Gift Shopping Tips for Tight Budgets

Have you seen the prices of greeting cards lately? It is hideous! Once you purchase the card and gift-wrap, your overall cost can easily increase by $10 to$15. If you are on a tight budget, this can be difficult as you spend more on the fluff and less on the actual gift. Not only are greeting cards expensive, their sizes often overwhelm small gifts, which make the overall presentation, looking goofy and unbalanced. Basically, you really don't need to spend on expensive greeting cards to make an impression.

We all have this perception that greeting cards are the perfect match to gift giving. Although true, there are cost effective ways that can help you spend more on gifts and less on greeting cards. For instance, packaged blank cards are the best way to go as you pay less per card then individually. The other advantage of blank cards is that they are not specific to an occasion and can be used for anything. You should always have a pack handy and ready to use, as you never know when you will need to buy someone a last minute gift or card.

Choosing the right card can be time consuming. As the overall look of your gift is very important, you must consider size when choosing your card. The safest way is to choose a small size gift card, as it will fit to any size gift. In my opinion, the Groovy-0-Grams mini cards are the best to use as they fit perfectly on any size gift and they are very affordable. For the price of one greeting card, you get six per pack and you can use the mini cards for six different occasions. Now that's a bargain! Not only are they affordable, the mini cards are really fun to use as they focus on different personalities rather then occasions. They also promote positive self- esteem, which is a gift in itself.

Being prepared in advance with a pack of mini cards will save you time and money. And, when those last minute gift frenzies strike, you will spend more on your gift and less on the fluff. Happy gift shopping!

For more gift shopping ideas and tips please log on at http://www.groovyarts.com

Karen Couillard is one of Canada hottest artists. As a highly recognized businesswomen, artist, product designer and writer, she is known for being an entrepreneur in the world of art and design. As the founder of Groovy Arts, she has successfully developed and launched products specializing in giftware and home décor based on her signature art collection. Her work has appeared on CFTO " "Panorama" Toronto CH 11 "CH Morning Live," Hamilton, KNBC-TV "News 4," Los Angeles, KESQ-TV "Channel 3 News," Palm Springs, City TV "CityLine," Toronto as well as in many publications including " The Hamilton Spectator," "West of the City," "Art World News," "Le Madawaska," "The Globe and Mail" and the popular French magazine "Décoration Chez-Soi." Her expertise in the art and design industry has led her to teach workshops about art and business as well as write several "how to" articles that can be found on her website at http://www.groovyarts.com

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Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) votes to recommend the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the House during an Illinois House Impeachment Committee hearing Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Springfield, Ill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend impeachment putting the matter before the full house.  (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)AP - A key panel unanimously recommended impeachment for Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday, setting up a vote that could make him the first governor to face such fate in Illinois' sordid political history. Blagojevich should lose his job for abusing power, mismanaging government and committing possible criminal acts, including federal allegations he tried to sell off a U.S. Senate seat, the special committee concluded.



Vice President Dick Cheney pauses during an interview with the Associated Press at the White House in Washington Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)AP - Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that he sees no reason for President George W. Bush to pre-emptively pardon anyone at the CIA involved in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. "I don't have any reason to believe that anybody in the agency did anything illegal," he said.



President-elect Barack Obama speaks about the economy, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Senators from both parties agreed that Congress should do something to stimulate the economy. But Democratic senators emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee criticized business and individual tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan.



President-elect Barack Obama makes remarks on the nations economy, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)AP - President-elect Barack Obama implored Congress on Thursday to "act boldly and act now" to fix an economy growing perilously weaker. Leading lawmakers set an informal goal of mid-February for enacting tax cuts and government spending that could cost as much as $1 trillion.



In this Jan. 5, 2009 file photo, disgraced financier Bernard Madoff leaves U.S. District Court in Manhattan after a bail hearing in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)AP - The many Bernard Madoff investors who withdrew money from their accounts over the years are now wrestling with an ethical and legal quandary.



Directors of the BART transit agency listen to public comments on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Oakland, Calif. Speakers criticized the agency for its handling of a New Year’s Days incident involving a BART police officer who shot and killed unarmed 22-year-old Oscar Grant. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)AP - In grainy cell-phone videos played over and over on the Internet, police officers force an unarmed black man to the ground and hold him face-down on a crowded train platform. Suddenly one of the officers draws his gun and fatally shoots the man in the back — then looks up.



AP - It is perhaps the most intriguing unsolved mystery from the gaudy gangland career of John Gotti: Whatever happened to the neighbor who accidentally ran over and killed the mobster's 12-year-old son — and then vanished?

AP - Police in upstate New York say a man has been sprinkling roofing nails on the driveways of people he didn't like to cause flat tires for two years. Stony Point police Lt. Peter Quinn said Michael Delisio was arrested Tuesday after an officer staking out one victim's home saw nails being thrown from Delisio's car.

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford loosens up before the BCS Championship NCAA college football game against Florida on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Miami. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)AP - The Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators meet tonight for the BCS championship. It's a matchup that includes a pair of Heisman Trophy winners, an SEC vs. Big 12 debate and more than its share of trash talk.



U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, second from left, talks with the American Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, after leaving consultations on the situation in Gaza at United Nations Headquarters, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009.  (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)AP - Key Arab nations and Western powers reached agreement Thursday on a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire between Hamas militants and Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip and moved for an immediate vote in the Security Council.



Israeli soldiers take their positions during Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip January 8, 2009, in this picture released by Israel's Defence Forces (IDF). (Doron Keren/IDF/Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Recovery teams ventured into battlegrounds of the Gaza Strip on Thursday to gather bodies from the rubble, and Hamas officials said the Palestinian death toll in Israel's 13-day-old offensive had risen to 765.



President-elect Barack Obama at a news conference in Chicago, December 7, 2008. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama warned on Thursday the U.S. economy could stay mired in recession for years without bold action and he urged lawmakers to work day and night to pass a massive stimulus plan.



People taking the Long Island Foreclosure Tour arrive at a foreclosed home for sale in New Hyde Park, New York in this May 17, 2008 file photo. Citigroup could soon agree to principles that would let troubled borrowers save their homes through bankruptcy, sources familiar with the talks said on Thursday, while industry groups are easing their opposition to the plan. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.



U.S. General David Petraeus, the commander overseeing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, talks during a conference in Rome December 9, 2008. (Tony Gentile/Reuters)Reuters - The United States and its allies share some interests with Iran when it comes to stabilizing Afghanistan, Army Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. military's Central Command, said on Thursday.



Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich gestures as he announces former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as his choice to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama during a news conference in Chicago, Illinois December 30, 2008. (Frank Polich/Reuters)Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.



Bernard Madoff is escorted from Federal Court in New York January 5, 2009. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)Reuters - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff had signed checks totaling more than $173 million in his office desk ready to be sent out before his arrest, U.S. prosecutors said in court papers on Thursday asking a judge to jail him.



Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (L) delivers remarks after being announced as the new Democratic National Committee chairman by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama in Washington, January 8, 2009. (Jim Young/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama named Tim Kaine as head of the Democratic Party on Thursday, rewarding an early supporter with a high-profile political post even as he continues to serve as Virginia governor.



A customer shops at a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Rogers, Arkansas, June 5, 2008. (Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters)Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other top U.S. retailers delivered disappointing December same-store sales and profit warnings on Thursday, sparking fresh recession concerns that hit stock and currency markets.



A wounded Palestinian is carried into Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital. Diplomatic efforts to end the Gaza conflict intensified Friday with Western and Arab diplomats agreeing to call for an immediate ceasefire as the death toll from the two-week-old war rose past 760.(AFP/Yassr Saymeh)AFP - Diplomatic efforts to end the Gaza conflict intensified Friday with Western and Arab diplomats agreeing to call for an immediate ceasefire as the death toll from the two-week-old war rose past 760.



A man carries firewood in the suburbs of Sofia, Bulgaria. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin agreed Thursday on the terms for the deployment of gas monitors in Ukraine, paving the way for an end to a Europe-wide energy crisis, the EU presidency said.(AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff)AFP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin agreed Thursday on the terms for the deployment of gas monitors in Ukraine, paving the way for an end to a Europe-wide energy crisis, the EU presidency said.




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