Mother's Day Activities

With Mother's Day little over a week away, it's time to start thinking about how you might spend the day.  A family sunday lunch out is fairly traditional, as are gifts of flowers or chocolates. So, I'd like to explore a few alternative ideas.

My little boy placing his footprint on the plate

How about combining a Mother's Day trip out with creating Mummy's gift? I'm very lucky to have a lovely Ceramic painting place nearby - Glazey Days.  My two children love getting creative and I love having some artwork by my little darlings - we all win! For Mother's Day last year, I had a plate with each of my children's feet on - something that can only be done whilst they have those cute little pudgy baby feet. 

Big Brother and Little Sister's Footprints side by side

What was even better, was I got to be there when it was created, shared in my children's joy and take some photographs as a momento. Before my plate was fired, I had Helen, the owner at Glazey Days, write my children's names and the date around the plate edge. They loved doing footprints and I love having their cute little feet immortalised on ceramic.

Another idea of an enjoyable activity and a lasting momento is a family portrait session. 

Or why not organise something for Mum that she'd love and take your own camera to create a momento afterwards? A variation on the traditional Mother's Day lunch might be Afternoon tea or perhaps a day out to her favourite location would be much appreciated. I think the key is, not feeling pressured to do what everyone else suggests you should, but what you know your Mum will truly enjoy and is personal to her.

Marie Donn Photography, Bumps and Mummy Necklaces

I was delighted a couple of weeks ago when Marie of Marie Donn Photography contacted me about creating a special Mummy necklace for a friend.  I have to admit the fact that I knew she was going to present it to her friend when they met for a bump shoot got me excited and I asked whether it was possible to have a few shots of my necklace being worn. I'm a real admirer of Marie's photography and how she captures people, emotions and the real fabric of life in her images - this really was an opportunity too good to miss. 

As a thank you for the images Marie promised me, I sent her an additional necklace with her own children's birthstones. Marie very kindly created a storyboard with the images she took featuring her own children and herself. The imges are just perfect and capture perfectly what my Mummy Necklaces are about. If you pop along to Marie's blog you can see more images from Gemma's bump shoot.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of creating things by hand is the ability to change and modify designs to meet a client's exact requirements. After an email or two, we had a new Mummy necklace which features a large Swarovski star, instead of a focal heart. In fact, I like this new design so much I am going to offer it as a standard design, after all mummies are 'stars', so it seems appropriate to have a Mummy necklace with a large star.

If you like the idea of a Swarovski Star Mummy Necklace, I can take orders for these - they're just not listed in my shop yet.  If you'd like it in time for Mother's Day, please note that you'd need to allow up to 7-10 days for delivery as this is a new line and I'm not carrying lots of stars in my supplies just yet. To order, just drop me an email using the email icon in the top right of this page.

Biz lesson #1: Make friends with a fab photographer.

Mother's Day Gift Guide

Back in January, myself and Zoe from Inspired Celebration had an idea (one of many) to create a gift guide for Mother's Day featuring handmade finds from UK designer makers.  As mums ourselves it's a day dear in our hearts.  A day where we hope for a lie in, breakfast in bed, pampering, lunch out and, in my case with littlies, a day off nappy changing.... we're not holding our breath, but you can bet we'll be ensuring our gift guide is looked at in our households. We hope you enjoy our handmade Mother's Day Gift Guide.

Any feedback would be appreciated. If you like this, let us know and we'll do more! Any improvements, well constructive criticism makes things better, so tell us.

Mother's Day Competition

As Mother’s Day draws near, Kiddiebase, in conjunction with myself, Poppy Sparkles, are launching a competition to celebrate motherhood.

It may be cliché, but so often mums are taken for granted. Being a mum is both one of the most demanding and the most rewarding jobs. So, we are asking entrants to share some words on what motherhood means to them, to help share and celebrate what it means to be a mother, as well as have an opportunity to win a selection of fantastic prizes from stores on http://www.kiddiebase.co.uk/

As mums ourselves, we know first-hand the trials and tribulations of motherhood. And how, after the initial first few weeks, mums often find the interest, support and help dwindles. Juggling motherhood, household chores and personal needs and ‘me’ time is not easy, and so the prizes on offer are predominately aimed at mums. Let's face it, once you've got kids that pay day treat of new make up, a new handbag or a few new clothes are a rare luxury - a fresh pack of babygros or another box of Duplo, or whaterever is your toddler's playtime vice, is about as exciting as a retail therapy session gets post birth. 

So, here's your chance for a bit of a treat!

Prizes on offer include;

• £50 to spend on the KiddieBase Site
• £30 to spend in the Poppy Sparkles store
And a range of lovely prizes that are sure to make you put your thinking cap on and enter for a chance to win.

To view the host of gorgeous prizes on offer and to enter the competition pop along to the Kiddiebase Mother's Day competition page.