Wrapping up your memories

While there are a variety of ways to personalize your gifts, there are generally few ways to personalize the presentation. One way is to create a custom card to accompany your gift, but another is to take advantage of the latest venture between PhotoBucket and QOOP and create your own custom wrapping paper! There are a variety of designs to choose from (current themes are Valentine's Day, Holidays, and Hanukkah), and up to 4 of your images per design.

It is a bit clunky in execution-- you have to register with PhotoBucket (for free) first-- but the idea is terrific and the quality is there.

In addition to the holidays, what a great way to wrap a 50th birthday or anniversary present!

The cost of the wrapping paper is $15.99 for a 3'x4' sheet, or up to $51.99 for 3'x16'.

Click here to start wrapping up your memories!

Life takes Visa. Visa takes... your memories!

In general, I am not a fan of gift cards. I would much rather spend my time searching the Internet for a unique, personalized gift that caters to the recipient, than to give them $20 to spend at a store where they would already spend $20. Visa surprised me this year, however, by making even gift cards personal.

By visiting the Visa gift lab, you are now able to create your very own, completely personalized gift card filled with as much money as you want. The card is accepted everywhere that accepts Visa, so... the recipient gets to decide whether they would like to use it on a massage, groceries, or those great after-Christmas sales (a nice touch in tough economic conditions)! It is my gift of choice for those hard-to-buy-for teens (who think its very cool to have their own "credit card")! Upload an image of your favorite time together and they'll remember you every time they use the card. (Note: Visa also offers pre-designed cards for those who want something creative, but are nervous about using their own images.).

The cost for the card is however much money you put on the card (plus $5.95 per card for processing), so whether you want to spend $10 or $100, it is within your budget.

Click here to get started.


Image courtesy of giftcardlab.com.

Tasty memories

At this point, you are able to personalize nearly everything you bring into your house, which makes it increasingly difficult to be truly creative. The KodakGallery and Shutterflies of the world offer an amazing, though surprisingly similar, array of products (with a few unique, proprietary exceptions). The creativity comes when a non-photo based company finds a way to let you personalize their products.

One recent addition to this "ultra creative" list comes from M&Ms®. Sure, we've all seen the personalized notes that can be printed, but you may now also print your picture on the bite-sized chocolates. You begin by choosing a base color from an extended list including cream, electric green, and light purple (note: be sure to choose a light color that the black ink will show up on!) and then upload your image.

They offer these tips for successful candy-making:

• Lighting: Adjust your lighting to avoid shadows on the face or background.
• For Individual or Couple Photos: We recommend that the photo be captured from slightly above the top of the head to the middle of the chest. For a photo of two people, faces must be cheek to cheek or very close together to fit on your M&M'S®.
• Composition: Please ensure that all of the face(s) are in the picture and not cropped
• Background: For best results, the background should be plain white or off-white. The priority is that hair should be a contrast to the background. It is preferable that photos do not include glasses or hats.

The cost per 7 oz. bag is $12.99 (minimum order 3 bags), so the basic commitment is around $40+ shipping. Regardless, your favorite memories never tasted sooo good!

Click here to start making your chocolates!


Image courtesy of mymms.com.

Color me Happy!

There seem to be millions of photo products on the market, but few seem as appropriate as this latest endeavor from Clinique-- yes, the make-up company! Visitors to their website now have the opportunity to customize a bottle of the popular fragrance "happy," with a picture of... whatever makes them happy! What a perfect gift for mom, grandma or your child's teacher. The cost is $49.50 (+ s&h) for a 3.4 oz. bottle.

Follow this link to clinique.com to order yours today!


Photo courtesy of Clinique.com.

The Value of Everyday Life

In general, cameras come out of hiding for special occasions. Whether it's a simple family picnic or a black-tie affair, it is the unique moments of life that get captured. While this creates a wonderful chronicle of the special times shared with those you love, it misses the unique nuances of everyday life, details that are eventually lost to time and faded memories.

I propose deciding on an annual "day in the life." Pick one day and mark it on the calendar each year, as you would a birthday. On that day, from the moment you wake up, until you go to bed at night, keep your camera with you and keep clicking. I guarantee that, whatever your stage in life, your daily routine will look very different 5 or 10 years down the road.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

- What does the outside of your home look like?
- What do the rooms of your home look like?
- What happens at the breakfast table?
- What do your children like to do during the day?
- What are their favorite toys?
- What outside activities are family members involved in?
- What kind of car do you have?
- Do you walk or drive to school/work?
- What time is dinner time and what does the family dinner look like?
- What is the bedtime routine?

Once you have the images, edit them down until you have only those that really tell the story of your day. You can then print them in their own photo book or incorporate them into an annual family photo album. Either way, print them in a way that they'll be available in the years to come because that's when they will become truly priceless.

Children's art you can store!

From the first time children experience the goo of paint on their fingers until they complete a masterpiece in their senior year of high school, parents' homes are filled with the creative results of their childrens' hands. The first images are usually proudly displayed on the refrigerator, but as the images get transferred out, they have nowhere to go.

One of the best ways I've found to capture these moments of creative enlightenment is to photograph the art with a digital camera. It takes a few minutes of time, but very little room in your basement. If you collect the images and occasionally photograph them, you end up with a series of images that show your child's interests and ability, as well as an ongoing account of what is familiar to them. Once the art work is digital, you can incorporate it into any number of things, including an annual family photobook, a catalog of your child's art or even a photo cube or puzzle for ongoing enjoyment.

The bottom line is that once it is digital, you can save it, store it and find new ways to be creative!

Digitizing Family Recipes

One of my favorite recipe "books" is made up of recipes I have collected from family members through the years. Some of them are fairly new, and some of them have been handed down a few times already. My very favorite recipes in the collection are those that are on the original recipe cards, in my grandmother and great grandmother's handwriting. These are sacred to me because it gives me the sense that I'm cooking along with them. The only unfortunate part is that I only have a couple of these because it is a large family and the recipe cards are divided up among all the family members.

One way to give everyone the "originals" is to have them scanned, as you would an old photograph. This preserves the handwriting, the smudge marks and special notes in vivid detail. The images can then be combined into a photo book that can be duplicated as many times as you need, without losing quality.

Imagine giving your mother or aunt a recipe book filled with the original family recipes and illustrated with images of the family members cooking or sitting down to special dinners. It is a delectable, and timeless gift.