It may still be October, but I’m bursting with holiday excitement that I can’t wait to share. As you make your way into the height of the season you’ll be prepared to scrapbook whatever memories come your way with the tips and tricks you see here today. Get a head start on your holiday projects by taking a look at what can be done with the festive-themed keys on pages 56 and 57 of your Cricut® Artbooking booklet from this video:
The creativity and skill of our studio artists is always wonderful, but this artwork is exceptional! I hope you refer to these pieces over and over again for your own creative inspiration. I’ll point out a few of my own favorite details to get you started:
Right from the beginning, the stamping on this piece is very creative. Using the My Acrylix® Washi Wonder stamp set, the artist created her own B&T paper, then cut the title from it. The now-patterned Juniper cardstock, accented with an Aqua Dot, adds a lot of variety to the page. You may have noticed that these shades—aquas paired with reds—are a big trend right now!
The same technique of stamping for the look of B&T paper is repeated again on the “tabs” on other pages in the album. You recall from the video that the tabs are often layered for stability; in this album they also offer a little extra variety in pattern.
Layering is another popular trend right now in the scrapbooking world, and this album has some fun examples of how great it looks to layer Cricut® cuts with other elements; in this case, pieces from the Sparkle & Shine Complements Dimensional Elements collection.
This page’s corner is full of banners! The first is a cut from a nursery-themed key on the Artbooking cartridge (page 85 of the booklet), but cut in Ruby it fits in nicely here. The top layer you see is made from Dimensional Elements set on Ponderosa Pine cardstock triangles. With the edges of the Dimensional Elements sponged in coordinating ink, the whole piece looks cohesive without needing to be bound togther; each piece laid out closely with a simple strip of baker’s twine across the top, it becomes a festive, intricate banner.
Because there is so much detail within the pages of these albums, the artist has given our eyes some relief by using simple photo mats. Notice that each one is a rectangle, the photo itself having rounded edges made with a corner rounder and centered on the mat. Some photo edges are sanded or sponged, but even the untouched photos add a fitting look. Their simplicity leaves a lot of creative space for making other elements extra fancy!
Further on in the same album, we find another darling accent: the stamped mini clothespin! Mini albums aren’t placed behind page protectors, so accenting them with bulkier embellishments is simple, not to mention a whole lot of fun!
Are you keeping a list of favorite techniques and checking it twice? I sure hope so! As you craft this season, try some of the tricks you’ve seen today—then match them with your own. The Cricut® Artbooking cartridge has a lot waiting for you this time of year! To get a lucky someone out there started on adorable holiday projects like these, I'm giving away one Cricut® Artbooking collection this week! For a chance to win it, leave a comment here telling me about the greatest holiday gift you have ever given someone else. I'll select a random winner and announce it on next week's Artbooking Made Easy blog post. Good luck!
Recipes:
12" x 12" Merry & Bright Mini Album
Z1906 Cricut® Artbooking Collection
D1558 My Acrylix® Washi Wonder
D1557 My Acrylix® Candyland
D1482 My Acrylix® Love Life
X7176B Sparkle & Shine Paper Packet
X7176C Sparkle & Shine Complements Dimensional Elements
Z1909 Sparkle Chevron Shapes
Z1910 Sparkle Holiday Shapes
Z1907 Sparkle & Shine Washi Tape 3-Pack
Z1864 Slate Striped Twist Ties
Z1861 Mini-Medley Accents Ruby Collection
Z1853 Aqua Dots
Z1848 Red Shimmer Trim
Colors: Ruby, Smoothie, Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, Whisper, Crème Brulee, Blush, White Daisy
12" x 12" December Traditions Mini Album
Z1906 Cricut® Artbooking Collection
B1412 My Acrylix® Perfect Fit–Holidays
D1557 My Acrylix® Candy Land
E1027 My Acrylix® Framework Alphabet
A1117 My Acrylix® A Typeface
B1416 My Acrylix® Keyboard Uppercase
D1555 My Acrylix® All the Details
X7176B Sparkle & Shine Paper Packet
Z1907 Sparkle & Shine Washi Tape 3-Pack
Z1807 Pink Glitter Gems
Z1752 Sparkles Clear Assortment
Z1753 Sparkles Brown & Tan Assortment
Z1853 Aqua Dots
Z1864 Slate Striped Twist Ties
Z1861 Mini-Medly Accents Ruby Collection
Z1846 Ruby Chevron Ribbon
Z1848 Red Shimmer Trim
Z1799 Silver Shimmer Trim
Z1701 Baker’s Twine Neutral Assortment
Z1844 Color-Ready Trinkets Wooden Shapes
Z1825 Kraft Keyboard Alphabet
Colors: Olive, Whisper, Slate, Juniper, Ruby, White Daisy, black
The greatest gift I've ever given someone was a trip to come and visit us for the holidays. We gave this to my mother the year before she suddenly passed away. It was more of a gift to us, as we made more memories that last Christmas that will continue to warm our hearts for years to come.
ReplyDeleteWhen my husband was in Bible college, I had just had a baby and was nursing her. We had no money for the holidays, so I made gifts for everyone. I made my daughters Raggedy Ann dolls, I made pot holders, pillows, picture frames and all sorts of stuff. I felt like I gave everyone a piece of myself.
ReplyDeleteThe best Christmas gift given was a collection of old pictures that had been forgotten about. They were copied and shared in a beautiful collage frame. Photos are memories captured in print and they bring so much joy.
ReplyDeleteThe best holiday gift we have ever given was the year we bought groceries & toys for a single mom who was struggling and a co-worker of my husband's. It is so wonderful to give gifts to those in need not just at Christmas.
ReplyDeleteKim
The best holiday gift given was a scrapbook of memories from our first dog, Snowy. Snowy was an important part of bringing my husband out of post traumatic stress after a very serious accident. When Snowy passed, I wanted to make sure my husband had a permanent memory
ReplyDeleteThe best Christmas present was making a calendar for my husband's family. Each month I included pictures of all of the people that had birthdays in that month and put a small pic of them on their day with their age. With our busy lifestyles, everyone comments that their family calendar is the only way they remember the special days!
ReplyDeleteHe best gift I have ever given to someone as the year I made a full supply of greeting cards for all the ladies in my family. These cards ere for all different occasions. Each lady in my family received a box of 50 cards. There are 15 ladies in my family. I love giving the gift of something handmade.
ReplyDeleteThat album is so great! My best Christmas giving was the year I gave my husband tickets to Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas - that just happened to fall on his birthday in March. It was so fun to bless him with something he could be very excited about!
ReplyDeleteI made an album of childhood pictures for my oldest sister and she said it was the best gift she'd ever received! I was so happy that she loved it, and she still looks at it often to this day.
ReplyDeleteThe best give I ever gave was a Family Scrapbook I gave my mother, she loved it and showed everyone who she came across, I made it in order from beginning of our family to present. So, it was like a life story, I enjoyed doing it!
ReplyDeleteThe greatest gift I've given didn't come wrapped in paper. I decided last year to simplify Christmas and focus on the meaning for the season. We made sure to cut back on the "going" and spend more time with close family and to give fewer gifts but to make sure those given were well thought out and well made. The results were a great gift to all of us!
ReplyDeletethe best gift i ever gave was a photo album full of pictures of my kids to my grandmother so she could "see" her only great grandchildren all the time since we couldn't visit often. After she passed i put the pictures in a scrapbook and gave it to my parents along with some pictures of great grandma with the kids.
ReplyDeleteSoooo cute!! I have just discovered Close To My Heart. I went to a local crop that some consultants did here. OMG!! That Artbooking cartridge is so wonderful! Of course I want the other two, also.
ReplyDeleteI think the best holiday gift I give are pre-designed layouts for family members with children whose mom doesn't scrapbook. I write on photo mats what sizes pictures to add. They have thanked me by sending photos of their kids looking through their completed albums!
ReplyDeleteI have a sister who has always been the angel in our family. The type of girl who goes above and beyond normal people niceness and takes it to a whole other level. She got bullied in middle school by one of the popular girls, and suddenly all of her friends were turning on her to be friends with this mean girl. People were putting gum in her hair, and she would come home crying every day. Still, even with the tears and heartbreak she would spend most of her nights cooking her assailants cookies to "kill them with kindness." She still took the time to think about others, even when she felt like no one was thinking about her. So for Christmas I spoke to every person I could that had ever known her and had them write her two paragraphs of how she had changed their lives. It took me months, and I put all the letters (over two hundred) in a book, with pictures of her with all these people so that she wouldn't forget who they were. While reading the letters, it even made my mom and I tear up of the good that she had done to others. She had letters from moms she had babysat for, to some of my best friends who were seven years older than her and wrote about how they looked up to her. It was nice to reinforce that her good was noticed and appreciated. And I can't think of a person who was more deserving of the pictures and abundance of love. I think the best gifts you can give are to the people who are always doing the giving.
ReplyDeleteThe best gift I gave was an album celebrating my daughter's life. Just recently I made an ABC book using my Cricut for the birth of our first grandbaby. He will be born soon!!
ReplyDeleteThe best gift I ever gave was a mini trampoline to my nephew.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest gift I ever gave someone, was to take my sister shopping and pay for the presents for her kids. She couldn't afford any as a struggling, single mom. We also got her some! It made my day to see them all have a wonderful Christmas!
ReplyDeleteAdorable mini album! The greatest gift(s) I ever gave would have to be one of the many wishes I gave my boys when they were little. I miss the hunting around for the gift that EVERYONE wanted too! I remember having all my friends on alert to call me if they found that special toy they wanted and only wanted that!
ReplyDeleteMy boys are 30 and 27 now....loved those memories!
ReplyDeleteThe greatest I've even given is a calendar to my mother-in-law. Last year, I used her own old photos - not just photos I had. Great keepsake. I just have to make sure I take it down when I give her her new calendar for 2014.
The best gift I ever gave someone was to a needy family of a Mom and 3 girls! It was anonymous but what fun I had picking out girl things as we had boys. It was the best Christmas ever because the gifts were put under the tree at our church and oh, the joy to watch their faces light up when they saw the huge bag of gifts under the tree. Money was tight for us but it was a blessing just to give!
ReplyDeleteI gave my friend a Kringle ornament. It was the previous edition and she has missed out on and so wanted it to complete her collection. I researched all over the country and found it in a little online store in Missouri.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest holiday gift I ever gave someone was when my oldest was a toddler and I got to take him home to my Mom's for a visit.
ReplyDeletethe best gifts I ever gave someone was the quilts that I have made and to see them being used and loved
ReplyDeleteThe best gifts I have ever given anybody are scrapbook album for 3 different retirees, baby scrapbook for the mothers of my 3 precious grandchildren. It was fun putting this together. This was before cricuit cartridges. Wish I'd had them then.
ReplyDeleteThe best gift I ever gave was some handmade ceramics to my family!
ReplyDeleteAs i've gotten older and our family has grown, we have stopped giving a lot of individual gifts and just enjoy the time we are able to spend together. Each Christmas I take some of that unused gift money and use it to buy gifts to share at a community giving tree to enrich someone else's Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI usually make Christmas gifts each year, but last year I think was the best. I made mini albums for my 8 brothers and sisters about a family reunion cruise we went on in August of 2012. They were the very first mini albums I ever made and was not sure how they would be received. I was thrilled at the reactions for my sisters, but especially from my brothers, since they don't really get what I do as a hobby. Now I have to top them this year.
ReplyDeleteMy husband's grandmother used to knit mittens for everyone. Last year, during the summer, I heard some of the family members talking about how they were holding on to their last pairs that she had knitted for them, and I decided to knit my father-in-law and the other men in the family some wonderful mittens. That way, they can keep the ones that she knitted and have some handmade ones from the newest knitter in the family. They loved them.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby says the greatest gift I ever gave him, aside from our children-which was really more of a group effort ;) Would be the year I made him a banner of cards. There was one for each day from 12/01-12/25. I had made each card and left a personal message in each one. Some of them had a date that we were going to go on when he got home and some had coupons for something special from me. Others just had a heart felt message but he said he loved and looked forward to each one every day!
ReplyDeleteThe best Christmas gifts were the backpacks filled to the max with all kinds of stuff I gave to my 3 sons. They had so much fun unloading everything. They couldn't believe how much we had packed into the them.
ReplyDeleteThe best gift I ever gave was to a little girl who I taught in Sunday school. It was our annual Christmas pagent. Her parents always made sure she got to church and although they were poor the little girl was always clean. She was so excited about the pagent as she was going to sing a solo that year,but sad to as her mom and dad could not afford to buy her a new dress. When I heard about this I asked our minister if he would be willing to help me surprise the girl with a new outfit. He was more than willing to help. I went shopping after finding out her sizes and outfitted her from head to toe. I wanted to remain anonymous so I got the minister to give her the gifts. The look on her face the night of the pagent was all the thanks I needed. Till this day she never found out where it came from.
ReplyDeletethe best gift I gave is something that I have handmade. either some nice warm knitted socks or some cards that someone can remember each time they send one~
ReplyDeleteI love to make homemade gifts and there are so many ideas in my head that one day I would love to have time to do them all~
The Best Christmas Gift I have given was to my Husband! He had never had a real Christmas with presents and all the fixings! and family & friends!
ReplyDeleteOur family is very big on Christmas! We all go to church on Christmas Eve. Usually there is 50-60 people for Christmas Buffet on Christmas day and the same for Christmas Dinner on Boxing Day. I think he was overwhelmed with all the festivities and then we were married on the 29th! Everyone came home for the wedding and Christmas and New Years and my Dad's birthday on Jan 1.
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ReplyDeleteI believe the best holiday gift I have given was a few years ago. Money was really tight, but I wanted to make sure the gifts to our family members were special. I ended up sending them the pictures of our daughter (who was 6 months old at the time) and asking them to choose one or two that they would like to receive for Christmas. Instead of just given them the photos, framed (as we had implied, wanting to keep some of the surprise), I printed them off and created a 12" x 12" scrapbook page for each of them, and then framed that. They were a huge hit, and so much fun to make!
ReplyDeleteThe best give I've given someone is the first Christmas that I began scrapbooking (about 6 years ago)!! I made my parents & my hubby's parents both a CTMH album full of our life's captured moments together!! I always have trouble remembering events, so it was a wonderful way to help even me remember those moments. That was the best gift I could ever give anyone! Now we have a two year old & the grandparents are getting their very own "Granddaughter" Album this year!!!
ReplyDeleteI can not say which year this was because we started in 1989. My dad has walked thousands of miles around Clanton, Al to help family in need during Christmas time. Visited churches to help foster children, made home visits to help Maxwell AFB youth center. Made videos at Maxwell AFB BX to help Maxwells rec center. I was the one that filmed the video and edited them and made the copy for the families. My dad has slowed down at the age of 92 but he still does breakfast with Santa at our American Legion Post. The joy we received seeing the happy faces will be with us for forever. My mom was Mrs Claus until she became to sick. I even dressed up as a reindeer one year. I enjoyed listening to Santa ask things like how are your grades, do you listen to your parents and then asking if they knew what Christmas was really about. He never said the children would get whatever they wanted and sometimes told them they might be to young.
ReplyDeleteI guess this runs in my family because in 2004 my daughter gave us the greatest gift to us, my grandson.
So Christmas is very special to me.
The greatest gift I ever gave someone was a hand written poem about Great-Grandpa Jack with a heart created out of buttons that came from his dress shirts. I made this for my two daughters and my two nieces.
ReplyDeleteI had someone paint a picture of my dads dogs, who are definitely like children to him. A black lab and yellow lab, the older one passed away before the painting was finished. I wanted to get it done for him, knowing that the older one didn't have a lot of time left. It hangs over the mantle in his house, both dogs now gone. Brings back wonderful memories of them everytime I'm there.
ReplyDeleteMy Husband and I will never forget Christmas of 2002 when we gave all of our parents the gift of the announcement of their very first Grandchild! BEST MORNING EVER! :)
ReplyDeleteAFter my grandad died unexpectedly, my granny wrote a poem about him. I copied the poem in calligraphy, & my husband matted it & framed it. She was so pleased that she cried.
ReplyDeleteLast year I made a mini album, (which was my first one) for my grandkids mom. I used pictures from a number of visits they had with granny and papa. She truely loved it and it really made me feel good about the things I can create at such a low cost. I plan to make more as soon as I reach my goal to buy the Artbooking cartridge. :D
ReplyDeleteThe greatest Christmas gift I ever gave was to my own child. I ran a program in our town called, Sharing the Gift of Christmas. We gave needed clothing items and special toy to each child in 8 families. We also gave the family groceries and Christmas dinner at a party with Santa.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter was 5 at the time and was annoyed that I was spending so much time shopping for others. When she asked WHY? I explained that some parents could not provide gifts for their children because we all pay Santa for the expenses her incurs to keep him in business. I explained that Santa has to feed the reindeer, pay high heating bills at the North Pole, feed the elves, etc. And some parents have trouble just housing and feeding their children so we were helping out.
Bethany was quite for a few minutes and then she looked at me with big blue eyes and asked, "if I get less from Santa could we help other kids get gifts from Santa?" I was so completely moved by her question and understood that I had given her the gift of compassion for others!
I made a scrapbook for each of my brothers and sisters of us growing up in Japan. I made each album one at a time and passed it to my mom so she could write all of the places and people and dates down. My siblings said it was the best gift they ever got because know they all have my moms handwriting. Thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteI made magnetic/dry erase 12 month calendar and memo pad to match the recipients kitchen decor.
ReplyDeleteLove the preview of the new cartridge.
ReplyDeleteMy best Christmas gift that I ever gave? I think it is the handmade quilted tree skirts that I made for all the women in our family. Now whenever one of the young women in our family get married; I make her a tree skirt too. I hope that these gifts will be passed down by their families...
The greatest gift I have given was to oldest sister. We had made a childhood scrapbook for my brother when he turned 50, but I was at a loss as to what to do for my sister's 50th birthday. I decided to send an email to everyone who knew her and asked them to write a note as to how my sister impacted their lives and to send an updated picture of them. It was so fun to read all of their responses and to scrap that with their photo. I did a lot of crying putting that book together because many of those responses touched my heart. The icing on the cake was when my sister told me that this album meant the world to her. Getting over twenty some people to respond with a note and picture was really stressful and came down to the wire (like a week before her birthday), but hearing that made it all worth it.
ReplyDeleteI was able to get my grandmother's photos from the turn of the century (18902 to 1920s). I reproduced them and made five original albums (with her family secret recipe cake on the first page) for my three sisters and my mother and daughter. It was the first (and still one of my favorite) scrapbook I ever finished. We all cried...
ReplyDeleteThe best. Christmas gift I was given was our youngest son. I was narrating a play at our church and praying for another child after over two years of struggling to conceive and sure enough a month or so later found out we were expecting.
ReplyDeleteThe Christmas gifts that stand out to me the most were the ones I handmade for everyone. Normally I take great pains to shop for "the perfect gift" for my loved ones. However, one year I made stitched blankets for my kids, husband, mom, dad, and grandparents. I picked out patterns that reminded me of each of them and then did the stitching. I made pillows for my parents to match their blankets. It was a nice feeling to know they would be cozy with their new gifts made by me.
ReplyDeleteThe best Christmas gifts I've ever been given are the homemade ones from my children. The first year we started the tradition of exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve there was such a wonderful feeling of love and gratitude and happiness, that we've continued this tradition ever since. It defines the Christmas Spirit, to me, to share something made from the heart, with those you love.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest gift I ever gave was getting the family a puppy last Christmas even though I am allergic to the things he brings in the house and therefore didn't want one. It has even been a blessing to me. He is sweet and has brought a lot of joy to our lives!
ReplyDeleteI love giving gifts to my daughter and daughter-in-law related to our mutual love of scrapbooking! It's keep us bound together whenever we can get together and share our ideas and achievements!
ReplyDeleteThe greatest gift I can think of is giving my husband his first laptop. He never buys himself anything and when I found out there was a great sale on laptops at Walmart, I made sure we got there super early and I stood in line to get it for him and give to him so he didn't have to share with the rest of the family. He was so happy with it and it made me happy to do that for him.
ReplyDeleteI gave something that couldn't be wrapped up. It was a hug, and sharing of the memory of two boys mum that past away. It was a gift that had no price tag, but one that was worth millions.
ReplyDeleteThe best Christmas gift I received was the last year my Dad my Dad got to spend with us before he passed away. The look of pride on his face as all the grand kids arrived was priceless.
ReplyDeleteLast year I was stuck on what to give my Mom and Grandmother for Christmas. They have everything they want and both of them are very difficult to give gifts. I decided to send them 25 days of gifts. I spent a month shopping for 25 plus gifts that were all under $10. My 86 year old grandmother loved opening up a gift every day in December. My mom told me it was the best gift she had ever received because she enjoyed watching my grandmother twitter over the gift and how when it was a sweet grandma would snatch it up say "ohhh this looks like it will be good" and then race back to her chair to try the treat. Even though it was a lot of work and shopping (but that was fun) I really got a lot out how excited they both were to tell me what they had opened and how much they enjoyed all the treats and special little things I sent them. For my mom it was watching her mother showing such excitement over Christmas which she had not done in a number of years.
ReplyDeleteThe best gift I have ever given was a scrapbook-like calendar that I made for both my in-laws and my parents. Both of our parents treasure that first one and ask every year for a new one. I enjoy incorporating the fun events/activities of the past year into the new calendar, and adding people as our families grow.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest holiday gift that I have given was giving my husband the acoustic guitar he wanted last year. I usually don't like to pick these types of gifts out because I'm afraid to get the wrong one, but it turned out to be better than the one that he originally wanted.
ReplyDeleteLove the gift you're giving out as a winning prize.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest gift I ever gave someone was my husband. Together my three kids and I created 365 reasons why we loved him and put them into a decorated mason jar. This was three years ago and he still has it in his office :)
ReplyDeleteBest gift I have ever given was to a friend of my sisters who had 3 young children at the time. She was a single mom and didn't have much money and wasn't sure how she could do Christmas for the kids. We got a list of things the kids needed/wanted and I picked up three presents for each of the kids. The best Chritmas ever, seeing smiles on thir faces.
ReplyDeleteThe best gift i gave was to my husband and that was our first baby girl for Christmas and then a few years later at Christmas telling him i was pregnant was our second baby girl.
ReplyDeleteThe best Christmas gift I have given was geting the family to travel to my parents house as my dad cant travel, to suprise him so he can spend the christmas with his grand children
ReplyDeleteThe best gift I have ever given was to my husband who was serving overseas. I used one of the CTMH My Memories Showcase album to create a family photo album for him to have in his home away from home. He loved it.
ReplyDeleteMy nephew was forced to buy a car 3 months before finishing nursing school. car payments were NOT in the budget. In October I told him I wanted to give him (& his wife) their present early as I needed something from them to do so. Sure made his last 3 months of school easier for them.
ReplyDeleteThe best homemade gift I have given was to my step daughter was a explosion box that I filled with the pictures from our trips down to see the family .
ReplyDeleteOne year when my husband and I really had NO money for gifts, I made recipe albums for my two sisters. I had borrowed our mom's old recipe box and color copied the recipes. Some were even handwritten recipes from our grandmothers and my mom's handwritten recipes from middle school home ec class! I took these and used my stash of CTMH papers from years gone by to make two identical albums. I hope they love them as much as I loved making them. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad this isn't a competition because there are some fabulous gifts listed....I especially like the 25 days of giving and will be doing that one for my dad who needs a little extra love and is very hard to shop for. So....the best gift I have ever given was actually a joint project by hubby and I. We made a wooden 3 - storey doll house for our youngest daughter complete with plastic canvas (and some bought) furniture, handmade curtains, and wallpaper to simulate vinyl flooring. She loved it so much and played with it right up to a year ago.
ReplyDeleteWow, there are some great gifts listed here. It's so awesome to read all of the stories of people helping others and just the love pouring out of each gift.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to pick one year of the best gift ever. As a family we always pick a family to give gifts to that aren't able to provide for their own children. One year, we were having a hard time making ends meet ourselves, and my daughter decided to forgo her own presents to keep the tradition going.
Thanks to everyone for sharing your story.
I am the oldest of four. We gave my dad 4 photo frames of collage pictures (one for each of us) that had pictures from birth on up. It was the first time I saw my dad cry. It is a special memory.
ReplyDeleteMy Son, he was born early (Dec 23). And was happy and healthy - everyone's best gift that year!!
ReplyDeleteThe best gifts often come from the heart :), and for us, my children and I created a ticket booklet for my husband for special things just for HIM to use throughout the upcoming year! :)
ReplyDeleteI made a digital scrapbook for my Father highlighting my Family's events for the year. I love gifts from the heart!!
ReplyDeleteThe greatest gift I've every given someone was a trip for my mom and dad to Asheville, NC to see Biltmore. If you've never been there, the house and grounds are wonderful to see. I gave them this gift as a 40th wedding anniversary gift. They had the best time at the house, grounds and winery. They also found that Asheville is a great place to retire. Recently, my sister and I gave them their 50th wedding anniversary picnic. Mom and Dad did not have to stress about the food or place. They just enjoyed themselves with a great turn out - friends and family from everywhere showed up and the weather couldn't have been more perfect! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough question. I try to find the 'best' gift for my recipients each year - something that is perfect for them, and that maybe they weren't necessarily expecting. A few that come to mind: couple years ago we gave my sister an initial necklace from Tiffany - she'd never gotten anything from there before and she was celebrating a big birthday just before Christmas so it was a dual gift, but I know she really loved it. I used to make afghans all the time for friends getting married/having kids. One year I made one for my mom since she had seen me make tons, but never received one. And this coming year my oldest daughter is going to get the American Girl doll she's been dreaming of.
ReplyDeleteThe best gift I am giving this year is to my daughter-in-law,it is going to be a gift basket of Close to my Heart products. She is a young mother of two with a very kind heart. She is excited to craft with me and I am so happy to see her creativity Bloom.
ReplyDeleteI made a scrapbook of my grandpa after he died and gave it to my dad. My favorite part was all of the military photos I got my hands on to include!
ReplyDeleteThe best gift I've ever given was to my husband one year for Christmas. I made him a mini album entitled "25 things I love about you". Each page included one reason why I love him. And I gave him one page every day from Dec. 1-25.
ReplyDeleteThe best gift I received was some help with the down payment for my home. It came from my Grandparents who have since passed on. I have lived here happily for 18 years. This is the only home I have ever owned. I am so very grateful for the start they gave me.
ReplyDeleteOne year for Christmas my mother arranged for us all to draw a family name to shop for. Instead we went behind her back and collaborated to fly my sister and her husband home for the holiday. We didn't have any physical gifts to open but the look on my mother's face when my sister walked in was priceless!
ReplyDeleteThe greatest gift I've given was a photo album honoring my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. This was my very first scrapbooking project ever! That was over 10 years ago and I haven't stopped since. Love CTMH products too!
ReplyDeleteMarie Sellers
Email: sellerscm@msncom
The greatest gift I gave was a restored photo to my mom. It was a photo of her grandmother's engagement - and it was a treasured photo. I cleaned it up and enlarged it, framed it. She was speechless. She displays it prominently in her living room.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest gift I had ever given someone was a handmade blanket to my husband's grandmother. She still uses it to this day.
ReplyDeleteThe best gift... There are so many it's hard think of the single best. I love the handmade gifts, particularly photos, and calendars, but my favorite at the moment is a signed pillow I'm making for my son as a keepsake from his old school. Love the mini album!! Putting on my holiday to-do list, today! And putting your craft room on my wish list. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe best gift I have given was to my kids when they were little. My husband was in the military and we always lived far away from our families and didn't get to come home for visits very often. I made each of our kids a "Family Book" with pictures of each family member so my kids could know them thru pictures.
ReplyDeleteOne year for Christmas, "Santa" gave the kids an overnight stay at a local hotel with a kid friendly swimming pool. We had such a fun time together as a family. It was worth so much more than all the toys "Santa" could have bought.
ReplyDeleteMy husband wanted a new BBQ Grill really bad. I kept telling him that we would have to wait until they went on sale. I went and purchased the grill that he wanted and hid it at our sons house. On Father's Day I had my husband take my Dad on a drive and while he was gone our son brought the grill over and we got it all sit up and then put the grill cover over it. Later that day when everyone came over for dinner, my husband went out to start the grill and took the cover off to find a new grill - he was so surprised and shocked that he was speechless!
ReplyDeleteThe greatest gifts I gave were handmade calendars to my grandparents and each of their children. The calenders had a variety of photos from the family so aunts and uncles could have photos of their nieces and nephews that they otherwise would not have. I prefer to give gifts that cannot be purchased - that way the recipient knows you thought of them.
ReplyDeleteI gave my mother a quilt that my sister and I worked on together. We put her picture on the label and then we wrote a special message for her from each of us. She absolutely loved it, and posed for lots of pictures with her quilt.
ReplyDeleteI guess I was scrapebooking with my quilting back then! Lol!
The best gift we ever gave out kids was when we told them we were going to Grandma's house to visit. We got to the airport but because of a mix-up we had to tell them that we were actually going to Disneyland. My son said "Nope, I am going to Grandma's" I then had to tell him that Grandma was meeting us there. It was priceless.
ReplyDeleteI always try to give handmade gifts. My son has Down Syndrome and has been in therapy since birth so as a scrapbooker, I've taken many pictures during therapy. One year I decided to make an album for his occupational therapist of their many sessions together. She cried and months later I was at a crop where I knew no one but during the conversation, I met a new friend when she said, You made the album for Martha. So I got a new friend.
ReplyDeleteAwesome mini album and thanks for the chance to win.
ReplyDeleteI gave my dad an album of his family to help him remember since he had dementia--he has since passed away and now I have that special album.
slrdowney at hotmail dot com
One Christmas, I discovered through my work, that a single mom and her two kids would be evicted at the end of the month. I approached my church to ask that their benevolent fund arrange to pay the rent arrears for this mom so she would not be evicted at Christmas. Then I got a Christmas hamper for them from our local St. Vincent DePaul store. She was very grateful and it felt great being able to help someone when they were down.
ReplyDeleteThe best gift we have given was the year we couldn't afford to buy anything due to surgeries and cancer . That year I made travel blankets for the little ones cards set for my sisters brittle for the guys . Now every year the ladies and nieces expectcards and I make one lap quilt and have everyone draw a number. Of course the brittle is always expected now too. Would love to make mini albums which art booking cartridrige would help. Thanks for the chanch
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