Mother’s Day Gift Set

One of the things I love most about working with digital scrapbooking supplies is being able to create a gift with coordinating giftwrap and tags–without fear of running out of papers, embellishments, or alphabets!

This year is a special Mother’s Day in our family, as both my husband and I lost grandmothers in the past year—so each of our mothers will be marking this first Mother’s Day after the loss of their moms. Because of that, I wanted to send them something more personal than a gift card or a pretty scarf, so I turned to my computer and got to work! Digital tools are a fantastic resource when you need to make two identical (or nearly identical!) gifts, like these.

I wanted this gift to include two parts: a remembrance journal and a keepsake to display. I used The Digichick’s Boutique Collab Emporium to create both the journal and a gift box.

There are many options out there for online printing. For this journal project, I used Blurb.com, where there is a template for a 6×9 “notebook” with lined pages (you can also choose unlined or gridded pages and you can opt for a soft- or hardbound book). My softcover journals have 40 pages; eight of the pages are simple layouts with old family pictures of our grandmothers. On each of the remaining pages I typed a journaling prompt in the header box that was part of the Blurb template. I used questions that were “mother”-specific; I want to give my mom and mother-in-law a chance to write down specific memories of their mothers, to recall old family stories and to record lessons they learned from their moms.

For the layout pages, I created one basic 6×9 layout template, then rotated and flipped it to give the impression of variety! I filled in the papers and embellishments to make “quick pages,” so I could easily add the photos. This allowed me to make the pages just once, and then simply drop in the appropriate photos for my mom and my mom-in-law (Another awesome thing about digi!!). I found some favorite quotations on quotegarden.com and added them to a few of the photo pages.

In the Blurb software, I created the covers and journaling pages first because they’re identical in each book. Then, I duplicated the book and added the correct photo pages to each copy.

One quick tip: for continuity, choose just one or two fonts to work with throughout your project. I used Times and Times Again for the journaling prompts and for the quotations on the layout pages, with Susie’s Hand to emphasize a few words here and there. I kept the same fonts for the journal cover, gift tag, and box label too.

Note: if you use Blurb, be sure to Google “Blurb coupon code”; there are often discounts to be had!

For the “keepsake” part of my gift, I did some online shopping and ordered a personalized pewter heart ornament—handstamped metal jewelry and decor are very popular right now, and there are many good online companies, as well as a great selection on Etsy.com.

I used the Emporium collab to make a tag to attach to the heart itself, and paired it with Kelleigh Ratzlaff’s Correspondence Box template to create a perfectly-sized gift box with a matching label on the flap of the box. The template and tags fit, with room to spare, on a 12×12 photo print.

Because I was using the box to hold a fairly heavy ornament, I cut up the thin cardboard sheet that came with my photo prints and adhered it to the inside of the box to add a bit of stability.

After assembling the box itself, I added one tag to the flap of the box and dressed it up a bit with a tiny knot of lace around the “hook” of the birdcage and tied the matching tag to the gift itself.

I hope you’ll be inspired to take a look at your digi stash when planning your gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays or other summertime celebrations! Be sure to share your gift and giftwrap creations with us in the hybrid gallery at The Digichick!

Other Articles by NikkiFB:

• A Treat for Santa... and for You! - December 24th, 2012
• Thanksgiving Countdown Banner - November 6th, 2012
• Personalized Hanging Hooks - October 12th, 2012
• Quick Hybrid Photo Mat - September 21st, 2012
• Hybrid Wrapped Wreath - August 27th, 2012