We were recently contacted by Dee Boswell of DeeBozzz, who creates unique, one-of-a-kind silk scarves. (she used our Suggest a Gift contact form)

Dee suggested we take a look at her scarves to see if we wanted to review them.

Honestly, my first thought was “do I want to review scarves?” Interesting enough? Unique enough?

But, after taking a look, I:

1. Saw how beautiful the scarves are
2. Realized how unique they really are
3. Thought that they would make lovely gifts for women & women who are art lovers
4. Noticed that Dee can make custom pieces for you
5. Decided that I was late in getting a Mother’s Day gift idea post out (although we do have a nice list of Mother’s Day Gift Ideas on the site)

Here are some of the scarves that jumped out at me:

Dee let us know the following about her products and company:

[Dee creates] silk scarves, silk shawls, and silk apparel. They are all hand-painted, and one-of-a-kind.

The mission of this fiber art company is to “create beautiful and unique designs through the art of silk hand painting and dyeing”.

What makes these accessories so different is that they are so unique. Every scarf and wrap is fashioned by hand from beginning to end. Patterns may be similar, but every scarf is one of a kind! They have a luxurious feel, yet they are easy to care for.

I create my wearable works of art in my Toronto-based studio.

Dee also has a nice blog and videos of how to wear your scarf. Small business owner, great products, blog, how-to videos… you can see why I decided to write about this.

If you do purchase something from Dee for this Mother’s Day, you will also have a nice story to tell Mom about how you found a cute site called GiftStumped and found unique, hand-painted scarves created by an artist in Toronto. She just doesn’t need to know you almost waited until the last minute!

A few things you need to know about MsGift are that 1. I wear flip-flops pretty much year round and 2. I enjoy a cold beverage every once in a while (…or every couple days).

Apparently Kelly Owens must have known that already when she contacted us about her site The Merry Martini. Not only is the site adorable but it has some REALLY great stuff, including this Lolita Flip Flops Martini Glass.

I have seen hand-painted glasses before but what makes this one unique is that it comes in it’s own box with a special recipe. I love the flip flops painted on the glass but I also think the recipe sounds delicious:

• 1 1/2 Parts Mandarin Vodka
• 1 Part Grand Marnier
• 3/4 Part Cream
• 3/4 Part Milk
• 1/4 Part Sugar
• Strawberry Syrup Garnish

It sounds great to me but if flip flops aren’t your thing, they also have a number of other designs (with recipes) for shopaholics, chocolate lovers and of course birthday girls. Pair this with the ingredients required and you have a great birthday gift, housewarming gift or just a fun night ahead of you!

Discount Alert!!!

Kelly has been kind enough to offer GiftStumped readers a discount code for her site. If you want to get 10% off your Merry Martini purchase, enter the code FASHIONISTA. It is good through 12/31/08.

I saw not too long ago that Jessica Alba received a diaper cake from her mother (I think) at her baby shower. I’m trying to find the article I read specifically, but all I’ve been able to come up with so far is this picture of an article in People magazine which references the cake in question.

In my research, I also found mention of a Sex and the City episode where Carrie and Samantha give Miranda a diaper cake.

If you want to get your diaper cake from the same, trendy store that Jessica received hers from, check out Intuition’s online shop (the store is located on 10581 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles).

I’m more of a believer of buying from “the little guy” and “good people”, and I was lucky enough to find Belinda Wasser’s Blueberry Babies online, and the diaper cakes she offers:

pink orchids	blue mums

mint green gladiolas	pink safari daisies

For those of you who want to do-it-yourself, check out this tutorial on how to make a diaper cake.

Check out this page on our site for additional gift ideas for expecting moms …

Last week we ran a poll asking “how much should you spend on a kid’s birthday present (not your own child)?”. Of those who responded 51% said that the appropriate amount was $20-$29.

I wasn’t particularly surprised by this response as it’s right in the middle but it did make me wonder what types of gifts you could get for that price.

Here are some pretty cool gift ideas for both boys and girls in the $20-$29 price range:

Gifts for Boys:

Outdoor Shark Tent - This shark tent is just awesome! It fits two children (made for ages 3-6), comes with fiberglass poles that are easy to assemble and really looks like a fun time. It measures 35Hx60Wx84″L so it could be used indoors OR outdoors and can be found at Target. Price: $24.99

Mini RC Indoor Airplane - A mini remote control airplane is fun for a boy (or heck even man) of any age. It has easy to fly controls, comes with a rechargeable battery and is made of foam so it won’t break anything (hopefully). The Hobby Tron site has a great page on it including a demo video. Price: $29.95

Trunk O’ Tricks Joke Set - While magic and joke kits probably aren’t as cool as they used to be, I still think they’d make a pretty exciting gift for someone. This trunk o’ tricks comes with tricks, jokes and props with some unusual names: Monkey Bar Monkey Tunnel Stop-N-Go, Mac-N-Lewis 2-Bit Fez Los Bananas Fantastico! Six Sense Shrunken Head Ape Escape. Price: $22.00

Whack A Mouse Game - If anyone can look me in the eye and tell me that (aside from skee-ball) Whack-a-Mole wasn’t the best game at Chuck E. Cheese, they are crazy. This one isn’t quite as cool but for a small game to have at home it would be pretty fun. Plus, it teaches kids hand-eye coordination. Price: $24.95

Gifts for Girls:

Cool Bracelets/Jeweley - I think jewelry is an underrated gift for kids and teens. I mean come one, one of the essential parts of playing dress-up is your mom’s jewelry! There are a ton of great places to get jewelry but My Fancy Princess has some really great pieces at affordable prices. The bracelet pictured here is a white pearl bracelet featuring Swarovski crystals. Price: $20.00

Magnetic Dress Up Dolls - I have seen these on a few sites around the internet and they are adorable. I loved paper dolls when I was younger but man what a pain. The little flap would rip off or a piece would blow away and you’d lose your favorite outfit. These dolls are magnetic so you won’t be losing any pieces to the wind. Price: $14.99* *Doesn’t fit the $20-$29 but you can always pair it with something smaller

Mani/Pedi Gift Basket - I love painting my nails. I love having my nails painted. I have loved both of these things since I can remember. Some of my favorite Christmas stocking gifts were nail polish and nail files. Put together a small gift basket for a girl of any age. Things you’ll need: Nail polish, nail files, nail buffer, lotion (peppermint is the best), foot file, toe spreaders and anything else you can think of. Price: Your Discretion

Barbie Karaoke BoomBox - The Barbie theme certainly makes this for a younger crowd but the idea is that most KIDS love music and singing. This boombox is so cute and is designed to play an iPod nano. It comes with a microphone, ear buds and a shoulder strap. Price: $29.99

I know there are many, many, many other kids gifts out there that fall into this price range but I thought these were great. What other kinds of gifts are kids asking for these days?

Derek Semmler, the author of The Man Page at the Sparkplugging Blog, recently wrote an article titled The Unofficial Guide to Buying Your Wife a Gift.

Derek admits to these past gift-giving faux pas:

• Lingerie (who’s the gift for, anyway?)
• Truffles (when she was dieting)
• Clothing (of the wrong size)

The Unofficial Guide has a basic, two-step process:

1. Listen To Her
2. Ask Her

Of course it’s not that simple, so I’ll let you read what Derek has to say for yourself (and there are some fun comments on his post too).

At the end of the Unofficial Guide, there is the basic assertion “If she isn’t happy with the gift, then you did something wrong.” True.

Then again, you can always get a little gift-idea help from reading the GiftStumped blog!

Take a look at our Gifts For Women category for some inspiration…