Love-ly

Today is Valentines Day. 

The day where we all honour Saint Valentine, expressing our love for our chosen ones by presenting them with gifts, flowers or confectionery.

Valentines Day is celebrated in many different ways. 

Here are a few ways people like to say I love you.

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 Traditionally we celebrate by sending red roses and chocolates.

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Some people choose to write poems and woo their love with words.

The rose is red, the violet's blue,

The honey's sweet, and so are you.

Thou art my love and I am thine;

I drew thee to my Valentine:

The lot was cast and then I drew,

And Fortune said it shou'd be you.

The modern cliche Valentine's Day poem can be found in the collection of English nursery rhymes Gammer Gurton's Garland (1784)

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In Portugal during the 19th century it was popular for young Minho girl’s to hand embroider these love kerchiefs for their chosen love interest. 

The beautiful original love letter was presented as a declaration of love. The chosen boy would wear the neck chief round their neck to show he reciprocated the feelings.

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Most send a card declaring their love on Valentines day. 
This beautiful handmade cards has been made using decoupage. 

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Some cook up a tasty Valentines breakfast to show their love.

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This artist, Rosalind Wyatt stitched this Indian love poem into a lacy linen cloth. 
Love-ly!

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This year Sarah and I have chosen to be a little unik and celebrate 

Valentines Day with our little ones.

available from unikgifts.co.uk

How to take better photographs...DSLR modes!

Did you have fun practicing your iPhone photography skills over the cold weekend? Are you happy with the results? Don't forget you can share your photos on our facebook page, I'd love to see your creations!

Today I'm going to talk about using your DSLR (Digital Single Lens Refelex) camera. As always the camera I'll be using and talking about will be the Canon 400D.


Modes
The dial at the top of your camera has several settings on it. The middle setting is a green box, above this there are letters, below this there are pictures. Today we're going to talk about the green box and pictures.

FULL AUTO - Green square
This is the 'point and shoot' mode, where the camera will choose all the settings for you that will produce a clear focused picture of what's in the photo frame. More often than not, this mode engages the built in flash... and produces an over exposed picture.
This mode is great for those who are outside taking photos on holiday. Not really very good for capturing those special moments with your little one. I don't have any examples to show you pictures taken in this mode because, generally, I don't like the pictures it produces. Sorry! Get off full auto mode if you are using it and have some fun with the other settings.

PORTRAIT - Lady's profile
The portrait mode blurs the background slightly and makes the subject focused. It will also make the flash tones and hair look softer than the Full Auto mode (says the instruction manual). I find generally that the camera relies on the in built flash with this mode as well, but it is very useful for concentrating the focus on the subject rather than the background.

I had to remove red eye &
remove shadows from the background
>>notice how this mode focused on the things
closest to the camera - her hands! I had focused
on her face but this mode knew better!! SIGH

LANDSCAPE - Mountains
This puts everything that it can into focus! Sometimes useful for night shots as it lets in more light than full auto mode (not exactly technically true but for purposes of this blog post it'll do). Greens and blues are more vivid in this mode than in Full Auto.

Landscape mode keeps in focus &
makes greens and blues better
- Good for snow shots!

CLOSE UPS - Flower
This is the naughtiest of all the modes. Yes it tells the digital camera that you are taking a photo with a short focus point - however how close you can get to an object and take an infocus photograph depends a lot upon your lens not your camera. So If you are trying to take a shot of a butterfly on a leaf and you can't depress the shutter button and take the photo - you are probably too close for the lens (even tho' it looks OK in the viewfinder).

Normal lens close up

[Small digression - On the side of your lens are some numbers... EFS 18-55mm, [flower picture]0.28m/0.9ft. The 18 - 55mm is the size of your lens, the 0.28m/0.9ft is the smallest distance the camera can focus at. So if you are closer than 28cm to the thing you are taking a photo of then the camera will not take the picture! On my macro lens (which I have for close ups and artistic blurry shots is 20cm or 0.6ft - which is not bad for a non professional lens). I'll cover lenses after applications for modifying your photos...there's lots to this photography habit of mine!]

My macro lens -
DangerBaby's hand at 1 day old!

SPORTS - Man running
Probably the most useful automatic mode for taking photos of children with. This tells the camera to set everything for taking photos of moving objects - shutter speeds, aperture settings and focus points are all optimised for a quick photo. Not good in poor light conditions as your photo will come out quite dark.

Lots of light, baby moving, sports mode engaged!

NIGHT PORTRAITS - Black square with person and star
This tries to take a photograph in low light conditions and is best used with a tripod. It always uses the in built flash, and more often than not produces a slightly blurry picture. Personally this is my least favourite mode, and I'd use Full Auto instead of this mode.

My little one's not impressed at
'home time'! This was late afternoon - not night
but the mode engages the built in flash and the background
becomes lost in shadows

DISABLING FLASH - Cross through the lightning blot
This is the best auto mode there is. It cancels out the use of the in built flash and keeps as much of the image as possible in focus. Perfect for use when flash isn't allowed, and it doesn't mess about with the colour of the photograph like Full Auto does.

No flash and no colours messed about with
A lovely summer shot!

Brighten up those dark winter days...

Are the long dark winter months making you feel a little down? Do you need a little bit of sunshine in your life?

We've introduced a range of rainbow makers to u-ni-k gifts. Lovingly handmade by our friend Markus, these rainbow makers will fill any room with an array of dancing rainbows.

Available now from u-ni-k gifts. Just click here 

(please remember we use the Royal Mail Special Delivery Service - if you want to choose another delivery option email us your order and we'll adjust the postage price & invoice you accordingly)

           All crystals are by Swarvoski.

Other designs available.

How to take an iPhone photograph - Indoor photography

Repotage photography – Not staged, true on the hoof photography

iPhone

Well this will usually be the only phone you have to hand when out and about with the little one. So we'll start with the photographs that this camera takes first.

Firstly – Don't worry too much about composure – ensure you capture as much as your little one as possible. You can always use the iPhone software or one of the many apps that are available for the iPhone to crop later.

Remember to tap the little square that appears on the screen. Tap on your little one and it should adjust the settings to make sure that this is the one thing in the frame in focus and 'lit' correctly.

Then click the take photo button as often as possible. You can delete the 5 shots where your little one is blurry but you need to take many shots to choose the best ones from!

TIP: Keeping your finger on this button 'prepares' the camera for the shot, keep it there and take it off when you want to capture the photo. It'll then take the shot just when you want it!

Useful for when your little one has stopped doing the 'cute' thing you wanted to capture as soon as you had focused the iPhone on them and managed to sort the lighting out as well. Bet as soon as you look as if you're not photographing them then they'll do it again! Keep your finger on that button – it'll be a clearer shot for it.

 

Still but not looking!

Finally - Still enough for a shot!

Iphone Indoor photography tips

1. Try and make sure the light is behind or to the side of you.
2. Remember to crouch down to be on the same eye level of your child / children unless you want to capture those big eyes looking up at something else
3. Take many photos, you can delete those that didn't work.
4. Tap the little focus square to focus on your little one and set the correct presets for light etc.
5. If you've tapped the little square on your little one but they still seem quite dark then tap a dark area to 'light up' the photo!
6. Don't be too scared to step closer or further away for that shot.
7. Experiment! Click away! PLAY with your iPhone camera to find the look and feel that you like.

Inspiration

Lost in a sea of colours...

 I maybe watching TV but I'm wearing a hat

 Night time playing with the dolls house. Spot the mini bath, loo and sink in bottom right corner in an opposite to baby in top left

 Two Duracell bunnies... can you spot the difference?

Racing Italian Stallion at Mercedes Benz World

 DangerBaby covets Aunty Paula's soft furry scarf thing

I maybe small but I can climb any mountain

 Lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz? My friends all drive Porches..

 Not quite Abbey Road but still the inspiration was there...

I love hats!

Editing using the iPhone software... iOS 5 - upgrade to it now!

You can crop, rotate, improve your photo and remove red eye all using the inbuilt iPhone edit button. [Images from Apple].

From your photo press the 'Edit' button (top right). This takes you to the following screen (below bottom left). The icons on the bottom of the screen allow you to choose your edit type... The swishing arrow is Rotate, the magic wand is AutoEnhance, the red circle is Remove red eye and the square is crop.

Rotate, AutoEnhance, Remove Red Eye & Crop

Removing red eye - not a function I use much with an iPhone as it doesn't have a flash!

AutoEnhance - will lighten and 'correct' photo presets.

Crop - Use 'Constrain' if you want to keep the usual photo sizes for your images. Postcard size is 4:6.

Next weekI'll be covering all the modes you can use with the Canon for taking repotage photos indoors. I'll be creating a mini studio with a white sheet etc, and setting up some 'pose' shots with some not so willing little ones!

If you have some top tips then do share them with us below! Or if there's a particular type of shot you want me to try let me know.

Please place any photos that could inspire us on our facebook page by clicking here.

STILL TO COME IN OUR PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES - iPHONE photography applications! Don't forget to check our blog regularly

Apprenticeships- celebrating a Masters of his craft: Mr William Phipps

This week is national apprentice week. With the price of University tuition fee’s and living going up, young people are opting for apprenticeships schemes rather then University.

With some professions, only an apprenticeship can actually train you for your role. In Japan apprenticeships were a normality. Young people flooded master craftsmen with requests to shadow and learn from a master. In some professions it is the only way forward.  Being trained by a master craftsman or women with a indisputable reputation is a gift in itself.  How else can you learn a detailed craft or making method other then standing by watching and aiding someone who has been doing it for years.

Without apprenticeships taking on a similar role as those in Japan, some English traditional crafts will soon dissolve and eventually be forgotten. How many of you know of any one who can make bobbin lace? It’s a beautiful process and produces an even more beautiful fabric. Something I wish I had paid more attention to when I was shown by a lovely lady who has now past away.

I want to tell you about a very special person whose beautiful crafted skill ended when he died in 2009 . Mr William Phipps aka Mr Bill Chipps.

I met Mr Phipps at egg.  He was the egg silversmith. His personality won me over and I think I was a little bit in love with him. His giggle, naughty grin and clumsy stuttering, normally while telling a joke kept everyone enthralled. The punch line was normally forgotten because everyone would be giggling too much. He turned up every year at Christmas to play a seasonal tune on his bicycle pump or on the silver spoons. He rode a bicycle and motorbike both which had a plastic nose taped to the front to replicate his own hooter. He swam in the Serpentine everyday. EVERYDAY. At Christmas he swam in fancy dress, a normal festive formality for him. 

He was kind, happy and wonderful man. And most importantly he made the most beautiful silver wear. He worked in his garage aided by his plastic soldiers that were placed in a marching regiment  to keep him company. Many a phone call to Bill, answered by Mrs Phipps, would be received with a broom pounded on the floor so that Mr Phipps knew he was wanted.

His silver pieces were the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Some commissions were 3-4 years long as he hand forged every spoon, fork, knife by hand. Despite his humour and character, his work remained professional and to time.

His spoons were what I loved the most. They were spoons, but very naughty spoons with lots of personality. Midget spoons, salt spoons, jam spoons, table spoons, ...the list goes on. He made a paddle spoon which he shared with egg. It was exactly as the name describes, a spoons to paddle with. More of a work of art then a functional object. When clients would ask me what you used a spoon of such size for, I would always answer with a smile the same way Mr Phipps would, "To paddle with". A glimpse at the £5000 price tag would always  add to the clients puzzlement.

I was lucky enough to be given one of Mr Phipps silver spoons. It will always be a treasured memory of my dear friend.

Without apprenticeship schemes special crafts and traditional making methods like Mr Phipps  will be forgotten too quickly. That is just too sad to think about.


To read more about Apprenticeship week click here
Read more about my very missed friend, Mr Phipps, click  here

Paparazzi Please!!!

Sssshhhhhhh!!! We’ve got a little secret.

One of the Unik family is soon to become famous.

The Crafts Council spotted him at a Christmas craft fayre. Not surprising really, he is a handsome chap!

He was spotted for his talent and his mother and creator, my partner in crime, Sarah is very proud. As am I.

Big Boss Panda is to grace us on the BIG screens at a cinema near you very soon!! The Premier’s is at the beginning of March where the Panda himself will be strutting his paws down the red carpet with Sarah and I in tow.

Big Boss Panda

If things get too hectic on the day with fans and paparazzi, signed autographs are available by written request. We will however request a donation of £3, which we will donate to our Charity, Helen and Douglas house , The Oxford children's hospice.

He is available from the unik website. Luckily we made him sign an exclusivity clause when we realised his potential. Phew.

He also has a happy family of squashies and softies that also have potential to make it BIG. Especially Doris our Emo bunny! But ssshhhhhh, we don’t want it to go to her head!

Look out for him when you are munching popcorn in your cinema.

*The Crafts council is the national development agency for contemporary craft. The Craft Council and UK Hand knitting Association Craft Club initiative is set to expand into a range of community settings including Museums, libraries and cinema's across the UK. The Craft Club now has 350 active clubs in schools across the UK teaching children craft skills with the help of volunteer's during lunchtimes and after school clubs. To read a little more about the scheme click here

Diamond Jubilee celebrations

In celebration of the Queens Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne) we are celebrating by making bunting.

Bunting is a great easy decoration that can be as original and personal as you want it to be. It can be reused numerous times for parties and celebrations of every style. I am making a close friend some bunting for her baby shower to decorate the venue. I will then give her  the bunting as a gift to use as a decoration for her nursery. It is simple to make, brightens up every where it is placed and looks fabulous!

All you need is-

Paper, pins, pen, an assortment of fabric remnants, scissors, a sewing machine, thread and bias binding.

To make simply,

1. Using paper and a pen, make a triangle flag shape, the upper side of the triangle being shorter then the lower two sides. Cut out 30 flags by pinning the triangle to the fabric and cutting round it 30 times.

*I suggest a triangle with the two lower sides being 20cm and upper side being 19cm.

2. Un-pin the flags from the pattern. Marry each flags front to it's partner, the back. You will have 15 married paired flags in total.  For each pair place right sides together and sew 1cm along the two longer side, making a pocket with the top opening of the flag still open.

3. Cut the tip off the triangle horizontally within the seam allowance (leaving 3mm from the stitch line) to allow your point to be crisp when you turn it the correct way round.

3. Turn inside out and press each flag well ensuring that the seam lines are crisp.

4. Open out your bias binding and pin flags to the inside of the binding at equal intervals ensuring you leave 30cm at the beginning and end.

5. Stitch each flag into the open bias binding, securing it into place.

6. When each flag is stitched into place, fold over the bias binding and stitch it closed.

7. Either leave your bunting as it is or decorate it in any way you like.

Now, put it up using the long ends to tie it up and CELEBRATE!!!!!

*Funny terminology  I have used

• Press, to iron
• Seam Allowance, This refers to the area between the stitching line and the raw cut edge of the fabric. 

• Right side/Wrong side, Most fabrics have wrong sides and right side. The wrong side is the side of the fabric you don't want to see. The Right side is the side you do want to see. 
  
  

Baby it's cold outside

Since it's all wintery outside, I'm going to dedicate today's blog to things that keep you all snuggly and warm:

Get ahead, get a hat

We have a number of lovely winter hats and bonnets handmade by the lovely ladies at Nyoki. Choose a bamboo, kid mohair or cotton hat to keep you little one all snuggly and warm during this cold snap!

Natural soft fabrics to regulate temperatures

It's very important to keep little one's core temperature at the right temperature. Make sure that your little one is dressed in natural fibres - they breathe with your baby's skin.

Cashmere is wonderful for keeping baby at the right temperature, and is wonderfully soft on their delicate skin!

Wrap little ones up

Layer blankets to keep little one the right temperature! If baby feels cold add a blanket, if they feel hot take one off. 

Cotton blankets are best for baby, top off your blankets with a lovely Shuktara kantha stitched blanket - a beautiful and practical way to keep baby warm!

Stay in where's it's all cosy!

Make your little one's room all cosy and warm, snuggle down with a book and stay in all nice and warm!
Dangerbaby and I can be found on the sofa in her room under her FatHenandFlo memory quilt reading Dr. Seuss! Oooh cosy.

(Cushions as well as quilts available!)






All available at www.unikgifts.co.uk

Groundhog day...

Brrrrr it was a frosty start to the morning, the canal at the bottom of the garden was all iced over and the ground rock hard beneath my feet when I skipped outside to refill the bird feeder. Why am I telling you this? Well because the weather today has traditionally been watched very closely because today is 'Groundhog Day'.

In ancient times today was the 'Feast of Lights' the half way point between the shortest day of the year and the Spring equinox - traditionally this is the day that winter should give up and give way to Spring. So today is the day that we watch the weather and wild creatures to see what weather we're going to have for the rest of Spring.

In the USA this is done by watching a small creature known as a Groundhog - if the groundhog doesn't come out of its burrow it's going to be a cold wintery Spring, but if it comes out and plays then Winter has lost the fight and Spring is on its way! They do the same in Germany but with badgers... but since Hollywood hasn't made a "Badger Day" it's not as well known.

So how do you know if Winter has lost the battle to Spring?

If Candlemas day be clear and bright
Winter will have another fight
If Candlemas day brings cloud and rain
Winter will not come again.

Today it's clear, birght and very very frosty. I think Spring may have lost this years battle.

Oh and Candlemas? It's the Christian celebration of the purification of Mary (Jewish women are considered unclean after birth for 40 days after having a boy - 60 for a girl and were not allowed to worship in the temple during that time - today is 40 days after Jesus's birth so the day he was brought into the temple with his Mother). To celebrate brining the 'Light of Jesus' into the Church - church candles are blessed on this day - hence Candlemas.

Other beliefs:
If you bring snowdrops into the house today it signifies a parting or death to come in the year.

Scottish children traditionally brought candles to school today to light up the class room on dull days throughout the rest of Spring. Since the introduction of gas or electric lights this became money (no not for the meter) to buy sweets. The child that donated the most money became the 'Candlemas King / Queen' for the next 6 weeks, a title that allowed them to declare one whole afternoon of playtime once a week and to pardon people for punishment.

So snuggle up those of you that had a frosty start to your day, Old Father Winter is here to stay for a while longer!

Celebrating winter babies...February Babies!

Celebrate your winter baby, winter babies are supposed to be more successful than their Summer counterparts! So for all those babies due this month, here's a little bit of information about those born in February, the romantic month:

Early February Babies

Starsign:Those born in early February (up to about 18 February) will be Aquarians and the traits associated with an aquarius are humanitarian, friendly, honest, loyal, original, incentive, independent and intellectual.

Birthstone:Their birth stone will be Amethyst which signifies sincerity.

Flower: Their birth flower is a violet or primrose. These flowers are usually associated with humility, faithfulness and chastity.

Famous early February babies: Bob Marley, Ronald Reagan, and Charles Dickens

Summary - Your early February baby will be gregarious, intelligent, and loyal. As a true leader your baby will often be the first to achieve, using their independent nature and superior intellect to their advantage. Fiercely defensive of their friends and family, this baby will fight against injustice and cruelty. Expect them to keep you on your toes, your late January baby will conquer the world, if given the chance.

Late February Babies

Astrological sign for Pisces

Starsign:Those born after the 18^th February will be Pisces babies (like Oompa Grampa!) and the traits associated with Pisces are imaginative, sensitive, selfless, compassionate, kind and intuitive.

Birthstone:Their birth stone will be Aquamarine which signifies faithfulness.

Flower: Their birth flower is a violet or primrose. These flowers are usually associated with humility, faithfulness and chastity.

Astrology:Babies born after the Chinese New Year will be Dragons, in fact they'll be water dragons! Dragons are intelligent, giving and tenacious!

Famous later February babies: Mia Farrow, Matt Groening (creator of the Simpsons), and John Grisham

Aquamarine

Astrology:Babies born after the Chinese New Year will be Dragons, in fact they'll be water dragons! Dragons are intelligent, giving and tenacious!

Summary - Your late February baby will be out of this world, a creative dreamer who will use their dreams to their advantage. Able to play upon their strong points, this child will be the creator of the most imaginative games, a popular choice among children of all ages. Bored by the mundane a 9-5 job isn't for this child, they're creative skills should lead them to a successful career of their own choice. Whatever they choose it will not be boring.