Archive for the ‘Memories’ Category

“Sometimes you will never know the value of something, until it becomes a memory.” ? Dr. Seuss

Our lives are filled with precious moments. It’s filled with memories such as cuddling with our children as we read them a bedtime story, going home for Christmas andparticipating in family holiday traditions, driving the car with our mother or father for the first time, going away for summer camp or even buying our first house. Our lives are also filled with less pleasant, but necessary activities, such as spending time away from our family and friends to earn our living by working. Since work is such an important part of our lives, it’s easy to get wrapped up in this and even mundane tasks such as cleaning our homes or buying “things.” Soon, these other activities take centre stage; somehow we get distracted, and forget to live our lives while we are alive.

No matter how long anyone lives, it’s not long enough. Life is short, too short. Before we know it, time passes, and suddenly we are twenty or thirty years older. Our children are grown and have moved far away to raise families of our own, and parents and other loved ones have passed on. Now, they are no longer available for us to give them that one last hug or ask them for one last bit of advice. Eventually, we are all left on our own, alone.

This is why it is so important to make an effort to not get wound up in things that aren’t really important in the long run. Take time, each day, to really focus on the people that you love and care about. Spend time with them and do things that are fun and that each of you enjoy while all of you are still here to enjoy it. Live in the present. Enjoy life and people while they are still here.

While you are at it, make certain that you make the time to capture some of these wonderful memories. Take lots of photos; shoot videos, save drawings and finger paintings. Make souvenirs from some of your travels and preserve them – even if it’s just pressing and drying a beautiful, vibrant flower that you discover in your own backyard with your child.

If you have a special photo of a great moment that you would like to preserve in a more permanent way, we can help. Here at Etched In Memories we specialise in turning your most memorable events into more permanent treasures. With our unique process, we can take your favorite photos and etch them into your choice of metal. Who wouldn’t appreciate jewellery that is as much an original piece of art as it is a beautiful adornment? Over time, these preserved memories can be passed down to future generations as treasured family heirlooms.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you preserve the best moments in your life and the lives of your loved ones.

With Mother’s Day approaching, you may be a little excited as well as a little concerned about what you may end up with as a gift from your children.

The family may also be a little confused and not sure what to get you, so we thought we’d share with you our three biggest and best sellers.

This will make things a little easier for them, and enable you to get something you’re sure to love.

1.  The best by far is the pendant in 9ct yellow gold.  Personalised to include the image of your choice engraved on a heart-shaped pendant, 22cm or 27cm in size, you will be absolutely delighted with this as a gift.  The option for 9ct white gold is there, but the yellow gold is always a winner.

2.  A sterling silver pendant, in the heart shape or round is also a very popular choice.  Similar looking to the white gold pendant, but more doable for the kids’ money boxes, it is another popular item from our selection.

3.  Not just for the New Mum or Mum to Be, our Gift Packages have also been a huge hit.

They really do work for any mum, new or otherwise, and take some of the guesswork out of trying to decide what to buy to show your mum how much she means to you.

Although there is still a selection for the packages, the choice is much simpler and mum will get something to treasure forever.

What will you be getting your Mum this Mother’s Day to let her know how much you appreciate her?

Happy Mother’s Day to all the great mums out there from Etched in Memories.

Easter so longed for is gone in a day. – James Howell

Do you remember as a child how long it seemed to take before Easter finally arrived?

We talked about it in class and made Easter baskets.  We talked about it at school as we joined in with the Easter bonnet parade.  We talked about it in the playgrounds and then we went home and drove our parents nutty with “How many days now?”

Then Easter arrived one morning and was gone before it was even bedtime.

I’d change James Howell’s quote to say that Easter is gone in less than a day.  The only reminder we had was a pile of torn foil and, on our return to school, the Easter egg comparison charts.

“How many eggs did you get?”

“Oh, I had way more than that…”

Now that I am an adult, Easter still seems to fly past.  Admittedly I spend the lead up time shopping for Easter eggs and gifts for family and friends, but the day itself just disappears.  By the time the eggs have been discovered, we’ve caught up with others, celebrated the day and we are all on a chocolate high, it’s almost impossible to remember the day.

As kids we had nothing to worry about except who we’d see and how many eggs or pressies we might be given, so it is still easy to remember the good bits even after all these years.

Now I struggle to remember anything about last year’s Easter, or the one before that.  It isn’t a faulty memory that is to blame; it’s busyness and the responsibilities of being a grown up that get in the way.

I don’t want to miss out on another Easter memory.

Instead of giving people just chocolate this year I’d like to give them all a little digital camera so they can record the day.  I might not have time to take photos but I can share theirs and we can keep them forever.

How will you remember this Easter?

You’ve got so many digital photos you’re not exactly sure where they all are, much less feel confident that they are stored safely enough if you lose your phone or your PC or Mac crashes.

Thankfully, technology has provided you with a safety net, and there are a number of apps available that enable you to upload your photos offsite and online, so you always have a backup.

Some apps, such as iCloud and Loom are compatible only with Apple products (iPad, iPhone, Mac etc) although Loom is also accessible on the web. Both allow you to upload from your device and offer a photo stream, with the iCloud also allowing for sharing on social networks as well as having a print service attached if you are so inclined.

Apple products as well as android devices have access to services like Google +, Flickr, Dropbox, Skydrive, Picturelife and SmugMug.

Apps like Flickr, are more suited to photo sharing and viewing, where Dropbox is great for photo storage and keeping your photos safe in case of fire or theft of your device or desktop.

Dropbox also enables you to share your files and folders with others, but does not publish your photos to the web. You can, however, share your photos on social media networks from Dropbox. All these options also work effectively on the web, and with Windows software on your PC.

Choosing the best app for your photo storage really depends on what your requirements are; for safe, external storage and sorting of your images, or to share with family and friends interstate and oversees.

All options are relatively affordable, depending on how many photos you need to store and/or want to display online.

Whichever route you choose to take, I definitely recommend that you make sure they’re backed up somewhere safe so you don’t lose these precious memories forever.

Captured memories
stare back at me
from the pictures in this book
happy smiles
set against blue skies
vacations taken when we were young
the dreams of childhood
forgotten for awhile
then remembered with a rueful smile
I wanted to be an astronaut
a dancer
a fireman
an actress of the first order
my name in lights
my feet on the stage
fame
fortune
easy life
but, those were just childish dreams
never worked for
never realized
but tucked away
here in my book of
memories
photos
and dreams

by Carra Wilmoth

http://www.silentwords.com/Memories.html

When it’s used to cook our food and warm our hearths, fire is truly a much needed gift. However, the devastating, unpredictable nature of fire can also be truly catastrophic when it is let loose and consumes everything in its path. As the recent fires here in Australia have shown, fire can be truly destructive, destroying homes, property and even lives.

While you and your family may escape a dangerous fire with your lives, and insurance can help you to repair any damage to your dwelling and some of your belongings, it is often impossible to reclaim everything that you lose in a fire. More often than not, if you’ve survived a fire, chances are great that you will lose something that’s special to you. Perhaps it is a treasured family heirloom, a beautiful plant that was given to you by a loved one, or an essential item that is your personal touchstone to fond memories from days gone by.

Insurance may replace these items, but a replacement is not quite the same as having the actual item. These items, our personal belongings, can often become powerful talisman by becoming our personal keys to the memories of our past.

Our memories are important to us, they tell the story of where we have been in the journey that is our life. Our memories also shape and define who we are as individuals. While fire may destroy our physical possessions, it cannot destroy our memories. Thankfully there is an easy, and beautiful way, to record and preserve the existence of the special people, events, places and favorite possessions that have been part of our lives.

Take the time now to preserve what you treasure in your life. Send us a photo of your favorites – be they loved ones, pets, places, events, or possessions – and let us turn it into a personalised, engraved memento that will stand the test of time.

At Etched in Memories, we can take your favorite photo and permanently engrave it onto your choice of metal – from precious metals such as 9 ct gold and sterling silver to durable and affordable stainless steel – and help you to create a permanent, personalised record of your treasured past.

Keep your memories close to you where fire and time cannot touch them. You can wear your new memento close to your heart as a pendant, at the wrist as a cufflink, or carry it with you each day on your keychain.

At Etched In Memories (www.etchedinmemories.com.au) we specialise in personalised gifts particularly that of engraved pendants. When it comes down to your pendant choices and engraving options, there are actually quite a few varieties. It all depends on your budget and your specific gift requirements.

First you need to look at your pendant metal options. We have a choice of stainless steel, gold plated, sterling silver, yellow gold and white gold pendants available. These range in cost from $37.95 for gold plated up to $637.95 for white gold.

Next you have to consider what shape you might want and of course this is closely related to the size and shape of the photo or image you are engraving on the pendant. The shapes we have in current stock are hearts, squares, ID tags, ovals, circles and rectangles. There are other shapes available although we do not hold them in store. If you have a special request, please let us know. The white and yellow gold pendant also comes in two thicknesses, that of 0.6mm and 1mm.

Then of course you have to decide on the actual image/s or photograph/s you would like engraved on the pendant. You can choose to engrave either one or both sides of the pendant with photos, logos, text and more. Our quality affordable metals are perfect for key rings and bookmarks while our 9ct gold or sterling silver pendants are more suitable for beautiful jewellery pieces.

We also offer an engraving only service and can engrave on pendants, zippo lighters, watches and business card holders. Again contact us for more information if you have a specialised order. Suitable items need to be perfectly flat, no thicker than 20mm and no wider than 80x80mm.

We love to assist in creating and preserving your special memories. And as our way of saying thank you, all pendants come with free gift-wrapping, cleaning cloth, standard postage Australia-wide and our promise to treat your memories with care and provide you with a stunning, quality keepsake.

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas filled with fun and laughter in which to create many new beautiful memories.

Thank you for your support throughout 2013 and we wish you all the best for the coming year.

- Etched In Memories

“An elephant never forgets.”  You must have heard this old piece of wisdom from your parents or grandparents at some point in your life. If you are not convinced in the truth of this statement, you must watch the video below.  It’s a lovely story of remembering across time.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for humans.  Our memory is not nearly as good as the elephant, so we tend to forget a lot of things throughout our lives. On one hand, this is an advantage, because we can leave some bad memories in the past. On the other hand, however, we sometimes lose moments we would like to remember for a lifetime.

Luckily, there is a way to remember those special times in your life.  A great way to preserve beautiful memories is to engrave them on your jewellery. Of course, we have all heard of pieces of jewellery engraved with text and a lot of people would refer to ‘one ring to rule them all’ from the ‘Lord of the Rings’, but now you can have something more – jewellery with a photo engraved on it and bound to remain there forever.

Of course, you can choose any photo you like; your favourite one, or the one that reminds you strongly of a pleasant moment. Then you can have it engraved on a pendant or other piece of jewellery and never worry that it may fade away.  It will bring memories as long as you wear it. This is your chance to turn a piece of jewellery into your personal memory keeper – always there to remind you of your chosen favourite moment.

This is, perhaps, one of the best ways to preserve a photo with a favourite memory.  Rest assured that it will help you think of the good times and special people whenever you need it.

Halloween is becoming more of a tradition in Australia each year as children want to dress up as their favourite characters and go trick-or-treating. While it can be terribly stressful for the mums as they have to somehow make or find the character costume of choice, the memories that are created are priceless.

If you don’t particularly like the fact that the children are going door to door, then you might want to consider hosting a Halloween party. This allows the kids to still have some party fun and showcase their wonderful costumes to their friends.

Bobbing for apples is always a fun game for the kids and at least ensures they get one piece of fruit on a day which is essentially reserved for candy and chocolate. However there are many other fun alternatives.

What about pass the parcel “mummy” style. In this version each person gets to wrap the end of the toilet paper around a body part (an arm, forehead, waist, ankle and so on) until they find a prize.  Or how about pin the bow tie on the skeleton which looks like a lot of fun or a masked Halloween version of Blind Man’s Bluff?

A creative Halloween menu is also a great way to celebrate the event.  This Halloween version of pigs in a blanket will be remembered long after the event and the mummy cakes and icing wands are sure to go down a treat!

For some added fun, you might want to let the kids take control of the camera and see what “horrifyingly terrific” pictures they can come up with.  That way the memories will be captured for all to see and shared over and over again.