I love to put aside some extra gift items I find for various occasions. Whether they become gifts for my daughter's friends at birthday parties, rewards for my daughter's good behavior or even stocking stuffers, storing a few neat gifts can save you time and money. I'll let you in on some of my good finds.

My latest item is smencils - pencils that smell! They come in regular pencil or colored pencil sets. We've got the colored pencil set which has 10 colored pencils each with a different scent (my favorite is cotton candy, my daughter's favorite is root beer). The smell is strong but not overpowering - however, I did tell my daughter not to take them to school unless it was a fun day at school because I don't want them to be distracting in the classroom.

They are environmentally friendly too - they are made from 100% recycled newspapers. The process is fascinating to me. They wrap the newspapers around the core until it is about the size of a pencil, let it harden and then soak it in the smell. Thank goodness each one comes in a plastic tube by itself so the smells don't mingle.

The 10-pack of colored pencils is $12 - perfect for a birthday gift for a child. They do have other smaller packs of regular pencils and even a small Holiday pack for less.

On the fundraising or prize angle, they do sell them at a big discount for boxes of 50 and up as well as custom order ones.

Visit their site for more info or ordering at http://www.smencils.com