Get Fathers Day Wrapped Up In An Instant

Father’s Day is drawing closer so I thought I’d share some fun and funky treats that I think are awesome gift ideas for Fathers Day.

Here’s my top 5 contenders… I’m counting down here with number 1 being my top pick.

At number 5… A 12 Week Beer Subscription For Dad from BeerBods

Price – £36 (12 Week Subscription)

Product – BeerBods offer more than just a case of beers to your door but instead an online resource (plus a case of 12 beers delivered at your door). The idea is for BeerBods to deliver dad 12 bottles of bear then for dad to drink and share (just one bear a week) with the online BeerBods community. Each week BeerBods tell dad what beer to drink and the story behind it as he drinks it. Dad then shares his thoughts with the BeerBods community!

A great gift for beer loving dads who are quite opinionated when it comes to a pint.

4) Personalised Silver Hand Stamped Word Ring From – Boutique To You

Price – £45

Product Info – Personalised Silver Hand-Stamped Word Ring that comes beautifully gift boxed. The personalised silver word ring is made to order and you can choose whatever word you wish to be stamped on it. How about the name if his child? I thought it would be a great gift for Father’s Day if dad has more than one child. If each child buys dad a ring then these would equal a great stacking set!

3) Personalised Tax Disc Cufflinks From – Firebox

Price £29.99

Product Info – What a fun and funky gift idea for any dad. Following in the great personalised apparel tradition of monogrammed hankies, and your Mum writing your name on the tag of your jumper, Firebox bring you these Personalised Tax Disc Cuff Links. I think they are Awesome.

2) Why My Daddy Is Brilliant (Personalised Book) From ‘Not On The High Street‘

Price – £15.95

Product Info – More than a card, this beautifully illustrated twelve-page book is a wonderful way for children to show their love for daddy. From favourite hobbies to why they make them smile, the book has been especially written for children to say why they love the ‘superhero’ in their life. It even features blank frames for them to draw their own illustrations in or stick their favourite photographs in! Whether it’s as a family memento or a bedtime read, this book will forever be a reminder of a child’s love for their own ‘superhero’.

How can any daddy be anything other than chuffed with a gift like that.

In the number one spot it’s the gift I’ve chosen for that of my own father…

… 1) Dinner at one of three Marco Pierre White’s London restaurants (tasty 3 course meal for two and a cocktail too) Brought to us by ‘Buy A Gift‘

Price – £50

Product Info – The personalised gift website lets you purchase an experience voucher, activate it and then from their you simply book your reservation with one of the three restaurants on offer, My choice being that of London’s Kings Road Marco Pierre white restaurant. Whats more this fantastic 4 star rated deal is currently on special offer, allowing costumers to purchase this yummy fathers day treat at just £50 instead of £101 making it just under half price for three courses of fantastic fine food.

Here’s whats included for that very special price…. The Kings Road Steakhouse & Grill is a traditional steakhouse in the heart of Chelsea, serving a mouth-watering range of classic steak cuts, as well as a wide variety of timeless English dishes – making it the perfect place to enjoy an indulgent meal for two! You’ll be treated to three courses from a menu including the finest quality steaks, roast meats and fish mainboards in the area, as well as a refreshing Champagne cocktail each

This is the perfect gift idea for the hard to buy for dad who has everything, or one who just appreciates a nice bit of steak (as I know mine does).

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to write this by any of the above brands. I just wanted to share some great potential gift ideas with you all.

Baker Days Letterbox Cake Perfect For The Festive Season

My mum is a very special woman, not only because she’s my mum but simply because she’s a fabulous one. she has been there through all the struggles with getting little man diagnosed and statemented, plus she helped me through the tough discrimination case I ended up filing against his old mainstream school. That’s why I feel I could not possibly thank her enough.

When I was asked if I wanted to review a Baker days letterbox cake I couldn’t think of a more deserving recipient then my mum.

All I had to do was choose my design, flavour and message. Baker days did the rest and two days after confirming my order a beautiful Baker days letterbox cake that was so lovingly packaged in its own tin with a personalised card and mini party pack, popped through my mothers letterbox.

Using the website was easy (except the fact I was spoilt for choice)! There are over 400 designs so it was never going to be easy. Baker days cater for all occasions and can supply party and cupcakes as well as the letterbox cake I sent to mum.

Whats more they are able to personalise your chosen cake with your special message and even a photo if desired! Plus order by 1pm and they can safely deliver your cake the next day (normal delivery is free, however, next day delivery will cost more).

Without the next day service, mums cake still arrived in an impressive two days. I was shocked but impressed when she called to thank me.

The letterbox cake supplies its recipient with 4 nice sized potions of beautiful fresh cake. Its cleverly packed to fit through the standard letterbox so you don’t even need to worry if anybody is home to take the order.

Mum loved her surprise letterbox cake the only problem we had was cutting it… It was just to pretty to want to spoil.

We eventually got over it… and the cake that was of course chocolate, went down pretty well with a cuppa.

You can check out Baker days who offer free delivery by clicking Here

Glow In The Dark Paintings

As mentioned I’m keen to get our falling down house in order and create little man a sensory room.

I’ve shared my ideas here on the blog before… Just check out this post.

As a result I was contacted by a lovely online company called Switch The Lights Off who create art that glows in the dark.They have a particular interest in autism and a percentage of each sold painting goes to the National Autistic Society.

They so kindly offered to send little man a glow in the dark painting and Alice and the toddler received a glowing door plaque each.

All art is personalised and every piece is hand painted. Little man was sent a canvas painting of a funky punk sporting a fantastic Mohican. This image is aimed at teens and older children but there are a host of other images to chose from and I’m sure there is something to suit all ages and tastes.

We choose for little mans image to be painted in gold so it looks great even when it isn’t glowing. When the lights are switched off the image of the punk and that of little mans name look amazing as it glows a Magnificent green.

Both the paintings and door signs are perfect for any child’s bedroom especially that of a sensory room. Your painting can be super charged with a UV Torch that literally has it glowing in seconds.

I love how each painting is personalised and hand painted. I admit I was sceptical at just how well these would glow but… WOW, I’m really impressed with the results.

What the brand told me (Diane & Steve from ‘Switch off the lights’ )…

“We are very passionate about these products and really want them to work.
The beauty of this artwork was that it was founded from an idea from Steve’s daughter, who wanted a painting that glowed in the dark whilst she was going to sleep.

We want to help mum’s & dad’s with their children in getting them to sleep. Most of us at one time or another have had nights where we are dropping asleep at the ends of the child’s bed, whilst little one is still wide awake.

We know it can be quite a big problem sometimes getting them to settle at night. So we hope these paintings and door plaques will benefit in some small way to help.”

These really are unique and special. Both younger and older children can enjoy a glowing piece of art work given the great selection of designs on offer.

Alice’s door plaque looks ultra trendy with her glowing name displayed on a pink plague, in a really groovy graffiti styled way! Its Sick ( or so she informs me)!

Harley’s is blue and the writing style is really bold and glows fantastically.

These would make a great Christmas presents for children who like that something a little bit different.

A great idea for any child’s sensory pad too… So, a fabulous gift idea for a child on the autism spectrum. Plus don’t forget, when you buy, ‘The National Autistic Society’ are given a contribution off the sales to help them to continue to do the fantastic and much needed work they carry out.

To check out more design visit the online store by clicking Here

Harley & Peppa Go To Playschool

Oh, we received a rather special gift for the toddler last week. The postman knocked at our door with a very special delivery, in a big white cardboard envelope and addressed to Harley himself.

How excited he was to open the envelope and discover a very special Peppa Pig book! Yes, this wasn’t just any Peppa Pig book, but a personalised Peppa Pig book, titled, “Peppa Pig and Me – Harley and Peppa go to playgroup”

This is a truly special book for a truly special boy

The beautifully presented paperback story book is filled with brilliant personalised touches making it really exciting for little Harley.

This includes cartoon styled illustrations of Harley with Peppa pig, which have been cleverly generated from the details I gave when ordering the book. His name also appears throughout the story.

Harley displayed an almighty smile upon his face as I read him the story of how he spent his first day at playgroup amongst Peppa pig and all her amazing friends. He never lost interest once, keeping his attention throughout the time I was reading.

He was so adorable as he kept nodding his head and saying “Peppa pig hold Harley hand”

I was dead impressed with this book, a Ladybird publication that is beautifully illustrated and worded from start to finish.

It’s easy to order your personalised story which is available from the awesome site Buyagift.com, all you have to do is give a few details that help describe your child’s characteristics, and if desired a small personalised message, which in my opinion makes a lovely touch.

I’d highly recommend this book, and it could prove the perfect alternative to a chocolate egg this Easter.

The book is priced at £14.99, to find out more visit Buyagift.com who sell a huge range of truly unique gift ideas, from personalised books to gift experiences including pampering days which i actually wouldn’t mine this mothers day (though I’m sure the pocket-money of three little ones wouldn’t cover it)! A mum can dream, can’t she:)

A BabyBlooms Bouquet Review

The 22nd February was a day full of celebrations, when my sister gave birth to a beautiful 7lbs 7oz baby boy, one week before her due date of the 29th February 2012.

I had been contemplating for a while on what to get her, I wanted it to be a special gift, something for both her and the baby, a gift she would always remember.

A few weeks before the birth I discovered BabyBlooms a great UK brand who offered a selection of beautiful bouquets with a difference.

These are not just any beautiful put together bouquet, made up of flowers that despite their beauty, will eventually wilt and die, Babyblooms, can be treasured forever!

Each one of BabyBlooms Bouquets have been made up of both stunning silk flowers and a selection of baby garments that have been placed in the bouquet as to resemble delicate roses. These really do look fantastic and on visiting the website for the first time, I actually didn’t notice that some of the flowers within the Bouquets were in fact baby garments carefully rolled into rose buds.

I was lucky enough to be asked to review the “Small Blue Bouquet” and couldn’t wait for its arrival so that I could surprise my sister in the hope of cheering her up a little (no mother to be likes them drawn out, last few days, waiting around for a baby to make its appearance)!

I, however didn’t have to wait long at all! BabyBlooms provided a swift delivery of a very well presented bouquet.

Unable to wait them last few weeks for this little bubba to make his appearance, I presented my sister with her surprise that same afternoon. The small blue bouquet was beautifully concealed in a pretty presentation box with personalised card and the lovely addition of a big blue ribbon.

To say she loved it would be an understatement, in fact everybody loved it, including me! The bouquet itself had been so beautifully put together with silk foliage, velvet leaves, freesias and stunning delicate silk roses, all held together with pretty organza and a silk cream ribbon. It was so pretty my sister and myself felt a little wrong in removing the clothing garments that were so well presented to resemble roses. On unravelling the items we were presented with a cute baby reversible hat and matching mittens, plus five pairs of tiny blue socks.

This is a truly a lovely gift to give to someone special to celebrate the birth of a new baby. The bouquet was all it had promised to be, yet so much more! The images on the Babybloom’s website really do look great, however, these are so much more stunning in real life. I’d defiantly use them again as I’d have the comfort of knowing I was giving someone I care about a really beautiful gift.

The small blue bouquet can be brought for £26 but prices do vary depending on the size and contents of the bouquet (these can even be made up of babygrows) designs also come in a selection of colours for both boy and girl (natural colours are also availably in case those expecting the baby have not discovered the babies sex)!

Another gift I have planed, is one with a very personal touch, a hand decorated and filled, ‘Mother & Baby’ basket, finished in beautiful satin blue check ribbon. I’m hoping to have it finished later on today, and I’ll be sure to pin a picture on Pinterest of my creation (given it comes out as expected that is)!

Lastly, how can I not finish with a picture of my beautiful nephew ‘Riley’ at not even a full day old! Just looking at him made me want to suggest babies to the other half, though thinking back to my last pregnancy, a totally horrid one, plus remembering how quick they grow up, I quickly snap out of it and return to a non broody state of well-being. (Below my daughter giving new bubba a longed for hug)!

WOW, isn’t he just adorable! Congratulations to my beautiful baby sister ‘Charlotte’ and her partner ‘Aaron’… you did good!

Check out the BabyBlooms website Here or visit them over on Facebook Here

Related articles

• Yes, Every Bride Can Create a DIY Wedding Bouquet (proflowers.com)

Who Loves me?

Who Loves me?

 No, not me… I know you all adore me 🙂

 Who loves me…  Is the name given to these awesome personalised flash cards designed for children of all ages.

 I had to jump at the chance of reviewing a set of these for Harley (22 months old). 

 The idea is simple yet extremely clever & effective. Each flash card consists of both words and pictures, however what’s different is the pictures are in-fact images of the child’s family, friends or loved ones. Each have the name of the person under the image in big bold lettering, then there is text on the back of the card, personalised to relate to the person in the picture.

 When I saw these on another blog I was taken by the idea and just thought how great these would be for pre-schoolers especially those who are on the autism spectrum. Now Harley doesn’t have a diagnosis of autism, however his older brother Little man now age 11 does and I would have loved to have a set of these back when he was two, five even. 

 If I had these back when Little man was younger I would have used them when he started at school to include the images of teachers & class room assistants (of course with their agreement) this would have allowed little man a way to get used to the teachers in the school (class teacher, head teacher, classroom assistant and so forth) the beauty is you can order one card  or a 100 cards really its up to you.

Got the pennies you could even get the class done 🙂

 The text on the back would have allowed the little man to remember their roles within the school, therefore he would have gained a better understanding of whom to go to for help when needed, avoiding a mass of difficult issues.

 The possibilities are endless… Go mad, make cards of the doctor, dentist, even shop assistant (Yes, yes with permission of course) Even snap pictures of building, places (school, doctors & dentist surgery, school bus etc….) This would allow your child to become familiar with places that normally cause heighten anxiety. These would also be perfect for the non verbal child, encouraging speech or just providing reassurance or a better understanding. It’s a fact that children on the spectrum are visual learners so these cards are perfect!

 As for Harley… He loves the cards and has had hours of fun playing with them. 

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He names all the people in his cards, lines them up, runs around the house telling everyone to “Look” and even packs them away nicely. 

 One of the cards is has the image of his Granddad, who he doesn’t see often. It was magical when he visited and he was able to recognise him from the cards. He went over to his toy box took out his cards opened the box, taking the card of his granddad out and said loudly, “Look Granddad” as he placed it in his hand. 

 How awesome is that!

 So how’s this done?

 It’s so simple, if simple was made illegal, I’d be in the slammer! 

My mum could do this and she’s a load of poo when it comes to computers (sorry mum)!

 Firstly decide on the number of cards you want. Each card can be brought individually at a price of £1.99, however the more you buy the cheaper this is! Discounts are applied on the count of 8 and 16 cards (Yes, I’m unsure how it works if you want hundreds of these babies, but really hundreds seriously, would anyone want this many)? 

  Next, make sure you have decided who is going on each card? Make sure you have all your images ready and waiting on your computer & some idea of the text you want written on the back of each.

Note: If you sign up to the site, you can actually save half-way through returning later to finish.

 You then follow the easy to follow instructions for each card (don’t panic at the price, reductions are applied at the checkout).

 Simply add your image taking the pic from your hard drive (the higher the resolution the better) add the name that will be located below the image once in place, then choose your image from the picture library from the choices given (these are little clip arts that go on the back, just above the description). Now type your description, keeping it short and sweet (you are only allowed a maximum amount of characters).

 Once you have finished, you then click the next key adding another card. Just click finished when your through, you will then be re-directed to the checkout where deductions are applied and payment made.

 You will receive an email confirming your order and allowing any corrections of any mistakes and typos before finally being dispatched (despatch email will be sent once they are on the way). 

 Ours took a few days, it’s a super fast services.

 Costumer service is excellent! One of my images was a tad blurry so I was sent an email to notify me and offer me the chance to change the image which I did via email (so this was taken care of for me) How awesome a service is that!

 I highly rate these cards and recommend them to anybody looking for flash cards with a difference especially for parents of children on the spectrum regardless of their age. 

 These cards are off the highest quality yet really affordable. They make a fabulous personalised christmas present that’s guaranteed to break a smile or two!

*****stars  awarded

£1.99 per card

Special price of £11.99 for 8 & £17.99 for 16 flash cards

Gift vouchers available 

 Want Some? How could you not! 

Just click here to get yours!

Related articles

• My week full of chuck up and poo (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• Flash cards (madewithloveuk.wordpress.com)
• Moshi monsters clay buddies great for sensory play (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)

Tinyme comes to London

As many know I’m a member of Blog-match the site that specialises in matching brands with bloggers. a few weeks back I was very lucky to be invited to a fabulous event, an introduction to the world of Tinyme.

Yay, I’m going out… That’s right I don’t get out much!

So, before I get down to the serious business of giving you  the low-down on these guys, I must first tell you about the awesome meal they laid on at the swanky courthouse hotel London.

All my hard earn willpower flew out the sodding window like it had never ever existed! Diet, What’s that then? Now the main, that was actually quite well balanced in terms of calories but my goodness the pudding, well that was another story altogether… Beautiful but so deadly on the hips.

Well, enough of that! Not only am I making myself slightly hungry but I’m starting to sound like an M&S ad here. On a more serious note I should state that I wasn’t only here to scoff my face and meet lovely fellow bloggers such as Romanian mum, Mumsarus and the Macies world, I was also here to discover the world of Tinyme.

Tinyme, an Australian company which was founded by  three fathers who happen to have 13 children under the age of nine combined are a company specialising in a comprehensive range of affordable yet premium quality personalised products for kids. The brand is doing great in the big land of 0Z and as a result they are considering brunching out even further and eventually creating a second base, here in the UK… “Bring on boys!” It’s all getting very exciting for these three Daddies  

  On hearing that Blog-Match were organising an event with a company that specialise in personalised products, I became a tad excitable. Seriously people do you understand how hard It is for me to get personalised products for my children?

As you all know ‘Little man’ is a nick name (at least I hope you do). This isn’t just for the purpose of this blog! His Asperger’s syndrome means he finds it hard to separate the two (that’s adults and children) often thinking anything I do he can do too! I’ve always referred to him within all my writing as the Little man as at times this is exactly what he is… a Little man!

 

Little man is in fact ‘Giovanni’ as a first born son he took the name from his father who took it from his father and  so forth, I think you get the picture! Now, unless we are shopping in the beautiful Italian sunshine then we are not likely to find many personalised products here in the UK unless like Tinyme they are made to order.

I’ll be honest now, when it comes to stationary I’m a bit of a stationary freak. I have more diaries than I possibly will ever need in one year, I just love address books (despite the modern technology that can be found in the shape of my iphone and Macbook air) and far to many pens and note books with randomly scribbled words spread across each and every page. These guys had some lovely stationary. There was one product in particular that I cast my beady eye over, a beautifully designed dairy that came in a number of designs and sizes and could also be personalised to display the names of different members of the family. (Subtle Christmas hint directed at any family members having a nosey at me blog *wink, wink*) 

The founders of Tinyme were dead friendly guys who displayed lots of enthusiasm for their products. They had bucket loads of passion which I’m guessing to be the key ingredient to their success on the other side of the world and that growing here in the UK. Only two of the three founders of Tinyme were actually in London on the night of the event, but both done an awesome job promoting some extremely well designed items such as their name labels, bags, stationary, wall decor alongside a whole host of other amazing products that could be personalised to state pretty much anything you wanted.

The designs were some of the best I’ve seen on name labels, the bright colours used make them easy to read, plus the gloss coating gives them extra protection against scratches or that of wearing and fading text. They are even able to sustain different temperatures making them dishwasher, microwave and freezer safe. 

 Name labels are always of interest to me, “God how sad am I?” But when your child can be irritated by clothing labels these are a godsend. The use of iron on labels allow me to cut out clothing labels instead of writing names in permeant maker then watching your child itch like a cat with fleas. The iron on type lay flat, you therefore have no seams, thread, scratchy material to contend with, the child isn’t even aware of their presents, making them a “must buy” for a child with sensory processing difficulties (tactile defensive being one of the worst). 

Another great product I loved was the wall stickers that looked great displayed in the venue on the evening of the event and came in an array of designs, catering for a whole spectrum of ages and taste. The stickers are easy to apply and work on most services. These can also be re-applied and more than once, so a change of bedroom or even house means the stickers can come too 🙂 

The guys have created a fabulous geeky site that allows you to pick a product, personalise it then at the click of a button an image preview is generated allowing you can see exactly how your item will look (meaning there will be no nasty surprises) Not happy, you can change the design & wording only placing your order once it’s just how you want it.

  If all this isn’t enough already the site also have a range of free printables on offer. Just download, print and use! This is a freebie and a good one at that!

Download and print anything from the 19 dedicated pages of awesome printable that you are even welcome to personalise. Here you will find cupcake toppers, animal mask, bookmarks and much more!

So, if you fancy a look (which is completely up to you) Click HERE!

Want name labels? A little birdie tells me there is a very special offer going on over on the Tinyme site, 50% off name labels and the offer of 150 mixed labels for the silly price of £23.99 with the choice of 100 different designs and colours. 

Like Tinyme on Facebook for the latest news and awesome competitions

HERE

(plus look out for their pending launch off personalised Christmas cards coming soon)

Monkey So, Monkey Do

Ever heard of Lisa Edge? 

Well, if you haven’t you will soon!

 Lisa creates divine quilts, and accessories out of beautiful fabrics. She’s known for her gorgeous patchwork quilts that are all handmade and totally stunning. 

 She sells via an online store, but seems to add most of her products to her facebook page which is like an Aladdin’s cave of gems.

 Lisa creates these unique & beautiful pieces as part of her business Monkey Sew, Monkey Do.

 I was thrilled when Lisa asked if she could send Little Harley a bandana bib to review.

 We really were not disappointed, the black and grey pirate design was absolutely fab, a real tread-setter. 

 At first, little H looked at me as if to say,

 “No, way baby you’re not putting that think on me mamma” 

 I did the mummy blackmail, lowered my bottom lip and looked sad, to which he responded with an, “OK, mummy” (His new favourite words)

 Harley will not wear your every day standard bibs, he’ll pull at them almost taking his head off! 

Bandana bibs are smaller than your average bib, they suit a toddler so much better than the conventional bib, that can look a little odd as your baby gets over the one year milestone.

 These also work well to keep the neck warm making an ace replacement for a scarf. The fleece lining is really warm and also comfortable around the neck, no itchy wool, they are really tactile friendly.

 Once the bandana was on, Harley quickly forgot about it, which I think was down to the lovely fabric. It’s great for little dribblers and those that get a little mucky when eating out and about. 

 Lisa, is clearly very good at what she does, not only did she send me a beautiful well made product to try, but she also gave me excellent customer service via email, and made the delivery of the parcel that bit more personal, by adding a hand written note thanking me for trying the Bandana, and a few little care tips (how to wash etc.) as well as one of her pretty little business cards.

 If bandana bibs are not really for you, don’t write her off just yet! Lisa is a dab hand at all sorts and can do so much more than bandanas and quilts. Other beautiful handmade products include, pretty cushions, including awesome kids designs and personalised items.

 Little man (my eldest son who has a diagnosis of aspergers) would never wear bibs, which I now think was a sensory related issue! Maybe if Bandana bibs were around then (his almost 11 now) these may well have suited him better. He doesn’t really like stuff around his neck but the fleece material may well have been tolerated. 

 All in all, we were totally impressed with the bandana bib we were sent, the design was spot on and was a welcome change from teddy bears and sailing boats (which you often find on baby and toddler garments). The material was lovely and the product was really well made. 

  Myself and the little guy, highly recommend you check out Lisa’s designs over on the monkey Sew Monkey Do facebook page.