Wrapping up Cyndi's baby shower gifts

My girlfriend Cyndi is about to have her baby. (YEAH!!) Being a first-time mom at 39+, it is an exciting time of celebration for her, her husband and all of her girlfriends (who consider ourselves to be very blessed to know her!). Read more about her very special shower!


Last night, in her pre-baby insomnia, she found a web site that made her think of me - NameMaker.com (photo from their site). The reason she thought of me, was that for her shower gifts, I made custom wrapping paper for each gift. The They Might Be Giants - ABC's DVD/CD had ABC's on the paper. The Baby Book on being a loved baby were covered with scanned images from the bear drawings in the book. The Sculpey Clay Baby Handprint Kit had blue baby handprints all over the paper. (Cyndi's really crafty, so of course I had to give her a craft-related gift!)

With a decent printer, you can easily make personalized wrapping paper. I used Publisher to layout scanned or created images, but you can use any software you prefer. Print on the largest paper your printer will accommodate and piece/tape together as needed. Add a nice ribbon and suddenly the paper becomes part of the gift (and expresses the extra effort you made to recognize the special event!).

I know Cyndi appreciated the effort and even said she was planning to scrapbook part of the paper with her memories of the shower. If you're not up designing and printing your own custom wrapping paper, consider your options - Kinko's, local printers, Namemaker and other web sites. Check out Cafepress to buy custom gifts or create your own. (I ordered some CafePress Girlfriendology shirts, mugs, journals, etc. and the quality, speed and cost are very impressive!)

Thanks Cyndi for thinking of me and Girlfriendology in your night of sleepless surfing! Good luck this week for the big arrival of beloved baby Daniel! And thanks for inspiring my creativity!!