Questions to ask yourself when choosing a Mother's Day gift

It seems that no sooner has Valentine’s Day been and gone that the shops are putting up their displays of cards and gifts for Mother’s Day,  the next celebratory day in the calendar.  And one that many of us will be on the lookout for the perfect gift for. 

If you’ve not registered the date yet, it’s the 31st March, and it’s one that we don’t want to miss isn’t it?

Getting our cards and gift choices right for our mum is important, as while we recognise what mums do throughout the year, often we don’t always take the chance to show it.  It’s the one day of the year that getting it right is important, we know that the others are too, but on Mother’s Day and all that it stands for it’s especially important and that’s something the Card Factory can help with, and not just with the perfect card - although there’s plenty of them to choose from!

YOUR CHOICE: MOTHER, MUM OR MUMMY…

YOUR CHOICE: MOTHER, MUM OR MUMMY…

FLOWERY, CUTE, CHIC OR FUNNY…

FLOWERY, CUTE, CHIC OR FUNNY…

The photos above are just a few of the Mother’s Day cards on display in the relatively new Card Factory shop in Hunstanton, these are just a few - I told you there was plenty of choice…  It’s the first time I’ve been in there, but it might have been there longer than I think as with everything else going on last year, we didn’t get up to Norfolk as much as we’d have liked, or as much as normal.

But it got me thinking, what are the questions we should ask ourselves so that whatever we choose for our mums matches their personality and style.  Your mum might be highly creative, pay attention to detail, feel energised when she’s around other people and regularly helps others in need, dealing with stress well, or more likely displays some of these personality traits on a daily basis, often without a second thought

  1. What does your mum want? 

    If you ask her, no doubt, she’ll probably say nothing, unless there’s something she really does want.  In which case, my advice would be, get that.  But even if she says nothing, all is not lost.  Consider her hobbies, is there something that she’s mentioned in conversation lately, could that have been a hint, think back (but not too far).

  2. What does your mum deserve?

    Gestures don’t always need to be grand, or expensive.  Thoughtful is always better than lavish. Perhaps it’s the thing that mum mentioned, perhaps it’s something that you’ve made yourself, perhaps it’s something that will make her smile or perhaps it’s something sentimental that reminds her of you.

  3. Does it feel right for your mum?

    You know your mum, you know her likes and dislikes, her humour, her hobbies and even her favourite colour, so you’ll know if it feels right for your mum.  Sometimes you’ll find the perfect gift straight away, and other times it takes a little more time, but you know when it’s right, it’s right, and your mum will too.

What other questions or advice/tips would you add to the list?

* This is a collaborative post but as usual, all words, thoughts and images are my own. 

Cards for Mother's Day

I'm taking a risk here posting my Mother's Day cards ahead of tomorrow, so if you're my mum or my MIL please stop reading now...

 

- - - Yes, if you're my mum or my MIL there's nothing to see here - - -

 

Right, with that out of the way, let me tell you more about the cards I've made.

I'm forever pinning ideas onto my Cards, Wrapping & Tags Pinterest board and so I thought I should check there for some inspiration before I started. And it worked.

Mothers Day card close-up

You'll need:

Card blanks
Card scraps
A selection of scrapbook paper cut into 1cm strips (or substitute washi tape for a quicker result)
PVA Glue
Printed or handwritten message
Embellishments for decorating

I used scrapbook paper for these cards, but washi tape would produce quicker results.

  1. Cut a scrap of card that covers two thirds of your card with a margin on each side and at the top.
  2. In a diagonal pattern stick the 1cm strips of scrapbook paper onto the card*, turning it onto the reverse of the card.  Leave under a pile of heavy books to dry.
  3. Cut out your text and stick onto a small piece of scrap card and leave it to dry under a pile of heavy books.
  4. When they are dry, cut around your text to form a flag shape at one end, your choice which and then stick this onto a larger piece of scrapbook paper that fills the remaining space of your card blank. Leave this to dry.
  5. Take the decorated piece of card and stick it onto your card blank, and leave it to dry.
  6. When both of these elements are dry and flat, stick them onto your card blank and leave it to dry for the last time. The heavy pile of books (or anything else that's heavy) is important as it keeps the card flat.
  7. Once the card is completely dry, add an embellishment in the top left-hand corner and you're ready to write your message inside.

These cards have do need time to dry as you assemble each element, but if you're using washi tape - which I think would look just as pretty - you can reduce the time it takes to make the cards, but not the effect.

Mother's Day cards

So there you have it, cards for Mother's Day. I'd hoped to be able to take better pictures of them before they went in the post but that didn't quite work out - next time I'll need to factor that in as well!

If you want some inspiration on home made cards, take a look at my Pinterest board - and if you like it, it'd be great to have you follow along.

Bringing memories to life with Cheerz - and an offer code for you

Last week on Instagram I shared with you a couple of snaps of the products I received from Cheerz, a fun way to get your favourite photos printed. You can upload your photos using an app or a website and create fun photo projects.  When they got in touch and asked if I'd be interested in seeing what they could do, I was keen to see how easy it was.

The products I choose were the fun photo strips and the La Boîte à Photos - quite literally a box of photos. 

The photos I wanted to use were on my PC so I used the Cheerz website to create both items. It was easy to use - and easy to load pictures from my social accounts too - and there were some fun filters to apply too. For the photo strips I liked that I could add text to the bottom of the strip.
MY THEME: BLUE AND YELLOW

MY THEME: BLUE AND YELLOW

I plan to use these in a few ways: as a bookmark, pinned to my desk at work and on my desk at home.  I chose a theme of blue and yellow for these and have mixed pictures from our allotment, cycling days out, Norfolk, Cornwall and our trip into London before Christmas. The results, are I think fab.  MOH has had his eyes on the Cornish blue strip (second from the right in the shot above) and he now has that as his bookmark, he's a happy boy!

La Boîte à Photos

So far I haven't shared with you what was in the box, just that it was a pretty box, and isn't it? But that's about to change, I'd read the description on the website and was keen to see if it lived up to that. The short answer is yes, it did - it's total inspiration in a box, and with your own photos too!

As you open the box you get a glimpse of what's inside:

Aboxofphotos

While I was keen to check out how my photos had printed, I was also keen to see the little pegs. They are seriously funky.  I have some small silver coloured pegs, but hadn't seen the wooden variety so miniature before (and yes I really do need to get out more!)

InsideLaBoiteAPhotos.jpg

And how apt that the washi tape in my box was yellow?

So having checked out the inspiration, what were my photos like...  Good, they're printed in the polaroid style and I was pleased with the quality and how the filters turned out.

MyPhotosPolaroidStyle.jpg

The photos I chose for this selection were from our visit to Cornwall in September 2014. Following a relatively warm summer, our holiday followed a couple of weeks of rain and we were fortunate that for our week in Cornwall the weather returned and we really did have a magical time. We had visits to Bosvigo Gardens, the Lost Gardens of Heligan, Tintagel Castle and many more gorgeous places - some of which you can read about here.  I say, some because I've still some stories - and photos - to share from that trip - ahem!

Adding memories to our house

All too often we take photos digitally and that's where they stay - on our phones, PCs and/or online storage and we rarely look at them. That's what I like about this box, I was soon thinking about how and where I could display these photos.

And I have just the place. 

I'm going to add these to the curved wall in our Top Bedroom using the pegs and the twine and most likely some little brass tacks which I'll pick up easily from the local hardware store. They'll bring a nice pop of colour to the room, and will be a great way to display just some of our memories around our house.  I think it's the touches like this that make a house a home, don't you?  

PhotoDisplay.jpg

An offer code for you

The fabulous people at Cheerz are keen for you to try this out for yourself. All you need to do is browse the Cheerz website or use the app to upload your photos. Using the code STECUP will save you £4 off orders of at least £8. It's easy to use, the delivery was quick so with Mother's Day just around the corner, what are you waiting for?