A special friend

I am busy with a few lovely bespoke orders for special memory boxes at the moment. 

So not to leave you in the lurge today in the world of blogging, I thought I  would share with you a box I made for a ladies Birthday- depicting her late doggy Max, A Welsh Springer Spaniel.

Not something we will add to the u-ni-k gifts website as it's not very baby-Esq.  But a very good example to show you how individual and personal we can make our gifts.

Thrilled that it bought happy tears to the eyes of the new owner.

unikgifts

Monday maker- A new box for a new little boy

In addition to my 4 week series of blogs, here is my NEW product.

Made especially for my new nephew Freddy.

A little field mouse called Felix.

Felix the field mouse lives in the field next to Freddy's house.

He has a job. A job to look after Freddy and keep him safe.

He'll watch from afar as he grows bigger, plays with his brother Henry 

and learns to walk, talk and explore.

He'll make sure all his dreams are sweet ones, 

and all his giggles are hearty ones.

Best of all, this box with a little picture of Felix on

 will help treasure all the the fun he has with his family.

And keep it safe.

Freddy Arthur this is made especially for you with MUCH LOVE

A x

unikgifts

Monday maker, Memory boxes

Memory & Treasure boxes

As unique as your little one

To help capture every moment

 

Loving thoughts, Happy times 

& Personal treasures

Made to order

Have fun making memories 

To cherish in your treasure box.

Made for magpies,

Made for treasure collectors,

Made for Mums,

Made for infants,

Made for loving memories

always WITH LOVE

Made by me.

unikgifts

Monday Maker- Magpie & Treasure boxes

I help capture memories of infants and children by creating Memory & Treasure boxes. 

By personalising them into a persona that reflects the child and all that makes them unique.

It all started with making one for my daughter, Ida, my nephew Joseph, a lovely friends little boy and my niece Elsie Pru.

Neutral Teddy box

Made for my nephew Joseph. Each teddy I have since made has had it's own character and naughty stance.

Bunny Rabbit Box

Made for a lovely friends little boy when he was born to capture every important memento.
I have since made for girls with cream boxes.

Woodland fairy

The first box ever made for my biggest naughty. A mix of woodland treasures in the undergrowth, important people who would have loved her had they still been here and beautiful flowers.

Three little birds box

The original made for my sweet little niece, Elsie Pru. She's a cheeky wotsit with lots of character and I designed this box to replicate her sweet strong characterful nature.

This box is coming soon to the website.

Using decoupage I am able to incorporate family photos or a page depicting a name from a baby naming book into a design. My latest book was especially personal, capturing a special Cat, a frog and a snake amongst Teddies, Bunnies and birds. 

Each box is made from sustainable alder wood and has a fabric lining cloth that can also act as a burp cloth. Boxes can be made extra special with more personalisation and each design is available in green, off white and pale blue.

I am a little bit of a Magpie so collecting treasures and memories is something natural and inherent to me. Making a box to capture my daughters treasure and memories is something I needed and LOVED doing. Now all I have to do is fine time to make my smallest naughty one!

Within my biggest naughties box is Birthday cards, shells collected from our first holiday, first paintings, first letters written and little things she classes as her treasures.

I love making them and love the little ones i make them for.

unikgifts

Second Edition

This is the second edition of our bespoke Treasure boxes.

A box made especially for a little boy I know.

Made to sit perfectly in his simply styled nursery amongst his framed pencil drawn Winnie the Pooh prints and his grey and coffee coloured walls.

A gender neutral room and a simply styled palette.

And a Mummy who loves Winnie the Pooh

I decided Pooh needed a few Teddy friends to sit amongst so sketched a few friendly Teddies to keep him company.

The most prominent teddy has been structured using Decoupage using a baby naming book using the page containing names beginning with J to follow the new arrivals name.

A special box for new baby Joseph to Treasure, Collect and store memories.

Made especially for you.

Click here to see the first box in this edition.

Looking ahead

With 2011 almost at an end (apologies for jumping Christmas, we close to spend time with our family over Christmas, so after Christmas eve we don’t re-open till 2^nd January) I am looking ahead to all things new and fresh.

2012 will be the first year in three that I start the year off not pregnant! 

Phew…. a much lighter start to my new year.  With a lighter frame (?) but a growing family I start 2012 with a positive approach to look for new and exciting makers to add to the unik family.

We are always looking for new, traditional and unique jewels to add to our trove. We would love to hear from you if you make something wonderful that should be shared and loved forever.

We already have many new things to add to the unik website that Sarah and I are very very excited about (I will tell you more later). We (Sarah) are working on the website to bring these new things to you soon.

In the meantime, If you want to show us your treasures click here.

Happy Making!

Even Ida and I are having a go at making some real treasures!!

Watch out for them in 2012!

Family treasures?

Anna recently helped her Mum move house, which meant that she found a host of family treasures in the attic. Like most people, Anna has lived in one family home for her childhood and her family have probably lived in the area for a generation or two. So her family have been able to treasure and store items for each generation and the next to enjoy! What a wonderful treasure hunting day it must have been discovering things in the family loft.

My childhood couldn't have been more different. We moved every 18 months or so, packing up our treasures in paper and placing them into boxes hoping that they would survive the journey to the next house. Many didn't, moving men in those days being of the 'throw it in the back of the truck' kind. This 'gypsy' lifestyle meant that we couldn't afford to carry around precious momentos that our parents had enjoyed as children. Since HM Forces didn't usually provide an attic or basement with their accommodation, we had very small storage and really had to be selective with our 'treasures'.

Now that I'm settled in a permanent family home [no more moving for me!], I'm keen to start a collection of family treasures – things that both Kathryn and I love and treasure. When she's grown out of them I'll put them up in our attic and save them for her children. I'm looking forward to the day when I send my Daughter upstairs to find treasures that we loved and that her children can play with!

It's this thought I use when selecting items to suggest to Anna that we sell through u-ni-k gifts. Some gifts for children should be investments in this generation and the next... a supersoft blanket to wrap baby in, a wooden car for them to brrrrm [or for future generation to laugh at the fact vehicles used to roll along the ground!], a memory quilt made from great granny's baby clothes with her name and birth date in, granny's name and birth date in, Mummy's name and birth date in..squares to add each generations name and date of birth. A true Mother to Daughter gift that will last generations!

The very talented Susan of Fat Hen and Flo famed put a lot of love and work into the Davies Family quilt and Kathryn has already sneaked a play in it before it was whisked off to be wrapped up for Christmas** . Here's a few photos of our family quilt:

 The quilt laid out on a king sized bed!

 The aplique details!

 Hand quilted with flowers, birds and hearts!

 A surprise detail...

 detailing around the side!

 Name square

 peekaboo! Bunny rabbits are big in our house

Memory quilts and lots of other lovely Fat Hen and Flo creations– coming soon to u-ni-k gifts.
Contact us for more information!

**yes Kathryn found and was delighted with the bunny when she sneaked a play in her quilt!