Tell My Story Book - unique personalised story books

"Keep reading. It's one of the most marvellous adventures anyone can have." - Lloyd Alexander

Children's books are so important. Sitting on the lap of a parent or snuggled up in bed listening to a story, is where little bookworms are created. Nurturing a life long love of reading is one of the most precious gifts we can give a child, giving them the chance to escape into other worlds and other lives through the pages of a good book.

Finding books that really engage and delight children is the best way to get them into reading from a young age.

Tellmystorybook.com were kind enough to send Freddy a brilliant, personalised storybook called "Imagination" featuring his face and name throughout. Seeing him flick through the pages, he absolutely loved being the star of the book. It really made him giggle seeing his face superimposed onto the main character in the story, dressed in a variety of guises from a spaceman to a bodybuilder to a deep sea diver. It is really quite magical.

The story is a simple tale of a little boy who couldn't get to sleep at bedtime so went for an imaginary adventure to a multitude of places such as through space, under the sea, to the circus and the zoo. He imagined being a train driver, he fed giraffes, beat an alien in a race, swam with a mermaid and met a pizza making mouse! Each scenario is well illustrated in vivid colour and features Freddy's face, while the rhyming text uses his name on every page. It's a short and sweet bedtime story that helps little ones settle down to sleep with the promise of wonderful dreams ahead where they can be anyone who their imagination allows.

Each book is created in-house to a great quality and high standard and is unique to the recipient using their face and name and the book features a personalised dedication on the front page. The books have a hardback cover and measure 30cm by 20.5cm. They make amazing gifts for little ones that will be a source of joy for years to come.

I am really impressed with the quality of the imagery. The pictures are a mix of real life images and illustrations that is really effective. The pages are glossy and thick and the overall feel of the product is that it is engaging  and fun! Freddy loves it and it really, really makes him laugh seeing his face in his very own story book.

You can find out more and order your own Tell My Story Book using your child's photograph by visiting the website at tellmystorybook.com.

Creative Christmas Gifts - Make It Sunday

Photobox has carried out some research and discovered that over 2 million Brits will have already started hand making festive gifts to give to their loved ones at Christmas. October 25th was dubbed Make It Sunday, marking the weekend that UK gift givers started lovingly creating personalised and hand made gifts. Staring early and being organised is a great way to keep Christmas stress to a minimum.

The trend for personalised gift giving sees an average of £15.21 being spent on each gift with up to 14 hours of work going into creating them. Two thirds of shoppers will go online to order a personalised gift, which will be appreciated twice as much as something bought on the high street. 72% of people surveyed said they would prefer something that has been made especially for them and we feel four times more satisfaction giving them. So it's really a win-win situation all round!

Gifts made using a photograph come out as the top choice when it comes to personalised gifts. After all, who wouldn't want a present with a loved one's face, an adored pet or a favourite place printed onto it!?

Photobox have sent me some credit so I can join in with the 'Make It Sunday' phenomena, creating some lovely gifts and joining in with the 'Make It' craze. From framed prints to teddy bears to bags to mugs, there is a huge choice when it comes to personalised photogift.

One of my favourite gifts to give grandparents at Christmas is a photo calendar. Featuring up to 12 pages of photographs of the grandchildren, it's a gift that gives all year round. Photobox have a selection of calendars including desk calendars to poster calendars to A3 calendars to suit all tastes. They can be purchased online and then created within one month, taking off the pressure of doing them there and then.

To make a good photo gift, Photobox give the following advice for taking and choosing the perfect pictures.

The website itself is easy to use. You simply upload your chosen photo images to the site, which are stored in an online album. Good quality, high resolution images work best. You can then use them to create your perfect personalised gifts. You can add text, edit images, pick product designs and choose optional extras to make a gift to be proud of. Once you have created a photo gift you get the chance to review it before committing to a purchase. The site lets you know if any photos are missing or if any are low resolution, giving you the chance to re-edit your creation.

Once you are happy you can order your gift and it will be delivered to your door within a few working days, in plenty of time for Christmas!

So join the 'Make It Sunday' revolution and get making some gifts that your loved ones will love and that you will be proud to give.

Find out more and check out the regular special offers and discount codes at www.photobox.co.uk.

For super quick gift making on the go, PhotoBox have a mobile website and an app, available on the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.

Personalised Halloween Storybook

I always love personalised gifts bearing my children's names. There is something so special about seeing your child's name emblazoned on something lovely.

Born Gifted have treated Freddy to a gorgeous personalised picture book featuring a spooky Halloween story where he is the star. Perfect to commemorate a child's first Halloween or to celebrate the occasion with a young child, the full colour pages include plenty of references to your child's name, in both the text and in the illustrations.

The softback book "Freddy on Halloween Night" comes with a personalised dedication on the front page, making this a lovely gift. The fun rhyming story tells the tale of Freddy's Halloween. Dressed up as a ghost, he meets a whole array of scary characters. At first Freddy is a bit frightened of all the spooky costumes, but he soon discovers that there is no need to be afraid. It definitely makes Halloween seem a lot less scary to little ones when they realise who is underneath the fancy dress outfits. A funny twist in the tale on the last page turns the story on its head and shows children that there is no need to fear make-believe monsters.

The paper is glossy and the illustrations are fun. Little ones will love sharing the rhythmic text and older kids will enjoy reading it themselves and spotting their name throughout the story.

On Halloween Night personalised book from Born Gifted is £9.99 and dispatched in 3 working days of ordering. Standard delivery is £2.95 or free for orders over £40. Born Gifted also stock an exciting range of lovely gifts and toys, both traditional and unusual, for babies and children.

www.borngifted.co.uk

I See Me Personalised Story Book

What child wouldn't want to own a storybook where they have a starring role?!  With I See Me! children aged up to 8 years old can see their own name and photo featured in a beautiful personalised book, designed to celebrate their own uniqueness.

One from the range of over 40 books available from I See Me! is the very lovely book that Freddy received personalised just for him: "Freddy's Very Own Trucks and Things That Go". With lively, rhyming text and full colour illustrations, it takes a child on an adventure where animals use a variety of different vehicles to deliver the letters of their name to a construction site. Each personalised vehicle begins with one of the letters of the child's full name and the story culminates with the child being able to see them erected as a giant sign dedicated to them.

The hardback book contains paper that is thick and glossy, giving the book a top quality feel. We love how the vehicles had Freddy's name on them and how children can see the arrival of each letter delivered by land, see or air by the hard working animal characters. Even if the child's name contains multiples of the same letter, there is a variety of different vehicles so the book doesn't repeat itself. Freddy has four D's in his full name and even though the dump truck delivered two of them, the text was different both times, acknowledging that it had returned with another D so there is no repetition of pages. 

The front of the book has a personalised dedication to Freddy featuring a photograph, making this book a lovely gift and keepsake that will be treasured forever. The back features an encyclopedia of 'things that go' with pictures and information on each vehicle, which will add some useful words to a young reader's vocabulary. 

This book is great for encouraging kids to read and little ones will be able to discover the letters in their full name, learning to spell it in a fun way. Each page is rich in detail and even the youngest child will enjoy listening to the story and looking at the lovely illustrations. Having the personalisation throughout the book also helps build a child's self-esteem and confidence.

Other books in the range feature princesses, pirates, fairy tale characters, outer space, sports and animals. There are books for big brothers and sisters, ones to celebrate new babies and titles for Christmas and birthdays. Each one is beautifully printed especially for the child, featuring the child's personal information and photo. The personalisation differs from title to title with some stories featuring the child's hometown, best friend's name, birth date and favourite colour in addition to their name. Some books even give the option to customise the character in the book to personalise skin tone and  hair colour. Others include the child's photo throughout the book. These options make each book completely unique, making reading them a special experience for every child.

I See Me! is an award winning and much loved American company that specialises in these wonderful personalised books as well as a range of personalised gifts. The site is very user friendly, allowing you to see inside the books before you commit to buy.

Books can be shipped to the UK for approximately £6.50 postage and packing with a two week turnaround time. My Very Own Trucks book retails at £23.

I See Me! Children's Personalised Books will make a lovely gift for any special occasion and really will be treasured for years to come.

www.iseeme.com

Father's Day Gift Ideas #TruprintDads

Father's Day this year falls on June 21st, giving us all a few weeks to come up with the perfect gifts to give as we celebrate the men in our lives and everything that they do for us. This year, with my own lovely dad, my father-in-law and Ian to get gifts for, Kizzy and I decided to get creative and make them some personalised pressies.

We decided that it would be a nice idea to make each dad a personalised mug with a matching pair of coasters, and then filling the mug with something to match their personalities. This gift could then be wrapped in cellophane and finished with a ribbon to create a beautiful, bespoke present that will be treasured.

The first job was to create collages to go onto the mugs and coasters. For my dad and my FIL I used old family and personal photos to create images that would bring back happy memories. For Ian, Kizzy created something arty, celebrating the things that her dad loves (including all five of his kids!) I used Picmonkey to do the photo editing. Making the images first gives you much more creative freedom to design the perfect collage using overlays, clip art and filters.

Once we had the designs, we used Truprint to create the photogifts we wanted. (Truprint currently have a great Father's Day promotion, details of which are at the bottom of this post!) The mugs and coasters are easy to make online by uploading the images onto the site and editing them and adding text. With the mugs you can choose the colour of the inside of the cup and have a choice of font for the text. The coasters come in a pack of six, so by uploading three designs, I made a pair of coasters to match each mug.

Once ordered the photo gifts were delivered to my door within a few days, ready to have the finishing touches applied.

Depending on the dad's tastes, the mug can be filled with all manner of small gifts. We decided on using retro sweets, sachets of hot drinks and character socks and a keyring for our three presents. But you could use stationary products, a new tie, a miniature bottle of brandy with some sachets of coffee, some packs of seeds or some bars of dad's favourite chocolates. Another idea is to make dad some promise vouchers, either by hand or on the computer, to be exchanged for things such as bringing him breakfast in bed, washing his car or letting him take control of the TV for one day! 

You can really have fun making this gift, from creating the collages to putting the finished gifts together. I like presents that look good, show thought and are functional after the big day.

The price of the photo gifts that we ordered from Truprint are:

Photo mugs 11 oz from £7.99

Coasters x 6 £14.99

6 x 4 photo prints from 5p

Another quick and easy idea for a Father's Day Gift is to buy a cheap photo frame and buy prints to go in it. It's very simple to do and the photo prints cost just pennies making it a very reasonable gift. This is an excellent present idea for grandads, who you possibly don't get to see very often. It's a nice touch to include a declaration that you promise to send updated photographs four times a year to replace the photographs so they can always have some up to date pictures of the grandchildren hanging on their wall.

You can find the mugs and coasters plus other fantastic Father's Day gift ideas on the Truprint website. Last day for ordering for Father's Day is June 15th.

Truprint have a special Father's Day offer saving you up to £30 off your order.

Code LOVEMYDAD gives £10 discount on order £20-£49.99 and £30 discount on orders £50 or more!

Minimum spend does not include P&P charges

Offer is valid until midnight 15th June 2015.

Offer is valid for single use during the promotional period and to customers residing in the UK on Truprint.co.uk only.

P&P charges will apply

Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or on pre-paid prints.

Please allow an additional 1-2 delivery days during this promotional period.

I received credit to make my Father's Day mugs and coasters.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas - plus get a FREE Truprint photo card #millionmumssmile

This year, Mother's Day is on Sunday March 15th.  It's a great excuse for celebrating motherhood and saying thank you to our mums (not that we should ever need an excuse for doing that!) 

Truprint have challenged me to make some personalised Mother's Day gifts for my mum and my mother-in-law.  I decided that it would be lovely to use some old photographs from our family albums to create some nostalgic gifts for the mums in my life. 

I love old photographs.  Each one is rich with memories, evoking emotions from days gone by. Although the quality may not be as good as photographs nowadays, the images themselves are simply wonderful.  Losing a little bit of clarity when they are used in photo gifts adds a retro charm, reminding us of fond moments from the past when things seemed so much simpler.

Mother's Day for me, is a time to celebrate the relationship that I have with my mum.  I loved looking through old pictures from my own childhood, finding photos of my mum as a young woman with myself and my sisters.  Snaps from holidays, days out, family parties and even pictures from photo booths depicted moments from our shared past, which I knew would make an incredible photo gift, charged with love and emotion and steeped with happy memories.

My mum is a proud silver surfer, using the computer that we gave her to stay in touch with the grandchildren and to surf the net.  So the ideal gift for her was a new mouse mat.  Creating a collage design on the mouse mat allowed me to use eight photographs dated from the early 70's through to the mid 80's in both black and white and colour.

I added a caption onto the mouse mat "Always my Mum...Forever my friend" which sums up our relationship perfectly.  I was able to play with colours and fonts, but decided to keep the colour scheme simple, so as not to distract from the wonderful old photos I had chosen to use.

A matching notebook, featuring some of the same photographs used in the mousemat, completes her gift.  The note book can be filled with plain or lined paper and is ring bound. I love how a practical gift can still be so personal and hold so many wonderful family memories.  I hope she is going to love both of her photo gifts.

For a more up to date gift, I also created a collage mug featuring 15 recent photographs of the grandchildren.  I picked photos of my kids that showed their personalities and the relationships between them to give a fun rather than a formal effect.  It's bright, busy and makes you smile...just like our family life!

For my mother-in-law, I made some gifts using a set of photo booth photos of her and my father-in-law taken at the beginning of their fifty year relationship back in the 60's!  They are just such brilliant photographs that tell a story of young love. My MIL's shy and wistful smile and my FIL's sudden attack of the giggles is beautifully captured.  So my gift to my other mum this year is to immortalise this moment from her romance that lead to her marriage and becoming a mum to my own wonderful husband and his sister.

I chose to make an 8 x 10 collage photo panel and an 11oz mug.  I am so delighted with the results. Using the black surrounds on both gifts fits with the black and white photo booth effect.  The photo panel is made of high gloss acrylic and has an integral stand in the back for easy display.  It looks classy and is a great way to preserve photographic images as pieces of art for the home.

Notebook  £6.99, Collage mug £7.99, Collage 10 x 8 photo panel  £17.99, Collage Mouse mat  £6.99.

Claim a FREE Mother's Day card in Truprint's Mum in a Million campaign

Truprint would like to make a million mums smile by giving away 1 million personalised Mother's Day cards. Visit www.truprint.co.uk/mday15, create a card for your mum and simply use the code MUMINAMILLION at the checkout to claim your free card.

T&Cs

Awards one free 7x5 folded card

Standard P&P charges apply (99p)

Ship to recipient not available

Complete with envelope

Code is One time use only

Strictly one code use per household

I have worked in collaboration with Truprint on this post but have retained all editorial control.

Father's Day Gift Guide 2014 - featuring Getting Personal, Little Tiger Press, Dove and Radox

June 15th is Father's Day, the day when we celebrate all those wonderful dads out there!  This year, why not treat your dad to something special to let him know just how much he is appreciated?  Here are some ideas for perfect pressies for dads that we have been lucky enough to receive for the purpose of this review.

Getting Personal sell a huge range of items, many of which can be personalised to create a completely unique gift to suit the occasion.  Whether your dad is a whizz in the kitchen, enjoys pottering around in the garden or enjoys taking part in sporting activities, there is a gift idea to suit.

We were sent a gift for Ian that is just perfect for him!  He enjoys the occasional wee dram of whisky - it must be down to his Scottish ancestry - and he loves the quality of a good single malt.  So the Personalised Five Whisky Gift Set was the obvious choice.

The gift box is lovely, containing five miniature bottles of whisky from a hand picked selection of rare and independent distilleries.  Included is a presentation mat and tasting cards.  The whole thing is presented in a slip case which can be personalised with a message. Whisky lovers can learn a little about their favourite tipple whilst sampling the contents of the beautifully presented gift set!

It costs £36.99 and you can find it here: www.gettingpersonal.co.uk/gifts/personalised-set-of-5-whisky-gift-set-regional-selection

Little Tiger Press has some lovely new titles out now, which little ones will love to share with their daddies this Father's Day.

Sorry Dad is the tale of a father and son cat.  Although they are best of friends, the little cat can be a bit cheeky at times and finds himself in the odd spot of bother!  This book sees the little cat trying to work out how to say sorry to his long suffering dad.  He finds a rather unique way to apologise and his dad doesn't stay cross for long!  RRP £6.99 for ages 3-5.

Me and My Daddy is a fantastic carry case with four mini paperbacks, a card and stickers inside.  Little ones can make a card for their daddy and then snuggle up to enjoy one of the stories:  Before We Go To Bed, My Daddy and Me, Oops-a-Daisy! and The Very Happy Hippo.  Each little book is beautifully illustrated and features a story that both the kids and dad will love. RRP: £9.99 for ages 3-6

If you are looking for something very affordable and useful, Dove Men+ Care have some great products perfect for the men in your life. Based on his lifestyle and skin type, you can find some male grooming products that would make an ideal, thoughtful and practical gift for dads or grandads.

The Daily Care Duo gift pack  (RRP £6.50) features a Clean Comfort anti-perspirant deodorant and a body and face wash with micro-moisture technology. It will help keep him feeling fresh all day long with its subtle and crisp fragrance.

Radox also have some products that would be suitable for men on Father's Day.  The Muscle Therapy Bath Soak (RRP £2.31) and 2- in-1 For Men Shower Gel (RRP £2.15) are a good idea for a sporty dad.  The bath soak helps to warm muscles and ease away aches and pains, while the shower gel is great for dads on the go. You could make a male grooming hamper to perfectly suit your dad's needs, because men deserve to be pampered too.

Whatever you do for your dad this Father's Day, I hope you have a wonderful time!

Snapajack - Christmas Gifts Just Got Personal

Today is the first day of December.  I still can't believe that 2013 is almost over and Christmas is a mere twenty four days away.  Countdowns to the big day begin today all across the country, as the number 1 door on advent calendars are opened, revealing a festive treat.

I was extremely excited when Snapajack sent me a brilliant personalised advent calendar, featuring photos and text especially designed for me!  Each door contains an individual foil wrapped chocolate to enjoy everyday up until the big day!  The card is thick and glossy and the printing is sharp.  It's a real quality advent calendar with personalisation on the front and back.

Personalised gifts always delight me.  There is something about seeing my name and photos of my kids on products, that always makes me smile.  It's a fail safe gift idea in my opinion!

The Snapajack advent calendars don't have to be solely for Christmas.  You can make personalised countdown calendars to tick off the days until birthdays, weddings or other big events.  It's a lovely idea! They can be designed especially for a big occasion, adding photographs and text as required.  You can count down 7 days or a full 365 days to any event.  I love this idea as a countdown to the kid's birthdays.

SnapaJack also make a range of excellent personalised gifts from boxed bottles of wine or beer, chocolates, calendars, cards, phone cases, fingerprint pictures and playing cards.  I am extremely impressed with the range and the level of personalisation available.

The personalised Playing Cards start at just £9.97 and would make brilliant stocking fillers. You can have a single image used across the pack or pick up to 55 different images for a totally bespoke pack of cards. Card playing grandparents would love to deal up cards featuring photos of their entire family. Great gift idea!

Delivery is free and gifts are delivered in just 5 days.  There are some really good Christmas gift ideas for the family. Well worth a look if you are after personalised gifts.

www.snapajack.com

Personalised Gifts for Christmas from Moonpig.com

Moonpig is well known for its fun and funky personalised greetings cards, but did you know that Moonpig also do fun and funky personalised gifts?  Their full gift range includes mugs, gift boxes, food gifts, alcoholic gifts, soft toys, T-shirts and wall art.  Many of these items can be personalised and make perfect Christmas presents for loved ones.

I was given the chance to try out the website and make a couple of personalised gifts for Christmas.  I was very impressed with the selection of Christmas Gifts available on the Moonpig site.  There are choices suitable for the youngest members of the family through to the very oldest, each with the fun factor associated with the Moonpig brand.  For example there are some fabulous Gift Boxes featuring a selection of hand picked gifts which fit a theme such as Breakfast in Bed, Chocolate Bake Off and Grow Your Own Dinner. Each comes with a personlised gift card and a free greetings card and prices start at £25.

The website is really easy to navigate.  You choose which gift you want to order and click through to the 'Next Step' to explore the personalisation options.  From there you can change text and add photos where possible.  The changes are reflected in the product image so you can see how they look.  You can also see a preview photo which is a nice way to see the end product before you commit to buy.  Gifts can be sent to your address or direct to the gift recipient, making it a great option for people you won't be seeing over Christmas.

I made a Personalised Black Sheep Beer Gift Set which includes three bottles of personalised ale, a glass tankard and a packet of Nobby's Nuts.  The labels on the ales are already perfect for gifting, featuring some humorous, inebriated cartoon Christmas characters with names such as Sozzled Santa, Randy Rudolph and Plastered Penguin, you just simply add a name. Or can can be a further creative by changing the default  message to something more personal, and you can even add a photo to replace the cartoon image.  It is very simple and straightforward to do.

  

Delivery is made within three working days, but the parcel often arrives on the very next day if ordered before 2pm.  Great service!

The ale gift set came well boxed in a Moonpig Gifts Box.  The items are each individually wrapped in tissue to keep them safe.

The three bottles of beer looked brilliant personalised with both text and photos.  I was very impressed with the quality of the printing and the tanker and nuts add a little bit extra to the gift.  At just £20 this is a great value gift idea for the man in your life.

The Christmas T-shirt range available at Moonpig is extensive, offering seventy nine different designs ranging from the humorous to the cute to cool to the quirky.  They come in sizes 3-4 years to XXL.  You can edit default text, change colours, add a name or add photographs to make the perfect personalised T-shirts.

Again, the process is easy, clicking on the part of the design you want to change opens an edit box where you can add personalisation.  I picked out a funny penguin design t-shirt which has an option to add a photograph of a face. There are some editing options on the site to rotate, zoom, flip, add adjustments and effects to the image to enhance the end result.

The photo I chose is one of my son pulling a ridiculously funny face as he photobombed a family photograph. It is my son's 'thing' to pull the most ridiculous face at the moment the shutter clicks so it is a nice way to preserve one of these moments in T-Shirt form forever!  It never ceases to make us all laugh, so I'm hoping it will bring some hilarity to Christmas!

The T-shirts make lovely stocking fillers or small gifts, which are guaranteed to bring a smile.  You could get co-ordinated ones for the whole family and sit around the table eating Christmas Dinner in matching T-shirts!

The quality of the T-shirt itself is very good and the printing is crisp.  My photo isn't as perfectly aligned as it could have been, but that is down to the photo not being straight on and my son not having a face that fitted the aperture, but I think the quirky angle adds to the humour!

The personalised T-shirts are £14.99 and there really is a design to suit anybody's taste.  They come in a plastic bag to protect them in transit and just look brilliant.  Competition for the festive jumper methinks!!

I really enjoyed tinkering about, designing personalised items on the Moonpig website.  I love how you can have a go at making any number of products and reviewing how they would look before deciding to buy.  It was actually a lot of fun just to have a play!  The range is really good and in keeping with the humour of the Moonpig brand.  The service was good, delivery was super fast and the products are of excellent quality and really made me smile.  It's a fun place to get thoughtful gifts that you know will be well received by your loved ones.

Check out all the brilliant Moonpig Christmas Gifts online and find some excellent,  fun gifts for Christmas, plus you can make personalised cards too!  Everything done in one go :)  (There is a currently a special offer where you can buy 5 cards, in the same or different designs, and get a big 50% discount!)

Photobox for Christmas

When it comes to giving Christmas presents that will be cherished long after the Christmas decorations are taken down, I know photo gifts will fit the bill perfectly.  Immortalizing favourite photographs onto something that will be treasured for years to come, is a perfect present idea.

This year, Photobox have given me the chance to test some of their best selling gifts, personalising them with some of my own favourite images, to make bespoke presents for my family.

Personalised iPhone Photo Case

You can really make your iPhone stand out from the crowd with an iPhone photo case.  Using a single photo or making a collage of favourite snaps, the case is lightweight and hard wearing.  The case is available for any iPhone from the 3G to the 5S and makes a great gift.  I love the idea of having photos of loved ones at hand all day long!

It is so easy to make the case using the layout templates, picking the background colour and using photos uploaded to your online album.  You can drag and drop the images and rearrange them until you are happy with your design.  You can have a matt or gloss finish.

The finished product arrives quickly, well packaged and sealed in a plastic case, ready to wrap up and pop under the tree.

• iPhone 5/5S, iPhone 4/4S or iPhone 3G/3GS cases
• Brand new design has photo printed all the way down the side too
• Features one or more photos of your choice
• Your choice of layout or background
• High quality scratch–resistant plastic
• Lightweight & hardwearing
• Cut–outs for volume control & camera
• Matt finish option for iPhone 4/4S & 5/5S
• Dispatched in just 2 days

 Currently on special offer at just £12!

Create your own iPhone Photo Case here!



Thornton's Photobox Collection

Everybody loves to receive chocolates for Christmas.  So this wonderful, personalised box of yummy Thornton's chocolates will be well received by any lucky grandparent, parent, friend or loved one.  Featuring a single, landscape image on the front, this box of choccies will put a huge smile on anybody's face.  I think it is a lovely idea, making something really special and thoughtful for that special person.

The photo on the front simply needs to be chosen, and the finished product can be previewed online prior to ordering.

• Selection of Thorntons finest milk and dark chocolates filled with a variety of delicious centres
• Choose from 12, 24 or 36 chocolates in a single, double or triple layer
• Add your photo to create a unique chocolate box
• Single photo on box measures 17.8cm by 11cm
• Next working day dispatch - order before 11 AM

 Priced from £19.99 for a box of twelve to £27.99 for thirty six chocolates.

Create your own box of Thornton's Photobox Collection chocolates here.


A3 Photo Wall Calendar

I love having a photo calendar to hang on my wall, so I get to see pictures of my gorgeous kids and grandson all year through.  The A3 wall calendars are a perfect size and will keep you organised for the next 12 months!

To make the book, you need to choose a theme.  I went for a simple Photographic Black, but there are many more colourful and patterned themes if you prefer something fancier.  You then pick the photos you want to use from your album and drag and drop them into position using one to three images per page.  You can add text if you wish.

The front is protected by a thick plastic sheet and the pages are made from thick, glossy card.  The printing is clear and crisp giving a top quality finish to your personalised calendar.  The A3 size is perfect, making it large enough for practical use, plus the photos look great hung on the wall.  The calendar comes spiral bound for easy hanging.

As an added option, you can add unlimited photos or text to mark special days for just £2.99.  I decided to use just text so I had room to write on the spaces too, but the photo option looks really cool and doesn't cost any extra (I may be regretting that decision now!)  It is very useful to get special dates pre-printed on to the calendar, and this would make a very practical gift idea for grandparents who struggle to remember all the birthdays!

• Unlimited photos for special days just £2.99
• Month-to-view layout
• Choose your own start month
• All you need is 13 photos
• Layouts with 1-3 photos
• Spiral bound white or black pages
• 13 double-sided pages
• 250gsm premium card
• 3 working days production time

The A3 Wall Calendar is currently on offer from just £9.95 (for a multiple purchase) which is 60% off!  A brilliant gift idea for a fabulous price!

Create your own photo calendar here.

As ever, I was incredibly impressed with the ease of ordering, the service, the turnaround of my order, the speed of delivery and the carefully packaged finished goods.  Top marks to Photobox for making Christmas shopping that much easier!

Take a look at Photobox.co.uk for lots of fabulous gift ideas including phone or iPad cases, chocolates, diaries, calendars, mugs, T-shirts, canvases, coasters, jigsaws and prints.  Right now there are some fantastic special offers across the site including a 3 for 2 mix and match offer valid until midnight on November 14th. Photobox often have great special offers so be sure to keep an eye out for some brilliant bargains on personalised photo gifts this Christmas.  Get your orders in quickly though to guarantee Christmas delivery!!

I received the above goods for the purpose of this review but the opinions and high praise are 100% my own!

Photobox Photo Book Review

This summer's holiday to Disneyland Paris resulted in over a thousand photographs of Ian, the kids and myself having fun in the sun, meeting characters and going on rides.  Showcasing a selection of these shots in a photo book is such a lovely way to share them with family and friends, and preserve the memories in hard copy.  Photobox kindly offered us the chance to try out one of their new A4 Classic Collage Books and I was very happy to make one!

You need a minimum of just 26 photographs to make the photo book, but I had almost 150 in my whittled down holiday album.  You can opt to autofill your book, using the images in the order you uploaded and selected them, or to work manually.  Autofilling with a lot of images tends to put the images into extra pages which costs more.  Making the book yourself allows you to choose different page layouts using up to 12 images per page, obviously a more cost effective method when working with a lot of photos.

The process itself is quite simple.  Working online, you just drag and drop the selected images in the space that you want them and add text in the text boxes.  There is the option to pick different backgrounds with themes such as holiday, love or baby to choose from.  These can then be applied to individual pages or across the whole book to add colour and detail to your book.

The photo book creator has the uploaded photos on the bottom half of the page, and the pages of the book shown on the top of the page. The one you are working on is highlighted. I would prefer to work with the two page spread shown larger on the screen with the ability to scroll sideways onto the next page.  I think this is probably down to my age and eyesight wanting a bigger working surface!

I really like the option to show only unused photos which helps you to see what ones you have left to use. Even though used images are marked, you can go a bit image blind when dealing with lots of pics and this avoids accidentally using an image twice or missing a favourite snap out altogether.  Staying organised is really helpful when making a photo book!

When ordering, you have the option to add on extra upgrades. The checking out process was very straightforward.  Within a few days, I received an email telling me the book had been dispatched and it arrived the next day, securely boxed and plastic wrapped keeping it in perfect condition.

The book has a hardback black cover with nine apertures, through which nine of my photographs show framing them perfectly.  It is a lovely effect.  the pages are thick and glossy and the print quality is very good with excellent colour and clarity.  It's such a lovely way to display your favourite photos.

I was impressed with the backgrounds I used.  They added colour and interest.  I went for a mix and match theme rather than sticking to one design and I think it works well, helping to tell the story of my photos. I used backgrounds that I thought went with my photos.  I like the way you can adjust the layouts which gives some full page images alongside pages containing lots of small pictures.  It makes the photo book really visually interesting and allowed me to get in over 150 photographs!

All in all, I am delighted with the photo book.  Making it was very easy to do. The colour, quality, clarity and design of the finished product is great.  The collage apertures on the front cover are really attractive and look very distinctive.  The service is excellent, the packaging was very good and the delivery was fast and efficient.  The price for the A4 Collage Photo Book starts at £27.99 but there are often special offers or discount codes available.  Photo books and other photo gifts make excellent personalised presents for loved ones.

Find out more at www.photobox.co.uk.

Until We Hug Again! Hallmark's Recordable Teddy Bear.

I am delighted to be part of the Hallmark Blogger Panel as this means I get to review some of their lovely new products like the gorgeous Until We Hug Again recordable bear.  The cute and cuddly 11" tall teddy is made with his own unique patchwork patches making him a one of a kind bear.  His friendly expression and super soft fur make him so huggable.  He has a soft blue nose and a big blue heart on his tummy.  But the best thing about this toy is that you can record a message using Voice Save technology, that will be replayed with every hug.  So even when you can't be with a loved one, they can hear your voice every time they cuddle their bear.

You can record a 30 second message that can be saved and preserved, which is ideal for someone that you don't see very often, so that they can get to hear your voice everyday. Getting grandparents to make a recording for the grandkids is a lovely way to make them a part of the child's day no matter where they are.  If a parent is away on business, recording a personal message for a little one would help them cope with being apart.  If a child is missing mum or dad, a quick hug of the teddy bear will let them hear their parent's voice.  It is a very comforting idea, letting loved ones feel connected and together at all times.

It is also fun to make funny recordings that the bear will play back, just for your own entertainment!  Who wouldn't want their bear to sing a silly song back to you in your own voice! You can record over the last message as often as you like, unless the recording is "locked" which saves it and stops it being recorded over.

Birthday messages,  special announcements or even proposals could be done via an Until We Hug Again bear. You could record any message prior to giving the bear to a loved one, making this a really personal and special gift!

Until We Hug Again Bear comes complete with 3 AA batteries so it is ready to go!  It is a really fun twist on a soft toy, adding a re-recordable, personalised message that is played whenever you give the bear a hug!

It is currently on sale at Hallmark priced at £12.99.  Find it here on Hallmark.co.uk.

#WIN Personalised Chocolate from Joyville Made

I loved my personalised bar of Joyville Made chocolate soooo much, that I wanted to share the joy with two of my readers by giving away a code for you to make your very own personalised bar of Joyville Made Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate designed by you!  The code enables you to make your own bar online and have it delivered for free.

Seeing your own name on the iconic packaging is such a thrill!  My "Wendy Bar" really made me smile when it arrived in the post.  So whether you want to treat yourself or surprise a loved one, you can be assured that there will be joy aplenty in your special bar of chocolate!

To win, all you need to do is fill out the Rafflecopter entry form below and leave me a comment telling me whose name would you put on your bar of Joyville Made chocolate if you won a code!  Closes at 11.59pm on the 2nd March 2013.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Photo Books from Vistaprint

Vistaprint is Europe's largest online personalised gifting company, selling a huge range of products for both home and business use.  I was given the opportunity to make a photo book for myself, so I could try out their service and review the end result.  

I love photo books.  They are such a creative way to organise favourite images into a beautifully bound book which will last forever.  They are also an ideal gift for loved ones.  Whether you are using old family photos or your latest digital captures,Vistaprint allows you to preserve your pictures using different backgrounds, layouts and added text.  

Vistaprint photo books are available in small, medium, large and extra large formats and come with leather, canvas or photographic hard covers.  Pages come as standard or can be upgraded to glossy finish.  Prices start at just £11.99.

The website is really easy to use.  I used the online editor version where you can work online, selecting photos from your computer to edit and create photo books of up to 70 pages.  There is also a download editor with advanced editing options giving more freedom, with special effects, masks and filters which creates books of up to 120 pages.

It is easy to place images on the page and make the book look how you want it to.  You can rearrange them and add text and change the backgrounds until you are happy to save your creation.  Alternatively you can auto-fill and let the editor make your book in a single click.  Ordering is easy.  You can upgrade to glossy paper, different cover finishes and a lay flat option.

Your finished photo book is a completely bespoke, personalised and individual creation that makes such a thoughtful gift.  With Mother's Day approaching, why not make your mum a book filled with her favourite family photos.  It would be a treasured gift that would last forever.

There are various postage and delivery options and the book arrives well packaged to your door.  I was delighted with the end result.  The A4 size, photo covered, glossy paged book is gorgeous.  The Chic Black background that I chose as a theme looks really effective against the photos.  I was very impressed with the whole experience.  Everyone who has seen the book has commented on how nice it is and how lovely the thick and glossy paper is - well worth the upgrade!

The total cost of my 21 x 28 cm photo book with the glossy paper and a photographic cover was £23.73, which is a very competitive price for such a lovely , bespoke photo book.

For more information and to order your own personalised photo books or other gifts visit  www.vistaprint.co.uk

Cadbury Dairy Milk Launches Joyville Made

Customise Cadbury Dairy Milk bars and send them to your friends and family

I love personalised gifts.  There is something so special about seeing your own name, a personal message or photograph emblazoned on a gift that thrills me much more than it should!  It transcends an ordinary gift into something that often generates far more excitement than the actual gift itself!   I'm not sure if it's because it takes a lot of thought from the gift giver, or simply because I'm a narcissist!

Almost everyone enjoys receiving chocolate as a gift.  Now, thanks to Joyville Made, you can personalise Cadbury choccie bars too!  Cadbury have just launched Joyville Made, which is an innovative online experience where you can customise two different sizes of Cadbury Dairy Milk, add a name or message on the front of the wrapper, and add a message to the back of the wrapper.  However, the customisation doesn’t stop with the packaging.  If anyone wants to make the present even better, they can add a unique web card, which displays more photos from Facebook and videos, all included in the cost of a bar.

Check out these screenshots for more details:

Go to www.joyvillemade.com

Choose the size bar you want to customize.

Use the online tools to add text and pics.

Create a unique webcard (the URL is included on the packaging)

Joyville Made allows us to put our own spin on this popular brand by creating deliciously unique gifts to send to friends and family.  I was over the moon to receive my very own 200g customised Cadbury Dairy Milk bar through the post.  The front had my name on it and the back included a photograph from Facebook and a link to my very own unique webcard.  When I opened the box I actually squealed a little bit, seeing my name on the iconic packaging. 

Anyone for a Wendy Bar?

Include a memorable photo on the back!

These bars would be great for Valentine's Day, birthdays or for any occasion. Or simply to let someone know that you are thinking of them.  It's a great and innovative idea from Cadbury.

Find out more at www.joyvillemade.com