A Unique, Handcrafted Gift to Celebrate Your Family - Family Birthstone Drops

With Christmas fast approaching (yes, we are now less than 100 days away from the big day!) my thoughts are turning towards Christmas planning. This year, I am looking at ways to create a more compassionate and sustainable festive season, and will be sourcing more food and gifts from independent businesses that share my ethics and values. I love the idea of giving unique, personalised gifts that are lovingly made by craftsmen, rather than things that are mass produced in factories.

Something that perfectly ties in with my Christmas wishes this year is this beautiful, handcrafted birthstone family tree set in a tactile wooden drop.

Made using reclaimed and repurposed woods such as mahogany, each Family Stone Drop begins as a hand carved ergonomic and tactile wooden drop. The ornaments are then handset with the birthstones of your family, configured in an arrangement approved by you, to create a bespoke piece that is completely unique and as individual as you are. Each creation comes with a numbered and dated certificate, in a beautiful presentation box.

My Birthstone Family Tree has the gemstones of Ian and I at the top, with my five children and two grandchildren included below us. Each of the three generations portrayed has a different sized stone, ours being the biggest and my two grandbabies having the smallest stones. It's a beautiful representation of our bloodline at this moment in time, displayed in a very unique way.

I love having something that represents the people I love most in the world that I can display in my home. It's a great talking point! I also find it very comforting to hold, making me feel close to everyone. It really is so tactile and feels so nice in my hand. There is something about wood; the warmth, the texture and the smell, that I love. And knowing that this is made using specially sourced, reclaimed wood makes it eco-friendly, creative recycling at its very best.

The family stone drop would make a wonderful gift for any parents and grandparents this Christmas. The presentation of the piece makes it perfect for giving. The unique design and loving craftsmanship makes something precious to treasure for years to come.

The birthstone family trees will soon be available to order on Etsy but if you want to express an interest or find out more, you can find the talented craftsman behind the product on Facebook, where you can drop him a message!

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.

An Elfie Selfie Christmas Top from the Selfie Clothing Co

We are without doubt, a nation who loves our selfies. Millions of selfies are uploaded to social media everyday as we record our daily lives through the medium of digital photography using our smartphones. But we don't have to keep these images virtual, we can use them in so many more creative ways, such as having them printed onto some cool selfie apparel, designed and printed by the Selfie Clothing Co.

With Christmas coming, the Selfie Clothing Co. have a great range of Elfie Selfie tops for children, using kids' selfies to create fun festive images featuring their faces. Much more individual than an off the peg Christmas Jumper, the Elfie Selfie will make children stand out from the crowd at parties or school discos this season.

Freddy was sent an Elfie Selfie Christmas tee from the Selfie Clothing Co. featuring his face embellished to look like a Mini Santa Claus complete with hat and moustache. His reaction to seeing himself as Santa on the loved sleeved tee was priceless. He giggled out loud for the longest time!

The top arrived well packaged wrapped in paper inside a sturdy box. The round necked tee is made using lightweight jersey blend with a bespoke print to the front. The sleeves include Christmas icons such as gifts, candy canes and snowflakes to match the design. The colours and imagery gives a quirky, retro feel to the top.

The Christmas Selfie tops come in a variety of designs including snowmen, elves, reindeer and Santa, so you can pick your child's favourite to make a unique piece of clothing especially for them.

The tops are so easy to order, you simply upload an image to the site or sign in with Instagram and pick an image. Selfie Clothing Co. do the rest, hand printing the design in the UK. Delivery is within three working days. Sizing for children goes up to 8 years.

The tees would make a wonderful, thoughtful, unique and fun gift for any little one and are great for getting everyone into the Christmas spirit. What child wouldn't want to wear themselves this Christmas!?

The Elfie Selfie Tees are £15 each but you can get 20% off the price using the code: wendy20 at www.selfieclothing.co.uk.

The Selfie Clothing Co also do a range of tops for men and women using selfies in a series of cool designs.

Find out more at:

Website: https://www.selfieclothing.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/selfieclothingco

Twitter: https://twitter.com/selfie_clothing

Instagram: https://instagram.com/selfie_clothing/

The Day That...My Son Was Born

A Unique Personalised Gift To Commemorate A Special Day

"Imagine a high-quality, framed photograph of dawn on the day you would like to commemorate.  Evoking all the emotion and significance of that special day."

The Day That... is an online company specialising in creating one of the most unique gifts on the market.  Every morning since 2005, before day break, photographers have headed out to capture the drama of the dawn skies, so that images can be crafted into beautiful works of art.  These unique, authentic photographs become a treasured reminder of a memorable day, evoking the mood and magic of those special moments.

Ideal as a birth, christening, wedding or anniversary gift or for celebrating any special date, these mounted, framed and hand inscribed pictures are simply breathtaking and so symbolic, capturing the start of each momentous day for all time. They are timeless pieces of art to mark The Day That...you got married, gave birth or celebrated a special anniversary.

I was given the chance to experience The Day That... for myself so I could create my own special framed photograph to commemorate a special day in my life.  The website is really easy to use and is a visual treat as you search through the beautiful dawn images.  It takes just a few simple steps to create your own bespoke and original piece of wall art.

Firstly you find the special date that you want to commemorate using the handy calendar tool.  Each dawn shoot provides a selection of photographs in both landscape and portrait to choose from, so you can pick the one that best encapsulates the feeling of what that day means to you.  I found the dawn photographs from the day my youngest son was born and had nine images to choose from.  One of the seascapes looked so still, so tranquil and so calm.  It was just perfect.

The next step is to pick a size for the finished piece.  They range from Small 28cm x 35cm to Exhibition size 66.5cm x 84cm.  Next you choose the frame type from either Birch, Palisander, Silver or Black.  You can see exactly how the finished picture will look when you click on each option.  When you are happy with how it looks, you can write a personalised message that will be hand inscribed on the mount.  It really is that simple!  (An unframed mounted version is also available for framing yourself.)

The Day That...My Son Was Born

My finished picture arrived well packaged in a box with bubble wrap and cardboard corners ensuring its safe arrival in perfect condition.  The photo above does not give justice to just how gorgeous the finished piece is.  The colours are rich and the image itself is so poignant, knowing that this was the actual dawn of the day when my son came into the world.  It is simply beautiful with the inscription "Freddy's First Day" with his date of birth hand inscribed onto the mount.

Anyone would be thrilled to receive such a thoughtful, original and unique gift.  Prices start from just £55 for the unframed service.

Just take at look at www.thedaythat.co.uk to see the photographs taken on the special days in your family's life (since 2005).

Special Offer For My Readers

If you would like to get your very own personalised photo, The Day That have a fantastic offer just for you, where you can get a mounted, unframed print absolutely free with every framed print you order. To claim your free print, or just to find out more about them, phone The Day That directly on 01736 758109 and tell them I sent you. Their personal customer service is second to none, and they'll be absolutely delighted to take your call!