Ring around: For couples headed down the aisle who want a little something special without designing their own rings, Craig Drake artists have crafted a fresh twist on the message band. An 18-carat white gold outer band with interlocking hearts softly curves around a rose gold inner band with heart cut-outs and engraving. $1,000-$2,500, depending on diamond heart embellishments. Closest store is Dayton's Weber Jewelers (937) 643-9600.

        Cow kids: Little cowpokes will want to hitch a ride to one of the Boot Country & Work Country shops. Stocked with work boots, riding boots, denims, hats, shirts, jeans and leather for grown-ups, there's a corral roped off for kids with authentic leathers, chaps, suedes and dusters. Items include this coated-cotton drover from Kakadu Traders of Australia, $29.99 in the traditional drip-cape design, and these Buffalo Gap Yellowstone python print boots, $34.99. Sharonville, Florence and Eastgate.

        Cock-a-doodle carvings: A tree branch is just a throwaway or kindling unless it happens to pass through the hands of Minnie Adkins of Elliott County, Ky. The woodcarver turns yard waste into folk art fit for the family room or mantel for the Folk Art Shop in Augusta, Ky., run by the Bertha Hough, a town institution with a fine eye for talent. $30-$100, depending on height. (606) 756-3077.

        Pack a smile: A mom just can't be on hand every time a kid needs a boost. But she can pack a smile in a lunch or tuck a hug in a coat pocket with I Believe in You lunch mail from Compendium Inc. — a box of 30 silly, peel-away messages of love and encouragement on 2-by-2 1/2-inch cards. Messages include “If you were a fish and I were a duck, I'd swim to the bottom and bring you good luck.” The same company makes Expect a Miracle, 30 mini cards with messages of “hope, joy and inspiration” for grown-ups. $5 a pack at From the Ridiculous to the Sublime, O'Bryonville, 533-0500.

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