I’m a sucker for sweet packaging and these illustrations for Life.NK are so effin cute I just had to share!

Packaging illustration by Mio Matsumoto from Space.NK, represented by Jed Root, Inc.

10 Lust-Haves for Her this Valentine’s Day…

1. Vivienne Corset Top Teddy by Jessica Simpson $60

2. Fresh Roses from Flowers.com $50-150

3. Galliera GM Shoulder Handbag by Louis Vuitton $1,480

4. Envy Me by Gucci $52-90

5. A Crinkle in Time Scarf to keep her warm $16

6. Open Heart Bracelet by IL Design $242

7. Seagate External USB Portable Hard Drive to cherish all the memories $90

8. Ceramic Bracelet Watch by DKNY to adorn her delicate wrist $275

9. Samsung High-Def Camcorder so she’ll never miss a special moment $100

10. Surprise her with breakfast in bed, priceless

For more gift ideas, check out last year’s Valentine’s Lust-Have list.

IKEA is great when you need a lot of coordinating furniture on the cheap but it lacks a bit in personality because of its plainness. To spice up your office and living space, Mykea offers custom skins to completely change the look of your IKEA pieces. You can use their designs or customize it with your own photos.

For more information about custom skins for your IKEA furniture, check out Mykea.com.

Now that I’m done shopping for the holidays (T-minus two days and counting ’til Christmas!), I’m in gift-wrapping mode! So I’ve rounded up a supply of printable gift tags for myself. Need some?

(Left to right; Top to bottom)
Holiday Gift Tags by Helen Dardik at OrangeYouLucky
Holiday Tree Gift Tags by Jackie at WeeLife
Printable Holiday Gift Tags by Kristen at domestifluff
“No Peeking” Holiday Gift Tags by Tiffany Bird at Simply Modern Mom
Downloadable Holiday Tags by Grace Bonney at Design*Sponge
A collection of Holiday Tags and Labels by Martha Stewart
Free Printable Holiday Tags by Emily Schwartz at Seaside Creative
Free Printable Christmas Gift Tags by Amy Locurto at Living Locurto
Cute Holiday Gift Tags by Julissa Mora from We Love To Illustrate

The weather is definitely cold outside and that means many of us are putting on gloves to stay warm. But for those with touchscreen phones, is it worth taking off your gloves to send a text message or pick up a phone call? On many occasions, I had to use my chin to swipe across my iPhone to pick up a call because I was too lazy to take off my gloves, true story. So I started to invest in touchscreen-friendly gloves a few year ago. I’ve tried several different types and here are my two-cents:

The first pair of gloves that I used for my iPhone were the cheap and uninnovative fingerless gloves that came with attachable mitten tops. This was years before there was a market for touchscreen-friendly gloves. They’re great except I had to expose my fingers every time I needed to use my phone and the mittens were hard to use in times when fingers were necessary for the job.

Two winters ago, I found some “flip-tip texting” gloves that have caps on the index finger and thumb. So when I needed to text, I just popped my index finger and thumb out, and when I’m done, I’d stick them back in. But the stitching was poorly made and the thread started to shred after a few times of use. They didn’t keep my hands warm either so that sort of defeats the purpose of wearing any gloves at all.

Last year, I saw some gloves with black-brass dots on the thumb, index and middle finger tips. They’re called DOTS Gloves. I didn’t get the chance to try them on but I thought they were a really creative idea. You don’t have to expose your fingers to get the screen to respond and the gloves themselves are relatively inexpensive. But I read customer reviews on this product and found that many were complaining about the lack of warmth even though its made of wool. One constant complaint that struck me was the useless brass dot for the thumb. When you think about the position of your thumb, the contact of your thumb to the screen is generally on the side of your thumb but DOTS Gloves placed the brass dot in the middle of the thumb, thus making it useless.

Recently, I saw some gloves at Nordstrom that had a silver patch on the index and thumb made by Echo Design. I tried them on with my iPhone and guess what? They really work! That silver patch is conductive fabric. I’ve seen tutorials floating around the internet about these conductive fabric and threads. You can buy these materials at SparkFun and follow instructions from iPhone enthusiast, Elliott Back, to make them yourself. But, honestly, they look kind of tacky. The silver patch doesn’t match the rest of the gloves and are really noticeable on dark fabric.

Last month, I heard about Agloves, made from silver woven yarn that gives precise control over your touchscreens without having to remove your gloves. Its the same idea as the Echo Design gloves using conductive material but woven into the entire glove! Complete 10-finger functionality allows you to type, swipe, squeeze, pinch, and select anything you want on your touchscreen device. I’m anxious to try them out but they sold out fast! I’d love to get my hands on a pair of these gloves! But until then, I will have to deal with normal gloves and use my chin to pick up phone calls.