I have an Epson Stylus PHOTO RX620 which happens to be an all-in-one, but the printer part is a photo printer and uses 6 cartridges. I LOVE it!! I've printed out probably a couple of hundred layouts on it and plan on doing many more.
Over the years I've owned one Lexmark (hated it) and one HP (didn't like it either) and several Epsons which I've always loved. I've changed several times, but only for personal reasons and not anything on Epsons part as far as durability or quality - just my own little need to constantly upgrade. LOL
As you can tell already, we each have our own opinions as to which brand, and which paper - I happen to use only Epson ink, but not Epson paper and never glossy. Those things are not things that can be put into facts as to which might be better, just what each of us has found we like for ourselves.
If you should happen to look at the Epson site for additional information, I noticed they have the RX620 at $199.00 with a $40 rebate for ordering from them. I don't know if you have a scanner currently, but it might be a nice way to get both because at some point you'll want a scanner also.
Here's a link to the Epson site. (I was going to link to the model, but I think it might not have worked with my cookie information.) Did I mention they also have free shipping?
http://www.epson.com/
To answer another of your questions - I print my 8x8's onto 8x11 paper and trim off the excess. With the Epson I have, I can also print borderless at the 8x11 size if I want. So when you are researching printers, you'll probably want to find out if it will print borderless.
After she gets her present, don't forget to have her come back to SBB and learn all about digital scrapping. We have a great tutorial section.