Hi, I'm Regina, founder of Rise and Shine Gifts. I can hardly believe I became a teacher back in 1990. The years flew by, more than 30 of them, spent across different grade levels and different schools. I loved every bit of it.

These days I get to keep doing what I always loved most about teaching: helping people create things they're proud of.

I believe everyone has an artisan inside them, even the ones who swear they're "not creative." My job is to help you find that out for yourself, whether that's through a custom engraved gift, a paint party, or an afternoon spent making something with your hands.

Whether you're engraving a keepsake, painting a door hanger, celebrating a birthday with us, or joining us for story time and a craft, we're here to help you create something meaningful and have a little fun doing it.

How It Started

I've always loved making things. It's been a lifelong hobby, long before it was a business. But I loved teaching just as much, and somewhere along the way those two things stopped feeling separate.

Over the years, working with students of all ages and in all kinds of classrooms, I met so many who were convinced they "couldn't draw." I'd show them a few simple techniques, nothing fancy, and watch their confidence shift right in front of me. Their artwork would transform, sure, but more importantly, so would the way they saw themselves. That moment, watching someone go from "I can't" to "look what I made," never got old.

Rise and Shine Gifts grew out of that same feeling. It's not a dramatic origin story, just decades of believing that everyone has more creativity in them than they think, and a whole lot of joy in helping people find it.

What We Offer

• Custom Engraving & Handmade Gifts: Wood, metal, acrylic, leather, and more, because handmade always stands out from the big box stores.
• Door Hangers: Choose a DIY kit and make it your own, or pick up one of our ready-made designs.
• Paint Parties: Guided painting sessions, perfect on their own or paired with engraving for an extra-special event.
• Birthday Events: Celebrate with a hands-on creative party your guests will actually remember.
• Toddler Time: Special seasonal sessions every Thursday at 10am, where we read a story together and make a project, sized just right for little hands.
• Mobile & Pop-Up Events: We pack up our supplies and bring the experience to you, wherever "you" happens to be.
• Mobile Field Trips: A hands-on creative experience for students and groups, since some lessons stick best when you make something with your own hands.
• In-Studio Events: Private parties, celebrations, and gatherings hosted in our rented creative space.
• Fundraisers: Custom pre-sale products or live on-site engraving for schools, teams, and organizations.
• Licensed Troy University Gifts: Show your school spirit with officially licensed pieces.

Our Mission

We're not just here to make cute keepsakes, though we're pretty good at that. We're here to awaken your inner artisan, to help you reconnect with your own creativity, your community, and the simple joy of making something with your hands.

Thirty years of teaching showed me what happens when someone feels seen, encouraged, and a little surprised by what they can do. That's what I want every project, every workshop, every paint party, and every Toddler Time story hour to feel like.

Thanks for being here. Let's create something together.

Regina