Estefany is about to turn 15. Our adorable little darling in her pretty yellow and white lace dress and pigtails, when we first sponsored her as an delightful five year old, is shortly to be considered a woman. :o
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QUINCEANERA
In Spanish, ‘quince’ = ’15’, and ‘años’ = ‘years’. In her El Salvador culture, this very special Quinceañera birthday marks the important threshold between child and woman. For those able to afford it, there may be lavish celebrations that would rival an expensive wedding. For our sponsored children, they can only dream wistfully of such things. However, some sponsors are able to send a family gift and their centres may organise a small party for them. If you are thinking about a sponsor visit, this would be a great time to go and visit your child.
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ESTEFANY LOVES PARIS
I sent Estefany some Paris photos a while ago and photoshopped her picture into them. Now she loves Paris! So for this special birthday, I did a Paris / Travel theme for her, with more of a grown-up feel to it. It was a totally frivolous package, but she will absolutely love it. Her dream is to travel to Paris one day. I concentrated on paper gift items in soft colours / pink / black / white. There are so many beautiful Paris free printable gift items that it was hard to choose. And it’s a good thing her package is posted, as I keep finding more!
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PARIS ~ GIFT BOX
An adorable free printable Paris gift box in soft pink colours from Vectoria Designs was the star of my package. The original download link appears to have been removed, but here are the how-to instructions showing the template, if you would like to have a go at making your own. I printed it on craft photo paper with a slightly glossy finish and it turned out absolutely gorgeous with a soft sheen.
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PERSONALISED STATIONERY SET
Next, I found a Vintage Map – stationery set (no longer free printable, but members only) clearly showing France, and personalised it with Estefany’s name on it. I had to send this stationery set as a separate posting, as it was almost 1/4 inch by itself by the time I cut the stationery into 14 individual pieces, added half a dozen envelopes + envelope liners, plus a band around the stationery. Normally, I would send something like this unassembled to our older children and allow them to put it together, but chose this time to present it to Estefany as a complete and finished gift. The band around the stationery could also be personalised, so I added: Estefany’s name, our names, and the words ‘Congratulations’ and ‘Feliz Quinceañera’.
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PARIS ~ CALENDAR
Next, I found a pretty black and white vintage style Paris calendar by Call Me Victorian with the Eiffel Tower on it. (You may find an updated calendar for this year here); free printable
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PARIS ~ BUSINESS CARDS
Paris – business cards | alternative link (threekissesstudio; click on ‘Parisian Caling Cards’ to download) personalised with Estefany’s name on it. These free printable cards also look pretty recoloured in pink. If you are using MS Publisher, simply right click on the image – click ‘format’ – ‘picture’ – ‘recolor’ – and then choose your colour.
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BUSINESS CARD HOLDER
And her own fun, free printable Black Tie Butler – business card holder (digitprop) to hold her Paris business cards or Bible verse wallet cards. He can solemnly hold up and display a new Bible verse for her every day.
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PARIS ~ COLLAGE
Next, I did a Paris collage for her in soft, pretty colours and laminated it. It was more art than photos. The main photo I used was this pretty Eiffel Tower with flowers. I also used this Eiffel Tower image from the top left corner; this Paris sunset reflection; this photo of Paris in the Spring and one of these Snow in Paris photos. I used one of these pretty papers (scroll just over two-thirds of the way down the page, to the apricot and brown image with a butterfly hovering over a clock) as the background for my collage. Across the main image, I added Estefany’s name, Feliz Quinceañera, our names, a couple of heart embellishments, and a Bible verse in Spanish from Deuteronomy 6:5. For copyright reasons, I am unable to show you what I did, but this pretty scrapbook page (janinekoczwara) with butterflies, doilies and a young girl; or this gorgeous mini album (jodieleedesigns) are both perfect inspiration for a Paris theme.
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TRAVEL JOURNAL / SKETCHING PAGE
Travel Journal (Dover sample) I fitted 2 of these on the one A4 page (landscape) and added Estefany’s name arching across the top of each one.
Travel Journal and Paris Sketching page (wanderlustdesigner) By this time, I was rapidly running out of room, so I only sent the sketch page.
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Okay, that made up the bulk of her package. I also made up a few of my own scrapbooking pages from some various bits and pieces (scroll down) that I thought she may like, so she could cut them out, add her own photos and make her own scrapbooking pages. If you do this, remember to open them up in an editing program and add a text box so you can include some favourite Bible verses. And there’s also some other links you may also like to check out. Most of the rest of the items on this page are things I’ve found since, unless otherwise stated.
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PARIS / TRAVEL ~ COLOURING PAGES
Paris – colouring (fun365) a cute little fifi poodle carrying a hat box wanders past the Eiffel Tower; All Around the World – colouring 4 children of different nationalities; free printable
Eiffel Tower – colouring (coloringcafe); World Map – colouring; free printable
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PARIS / TRAVEL ~ PUZZLES
God loves Every Tribe, Tongue and Nation – maze (answersingenesis) that goes through Paris; in colour; free printable
Paris – word search (puzzles-to-print) 27 words; free printable
Travel Journal (thecottagemarket; click on the aqua text link under each image to download) travel journal, daily plan, blank packing check list, things to do (places, restaurants and shops to visit), travel budget and cover page with gorgeous watercolour flowers; free printable
Postcard – templates (bnute); Trip Journal – worksheet a write/draw fill in sheet all about your trip; free printable
My Dream Travel Destination is – worksheet (supercoloring) write or draw then colour; I Dream About – worksheet with Eiffel Tower and a tropical island; Holiday Journal – worksheet The weather was; I wore; I went to; I ate; My favourite thing about today; Vacation Planning – worksheet to fill in and colour – where am I going? How am I getting there? Where am I staying?; free printable
The Ultimate Vacation Packing – tick list (dabblesandbabbles) tick the items you will need for your holiday, or use the idea to make up your own list; free printable
Paris – hidden picture puzzle (woojr) free printable
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PARIS / TRAVEL ~ CRAFTS AND ACTIVITIES
Mission Possible Travel theme – lesson ideas (ministryark) all about the mission of God to travel and tell the world about Jesus; classroom decoration ideas; craft ideas; prayer ideas; scroll down to the end of the post for an orange, yellow and black ‘mission possible’ travel graphic with Eiffel Tower and other travel graphics; free printable
Paris – paper craft (canon) card and envelope to make with a pink pop up Eiffel Tower; Eiffel Tower at Night – 3D paper craft; Eiffel Tower – 3D paper craft make a gift box; Eiffel Tower – 3D paper craft; Travel Suitcase – 3D paper craft a fun craft that is set up to look like an open suitcase with photo frame and travel documents; Travel Suitcase – 3D paper craft; Travel – scrapbooking kit; Travel – scrapbooking kit; Travel Organiser – paper craft; Travel – scrapbooking tags; Paris – toothpick flags; Camera – scrapbooking tags; free printable
Paris – paper city craft (madebyjoel) travel-size standing craft to make | full size version; free printable
Eiffel Tower – 3D paper craft (popupology) free printable
Eiffel Tower – 3D paper craft (papertoys) cut, fold and assemble; free printable
Eiffel Tower – scrapbooking tags (ohmyfiesta) or candy wrappers; pink, apricot, mauve, white; free printable
Suitcase – packing activity (maketimetogether) cut and paste activity where you colour in the suitcase and then decide what you want to ‘pack’; free printable
Suitcase – 3D paper craft (gathered.how) decorated with your choice of scrapbooking paper; free printable
DIY Luggage Tags (sisterssuitcaseblog) start with plain white luggage tags and decorate them with scrapbooking paper and washi tape; free printable
Watercolour Flowers – scrapbooking tags (freeprettythingsforyou); Iridescent – scrapbooking tags with gold paint brush strokes; Shabby Chic – printables; Shabby – pretty scrapbooking printables; Parisian – scrapbook printables; free printable
Vintage Paris – scrapbooking papers and tags (astridsartisticefforts; scroll down) various mix and match items for a Paris theme; free printable
Paris – scrapbooking paper (stampindamour) flowers on apricot pink shabby background; and Paris – scrapbooking paper with vintage chair and music notes; free printable
French Rose – vintage scrapbooking tags (shabbyblogs) free printable
Hearts & Rose – soft pink labels (lilac-n-lavender; scroll down to ‘Heart & Rose Label’) free printable
Le Paris – planner stickers (vintageglamstudio) cute printable in pink, teal and white to cut out and use for crafts; 2 pages; Vintage Tea in Paris – scrapbooking tags (scroll down) free printable
World Map (mondedespetits; scroll down to the end of the page) coloured map with cute children in traditional dress; free printable
Around the World – mobile to make (practicalpages) with pictures of children in traditional clothes; you will find more pictures of children in traditional clothes and their country flags (kizclub; scroll down to ‘kids around the world’) in colour or to colour; free printable
World Flags – bunting (mrprintables) free printable
Par Avion – address labels (worldlabel) to cut out and use for crafts; free printable
DIY First Class Airline Ticket (musicairport) with fully editable text; free printable
Printable Passport – template (sparklebox) a double-sided passport writing frame to colour; Printable Airline Ticket and Boarding Pass – template to colour; free printable
Passport to Love – template (thedatingdivas; scroll down to the very end of the post to download) important note: this great idea has been designed for couples, so some items may not be suitable and it will need to be adapted for our children; free printable
Eiffel Tower – silhouette template (silhouettegarden) to cut out and use for crafts; free printable
Paris – printables (duckduckgo)
Paris – scrapbooking printables (pixelscrapper) you will have to register if you wish to download, but you can get free downloads and Marisa has heaps of great ideas to choose from.
Paris Village – 3D paper craft (myfantastictoys) for purchase
I also thought about making up more travel items for Estefany with pink, white and black colours ~ a passport; plane ticket and boarding pass; some Paris postcards. I really liked these sweet, girly ideas from Simone Made It (for purchase). There are also travel / world map / country flags / geography ideas that I could have used. In fact, I found so many great free printable Paris / travel ideas, I think I could have done a Paris theme all year!
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PARIS / TRAVEL ~ LEARN TO DRAW
Paris – learn to draw (supercoloring) draw in the frame all about your holiday; free printable
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PARIS / TRAVEL ~ PHOTO FUN
Floral – digital frames (freeprettythingsforyou) with gold leaf; free printable
Paris Sunset – photo frame (photofuneditor); Paris – photo frame 4 frames, Eiffel Tower, Paris lamp post; Paris Sunset – photo frame; Paris – photo frame Eiffel Tower and red roses; Paris Love – photo frame; free printable
Paris – photo frame (funny.pho.to) one frame; Paris Vintage Book and Postcards – photo frame 2 frames; free printable
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PARIS / TRAVEL ~ IMAGES
Paris – images (georgiannalane) fabulous images in soft, romantic colours; Paris – images; Paris – images | Paris – images (scroll down) | Paris Flowers – images; Paris – beautiful e-mag photos | alternative link; and there is also a Paris – calendar for purchase
Paris Sunset – photos (duckduckgo); Paris – photos
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MORE CREATIVE IDEAS
Add a Bible verse to your favourite Paris image and make your own:
Bible poster or verse card
Bible wallet cards
Bible note cards
Bible stickers
Board game
Stationery
Jazz up your colouring pages
Jazz up your envelopes with some cute Paris clip art or stickers;
DIY puzzles specifically for your child.
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PARIS / TRAVEL ~ PAPER GIFTS
Paris – Bible bookmark (Biblejournalingdigitally) with Bible verse from Deuteronomy 31:8 – The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you; Eiffel Tower, cafe and flowers in pink, black and white Paris theme; as part of a Bible journal kit with stickers; scroll to the end of the post to download; free printable
Paris – bookmarks (bookmarkbee) white Eiffel Tower on colourful backgrounds; free version
Paris – name tags/labels (nametagjungle) Eiffel Tower graphics on coloured swirly borders with chevron, polka dots, and striped backgrounds; add a favourite Bible verse and make your own Bible wallet cards; free printable
15th Birthday – gift boxes and party printables (fazendoanossafesta) purple, white and black with polka dots; Paris – gift boxes and party printables Eiffel Tower with pink stripes, black and white polka dots; Paris – cupcake wrappers and toppers; Paris – gift boxes and party printables with tiny Paris graphics; Paris – gift boxes and party printables apricot stripes with black and white polka dots; Paris – gift boxes and party printables with tiny apricot flowers; Paris – cake slice box (scroll down to #5) with Eiffel Tower and hearts; free printable
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PARIS / TRAVEL ~ STATIONERY
Paris Sunset – stationery (freeletterheadtemplates) free printable
Paris – stationery (ohmyfiesta) free printable
Vintage Paris – stationery (jodieleedesigns) free printable
Vintage Paris – stationery and envelope (mintprintables) with Eiffel Tower; 2 per page; free printable
Postcard – templates (bnute) free printable
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RELATED LINKS
Bless your child’s mom or teacher with some of these wonderful Paris ideas, too.
First Letter theme also has many travel related items
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How special your 15 year old will feel! You are so good at developing creative ideas. Now wondering about boys? I do not sponsor any girls in El Salvador, but do have 3 boys, and wondering if there is a special age to celebrate for them too?
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Hmmm… that’s a great question, Susan. I haven’t heard anything about the boys, but it makes sense, doesn’t it? I’m not sure about this. I only found out about the girls side of things from someone on http://ourcompassion.org/ who had been able to visit their sponsor girls and had been able to give a decent enough family gift, so they could celebrate it in style. Otherwise I would not have known about this all. His girls looked absolutely gorgeous. Like princesses. It was like a wedding! If you wanted to be sure, go to OC and check there. Someone on the forum is sure to know. Sadly, we were only able to send Estefany a small family gift for this special birthday. :( But at least it may be enough for a small quinc party for her at her Compassion centre, with her friends. In her last letter, she told us that she was not having a quinc, but when she wrote that, she would not have received our gift by then. I hope that her Paris package of love will bring her great joy. Thanks so much for your kind comments.
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