So ~ did everyone get what their hearts desired for the holiday?  The gift I received that I am looking forward to learning how to use is a brand-spankin’ new sewing machine that blessedly comes with a free class.  I say blessedly because, to be honest it looks a little like a space ship to me and is rather intimidating!  But it is something I really want to learn.

Still trying to get to my Paris pics to share more of, but other things have been vying for my attention.  Like getting ready to go to the Atlanta show in less than two weeks!  Yikes!  Let me know if you’re planning to attend.

Now, for some Creative Blah blah blah….

Giving gifts to the same people year after year can be challenging.  The older we get, the less we want, need or even desire ~ and if we don’t have it, we probably don’t want it or it is too expensive even for a gift.  My two hardest recipients are my husband of 20 years and my mother, so I have to think outside the gift box!  Here’s what I did this year…

Captain Hubby had mentioned wanting Lazy Jacks for the sailboat.  Lazy Jacks basically keep the main sail from coming down in a big mess that is hard to wrangle on deck.  I didn’t know which particular brand he might like and preferred that he buy them himself, so I purchased the correct amount of gift cards from West Marine.  But of course, I couldn’t just give the cards….

I had a flat, gold gift box and I printed out a nice shot of Adios to fit inside.  I then took twine and outfitted this photo with Lazy Jacks, then double-stick taped the whole thing inside the box, also double-sticking the gift cards to the inside top of the box.

One of my mom’s gifts was a personalized return address stamp.  Knowing how much she loves Paris, it was a natural to incorporate the Eiffel Tower into her name!   (showing just a portion of the whole stamp here).  It is easy to upload your own design ~ I used this website to order a self-inking stamp.

Rather than just giving a gift card in a holiday card, I like to make the packaging fun.  All a friend of mine wanted was to paint her bedroom over the holiday.  I bought a gift card to Lowe’s and also purchased an empty paint can that I wrapped in one of my new patterns (SoHo for Studio E Fabrics) that felt festive.

An last but not least, it is always fun to receive a fun little surprise in the mail ~ and that’s what I got from my friend Carol Eldridge.

Look at this sweet little blue bird on his red spotted mushroom ~ doesn’t he look cozy and right at home nestled into the base of my Christmas tree?  Thanks, Carol!

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