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.