Today’s gifts that give back would be perfect for stockings. Opening my stocking was always my favorite part of the whole  morning regardless of what other gifts I got that year. It was always fun to find all the small little gifts stuffed in there.

Sephora has a line of products called Beauty That Gives Back and each product supports a cause. The selection varies so check back often.

Currently you’ll find eye shadow that benefits an animal charity, various pink products that support breast cancer awareness, a body scrub for prostate cancer awareness, and even a lip color and mascara that give back. Even if you aren’t giving these items as gifts you could consider swapping out your usual favorite for one that gives back. Browse the beauty that gives back section here.

In case you missed it:

Gifts That Give Back: Round 1

Gifts that Give Back: Round 2

Don’t forget to sign up for GiveBack.org to give all your gifts a chance to give back!

banner design by Cris Kiss My Tulle

One Day in December is a collective project with 23 incredible bloggers and wedding professionals from all over the globe. The idea is simple really… fill December with positive moments from the past year in an effort to reflect, inspire, and be grateful for the good things in life. The brains behind the idea is Orly, a photographer based in London. Join us as we share our best moments from the past year. The fun begins today!

• Glue gun
• Scissors
• Old ornament
• Burlap
• Alphabet stamps
• ink pad (You see paint in that picture but it didn’t actually work so I just used a plain old ink pad)
• Embellishments (I used a little bow and twine)

I took my large sheet of burlap and wrapped it around the ornament so I would know how long the strips should be. I then cut out a rectangle of burlap that was the size I needed. I cut the burlap into thin strips.

I removed the metal hanging device (what would you call that) from the ornament and put a small dot of glue on the top, pulled the burlap around and glued it to the other side.

Pull it as tight as you can and make sure you don’t get too close to the top, you’ll want to put the hanging thing back on. Repeat until it is covered.

On one of the strips, tap your stamps on the ink pad and spell out any word you would like. Names could be cute too. I had a small ornament so I went with joy.

Glue the strip with the word on last so the word shows. Embellish it however you want and hang it on the tree!

Cute right? It was super easy and could make for a cute place card idea or even a gift tag!

Photo via Shannon Kelley.

Many of the photos I found of Haiti were gray, gloomy and sad like the one above. I decided to focus on the colorful culture of Haiti instead. In addition the colors below have a positive vibe which perfectly represents the positive impact Shannon and her family are about to make for the people of Haiti. Shannon tells me that Haiti is an amazing place to have a wedding due to it’s pristine beaches and tropical atmosphere.

Images via Style Me Pretty

There she is on her wedding day!

Today is Round #2 of Gives That Give Back, if you missed Round #1 you can find it here. I also came across a list of gifts that give back from one of my favs, Layla. You can browse her list here.

Before we get into today’s picks I wanted to tell you all about GiveBack.org. GiveBack.org is affiliated with tons and tons of retailers including everyone from Sephora to Target to Office Max. Basically if you plan to do any shopping online this year, you should register for a free account, shop through their links and a portion of every sale is put into an account and then you get to decide where to donate to. Essentially by signing up anything you buy could be a gift that gives back. If you are planning to shop online it really doesn’t make sense not to do it! Register here.

Slippers tend to be a classic holiday gift. It seems after a year of use, Christmas is the perfect time to make an upgrade. Why not buy these from Free Waters and help support clean water projects at the same time?

Don’t they look comfy?! This one pair of slippers will provide clean water for one person for an entire year. Those are some powerful slippers.

Kohl’s has teamed up with Good Housekeeping to provide a cookbook with 100% of profits going to their Kohl’s Cares program which helps children’s health and education initiatives nation wide.

The 136 page cookbook goes for a whole $5. It is essentially too good of a deal to pass up! This would be a great hostess gift packaged along with a batch of homemade cookies!

What are you favorite gifts to give? Let me know and I’ll see if I can find an option that gives back!

Moving on to more appropriate things… Trashed dresses. Or in this cash just a little junk yard sesh in a gorgeous wedding gown. The edgy shots were captured by Pilster Photography. This bride, Jessica, had a gorgeous Vera Wang gown but knew she wanted to wear it one more time and have a little fun with it. To ensure she didn’t actually ruin it she did a ton of research and came up with the perfect concept for a fun shoot that didn’t actually destroy her lovely frock. I’ll let her explain her best tips for gingerly trashing your dress.

From Jessica:

Selecting a wedding dress is like choosing your husband: you have to weed through all the rejects before you find the one that suits you perfectly. When the last flute of champagne is drained and the last song swayed to on the dance floor, you’re stuck with the most exciting thing you’ve ever worn just hanging in your closet. Rejoice! You can once again zip yourself into that pristine white frock–and trash it.

I know–gasp. But, before you start spewing about what went into the handmade lace overlay atop your Vera Wang, read on. I discovered how to have a fun, down-and-dirty photo shoot and all my precious dress needs is a trip to a good dry cleaner.

First thing’s first: create a concept. I started by Googling “Trash the Dress” and “Rock The Frock” and found that everyone has a different idea of what it means. Most of the sessions I came across involved bright paint, water or mud. I wanted to do something different. So I brainstormed and came up with the idea to be in my beautiful wedding gown in an environment completely opposite. My first thought was a landfill. My husband quickly told me I wouldn’t last five minutes at a landfill. (We saw an episode of Modern Marvels a few days later featuring a landfill and he was so right!)

Then I thought of a junkyard. I pictured myself all dirty-ed up, wearing my dress and some black motorcycle boots, surrounded by broken down cars, dumpsters and old parts. I was excited to see the juxtaposition of the stark white dress thrown into the anything-but-white surroundings. Some brides choose to smear stuff down their dresses. For me, this shoot was more about juxtaposition and less about physically dirtying fabric.

Next, do some research. You need to know the exact fabric of your dress. How many layers does it have? What are they made of? A lot of this information should be found on the tag of the dress or the paperwork from your purchase, but if you can’t find what you’re looking for you can always call the store. If you get to know your dress, it will be easier to clean. My particular dress has a tulle netting overlay that can be really difficult to clean because of its delicateness. For this reason, we bought thin plastic painters’ tarps to lay down to protect the surface of the dress. From what I saw, you might be surprised how resilient your little number can be.

Substances like grease are near impossible to remove from fabric, but your normal, everyday, run-of-the-mill dirt can usually be removed by dry cleaning or hand washing. I saw a lot of online posts from brides who used washable paint on their dress and then soaked it in their shower and hung it to dry with no problems. Lastly, you want to give some thought to the type of things you might run into where you’ve chosen to do your shoot. I knew there was a good chance I’d come in contact with some grease because I was at a junkyard. If you’re in a wooded area doing something with mud, for example, you should be careful of twigs and branches that can catch the whispy top layers of your dress and tear them.

Along the same lines of getting to know your dress and thinking about what it may come in contact with, before you do a trash the dress photo shoot it’s a good idea to think about the level at which you are comfortable trashing the dress you got married in. I talked to my parents (who bought my dress for me) and asked if there was anything that would make them uncomfortable. Ultimately, they told me to do whatever I wanted to do, but I certainly didn’t want to seem ungrateful. Mostly you have to be honest and realistic with yourself.

Whether or not you plan to pass your dress onto a cousin or future daughter, renew your vows in it or preserve it to hang in a closet for the rest of eternity, it’s still your wedding dress. Figure out how you feel about it. Everyone’s different. Are you sentimental about it? Is it just another dress? Thinking about this ahead of time will ensure you don’t get caught up in the moment or allow a photographer to push you into doing something you’ll cry yourself to sleep about later.

I was actually pretty set that my dress was going to make it out of the shoot without so much as a smudge, but I changed my mind that day and decided that if it had a few bumps and bruises for the sake of art they would serve as a memory of the photo shoot. We ditched the plastic tarps and I just went with it. Having not been careful at all, other than holding it up when I walked (black, dirty sand is not a good look), it really didn’t get very dirty. The chapel-length train and under layers are pretty black, but I’ve seen worse from just a wedding reception. As long as you and your photographer know what to expect going in, you can always choose not to take certain precautions you came prepared to take.

Finally, you gotta commit! I am the girliest girl of all time and I was sitting on questionable car seats, leaning my face on headrests riddled with unknown substances and doing my best to ignore the spiders. Whatever setting you choose, you have to commit to what you’re doing. Have fun with it and make it believable! You don’t have to dive into a pool to get a great shot, but you can’t be afraid to touch and interact and climb, explore and push yourself out of your comfort zone. Release your inner supermodel!

You’ll need:

• Several long strips of burlap. No need for exact measurements. Strips should be an inch or so wide.
• Fishing line, thread would do but I wanted to be sure it wouldn’t show.
• A needle
• Beads or buttons for the ends.

Tie one end of fishing line to the needle to be sure it doesn’t slip off. Keep the other end attached to the roll until you know how much you will use. Weave the needle and line through the burlap.

Continue the process, spreading the strips down the line until you have your desired length. Of course you can make one super long one that will go around the entire tree but I decided to make several smaller versions.

When you are done it should look something like this. Next tie a bead or button to the ends to hold the fishing line in place.

Now it’s time to place them on the tree!

Cute right? I would show you a photo of the entire tree but I haven’t finished the garlands entirely! This was super easy and gives a whole new rustic look to our  tree which I LOVE.

The reason my project was delayed…

My little helper. Who believe it or not, was not actually helpful.

From the amazingly creative Jordan of Oh Happy Day… chocolate place cards.

It would be hard for this situation to get any more fabulous. But alas, I think it does. With the holiday season upon us pies are everywhere. Why not go for a pie place card?

This adorable creation is from You Are My Fave.

Edible place cards– eco-friendly and delicious! What do you think?

Today’s board is inspired by those angel trees. Gold, white, and touches of evergreen create a gorgeous Christmas palette but to me I see smiles, gratitude, and children filled with joy.

Photos via Style Me Pretty, full photo credits here.

Last year, I did several posts on gifts that give back for the holiday season and I thought it would be fun to start the giving list again this year. Many of the gifts are great for the holiday season but if what I find is anything like last year, the gifts are often available throughout the year. I love when I can make my money do double duty and help people at the same time. So today I have to start with two of my favorite things…

Shoes & Wine.

You likely aren’t strangers to Tom shoes but I have found that they make great gifts. What is even better is every time I wear mine someone that isn’t familiar with the brand asks me about the shoe. It is a great opportunity to share a bit about their mission. Plus the shoes are super comfortable and they have some adorable festive styles for the holiday season.

Wine makes a great gift for that person who has everything, for someone you may not know super well, or for your best friend who you know loves a great pinot noir. Why not give a bottle that gives back?

Luckily there are several options with some that you can find in most grocery stores and others you will likely have to order online or through specialty wine retailers.

Some favorites include:

One Hope Wine-donate half of all profits to various charities
Canine Wines- donate $5 from each bottle to animal rescue
Humanitas Wines- donates to Habitat for Humanity and Feeding America
Lookout Ridge Wines- gives a wheelchair to someone in need for every bottle sold. The wine is pricey but they actually donate more than they take in through the sale of the wine.
Flip Flop Wines- donates a pair of shoes to a child in need through Souls for Soles for each bottle sold.