl from HairCoverings.com [CLOSED]

Recently I was given the opportunity to try out a shawl/pashmina from HairCoverings.com. I have never owned a shawl, so I wasn’t really expecting anything too glamorous. They changed my expectations.

When I pulled the pashmina out of the package the first thing I noticed was how soft and silky it is. It feels so luxurious; I didn’t want to put it down. It’s very well made and the fringe doesn’t appear to be in danger of coming off. I’ve used it several times either as a shawl covering for a dress for more formal occasions, as a “jacket” over a tank top at more casual events, and also as a decorative scarf and every time it looked great and even got me some comments on how pretty and soft it was.

I haven’t washed it yet, as I haven’t needed to and probably won’t for a while, but I would imagine it’s hand wash only. I don’t know how well it would hold up in a washer but I wouldn’t try. Plus, machine washing might ruin its silkiness.

I will definitely be hitting up HairCoverings.com again in the near future for more pashminas and to try out some of their other products. They carry many beautiful items such as hair clips, headbands, fashion accessories, pony holders, banana clips and more.

Thank you to HairCoverings.com for sending us a sample shawl free of charge to base this review upon.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a Surprise Box of Hair Accessories worth $25 from HairCoverings.com .

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to WORLDWIDE entries. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Browse the hair accessories and other products available from HairCoverings.com . Then leave a comment telling me which item or items you would love to own. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND HairCoverings.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, Friend me on Facebook and/or "Like" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page. Then leave a separate comment for each entry completed with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry each, follow HairCoverings on Twitter and/or "Like" HairCoverings on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each entry completed with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.

6)

Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)

Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)

Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)

Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10)

Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!