TIP TUESDAY #7 - Favorite Girlfriend Book(s)

Do you love to read? Do you have a girlfriend who does? Actually, what girlfriend of yours doesn't have a favorite hobby or interest? We all do - right? Well, the Holidays are a great time to give books as gifts - especially when you give books that perfectly match your girlfriends' interests.

So, this week's TIP TUESDAY question is:

What is your favorite book(s) for giving to a girlfriend? What books are you giving your friends for the Holidays?

Please add a comment. Tip Tuesday questions always make me think of my response, so I'll start. Without giving away any specific gifts I'm giving (since my girlfriends read this!):

My girlfriend Renee gave me this book, I read it and passed it along to my friend Lisa who will then read and give to another girlfriend - Law of Attraction, by Michael Losier

My girlfriend Katie Hacker (who just inspired us on our recent podcast) wrote this book and donated several for the "Great Girlfriend Gift Giveaway" (and I just bought one for my niece!) - Hip to Bead

After taping with Carol Duvall a couple dozen times, you get to know her - she is the real deal! She has a new book out that is perfect for paper lovers: Paper Crafting with Carol Duvall

Other books I've given in the past or enjoyed receiving: The Success Principles, How to Get from Where Your Are to Where You Want to be - by Jack Canfield. (Actually I've given this and love having it on CDs that I listen to often.) Another podcast girlfriend - the Crafty Chica herself (Kathy Cano Murillo) - Art de la Soul - Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life. Margot Potter (The Impatient Beader) has several great beading books - Impatient Beader books - check those out! Other ideas?

Look for more books and share your ideas with creative girlfriends! You might just inspire a gift from one of your girlfriends!



Happy Holidays Creative Girlfriends!

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!!

Creativity from the Pillow Princess

My girlfriend Tina is the self-proclaimed "Pillow Princess." She's with her family somewhere in the Mediterranean so I'm watching her shop today. I'm totally surrounded by the most beautiful fabric, trim and tassels. If this doesn't inspire you to get creative with some swatches of material and create, nothing will!

So, for my first (in hopefully a LONG series of creative gift and greeting ideas!) blog on the creative side of Girlfriendology ... what about a perfectly personalized pillow as a gift?! Use image transfer fabrics to print your photos on cloth that you can sew into a pillow. Colorize photos before printing with PhotoShop or other software. Or go for the classic black and white photo with color highlight on the fabrics or trims.

Not a seamstress? You could always buy a pillow at a store and use fabric glue to decorate it with either image transfer fabrics or other items that remind you of her. Add trims to cover and raw edges. If it is primarily for decoration, add any memorabilia or elements like buttons, pompoms, beads or old jewelry pieces.

Pillows are the jewelry/accessory for a room. Let yours make a statement and be fun. Your girlfriend will feel like her own Pillow Princess with your gorgeous gift!

p.s. By the way, I did 'write the book' on image transfer - The New Book of Image Transfer (Lark Books). I used Lazertran for my image transfer paper/fabric but there are lots of good image transfer products available. Have fun with it!