What do you remember about your mum? Most mums have had a significant role and impact in our lives and have had a huge role in our mental, physical and emotional development. On one hand they may be the authoritive task master demanding we pick up our clothes, clean our bedrooms and clean up our mess. Yet on the other hand they are the ones who have helped when we have fallen over, listened to us when a relationship has ended and provided unconditional love and support no matter what.

The memory of your mum may also relate to a particular smell. Who remembers playing outside and smelling the meal your mum is cooking knowing that the yell to come inside for dinner was about to interrupt your play time with your friends? Even your clothes had a unique smell that came from the washing powder but it still seemed to be special as your mum washed it slightly different to everyone else.

Even the way the meals were made by your mum can bring back key memories. Those peas that came with the roast had just the right amount of mushiness that made them extra tasty, the vegemite sandwich always seemed to have just the right combination and mix of butter and vegemite that meant you didn’t want to swap it for a lolly with your friend at school.

How have you captured that memory? Do you still have copies of letters that you may have written to each other when you were travelling, maybe you have photos from when you graduated from University or pictures of your children with their grandma that will last forever and be the lasting memory for your children.

Obviously the way you have remembered your mum is personal and unique. At Etched in Memories we can assist you to capture that particular moment in your life with your mother so the memory is everlasting.

Mother’s Day is Sunday 13 May and while we should recognise and appreciate our mothers each and every day, Mother’s Day allows us to make a concerted effort to really make our mums feel special.

The days leading up to the 13 May are particularly busy at Etched In Memories and we always feel grateful that we are a part of creating a special memory or moment for many of the mums out there.  Our Mother’s Day Packages always prove to be a popular choice with many of the bears and personalised pendants being scattered in all directions throughout Australia and beyond.

Remember the quality of the pendant engraving is only as good as the quality of the photograph so here is a reminder about how to take a great photo for engraving.  The photograph you choose is a reminder of a particular moment – it could be as special as this summer night memory captured here, the birth of your child or a special holiday or outing.

And while the path of any relationship is never smooth, with plenty of ups and down and even moments of forgiveness, Mother’s Day allows you to focus on the good times and celebrate the special bond of mother and child.

An engraved pendant is a personal gift which continues to last well beyond Mother’s Day and for many years to come.  Although in reality there really is no gift that you could give your mum that could ever equal the gift of life she gave to you.

I love this quote and thought I would share it with you – “A mother understands what a child does not say.”  And for this reason alone, Mother’s Day, as commercialised as it has become, deserves to be celebrated.

Take my hand and tell to me,

All that you would wish to be,

Show the landscapes of your heart,

Map the journey love may start.

Hard against the shifting sand,

Lie the signposts of that land,

In which the contours of the dream,

Make nightly visions holy seem;

Dream that once upon your knee

You entertain a lion to tea.

Quantum physics says to us

We shall dissolve in atomic fuss;

Remember me when all is still?

Of course I will, of course I will.

- By Alexander McCall Smith

With Easter only a few weeks away, what better way to create lasting memories for you and your children than with some fun and games?  Here are some fun ways to do just that.

Guess how many eggs.  Get a glass jar or a basket and place some smaller eggs or even lollies in the jar or basket.  Hand out a pencil and paper and get each child to guess how many eggs or lollies are in the container.  The one closest to the actual number is declared the winner!

While the Easter egg hunt is always good fun you can do a small variation by getting your kids to match Easter eggs by the colour of the wrapper.   The other good aspect of this is that if they collect unmatched eggs then at the end of the game they can swap and match with the rest of the family.

How about Pin the Egg on the Basket?  Draw a big picture of an Easter basket as well as some eggs using coloured paper.  Give out each egg with adhesive on the back and their name on the front and with a blind fold spin them around and see how close they can get with the prize going to player that gets the closest.

For a whole lot more fun and games have a look at this site: http://holidays.kaboose.com/easter-party.html.

It is always good fun at Easter to leave bunny footprints around the house.  The footprints are easy to make and easier to clean up with a quick vacuum or a broom.   Here is the best way to do it:

• Pour a small amount of baby powder in a bowl.
• With your thumb and first 2 fingers dip them into the powder.
• Then work out where you trail will go and then press your 3 fingers on the carpet and or furniture.
• A quick vacuum or a broom cleans everything up in no time.

As your kids get a bit older you can make the trail harder to find and follow.

An alternative is to use paper to cut out some footprints that you can then decorate and place around the house or even outside.  Don’t forget to get the lefts and rights around the right way or maybe even mix them up for a bit of a laugh.

What more proof could you have that the Easter Bunny has been at your house than seeing actual footprints!!

Don’t forget to take lots of photos of these moments.  You will treasure them in years to come.

Easter is such a great time for your family and some of these ideas can add to that memory that can last for ever.

If you have children, you will know how fast they can grow. And it is almost impossible to cherish every moment as life, schedules and deadlines often get in the way. Regular annual photographs are a great way to build a story of your family.

Taking photographs and capturing your memories is getting easier and cheaper as technology progresses. No longer do we need to be concerned about the cost of developing, only to be dismayed by the quality of the photographs. And nor do we need to be worried about our photographs fading over time as digital photographs can last forever if stored correctly. Photograph books allow for easy capturing of a year in time and taking annual photographs will enable you to showcase your lives together.

As I was browsing the internet I came across a number of families who had been taking annual photos of themselves since the 70s with fantastic results, two of which are listed below.

• Since the 1970s the Goldberg’s take annual headshots of the family members to see how they change each year.

• Here 4 sisters have been photographed together since 1975.

These examples are not the classic happy family shots you would imagine but rather just natural shots of the family together showing how they age and grow year after year. What an achievement!

Build up your memories with regular photo shoots and create your own piece of history.

November to February is a particularly busy time of year for us what with the build up to Christmas, followed quickly by Valentine’s Day.  So now that these two huge retail events have subsided and the last of the Valentine’s chocolates have been eaten, we thought we would take a look at some of our favourite blog posts.

Special moments and occasions are celebrated every day at Etched In Memories each time an order comes in.  It certainly goes to show that we don’t necessarily need a holiday or special day to show how much we care.

The personalised pendants we create are somewhat similar to photographs which are centred around a special event or moment and create fabulous memories for both the giver and receiver.  Our memories are extremely important to us as individuals, as is the notion of remembering.  Remembering what, you might ask!  Douglas Pagel sums it up perfectly.

What is evident from our customers and their respective orders is the amount of love that is shared – regardless of the occasion.  We see it all!  From the celebration of births, the remembering of pets, the honouring of fathers and mothers to wedding proposals.  It is hard to not get caught in the whirlwind of excitement that our products create – particularly when we receive great feedback such as this.

To finish, here is a great quote by James Womack – sometimes we just need a little reminder.  You never know where your dreams may take you!

Valentine’s Day is approaching and not only is it the perfect time to affirm your love, it can be the perfect backdrop to the “marriage proposal”.

Flowers, champagne and getting down on one knee is the standard, safe option for popping the question, but it may or may not be the thing for YOUR beloved.

If you are planning on proposing, then start listening and taking notice of her likes and dislikes.  Sit and watch a couple of chick flicks with her – My Best Friend’s Wedding, Love Actually, 27 Dresses, to name a few.  How does she react to the proposals, bridesmaids dresses and the like?  Or what is she saying about her friends or work colleagues and their impending nuptials?  You’ll get a few answers in there.

If she is the sentimental romantic type, hiding the ring in her dessert, whilst clichéd is also incredibly romantic and unexpected.  Be original, however…the ring in the champagne glass has been overdone.

Find out what she likes; is she sporty and trains for hockey three times a week?  Does she rock climb or bushwalk?  Is she into scrapbooking or photography?  Or does she love to sit down quietly and read?  Is she likely to enjoy a picnic, or loath them due to creepy crawlies?

Women LOVE to feel special, and this also applies to the “how he proposed” stories when they’re with their girlfriends; they want something unique, and definitely romantic.

Climbing to her favourite rocky outcrop and proposing (on one knee, of course) amongst the clouds may be more her thing than frocking up and sitting down to an expensive meal, romantic though it may be.

Maybe she’d be blown away by your having crafted the proposal between the pages of her scrapbooking album?  Or written on a cake, with the ring safely inside?

Listen, observe and use your amazing imagination to create something unique and special; you will not only remember it, you will be inspired each and every time you do remember it.

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.