Just a few of my favored finds from the NYC Gift Show last week…

Bold colorful patterns of paper as banners, boxes, and wrap by Smock.

Lots of character for Kid friendly decorating: wall paper, stickers, bedding and plush accessories by Ferm Kids.

His & Hers chef aprons that stay true to masculinity & femininity by Pom Pom at Home.

1. Smock, 2. Ferm Kids, and 3. Pom Pom at Home (aprons coming soon)

One rule of etiquette not to be broken…a good guest always gifts a host a token of gratitude. Chic bottle carriers, numbered mixing bowls, modern tea towels paired with the right jam and a little french bread, a lemon tree topiary or a led lantern that illuminates with ease – all great ideas for gifting in return of generosity.

1. Metal Six-Bottle Carrier, $39, wisteria.com and bottles available for $4.50, containerstore.com, 2. Numbered Nesting Bowls, 4 for $59, wisteria.com, 3. Tea towels by ink.lore, $18 each, etsy.com, 4. Jam Gift Package, photo marthastewart.com, 5. Organic Meyer Lemon topiary, $110, vivaterra.com, 6. Dietz Antique LED Lantern, available in red or blue $30, cabelas.com

Like this…see more ideas here

En.grav.ing: to carve, cut, or etch into a material used for printing.

What was once a standard way of printing has over the years lost popularity but remains classic and cherished by artists and their aficionados. John M. Carrera a printer, bookbinder, artist and professor has developed a wonderful archive of Webster’s Dictionaries many engravings that graced the pages of their books in the 19th century. The restored engravings were used to create the below amazing items: a visual guide of 1,500 engravings great for any imagination, a set of 14 rubber stamps useful for scrapbooking and making stationery items, and alphabet cards that combine engravings with bold modern type, cool enough to hang on any wall or file away for educating. Picturing all the things I could do with these!

Clockwise: Pictorial Webster: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities, $23.10, Pictorial Webster’s Wall Cards: Icons & Curiosities from A to Z, 26 cards $16.47, and Pictorial Webster Rubber Stamp Set, set of 14 $12.89, amazon.com

Food, drinks, and  games - every guys dream day job. This Father’s day give the gift he’s hoping for: a personalized grill set paired with the right rubs, a tool to make pizza like a real Italian, an easy way to open wine, or surefire a way to horse around. Because every dad deserves a day to divulge.

1. Vintage Texas Horseshoe Set, Four Shoes & Two Stakes $69, napastyle.com, 2. Wall-Mounted Enoteca Bottle Opener, $169, napastyle.com, 3. Barrel Stave Bistro Cooler w/ stand, $585, napastyle.com, 4. Pizza Grilling Stone, $37, crateandbarrel.com, 5. Monogrammed Grill Tools Set with Storage Case, $100, williams-sonoma.com, 6. Kirby Cordial Glasses, $7 ea, crateandbarrel.com, 7. The Ultimate Grill Kit, $35, stonewallkitchen.com

Because love shouldn’t be showcased only one day out of the year… throw a dinner party and hand calligraph the menu with care, send love notes as invitations or for any old reason and stamp your way to someone’s heart, his and her scents bring harmony and peace of mind, catch the love bug and indulge, splurge on under garments fit for a queen and capture the feel good moments of wearing them on film, make a memorable monogram, and lastly, smell the roses everywhere you go.

1. hand calligraphed menu, cwarrendesign.com, 2. handmade valentine stamps, set of 6 $3, PS It’s in the Details 3. His and Her candles, $28 each, illume, 4. Love stamps spotted on love jenna 5. Personal photo shoot, haute boudoir photography spotted on snippet & ink, 6. Chocolate stitch hand sewn notes, set 0f 6 $18, Sugarcube Press, 7. Love bug Truffles, 4.86 oz. for $25, Moonstruck Chocolatier, spotted on realsimple.com, 8. My Pink Rose Ring, $10, shopruche.com 9. Phillip Lim lingerie, $75 each, net-a-porter.com 10. photo, spotted on The Posh Blog

I saw this on Grey likes Weddings yesterday and had to share it. What a fabulous idea to use an old sweater as a DIY wine wrap. Cut a sleeve and sew the bottom, place with a gift tag and you have two gifts in one! See full set of instructions here. Thanks to Summer and friends for the clever concept I will be sure to replicate.

Grey likes Weddings: along with Jenny Liu Photography, MaeMae Paperie and Calligraphos Ink.

Will I ever get used to saying twenty ten (2010) in place of 0-10! I can’t believe 2009 is over this week, I keep looking at my desktop calendar and January just isn’t there which sent me to Etsy.com in search of a 2010 calendar. I shop Etsy because many designers sell printable PDFs that I can easily make myself or if you rather beautifully constructed calendars for purchase. Last year my roommate and I hosted a New Year’s Eve dinner and I purchased a calendar PDF from the Little Brown Pen on Etsy and made calendar favors for all of our guests. For under $8 I was able to give a gift that lasted all year long and was cute to boot, amazing!

Here are a few of my favorites from Etsy this year…

1. Keep Calm and Carry On Spoof Calendars, Printable PDFs, 4.25 x 11″, $5 each, Little Brown Pen womens & mens, 2. Typography desktop calendar, 5 x 5″ $12, 10% of the proceeds from this item will be donated to March of Dimes. lily jane stationery, 3. Funny Birds Calendar, 4×6″ cards, $25, Modern Pop, 4. Desktop Calendar Verison 1, 4 5/8” x 5 3/8”, $20, 3 Sisters Love, 5. Pretty Patterns wall calendar, 4 x 10″, $17.50, pink lily press, 6. Printable Calendar, $6, Sweet beets

Like most people I still have all my wrapping to do. Oh the joys of the holidays! Most of the time I wrap in recycled kraft paper so when I saw these huge rolls on Whisker Graphics I thought what a great idea!  Buying in bulk - ingenious. What is so great about kraft paper is that you can dress it up in soo many ways, ribbon, illustrations, natural elements like this pine cone, sprig and twine from HGTV - so simple and yet stunning. Also, I love these ideas by Real Simple. Plain boxes closed with colored masking tape in place of ribbon. This would be especially helpful for those that have to ship presents like myself, I learned early on that the packages don’t always look as pretty after being tossed around in the mail. Creative tags like these paint chips, how cute!  Anyone that loves the Pantone series or home decorating would be touched by your cleverness (Real Simple won’t tattle). Also, these wood tags with adhesive letters could be used for your family year after year, what a great way to lessen waste. Lastly, run out of gift wrap, wrap with what you have, newspapers, old maps, magazines. Sometimes these options can actually suit a gift better than store bought paper. Blast holiday music, make some eggnog and have fun, any way you wrap it!

1.-4. reasimple.com, 5. hgtv.com, 6. whiskergraphics.com Great resource for plain boxes in bulk Uline.com

Little surprises that bring lots of cheer.

1. Compact reusable Nylon bags, Neon Chevron, $8, baggu.com, 2. Smencils, scented pencils, 10 for $14, uncommongoods.com, 3. Monogrammed decals 3″ dia, stick them just about anywhere, $18, dabneyleeathome.com, 4. Stapless stapler, $12, uncommongoods.com, 5. icon keys, $11 each, statkeycompany.com, 6. Eco Tools 5-pc. Makeup Brush Set, $11, target.com, 7. iTunes $10 giftcards, pack of 3 - $30, bestbuy.com, 8. Desktop speaker for MP3 players, $10, AAA batteries not included, containerstore.com, 9. Mimobot® USB 4GB Flash Drives, $35, momastore.org

Women want something indulgent that they can enjoy. Gifts that are thoughtful that will make them feel good whenever they wear, look, or think of the memory it made. For all those men that think their loved one actually wants a vacuum cleaner - think again. Cleaning is a chore that very few like if not loathe, functionality should not be top priority when gifting someone special.

With that being said below are some great ideas for gifting the lovely ladies in your life. Gift the jewelry that will make them shine, silky lingerie to make them feel sexy, and cupcakes to show them how sweet they are. For those that love experiences - Sunday Suppers is a cooking & dining class taught by local NYC chefs pairing market fresh, local and organic food with wonderful table top aesthetic in a waterfront loft in Brooklyn, NY. Give the gift of style with a classic trench, or vintage one-of-a-kind china clock. An all-in-one printer can be the perfect helper to a scrapbooker, or creative individual. And every women’s dream… a custom closet made just for them, you won’t need any mistletoe to get a reaction for this one, promise!

1. Ismene Necklace, $745, dannijo.com, 2. Mistletoe, $5.99, kisses free, morekissesmistletoe.com or check your local florist, 3. Stretch Silk Satin Kimono with Lace, $87, marygreen.com, 4. Sophie Camisole, $80 & Sophie Hipster, $55 by Only Hearts, shopbop.com, 5. Burberry Double Breasted Trench, $975, saksfifthavenue.com, 6. Peppermint Mini snow cupcakes, set of 24 -$50, williams-sonoma.com, 7. China Cabinet Clock, one of a kind variety, $188, anthropologie.com, 8. Cobblestone ring, $35, silentgypsyjewelry.com, 9. Dinner Experience, $75-$100 per person, for upcoming events e-mail info@sunday-suppers.com or visit sunday-suppers.blogspot.com, 10. HP photosmart all in one printer, $400, bestbuy.com, 11. Closet makeover, prices vary, California Closets