Another naff novelty gift

So it's soon to be Mothers day, another commercial day created by retail giants to cash in. Why do we have one dedicated day to showing more love then any other day? but hey im all for it as this time next year I will be getting gifts right? Wrong. Well maybe but I wont be holding my breath, I cant imagine Mr C buying anything from 'B' to me, not unless the seed is planted by his lovely sisters. A few years ago I would have said yes, very thoughtful, surprised me on many of occasions with thoughtful gifts but now, nop, he has change. I wont be bitter im actually looking forwards to the little things like Fathers day and the small details from her to him.

So not forgetting I still have a mother of my own to show gratitude for, I went on a search for my perfect mothers day card. Im not a girl of many words, not very lovey dovey when it comes to showing my feelings so I find it hard to buy cards that have gushing poems full of emotions. I actually don't see the point in buying cards as they get thrown away with in a week but apparently a card is more important then a present to most parents. I have made the mistake on a few occasions of not giving my mum a card which has lead to tears! I'm putting it down to the menopause, how can a card really mean so much?

I'm not one for bunnies and teddy bears but I'm guessing this is what you get when the kiddies pick you a card, which I guess I will find cute when its from my own. However as an adult I love the more simple and bold cards.

Motherly Love Card by doodlelove

'Amazing' Mother's Day Card by doodlelove

'I Love You Mum Because…' Card by Rosie Robins

Have A Relaxing Mother's Day by Loveday Designs

Heart Of The Home Mother's Day Card by Glyn West Design

I love the soft colours and the detail that has gone into the card above. Not sure why I love it so much as I'm not an animal lover but maybe because it's the home, the heart and looks like a family tree. They actually do framed products which you can see below. I would take the card and put it in a white frame to create my own art piece.

Personalised Heart Of The Home Mother's Print

A lovely keepsake for full and complete families, I love the family paper cutout tree below. Only get this if he has had the snip otherwise it could be a waste of £50. Saying that I was so surprised with all that detail that it didnt cost more.

Personalised Family Tree Papercut by Kyleigh's Papercuts

So gifts. What do you buy for mothers day or what would you like to receive? I am easily pleased I love flowers! I have a particular favourite florist in Windsor that I love called Flowerz based on the Eton bridge, Windsor side. Beautiful arrangements and great value for money. This would normally be my first port of call but this year I might try and do it myself, keeping with the personal touch. I love the pink bucket below which is very practical and can be used after but I think I might source a nice vintage white jar from a charity shop and fill with my mums favourite flowers Lilly's and sun flowers. Simple, bright, fresh colours for spring.

So like I said I am easily pleased with flowers but in my dream world I would like a timeless piece of jewellery for instants lets just say a Cartier bracelet, in fact I would love a collection of three please!

Cartier Love Bracelet

Looking at more affordable options, even though I still always end up liking the most expensive, I do really like the Links London and Pandora bracelets. At the complete opposite end of the scale I also found some cute personalised bracelets on notonthehightstreet.com which you can see below. I love black and gold together, its one of my favourite combos for dress jewellery. The second set by Lilly Belle sadly doesn't come in a gold range, otherwise i would love a simple silk cord friendship bracelet with my baby's initial once she is here.

Personalised Charm Bracelet - Discs by Merci Maman

Personalised Silky Cord Friendship Bracelet by Lily Belle

I'm not a fan of novelty gifts as they just tend to get shoved away in the top draw. I would rather less then more and quality over quantity. My favourite all time candles are Yankee candles, they smell so yummy! However I came across these which have a lovely personal touch and come in a beautiful range of colours.

Personalised Candle by Kisses and Creations

Mugs, Ive never been able to understand how a mug can be brought as a gift. I would be so upset if I got a mug, however fill it with as many Cabury's chocolate bars physically possible and then I might start to like it. Theses mugs popped up which I thought would be great for at work. If you have a mother figure at work who you want to treat I would say grab one of these, fill with chocolates, wrap with cellophane, finish with a pretty bow and Viola! Mugs are only acceptable gifts in the work place.

Personalised Drink Instructions Mug by 3 Blonde Bears

For you who like more fancy chocolates you can personalise a box of Thorntons with your own photo at Photobox, which is cute. They also have a nice selection of mothers day photobooks.

Thorntons PhotoBox Collection

Other random pretty little ways to show your love. Show your love with a heart. I do love hanging hearts, not to many but I would like one or two around the house.

Notonthehighstreet have a really nice collection of gifts for mothers days and help you find something a little bit different. Check them out.

Create a statement

On Saturday I had a viewing with the Pace family. A viewing is an appointment were customers will come back a few days after their 1 hour of fun in the studio with myself and get to see their wonderful family photos, which have been fully retouched. I'm mentioning this viewing as the customer was interested in classic frames. It was really refreshing to hear of someone who still likes the classic frame instead of the canvas. I have been in my studio for 9 months now and this is the first talk of single classic frames. I have to say at the moment I am really loving simple classic black and white frames with a mount.

Classic frames in modern colours

Everyone has their own taste and style but personally I am not a huge fan of canvas which is why I don't sell them. I can appreciate they are cost-effective as there are so many places that sell them really cheap, however do remember you do get what you've paid for. Canvas quality can differ and effect the image and final finish, so try going through recommended channels.

I much prefer the bevel edge and box frame. They are very similar to the canvas but there is just something a little bit more luxury about them. Plus they wont fade in the sun, if you want to be practical. Since working at Venture Photography, it has opened my eyes to a number of wall product and displays that are available. I also learnt about making a statement with your family portrait, making it your own work of art.

I wonder, is it that people just don't know about other wall products or is it they just love canvas?

My top 5 favourite wall framing products are:

1.Classic frames/Collections

2.Bevel Edge

3.The Acrylic
4.Box frame 

5.Gallery mount

I sell digital albums with full copyrights because there are so many great companies like Photobox where you can find all these wonderful products, apart from the bevel edge and classic collections. A new product which is also becoming more and more popular is the Aluminium mount, very sleek but priced at higher end of the scale.

For me different images can work better with different framing products. Also I think different products can work better in different rooms. Product shapes can also have a huge impact to a photo. My favourites are panoramic and squares.

Mr Parie-Don

Some of you may have seen this cutie before if you have been into my studio. This is the stunning panoramic in a bevel edge.

I cant wait to build up a collection of photo over the next year and beyond of my family, friends and of course my baby girl and have a huge gallery wall. I can just see it now, just like the image of white frames below. No doubt I will have collections and bevel edges floating around the place as well. This is all of course in my imaginary mansion. Hey, a girls gotta dream and believe to receive.

My dream gallery wall

Below is a collection of frames and wall displays which are really creative and inspiring to do something a little bit different, even with canvas.

Wall display ideas

Many of the frames below can be found for as little as £3.99 for a "30x20" black frame from Ikea and Amazon. Obviously the price varies with the quality but I have seen some lovely ones starting from £14.99





I Love this multi 14 in 1 frame from Amazon and only £58.14 (from £94.99) with free delivery. Now that's a bargain statement piece! I would love this in white.



As you may have worked out already I am a lover of vintage, so I do also love the white distressed look.



Another website that I love for quirky frames is not on the high street.com where you can also find some lovely sellers that make personalised frames for the children's rooms.

Love Not on the highstreet.com Only £10.75

I love the use of words and images to make up a wall collection. This must come from my background in Graphics Design. I started studying Graphic Design at university, to realise half way through I was on the wrong course, as ALL my projects were based around photography. I use to find typography REALLY boring but now I can see it slowly creeping back into my life and work.

Framing text

Use of letters and text

I love the collection below but it is because it is made up of detailed shots to break up the collage. You could do something similar, with canvas squares or a product which is called a gallery mount (probably what I would choose over canvas so it doesn't look to in your face being such a big collection. A set of 3 squares would work brilliant as a canvas collection. Check out Split canvas prints

Canvas/Gallery mount ideas

Another post I am going to do will be on story telling and why buying pictures of you feet and no faces can work really well. Small details do make a big impact. Another refreshing story I heard last week was a customer had blown up an image of her niece but not her face it was her little tutu and bottom up in the air crawling away from the camera.

Think outside the box and get creative or let me help you that's my job!