Keepsakes-Etc > A Great Gift That Warms More Than Just Your Heart

Keepsakes-Etc. is an online gift shop specializing in throws, wall tapestries, and personalized gifts. I was blessed to receive a free personalized holiday themed throw blanket of my choice for this review. I chose the Santa's Christmas Gift throw monogrammed with my kids' names plus my two step childrens' names to give as a gift.

While browsing for their selection for this review, I came across several other items I'm considering for gifts to other family members and friends. I love this Texas throw and Navy wall hanging for hubby. Perhaps my MIL would like this Harley Davidson throw, while some of these John Deere gifts might appeal to some of my farming friends.

My experience: I was extremely impressed with their customer service from the moment I placed my order. I submitted my order on a Monday evening. The order was placed in their shop on Wednesday morning. I received my blanket on the following Monday. It took less than SEVEN DAYS from when I placed the order to embroider, package, ship, and receive my blanket. WOW! I've ordered online before and this is pretty amazing turn around time ESPECIALLY for a personalized product!!!

Santa's Throw retails for $49.99 plus $5.00 per line of monogramming. It is a large blanket measuring 48"x69" leaving plenty of room for all the kids' and grandkids' names. This blanket is made in the USA (which is difficult to find these days), 100% cotton and completely washable. The quality is OUTSTANDING. The Santa's Throw blanket is a double layered throw making it thick and warm for those cold winter nights. The weaving detail is impressive and the fringe is so gorgeous. It even comes with a gorgeous satin red gift bag with tissue paper to make gifting it even easier.

The Verdict: This is great product I wished I found earlier. I highly recommend a throw blanket from Keepsakes-Etc. With over 2,500 different products available, there is surely something for everyone on your holiday shopping list this year. They offer photo throws, custom designs, fleece, sports themed, seasonal, wall hangings, inspirational and even military themed blankets with personalization available on nearly all their products. US and Canadian shipping and handing prices range from $7.99 to $16.99 but they will ship anywhere in the world with pre-approval.

How to order: You can get your own personalized throw or wall hanging via their website at Keepsakes-Etc or call toll free 1-888-815-3455 for some great gift ideas.

They also sell personalized monogrammed hand bags at Simply-Bags.com. SURPRISE: they are giving away a Patent Leather Handbag on their blog. Hurry, the giveaway ends 11/15.

*This product was provided at no charge by Keepsakes-Etc for the purpose of this review. No other compensation has been provided for this review. All opinions written in this post are my honest thoughts and impressions of this product. This is a truthful report of my personal experience with Keepsakes-Etc.*

Twitter Party Schedule

There are quite a few Twitter Parties on the horizon I don't want any of you to miss. You will get tons of great information and meet some great people. There is the bonus of some pretty amazing prizes attached to the parties too. With any luck, I'll see you at the party! Good luck and happy tweeting!

Time To Play Sitewarming Twitter Party
Date: Friday, November 6, 2009
Time: 9 p.m. - 10 p.m. EST
Location: #HotToys
Host: @ResourcefulMom
Prize: 14 of the hottest toys (see the rsvp link for the full list of toys)
Follow: @ResourcefulMom, @JimSilver, @TheToyGuy
RSVP for extra entries.

Zhu Zhu Pets™/MomSelect Twitter Party
Date: Monday, November 9, 2009
Time: 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. EST
Location: #ZhuZhuPets
Host: @MomTalkRadio (Maria Bailey, Founder of MomSelect)
Prize: 25 Zhu Zhu Hamsters plus habitrail pieces and accessories
Follow: @ResourcefulMom, @MomSelectAmy, @MomSelectMary and @MomSelectValika
RSVP for extra entries.

Women on Their Way/MomSelect Twitter Party

Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Time: 8 p.m. - 9 p.m. EST
Location: #WOTW
Host: @MomTalkRadio (Maria Bailey, Founder of MomSelect and seasoned traveler)
Prize: Wyndam Rewards Points, a week long travel certificates from EVRentals.com, and a FLIP camera.
Follow: @MomTalkRadio, @AlysonAdventure, @ResourcefulMom and @KimOrlando
RSVP for extra entries to win the FLIP camera.

Amy is the Resourceful Mom and hosts many of the Sitewarming Parties I attend. This is what her Twitter Party calendar looks like for the next several weeks. Either subscribe to her blog, Resourceful Mommy, or check back often to make sure you don't miss a single party invite!

Perfect Pairs Sweepstakes

Embrace Dinner.com has launched the new "Perfect Pairs" sweepstakes to compliment Tyson's new Heat N Eat entree's. Prizes include $100 Walmart Gift Cards, Netflix DVD rentals, new dinnerware/cookware, and other wonderful prizes that will come in very handy on date night!

Complete an entry form every day to increase your odds of winning the weekly draw. Every week the contest resets which increases your chances of winning.



The sweeps runs till the end of December. Don't forget to bookmark this site and enter daily!

http://embracedinner.com/SpecialOffers/PerfectPairs.aspx

Good luck!

WW-Optimus Prime In the Making

Cut various boxes to size and try on before painting.


Lay out everything and mark how you imagine the paint scheme.


Prime and paint. If you just paint, the cardboard soaks up too much paint and the color still isn't as vibrant as it should be.

Glue the finishing touches into place and enjoy the oohhs and aahhs.

All about the BBQ Sauce

I like short simple easy recipes. I thought BBQ sauce was complicated so I never bothered, especially when I can buy the stuff for $1 on sale at the grocery store! After watching Bobby, The Neely's, and Sunny whip up sauce after sauce in no time flat with ingredients I already have in the pantry, I suddenly found myself moved to make my own BBQ sauce.

It seems nearly every meal lately has included a homemade BBQ sauce. Some are spicy. Some are sweet. Some are tangy but it must be delicious since hubby eats the left overs without a remix. This is highly unusual unless it's REALLY good the first time around!

My base recipe for homemade BBQ sauce.

• ketchup or tomato paste-huge squirt or about 4 ounces
• mustard-little squirt
• brown sugar
• cider vinegar
• red pepper flakes
• ground paprika
• garlic powder
• dash of salt
• honey or sorghum-optional
• minced onion-optional
• ground cayenne-optional
• strawberry preserves-optional
  

You noticed there's no measurements? Different measurements of the ingredients change the flavor of the BBQ sauce. We like sweet, spicy, and tangy sauces so this method works well for me.

BBQ tips I learned the hard way!

• The top four ingredients determine the consistency of the sauce.
• Use more cider vinegar or mustard for a tangy sauce.
• Add water or apple juice to thin it to a marinade consistency.
• Add honey, sorghum, or preserves to naturally and subtly sweeten the sauce.
• A little brown sugar goes a long way.
• Ground paprika and cayenne add instant heat but heat from red pepper flakes will slowly increase, especially after heating.
• Heating sauce over med low till bubbly will slightly thicken the sauce.
• Heating it is not necessary as long as you whisk it all together well.
• Start with small amounts of spices, taste as you go adding various spices till you get the flavor you like.
• You can add just about anything to a BBQ sauce and it still taste like a BBQ sauce so use what is already in your pantry.
  

Here's plenty of BBQ recipes from the folks at Food Network in case you need a more structured recipe. How do you like your BBQ sauce???