giving the gift of photos

Four generations: my grandmother, Leo, me and my mom

Some of my favourite gifts to give in the past have been photos. They're so easy and they mean so much to the giver and the recipient. I love taking photos from the past year to give to my Mom or Dad so they can keep that special moment with their grandkids with them for years to come on their mantel.

Grandpa and Mila in those delicate first couple weeks

Grandmaman and Mila in the hospital

My sister Kaite with Mila

This year, if I can get my butt in gear, I'm hoping to get some photo books made for the same purpose. I love the idea of having all of those special moments in a nice coffee table book. I was thinking of making an Instagram book, but I might just keep it classic - we'll see.

If you're thinking of getting a photo book too, Blurb is offering an amazing 25% discount off your total book order from now through December 12*. Just enter GIFTIDEA in the promo box when you check out. 

So how about you? Thinking of making a photo book to give this year?

*Fine Print: Offer valid through December 12, 2012 (11:59 p.m. local time). A 25% discount is applied toward your product total with a minimum order of 1 unit or more. Maximum discount is CAD $150 off product total. Valid for printed books only. This offer is good for one-time use, and cannot be combined with volume discounts, other promotional codes, gift cards, or used for adjustments on previous orders. 

Note that December 10th is the last day to order to get your books by December 24!

long weekend in pictures

Wasn't this weekend fabulous!? The weather was perfect in every way and I really don't want it to end... here is our weekend in pictures during these amazing four days:

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1. fabric for the baby from fabricland || 2. love letter on the kiddie slide at the park || 3. trying to catch leo before he runs off || 4. dining al fresco all weekend || 5. clock project for the baby's room [ran out of sticks!] || 6. 29 weeks! || 7. leo's makeshift water table || 8. painting the garage! || 9. reading with my little guy in the back yard || 10. tractors! || 11. Q & A for Margarita at the TIFF Bell Lightbox [my friend's sister produced it and my sister was the line producer] || 12. my sister and leo at Sunnyside Park for my other sister's birthday picnic brunch. || 13. breakfast at Cora's [not my most favourite breakfast place, but it's kid-friendly and leo practically ate his whole breakfast! This is unheard of] || 14. veggies in the driveway [it's the only place that gets enough sun]. || 15. the flower box I made - hope the plants get bigger!

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Hope you had a great weekend!
Steph

product review: posterjack

The kind people at posterjack contacted me recently to see if I wanted to check out their line of posters. I looked at the options to choose from and thought it would be kind of neat to see one of my photos printed on metal so I got to work.

Overall the system is super easy to use.

I selected the metal option, chose the photo I wanted to use, selected a size (I chose 8.5" x 11" under the More Sizes drop down) and uploaded my photo.

From there you can crop your photo and choose your framing option: a 8.5" x 11" standoff Kit, 8.5" x 11" Float Mount or nothing (I chose nothing).

The next two options allow you to change up your borders and add visual effects. I didn't want a border so I just stuck with the normal options they provide.

Add to cart and Bob's your uncle.

Yesterday I got a package in the mail (about a week later) - don't you love mail?! And this mail turns into a spaceship - see?

If you're ever worried about your item being protected and packaged well, you don't need to worry here - they wrapped this thing so well I needed some serious tools to get it out.

After I got through it all, I found this:

It's a bit hard to tell from the picture, but it turned out pretty cool. It's basically my photo printed right onto a super thin metal sheet.

Maybe this is a better angle.

Anyway I really like it. Not sure where I'll put it yet, but I'll likely add it to the stairs or to my photo wall in the basement.

And just so you know, I was compensated for this cool poster, but the review and opinions are all mine - it's a good product - check it out for yourself!

family shots

When we got married in Italy three and a half years ago, we were fortunate to have a family friend travel with us to take our photos. Jennifer Kirk did a great job capturing the wedding week with most of our friends and family. Jenn now lives in BC and made a quick trip to the Toronto area a few weeks ago, so we took her up on her offer to snap a few family shots for us.

I'll be honest, the weather was crap with a capital C, but Jenn is used to crappy weather so she knew what to do. One of the solutions was to focus on shooting in our home. We were able to take a few shots outside in the yard (somehow I don't mind our poor garden in these pics!) and along the street.

Overall we are pretty happy with the outcome and can't wait to see more shots on the CD that is on its way to us now.

Happy Thursday y'all!