Little Reminders - Unique Gift Ideas

Searching for that different, unique gift for a special occasion can prove to be a hard, time-consuming, eye-tiring search of the internet for us each time a birthday, anniversary or Christmas comes along!

Do you need some help to pick out something different for the people you want to encourage and show your love?

I like to support smaller businesses who give thought and care to their individual products so today I want to introduce you to 

Little Reminders

This is a small business venture by a young woman and I was very impressed by her designs and ideas which will make lovely gifts.

I noticed that a friend had liked this business on Facebook so I asked my friend about it and got a good recommendation for it.

Later I discovered that my oldest son knew Chloe and her husband so I was delighted to be able to support her.

Let's meet the seller herself - her full name is Chloe Thomas and I asked her a few questions:

Sandra  -  We know your name is Chloe but what is the name of your business?

Chloe  - My Business is called Little Reminders

Sandra  -  I know from your name and from our mutual friend that you are Welsh is that where you are based now for your business?

Chloe  - I'm a welsh - Italian girl, currently living in Hereford as of August this year due to my husband and I taking on a new venture. In January I start bible college for one year (Thanks to your son Jonathan who interviewed me and gave me a place) & my husband became assistant pastor for the second time but this time at a different location which is Life church Hereford. Even though I miss the beach like crazy, I am beginning to fall in love with the natural beauty of the countryside.

Sandra  -  Where can we go to have a look at your products - Facebook or Etsy or do you have a separate website?

Chloe  - I began with Facebook flash sales originally to see how my products would sell and they did brilliantly. Often when I release a product with limited prints I will sell on Facebook but since the summer I took the plunge and began selling all my products on Esty.

Thankfully after working with a friend for many years who is a professional and local illustrator that runs her own business, I was able to learn many skills/ tips/ tricks from her of running Etsy (for which I am so grateful). I don't have a website 'yet'. Right now as I am a small business starting out I want to take things one step at a time. The process & the journey is so important and often we feel the need to rush it. I want to enjoy it as much as possible after all "I can do anything, but not everything". Maybe in the future as my little business grows I might take the plunge again and create a website. Stay tuned!

Sandra  -  Obviously you will sell to anyone located in the UK but do you also sell internationally?

Chloe  - I don't sell internationally right now but hope to in the near future.

Sandra  -  What gave you the idea for your business?

Chloe  - I finished university 5 years ago after graduating with a illustration degree. Previous to that I had studied for 6 years in art doing various courses. When you get to the end of your degree you are asked to produce a final project and it can be of your choice. I wanted my art to have purpose and meaning. I wanted it not to just be a pretty picture that you could hang on the wall but something that would have depth and be a piece that would encourage others. I wanted it to be for EVERYONE not just those who have a Christian faith. I believe there are no outsiders to the love of Christ.

So I began creating pieces of work and products that would do exactly this, encourage others. Be what it is on the tin 'Little Reminders'. Every day isn't always good, but there is something good in every day and so little reminders was birthed from this very thought. To help remind people of the good things in life that we so often miss because of the negative things that go on in the world.

Sandra  -  Where do you get the inspiration for all your different products?

Chloe  - Some of my products especially the Christmas ones have been based on the countryside since our move.

Christmas Card Pack

However I literally could get inspired by anything, so its hard pointing out one thing that inspires me. It could be another artist, photography, being out and about and noticing the details of life that often get missed, being with people, something that someone said, a colour could inspire me, buildings, music, reading books, reading the beautiful truths and letters within God's love story, films - I could keep going! Every day is different at what could inspire me and I guess everything around us is inspiration, you just have to choose to stop and notice it and don't forget it (so I have a little note book that I write literally anything and everything down in).

Sandra  -  I was delighted to see this card because of the encouragement it could be especially because this is a blog all about encouragement.

Sandra  -  Are you willing to do bespoke orders?

Chloe  - I have done some bespoke orders in the past and they have been very well received.

Bespoke orders take some time and I want to be able to do them justice. As little reminders is a part time venture and not a full time job currently the time isn't always there and so I mainly concentrate on producing a wide stock range for now.

You can view all of Chloe's products and order at her Etsy shop.

Little Reminders on Etsy

Follow Chloe on Facebook & Instagram to see more photos of her products and behind the scenes of the making process.

Little Reminders on Instagram

and

Little Reminders on Facebook

Feel free to send her a message too as I'm sure she will be happy to answer any questions.

Meditate & Delight - Unique Gift Ideas

Searching for that different, unique gift for a special occasion can prove to be a hard, time-consuming, eye-tiring search of the internet for us each time a birthday, anniversary or Christmas comes along!

Do you need some help to pick out something different for the people you want to encourage and show your love?

I like to support smaller businesses within the UK who give thought and care to their individual products so today I want to introduce you to 

Meditate & Delight

This is a small business venture by a talented girl and I was very impressed by her unique designs and ideas which will make lovely gifts.

Let's meet the seller herself - Katie Wood

Disclaimer:  I have not received any products or money from Katie or Meditate & Delight - this is simply a review of her business because I wished to support her.

Katie tells you about her collections and business here:

Hi, I'm Katie, owner of Meditate and Delight.

I am based in the West Midlands in England. I am a huge lover of God's word and believe in the power of the scriptures. So, around 3 years ago I decided to paint journals and write scriptures on the covers.

I wanted people to have small reminders of an encouraging or uplifting verse each time they used their notebook. Whether at home during quiet time or at work during a meeting, I wanted scripture to be at the forefront of daily life.

Since then, I have begun to produce other products and currently I sell hand-painted journals, cards, vinyl stickers, mugs and t-shirts. Everything with a Christian message. All to bring life-giving truth into our daily environments

I got started when I saw one girl on Instagram painting Bibles.

Nowadays there are loads of people doing this but years ago it was only one or two people doing it. I thought "I could do that" but for me it was less about the 'prettiness' of the Bible, and more about the scripture. So - since it was too expensive to stock Bibles at the start of my business - I decided to do notebooks instead. I wanted scripture to be more prominent and visible. As a reminder of amazing truth. Since then I have expanded to multiple products with scripture on/inside.

(I do paint hardback Bibles, but by request only. This can be done on any hardback (non-shiny) Bible. Many translations are available.)

In terms of inspiration, I get ideas from the scriptures themselves in many cases. Other times I see trends on social media. For example, at the beginning I did more landscape paintings (mountains, beaches) but nowadays I do more florals. The 4 journal designs being released in the Christmas Collection 2020 are all floral designs. Again, I saw stickers everywhere on social media so I did some digital designs and had them printed by a sticker company. They have been very popular.

So far I have added the products to my Etsy Shop here and there, when I have the money/time to create them. However, going forward I will do 4 collections a year - starting with this Christmas Collection 2020, which I am so excited about!

So 4 times a year I will produce and create a collection of various items and release them all at once. Once they are gone, they are gone.

In the Christmas Collection 2020 there are:

• 4 designs of hand-painted journals - a few of each design are available. They are all floral designs and have scriptures on the front and back.

• Professionally printed Christmas cards - a pack of 5.

• Various professionally printed vinyl stickers which are for indoor or outdoor use and are weatherproof so are great to stick on water bottles, notebooks, cars etc.

• Slogan t-shirts and glass items.

• Also a variety of ceramic hand-painted Christmas decorations.

The products in this collection are probably my favourites of everything I have ever made.

The collection was released on Tuesday 3rd November.

I do custom, bespoke orders but usually only when people message me and ask. I have taken down the custom order listing from my Etsy shop. I find it easier to produce a variety of hand-painted journals and list them ready to be shipped. But I do get people messaging me asking if I can paint them something specific - either a Bible or a notebook/journal. And I am happy to do that. Depending on the design it takes around 2 weeks to paint and varnish and dry. I create a mock-up digitally and send that to the customer before I start painting for them to see/suggest edits. Once the design is approved, I start painting and that takes around 2 weeks.

I sell within the UK and also internationally and have sent products to America and France and even as far as Mozambique.

You can view all of my products and order at my Etsy shop.

Meditate & Delight on Etsy

Follow me on Facebook & Instagram to see more photos of my products and behind the scenes of the making process.

Meditate & Delight on Instagram

and

Meditate & Delight on Facebook

Feel free to send me a message too and I'm happy to answer any questions.

I hope you enjoyed reading about Katie's unique gifts and if you need any help with your Christmas shopping or for birthday, wedding, anniversary or just those little gifts to say "thinking of you" in these times take a little note of what she has and do look around her shop to see ALL her items.

10 Gift Ideas for your Brother-in-law / Brother / Father / Grandfather + TIP - Need Help?

As the years come and go we women are always complaining that the husbands leave us to do all the gift buying and isn't that true ladies?

Even when it comes to buying for men.

So TRUE!!!!!

But it is not just the buying it is the thinking of new gifts to get all the time that causes us the headache.

Yes EVERY Birthday & Christmas us girls are just expected to rack our brains for new ideas for the men.

So what do we do when it comes to those events when we need to celebrate the men in our lives? 

   Birthdays, Christmas, Father's Day etc.

I have no brothers but I have a really great brother-in-law.  

He met my older sister when I was only 6 years old and he's been part of the family ever since.

So from thinking about my brother-in-law, father and my husband all these years I have had to come up with many different ideas for gifts.

Well I thought I would share 10 of the ideas I have had in the past for gifts for my Brother-in-law and of course these can be for any man.

NOTE:  In our family we do not usually spend a lot of money on gifts so none of the things listed below will cost ££££s




10 Gift Ideas for your Brother-in-law 
(or father, brother, husband, grandfather .....)

1.  Groupon Voucher  (or Living Social etc.)

   

A couple of years ago I got him one for a free lesson with a Golf Pro.

This was for his birthday in February and he decided to use it a month or so later.

So he and my sister came to stay with us for a few days and we dropped him off for the morning for his lesson and picked him up when he was finished and then we all went and did a bit of shopping together.

Keep an eye on the offers and if one of them makes you think of your brother-in-law then it could be his next gift from you.

2.  Dvds of old Western Films or other types of movies.

My brother-in-law is a fan of old westerns but my sister is not  -  so it's a great gift which is just for him.

I have actually used this idea a few times now.

You can view a selection HERE

Or if he's into action & adventure like James Bond etc. he may prefer something from HERE

3.  Amazon Voucher/Gift Card so that he can get books or ebooks.

Yes I know we often say that guys are hard to buy books for so if you have a problem with thinking of suitable books let him choose his own books or ebooks.

My brother-in-law and I and my husband have a somewhat similar taste in detective novels so sometimes when we have found a good one we will then get a copy for him but then there are other times when it would be nice for him to pick his own.

And the lovely thing about Amazon vouchers/gift cards is the fact that you get to choose a design that suits the occasion or the person - you can see a selection HERE

They even have an option for one that comes in a tin like a gift in itself, Just click on the pic below if you want to investigate this idea.

4.  An Interesting Box

Now this is an idea I had a couple of years ago.
I like boxes and at different times I have bought nicely decorated boxes - see Storage Bargains
But  I also found this box one time which I just adore

 it is not a very girlie box so it gave me the idea of looking for a similar type of box and putting in a few small things that my brother-in-law might appreciate and then he could use the box for keeping odds and ends in, which he did.

It still sits in their kitchen being used on almost a daily basis.




5.  Mugs 


My brother-in-law loves tea and we always tease him about drinking it all day long.
In the past I have bought him funny mugs or large mugs  -  so that he doesn't have to keep refilling them too quickly.

A packet of a special tea or coffee would go well inside a big mug oh and a biscuit too.
I love the great pics and phrases we can get on mugs these days and we can even design our own.

Credit to Fotofunia

I think a lot of guys like humorous mugs and we have indeed given my brother-in-law mugs similar to THESE in the past.





6.  A Guy's Night in Selection Package


Didn't I mention how he likes Western Movies?
Well my sister doesn't, in fact she isn't very keen on sitting watching a movie at night so she would go to another room to read and my brother-in-law would settle down and watch a movie himself.
So this is where the selection pack would come in.

A nice drink,
 something savoury to snack on like pringles or popcorn,
 something chocolatey,
 and maybe a bag of wine gums all to enjoy while watching his movies on a few different evenings.


Of course we'll not wrap it up in a basket - guys don't do baskets!

Maybe a nice box like the type in  #4 above instead




7.  Treat him to a night out at the theatre for a comedy.


Now this is the one you definitely have to keep him from seeing because this is one I'm hoping to use soon.  He enjoys a comedy and so do the rest of us so all four of us can go out to this together.

8.  Gift Voucher/Card for his favourite shop


I know that we always think of girls as keen shoppers but men do usually have a favourite shop whether for clothes or gadgets.
My brother-in-law is a keen walker and he is always looking for thermal lined coats or waterproof items.
Just have a little think about which shop your brother-in-law might prefer to go to depending on his interests.




9.  The Takker.


This is something that I discovered on AMAZON by accident a while back and bought for my husband and then later we got it for our son because it was so easy to use and so useful plus NOT expensive.

I even wrote a blog post on it when I was trying to do something about the decor in our home.  Truly I do think this is The Best Thing for Bare Walls


Well I should get on and explain what it is - The Takker is the easiest thing to use to attach something light weight to your walls.  Click on the link above and you will see how easy it is.

There are actually two types of these Takkers and my husband has used both and he had a smile on his face each time.


This first one  THE TAKKER PICTURE HANGING KIT  is for when you would try to hammer in a nail and you don't want to annoy the plaster on the wall.

The second one is The Hard Wall Takker for the occasions when you would normally think of needing to get out the electric drill.

As I said above my husband was very happy using both of these Takkers and not only that but he actually asked if I wanted anything else up on the walls.
That's a win win situation for us girls.






10.  Sweets (preferably something in Chocolate)


Well my brother-in-law and I may not share the same tastes in drinks  -  I am definitely a coffee drinker and NOT a tea drinker but we both DO LIKE Chocolate.
In the past I have got him some form of chocolate and probably will do so again.

Honestly there are not many people who will not appreciate chocolate and it is the ideal thing to enjoy with your mug of Tea/Coffee, while watching a Dvd or reading your ebook.

10 Gift Ideas for your brother-in-law / brother / father or any man in your life.

and the TIP?

Well just DO NOT buy him hankies.

My Brother-in-law and I have a thing about hankies as presents and it goes way back, yes way back to a certain Christmas over 40 years ago.

Some day I just might share that story with you all.



Now don't forget these suggestions when it comes to Father's Day as well.

If you have other gifts to buy why not click on the link to have a look at my Gift Ideas Pinterest Board

Or try these links:
The 5 Best Board Games
10 Gift Ideas for a Baby Girl's first Birthday / Christmas
10 Gift Ideas for a Baby Boy's first Birthday / Christmas
10 Gift Ideas for a Guitar fanatic

Oh and 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICTOR

because someone is bound to direct him to this blog post

Disclaimer:
I am not an affiliate for Amazon so if you buy anything after clicking through from this blog post I will not benefit from it.