The heat of the day melts away into a balmy dusk.

Children, worn out from the day’s frolicking in the relentless waves, have donned their t-shirts and rolled up their pant legs to just below their knees.  Shoes are left lying where they were dropped as twilight approached.  They remain filled with sand.

It is a summer night.

The smell of barbeque lingers in the air as we set off for a walk along the beach.  The waves of earlier today have been subdued, and lap quietly against the wet sand.  The children have become almost as passive as the waves; their wild rollicking now a slow wandering.

They are content to amble, collecting rocks and shells along the way, returning some to the sea, and leaving others where they lay. Rock pools provide a source of fascination and discovery, beckoning the curious minds to explore and squeal in excitement, and sometimes, repugnance!

The warm air provides the perfect companion to the cool, damp sand, and a relief after the hot, hot day.

Unable to contain their excitement, and despite their tiredness from the intense activity of the day, we watch the children burst with renewed energy, racing in and out of the now cold ocean, squealing and laughing, barely avoiding getting their warm, dry clothes wet.

We laugh at their antics, and watch the bright orange sun disappear into the ocean miles away.

I catch what memories I can with my camera, but most remain in my head and my heart.

While photo engraving is a beautiful reminder of someone or something special, there are ways of choosing and looking after your pendant to make sure you continue to get the best and most out of them. We supply all our pendants with a cleaning cloth and care instructions, but here are a few tips to keep in mind when it comes to choosing and maintaining your pendant.

Choosing the right thing for you

Over time, plated metal surfaces can tarnish or the plated coating can wear down. Even sterling silver can be prone to tarnishing and can cause some skin types to go black, along with the pendant. While this can be cleaned, we suggest that plated pendants are usually better as a key ring, bookmark or keepsake item.

If you’re thinking of having a jewellery piece photo engraved and planning on wearing it often, it’s usually worth investing in 9ct gold, which is designed to be worn.

Staying scratch free

As with any metal surface, your pendant may scratch if it comes into contact with or against other hard objects or surfaces.

Keep your pendant scratch free by:

• Avoiding wearing more than one necklace at a time – they can mark against each other
• Storing your pendant carefully, preferably in a jewellery cloth or case, without touching other pieces or items
• Keeping your pendant away from hard or metal edged items

To care for and prolong the life of your pendant, consider which option is best for engraving your photo on and then take the adequate measures required to properly care for your item. Doing this will ensure your pendant will stand the test of time and continue to serve as the perfect memory keepsake.

Christmas creates so many opportunities to capture memories you don’t often get the chance to create. It’s the time you do things you don’t often do throughout the year, and often the only time you manage to have the important people in your life in the one place.

Between the tidying, present purchasing and cooking, as well as the stress that goes with it all, there’s the propensity to forget to catch those moments as the days and gatherings pass by in a swirl of chaos and running around.

Forget about what you’re wearing or look like, and take the opportunity when everyone is there to grab those group shots, even if they are set up. Sometimes we can be so caught up in “perfect” and controlling the moment, that we forget that the apron with the cranberry sauce on it or the frazzled hair is who those people are at that moment in time. It’s capturing their personality, as well as the moment. This, in itself, is precious.

Snapping away as festivities happen is also important, as they lead to those funny and memorable stories that are beyond “Do you remember when Uncle Bill ….?”. You have the photo to prove it and to keep the story going for generations to come.

Handing out disposable cameras – including and especially to the children – will provide you with many more moments and memories than you could possibly capture between ensuring everyone has a drink in their hand.

Let down your inhibitions and pick up the camera and catch what you can.

We have a limited quantity of these gorgeous Beating Heart Photo Keepsake Keyrings available in store now.

Isn’t it pretty? The keyring is actually heart shaped and from it hangs an oval shaped silver plated pendant. This would be a wonderful gift for anyone, male or female. The heart shape is simple and understated but very practical.

We can make this gorgeous pendant yours for the special price of only $45. This price includes photo engraving on one side, GST, gift packaging and regular postage Australia wide. You also have the option of adding a text message or additional photo on the other side of the oval pendant for a small extra charge.

Due to the limited supply of the heart keyrings, make sure you do not delay in placing your order.

When you want to give someone a gift that they can use everyday, but which still shows your love, this would be it. Perfect for any occasion, whether it be an anniversary gift, Christmas gift, birthday gift or just to show your token of appreciation.

“Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever.”

Very apt don’t you think?

Have you liked our Facebook page yet? We would love for you to be part of our online community. We work hard to make sure our fans are kept up to date with what is going on in store, ensuring you are informed of specials, order cut off dates and other important information.

If you have ordered one of our pieces in the past, we would appreciate if you could leave a review on our Facebook page. It helps other visitors to our site and page with the decision making process particularly when you showcase photographs of your actual purchases. Your personalised jewellery will give others inspiration in regard to their purchase choices.

Choosing exactly which photograph or shaped pendant to buy can be a difficult decision to make especially when it is a special gift for a friend or relative, so make sure you view our Facebook albums for some great gift ideas.

We would love to feature your review alongside some of the others we have received.

“My order arrived so quickly and looked even better then I imagined. Just beautiful! I’m so happy with your service and have recommended you to everyone I know. Gorgeous Gifts, can’t thank you enough! Just can’t wait til my friends and family open their pendants on Christmas day! Will be very special! Smiles all round!” – Allie, NSW

“It is absolutely beautiful!! Thank you so much for getting this done on such short notice. I have shown my colleagues and they are very impressed!!” – Marybel, NSW

Once you like our page, don’t forget to stop by and say hi from time to time. After all without our customers and fans – our page would be pretty lonely!

With only seven weeks to go until Christmas, now is definitely the time to start thinking about shopping for your ideal Christmas gifts. While most items in our store can be created and sent within a week from the order date, please ensure you allow at least 14 days to receive your order, or longer, if you take into account the Christmas postal rush. You can of course opt for Express Post shipping if you think you are cutting it fine.

Author Peg Bracken stated “gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas” and a personalised gift wraps both time and love into a thoughtful Christmas package. Memories stand still and can be perfectly captured in a pendant or a pair of cufflinks showing just how much you truly care.

Browse your photographs: select an old memory or a favourite image captured throughout the year or better still, get snapping so you have a current and up to date image to display.

All of our pendants come with free gift-wrapping, cleaning cloth and also free standard postage Australia-wide. And we promise to treat your memories with care!

Christmas is a busy time for many families and individuals and often the lack of time can mean a last minute visit to the shops in which you select the first thing you see on the shelf to avoid the Christmas rush. You don’t need New Year to make a change when it comes to your bad shopping habits – shop early, select carefully and make sure you give a gift that the recipient will be proud to wear.

“Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.” – Lewis B. Smedes

We’ve all heard of the saying “forgive and forget”. If someone hurts us in some way we are told to put the past behind us – that holding onto unhappy memories prevents us from moving forward, prevents us from living our lives free of bitterness and sorrow. If we hold onto such memories and don’t “forgive and forget” this can lead to a living a life focused on revenge. If we can’t forgive and forget, we can’t move on.

But perhaps a different way to look at it is to “forgive and remember”. If we want to make a fresh start, a clean slate and put our past behind us, we need to not only forgive, but also remember – as Lewis Smedes says: “forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember” and gives us “hope for our future.”

Finding peace within ourselves and making peace with others is all related to forgiving and remembering. Forgetting is not necessary; although once you forgive you will probably find you no longer need to remember.

What looks like silver but is even stronger, harder to scratch and doesn’t tarnish?

Stainless steel of course! It’s not just for body piercing and dog tags. It is a versatile and durable metal that is the next generation in stylish jewellery pieces.

Even better, as it doesn’t contain nickel, it is nonallergenic, will not colour your skin and can be worn by just about anyone.

Stainless steel is becoming more popular as a metal for funky as well as elegant jewellery pieces that will last a lifetime of normal wear. No need to save it for a special occasion as this almost indestructible metal can be worn every day and requires minimal cleaning and maintenance, unlike other materials that are coated and require regular polishing.

Due to its durability and strength, it is perfect for designs and finishes you wouldn’t consider on other metals that are just not strong enough, like engraving for example. And as pieces are usually carved from a larger piece into the desired design, you are limited only by your imagination and the creativity of the craftsman.

Last but not least, stainless steel is a less expensive option than gold or other more traditional metals used for jewellery. You can afford to have multiple pieces and experiment with different styles with less pressure on your bank balance.

Who would have thought a material traditionally used for kitchen sinks and surgical instruments could look so good?

You’ve bought the gift, now how are you going to wrap it? You could just take advantage of the gift wrapping service offered by many stores, but why not have a little bit of fun and get creative with the presentation?

There are loads of different wrapping paper designs available now, so you will probably be able to find one to suit almost any theme you choose, but you don’t have to buy gift wrap.

A great idea for a grandparent, aunt, uncle or god parent is to utilise some of those hundreds of colourful paintings your kids bring home from kindy, playgroup or day care as wrapping paper. You can also use butchers paper or newspaper to create your own personalised gift wrap using felt markers, stamps or paints, stickers or even glitter glue.

Baskets are not always an easily reusable item, except for re-gifting of course, but you can present collections of goodies in other useful containers such as a mixing bowl, foot spa, on serving platters or even in a laundry basket. Clear cellophane is very forgiving and you can cover almost anything in lashings of it, scrunch it together with some curling ribbon and it looks just like a present should.

One fun way to wrap a smallish gift is to place it inside a lot of boxes, each slightly larger than the other until you are left with a big gift box to wrap.

A hot glue gun is the best tool for adding personalised styling to your gift after it is wrapped as you can use it to stick almost anything on the box, paper, ribbons or bows. Effective decorations can be made by grouping dried or silk flowers, gumnuts and gum leaves, seashells, beads – anything at all really.

Gift bags have gained a huge popularity in the last few years, and besides the vast range you can buy, you could also consider making and or decorating your own gift bag for the special touch.

Gifts come and go throughout our whole lives.  They may be expensive or they may not even cost a thing.  It could be a gift in the form of an object, or it may be something like an experience.  In whatever shape or form a gift may come, it is those which stay present in our minds throughout time that truly last.

It’s a magical feeling to give a gift that surprises and delights.  One that continues to do so for years to come is priceless.  A lasting gift might be one that creates a memory they’ll never forget, like a surprise delivery of their all-time favourite cake, or a visit to their favourite place.   It might be one which captures the memory for them, like a beautiful framed photograph that keeps the moment fresh in their mind no matter how long ago it was.   Some gifts continue to keep giving well beyond an occasion, like a watch or pendant which is checked and worn time and time again.

Gifts that last are those which can create, capture or continue a memory for the recipient.   To be able to give this to a person is such a golden and invaluable gesture.  Make your gift one that they’ll never forget, and you’ll be sure to be giving them one that lasts.