Fabulous Photo Gifts - Latest Photo Gift news, features and gossip

Even our local Denby Bottles Church has a website

2009-11-11T21:48:00.003Z

One of the great things about living in a small community like ours in Denby, nestling as it does in between Ripley, Belper and Kilburn, (Derbyshire), is that word very quickly spreads around about what you do.

Anyone whose read our blog or visited our website - Fabulous Photo Gifts .co.uk - will tell you we are a small, friendly personalised photo gift business. Our technical partner also does the odd bit of web design (purely on request) for other local people and it was for this that our local church - Denby Bottles Church - sought us out.

They run so many different activities for the community - mum and toddler one morning, after school drop-in another, that they were always being asked for times for this and times for that etc. So much so that it was decided a website was the only way to keep everyone informed.

So it happened and now their website is live and serving the community.

We're very pleased to be able to help them and of course we'd love for you to visit their new website - click here - and take a look yourselves.

School signs up for our Fund Raising scheme

2009-11-09T21:53:00.003Z

Just a quick update on our 'fabulous' fund raising scheme for schools, clubs, groups, charities etc, Mandy went to see a local school last week and they were really impressed with the work and thought that had gone into our Funds for Life scheme.

So much so that they're using our leaflet design (designed especially for the schools ready to hand out to parents) this week in the first parent newsletter.

And whilst we're on the subject of Schools....

Fabulous Photo Gifts will be putting on a display of just some of the marvellous Christmas gift ideas they personalise, including the full range of engraved crystals, at Heanor Gate Science College Christmas Fair on Wednesday 18th November so if you're in the area, why not pop in and say hello to Jonathan. He'll be somewhere in the main hall.

November's Photo Gift Newsletter...

2009-11-02T03:00:00.000Z

In case you're not on our mailing list, here's a link to our November edition of our popular Photo Gift newsletter.

This month, we showcase our new fundraising scheme for schools, clubs, teams, groups and charities as well as informing readers of further gift ideas added to our engraved gifts for her and engraved gifts for him / novelty gifts, just in time for Christmas.

We finish with a profile on our ever-popular boxed photo jigsaw range which come in sizes from 9 pieces to 1000 pieces.

They're just like you'd buy in the shops - a two part box with the completed picture (your photograph) printed on the lid.

We've already seen demand jump as people start getting in early for Christmas. Last year, we were so over-whelmed with orders that we had to bring our last order dates forward, so please order early to make sure you don't miss out.

Our newsletter finished by re-iterating our guaranteed courier service which will continue to run through the postal strike and may even run up to Christmas - we'll see how it goes.

So thank you for your continued readership - we look forward to updating you all around the end of November with our next newsletter.

The Fabulous Photo Gifts Team.

Say Hi to our new Teddy in a T-Shirt...

2009-11-01T12:51:00.004Z

One of the perks of this job is when you discover a photo gift idea that's even better than the one you're currently offering customers and so it was when we found this little chap:

He's our new Teddy Bear in a personalised t-shirt. At 25cm tall, he has the softest fur and a really cute face. We fell in love with him the minute we opened him and we're very pleased to be able to offer him at the same price as the original bear, he replaces.

The Teddy's t-shirts which have your own photograph printed on are also a better quality - a tighter cotton weave - making your photographs print exceptionally well.

If you'd like to order your very own Teddy Bear in a personalised t-shirt, then visit our website now.

It's incredibly easy to order - just select the gift of your choice, personalise by uploading your own photograph directly from your own PC when instructed and checkout (or if you prefer, print off our postal order form and send in your photograph and payment).

This Bear is also available on our Postal Strike disruption busting guaranteed courier delivery service.

Fund Raising made easy with Fabulous Photo Gifts

2009-10-31T12:30:00.004Z

When we sat down and thought long and hard about starting a fundraising scheme that schools, clubs, groups and charities would really use and benefit from, we came up with a shortlist of key features:

1) The scheme had got to be incredibly easy to administer for the schools, groups etc.
2) The rewards had got to be worthwhile a school, group etc taking part.
3) There should be no time limits or restrictions on use.

The result - Funds for Life! A ground-breaking fund raising scheme that any school, group or charity etc can take part in, raising much needed funds for their individual 'good causes' without any complications or form filling. You can earn 20% commission on all qualifying gift orders (certain gifts are excluded from the scheme), for each and every order.

That's £1 for every £5 you spend!

Here's how Funds for Life works:

Your school, group or charity etc contacts Fabulous Photo Gifts for your FREE info pack and 'membership' number.

We send you a few sheets of information about the scheme, what gifts are included etc and a poster/flyer for you to fill in with your own 'scheme member number'.

That's it! You're up and running.

Now all you have to do is remind parents, members etc to use the code whenever they need a gift for someone on our website.

They simply type in your member code once they've finished personalising their items before proceeding to checkout.

We get the order and send you the commission earned on that order to your specified bank account.

There's no time limits or limits on the amount of orders we'll accept - it really is funds for life. All you've got to do is keep reminding your parents or members with your regular newsletters and communiques.

If you've got a website or blog, we can supply a FREE banner (to your size specs) for you to encourage even more people to use your code. Just contact us if you need a banner making.

Funds for LIfe - earn 20% commission on every qualifying order your members or families (and their friends and families - spread the word) place with Fabulous Photo Gifts.

Why are we being so generous?
Well we've got 5 children ourselves between us and we've served on numerous fund raising committee's and PTA's etc so we know hard it can be to raise funds in a way that doesn't involve any work and will work all year round.

Click here to find out more about our brilliant fund raising scheme.

How you arrange your Blog sidebar says a lot about you - SEO Tip

2009-10-28T19:26:00.003Z

How you arrange the side bar of your Blog reveals a lot about serious you are about connecting with people and making sharing your blog with others.

And no more so than if your blog has a commercial flavour where the life-blood of the exercise is to reach as wide an audience (and potential customers) as possible.

Here are a few tips to help you spread the word.

Place your rss subscribe link and email subscribe links at the very top of your side bar. If they're buried beneath other side panel 'widgets', the chances of them getting seen are pretty slim. It makes sense to make them as visible as possible.

My 'model' for a commercial blogs side panel is this:

RSS / Email and Twitter subscribe links first.
- i like to add a little please comment logo here also -
Your latest offer
Your twitter feed - last 5 comments is plenty
Blog archive
About you.
….anything else.

Even if you're using a standard blogger template, there are still things you can do to make it look a little more unique and business like.

Customise the header with an image - your company logo for example.
Customise the fonts, colours of headings and links etc.
For those comfortable with html and css, consider going into your Blogger template and making it wider than it is at present or add a custom background.

Now that your blog is ready for customers, the next thing you need to do is get both your content 'out there' and let potential customers know your blog exists.

Use social media sites like Digg and Stumbleupon to share your content. To attract readers, publicise your latest posts on Twitter or weave them into your genuine comments on other blogs and forums.

You've got em' - now how to keep em'?

Gaining a new following is all well and good but how exactly are you going to keep them coming back for more?

You've made it easy for them to keep up to date whenever you post something new - via RSS or email alerts - even Twitter is automatically tweeting new posts.

In a word - Content.

Gimmicks are short lived - it's content that will keep people coming back for more. So it may take you a while to discover exactly what sort of content and what style of writing most appeals to your readers.

Vary the styles a bit until you find a format that works for you, but also feels comfortable to write. If you enjoy it, then you're more likely to make a success of it.

A general rule of thumb is shorter posts with links to 'read more', which Blogger now supports, rather than long posts but it really depends on your audience. If they're looking for a really in-depth analysis, then a longer piece might convey that it is more in depth.

Cheers and good luck! - Jonathan.

Jonathan is technical partner for Fabulous Photo Gifts - online personalised photo gifts and presents. When he's not busy updating the website, he likes to blog useful seo tips for other small businesses.

Personalised Baby Photo Albums - 1st pictures

2009-10-26T21:35:00.002Z

Well Blogger seems to be over its technical issues, so here are a couple of pictures of our lovely new personalised engraved baby photo albums:

Each baby photo album can be engraved with up to 50 characters, on a special metal plague mounted on the bottom-front of the cover.

To see our entire range of personalised engraved baby gifts and moneyboxes, please visit our website.

Personalised Baby Photo Albums - New

2009-10-18T15:24:00.003Z

Firstly, thank you for your orders for our new range of engraved personalised gifts, which we recently started adding to our range.

In fact, it's been so encouraging that we've extended all ranges - gifts for baby & child, gifts for her and gifts for him & novelty gifts.

Under Gifts for Baby & Child - Moneyboxes etc, you'll find 4 new gift ideas:

Silver Plated Egg Cup & Spoon: Silver plated egg cup and spoon with teddy design, which can be personalised (engraved) with any name or message of up to 15 letters.

Silver Plated Yoyo: Silver plated yoyo measures 5.5cm x 5.5cm x 3cm and is a great gift for a little bridesmaid, flower girl, pageboy or any childrens special, which can be engraved with any message of up to 60 letters.

Baby Boy Fabric Photo Album (6x4"): Baby boy fabric photo album holds 100 6 x 4 inch photos, which can be engraved with any message of up to 50 letters on a metal plaque on the front fabric cover.

Baby Girl Fabric Photo Album (6x4"): Baby Girl fabric photo album holds 100 6 x 4 inch photos, which can be engraved with any message of up to 50 letters on a metal plaque on the front fabric cover.

We'll be back later in the week to tell you more about our new His n' Her engraved gift selections.

Guaranteed courier delivery available from Monday 19th October

2009-10-17T07:43:00.004Z

Like any business that relies on the Royal Mail to deliver orders to its customers, we've been very concerned by the recent proposed strike action by Royal Mail workers and how that would affect your personalised gift deliveries.

Fabulous Photo Gifts is not here to take either side in this dispute. We would politely ask, on behalf of our customers that all sides return to the negotiating table and 'get it sorted'.

In the meantime, we've been forced to explore alternative delivery methods and we're very pleased to announce that, from Monday 19th October, we'll be able to offer a guaranteed courier delivery service option on most of our personalised gift range.

When you add a photo gift to your basket and you've personalised it, you'll see those gifts available by courier delivery offer that choice.

Because our photo gift range is so extensive, we're unfortunately unable to offer it on all our gift ideas, hence the option appearing 'per item'.

When you're ordering more than one gift and one or more have the courier delivery option, you only need to specify it for the first item in your basket.

Otherwise you'll find you're adding the extra courier charge multiple times.

Please note: Our guaranteed courier delivery service is not a guaranteed next-day delivery service. The guaranteed delivery will show you the date by which we'll deliver your item/s (available on guaranteed delivery).

Fabulous Photo Gifts is not the 'fast-food' of photo gifts. On each order, your photograph is hand adjusted for balance and tone, before being printed and hand pressed etc. Much of our gift range involves heat pressing at very high temperatures - sometimes for 20 minutes or more so it takes a while for them to call down during final pressing.

Your order is then hand packed, taking care to offer each item the maximum protection on it's journey to you.

Fabulous Photo Gifts is all about choice so if you're happy to pay our standard delivery charge and have your order despatched via Royal Mail, then there is still that option available.

Standard delivery is still £2.49. Selecting our guaranteed courier delivery service option will add £5 to your order but (where available), it will ensure you receive your order within a guaranteed time frame, avoiding the possibility of it loitering at the back of some sorting office whilst the Royal Mail work through accumulated back-log of deliveries.

photo credit: winton

Two new engraved money boxes to choose from

2009-10-11T11:06:00.006Z

If you're looking for the perfect Christening gift or baby's first Christmas present - well it doesn't have to be for a baby - we'd like to tell you about two new money boxes we've just added to the sterling silver engraved money box collection at Fabulous Photo Gifts.

We can now offer you a Digger shaped money box which has room for a 60 character engraved message on the roof of the drivers cab.

We've also introduced a special silver plated train money box. Again, the train can be engraved with your own message of up to 60 characters. What makes this train perfect for a baby gift is the wagon which has a special compartment for baby's first lock of hair and first tooth.

You'll find loads more engraved gift ideas for children, ladies and men on our website and it couldn't be easier to order. Simply choose your preferred engraved gift, personalise it by entering your text - a counter will tell you how many letter you've got left. When you're happy with the message, press confirm and either shop for more gift items or checkout and pay online.

Your engraved gifts will be personalised and dispatched normally within 10 days.

Mary's Wedding

2009-10-10T16:45:00.004Z

Meet Mary - a typical photo gift customer.

The following is based on a true customer order.

Mary is getting married next month. Everything's booked, the invitations are coming back in nicely and the honeymoon flight tickets arrived in the post this morning. Everyone is getting very excited.

That includes her two little nephews who are going to be pageboys. They've promised to be on their best behaviour but Mary's worried that when it comes to the speeches, they'll soon get fed up of 'sitting quietly'.

Luckily, her chief bridesmaid suggested Fabulous Photo Gifts and getting both boys a personalised wooden jigsaw puzzle which they can unwrap before the speeches and build whilst the speeches are taking place.

Luke loves motorbikes and there's a great picture of him sitting on Uncle Steve's motorbike - that'll make a brilliant jigsaw picture. Mark's more into his pets so his Mum secretly took a picture of his hamsters in their cage - won't he be surprised?

Mary got her nephews photographs and went online to Fabulous Photo Gifts, chose our 30 piece medium wooden jigsaws and personalised them with the two photographs.

We received Mary's order and had the order printed and pressed and in the post that week.

Mary was delighted with her jigsaws - so much so that she wrote us a short email thanking us and telling us who the jigsaws were intended for and her idea for the wedding.

Fabulous Photo Gifts - not just for Christmas and Birthdays.

photo credit: neate photos

Personalised Gifts for under £10 - part 2

2009-09-22T09:18:00.000Z

More great gift ideas - personalised gift ideas and all less than £10.

Hand printed, hand optimised for the best print possible and if you need it in a hurry, give us a call, we may be able to help.

Personalised Photo Mousemat - £6.75
Hard-wearing (well I've been using mine now for over 3 years) fabric mousemat with your photograph or logo printed in full colour.

Personalised Ceramic Mug - £8.49
Quality ceramic mug with your picture or text printed on both sides - wrap around style - at no extra cost. I'd say that was pretty good value. Our colour changing 'WOW' mugs are only a few pound more.

More? Well we have plenty more personalised gift ideas for under a tenner to show you later this week.

Personalised Gifts for under £10 - smashing ideas

2009-09-20T09:15:00.000Z

When we say there's a personalised gift idea for everyone at Fabulous Photo Gifts - we mean it.

Kids, Mums & Dads, Grandparents, Couples, Wedding Parties - Best Man & Bridesmaids, Best Friends and even babies.

And we've got personalised gifts for every budget too. This week, we'll be introducing you to just a few gift ideas all of them under a tenner (that's under £10)...

9 Piece Boxed Jigsaw - £6.99
Our classic boxed jigsaws - personalised with your photographs and just like you'd buy in the shops - with your picture printed on the lid and everything for under £10? We're not joking.

15 piece Wooden Express Jigsaw - £7.99
Our durable wooden jigsaws with your photo on them. Solid chunky pieces with a high gloss finish. Need a photo gift in a hurry? Give us a call - we may be able to help.

More great photo gift ideas for under £10 later.

Helping the writer of the 83rd best politics blog in the UK

2009-09-18T17:21:00.005Z

Look who just got a mention by the writer of the blog, which has been voted the 83rd best politics blog in the UK, according to the Total Politics Top 100 blogs survey.... and who is attending a big award ceremony in Bournemouth this Sunday...

Taken from Stuart Sharpe - Sharpe's Opinion

"Lastly, thanks to some very last minute arrangements with Jonathan at Fabulous Photo Gifts I may even be able to wear a tee shirt featuring my much-loved strawberry logo. Everyone else will be recognising each other by their Twitter avatars, now (hopefully) you’ll be able to recognise me by mine."

Thank you Stuart for that glowing endorsement - you shall go to the ball - your t-shirt is under the press as we speak. Good luck at the awards on Sunday.

If you need a photo gift in a hurry, why not drop us a line. We may be able to help - we'll certainly always try to be as helpful as possible.

Photo Gifts Newsletter - did you miss yours?

2009-09-17T10:13:00.000Z

There is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping customers past and present up to date with new photo gift and personalised gift ideas that you may have introduced since they last bought from you.

So our last newsletter sent earlier this week (thank you to everyone that responded so positively), carried news of all the new personalised gift ideas we've been adding during the summer holidays.

And what busy bees we've been. It's only when you see them all listed out that you think "Wow! Did we really get all that done?"

So if you missed your or you've not yet sampled our legendary personalised gift service, then click here to read our latest newsletter to customers.

If you'd like to be added to future newsletters, please drop us a line or leave a comment and we'll add you to the next newsletter with pleasure.

Cheers!

photo credit: lollaping

The Photo Gift Company that really delivers - a case of Summer Lovin'

2009-09-14T10:05:00.000Z

Summer Lovin'...

How did you spend your Summer Holidays? However you spent them, we hope you had a great time and feel all refreshed and ready for Autumn.

We were as busy as ever turning your photographs into fabulous photo gifts - everything from jigsaw puzzles to our new engraved moneyboxes.

And from our mailbag, it's obvious you've loved giving them and receiving them as much as we've loved seeing your fabulous photo's.

Here's a small selection of your more recent comments:

Hi - Just to say our jigsaws arrived yesterday - very speedy service! - and we're absolutely delighted with them. The quality of the jigsaws is very good and I know our little granddaughters will love them. Many thanks!
Jill

Thank you very much thats a great help and you've made my day!!! its a 70th birthday present for my grandmother x
N.D.

Mandy thank you for the puzzle it turned out brilliantly and even better i'll get to give it to him on his birthday on sunday.
thanks again.
Adam

Hi Mandy. Just to confirm that I am delighted with the product
Steve.

Dear Mandy. I just wanted to let you know that the jigsaws arrived at the end of last week - in plenty of time - and that they are perfect. Thank you so much for your help with this. Best wishes
Kevin

Mandy they are fantastic, thank you so much for you fast service.
Ro.

The mugs are great! 'Fabulous quality', you have made my day.
S.

Received and fab, fab, fab is the verdict!
R.

So with Christmas just around the corner - we feel justified mentioning Christmas as our local Post Office recently set out their annual Christmas card rack - what are you and your holiday photographs waiting for?

Visit Fabulous Photo Gifts today - hand printed, hand optimised, hand packed personalised photo gifts. Oh, and in case you were wondering who this 'Mandy' is that everyone keeps referring to - she's an award winning digital photo artist and proprietor of Fabulous Photo Gifts.

photo credit: le vent

Local advertising - have you seen our adverts?

2009-09-13T10:04:00.000Z

Local advertising - have you seen our adverts?

Fabulous Photo Gifts has always been proud to support local businesses - whether that's on our own doorstep in Derbyshire or further afield.

So we're very pleased to announce that as well as advertising regularly in All Things Local - community magazine for Kilburn, Belper and Ripley, Derbyshire, from next month, we'll also be appearing in Living In magazines.

October will see Fabulous Photo Gifts alternating adverts between their two issue - Richmond & Kew and Barnes & East Sheen.

So if you're a regular reader or a new one of either publication, do look out for our adverts and if you do go on to order a personalised gift from us, don't forget to drop us a line, telling us where you saw us or let the magazine editors know. The feedback is really useful for the publishers.

Adding visitor stats to your Tumblr Blog

2009-09-11T19:05:00.000Z

Did you know Fabulous Photo Gifts has a Tumblr Blog?

Sometimes its nice to know who's been visiting your blog and where they came from, rather than just a numbers game - "i had so many visitors last week" etc.

Blogger and Wordpress blog platforms make it really easy to quickly add stat programs like Google Analytics and StatCounter.

However, when I came to add StatCounter stats to my Tumblr account, where we've been featuring a fantasy iPod playlist with a different tune each day, I found it rather more challenging.

I couldn't find anything in the help pages and most online searches drew a blank.

Then I found, almost by accident, the nugget of information - how to install javascript into your Tumblr template and so I'd like to share that information with you here.

As with all template changes, please, please make sure you've got a back up somewhere first (expand widgets if you're doing such template changed on Blogger) as things can go wrong and be very very hard to recover from. You've been warned! (But don't let that put you off trying altogether).

So in my case, I wanted to install the custom tracking javascript supplied by StatCounter. Here's what you do:

Log into your Tumblr Account
Click the "Customize" link
Click "Theme" and then select "Use Custom HTML"
Scroll the the END of the code and paste your StatCounter code JUST BEFORE the < /body > < /html > tags.
Don't forget to click "Save Changes"
Enjoy your stats!

Click here to read the full how to.

You'll find more information on configuring your stats via StatCounter here:

http://www.statcounter.com/help/knowledge_base/Configuration.html

And for some impressive Tumblr statistics of their own - read the Blog Herald story

Back to School - First Day Photographs

2009-09-09T16:59:00.004Z

Back to School - First Day Photographs

As a working parent, it's very nice to be able to see your kids off to school on their first day back and be allowed to arrive a few minutes late at work.

It's a heady combination of expectant nerves (probably more so on the part of the parent than the child) and excitement, fidgeting with new school uniform and squeaky new shoes.

School bags laden with carefully selected pencils and colouring pens, books and maybe a packed lunch. It wouldn't be the first time a small teddy bear 'mascot' has also found its way in there either.

It's a great photo opportunity - one for the album* and one to share with grandparents and other family members as well as pass around at work - (proud gloat).

Don't forget your brilliant 'back-to-school' photo's will also make some smashing personalised photo gifts - 1000 piece jigsaws for grandparents to cushions and wall blocks for mum, desk easels, mugs and mousemats for dad. For something a little different - how about our personalised sub-surface engraved crystals - stunning!

There are even teddy bears in t-shirts that you can personalise for the children themselves or how about a teddy bear keyring, a money box or a smaller wooden jigsaw?

We've been hand printing our range of personalised photo gifts for 3 years now and in that time, we've seen some familiar young faces re-appear each year.

So we get to share yours (and theirs) excitement as well. How good is that?

*Top Tip: Write the date on the back of any printed photo's or include it in the file name on your computer - your grey matter will fail you after a few years!

Engraved silver money boxes - ideal for christenings

2009-09-06T16:34:00.003Z

Hot on the heels of our new range of engraved gift ideas for him and her, comes a range of delightful engraved money boxes for children.

You'll also find some novel engraved gift ideas to celebrate the birth of a son or daughter, grandchild or nephew/niece with photo frames you can have engraved with babies birth details - weight and height, name, date and time of birth etc.

There's even a set of babies first cutlery you can have their name engraved on the handles.

So if you've been looking for the perfect christening gift for that little special someone, visit our new engraved baby gifts page at Fabulous Photo Gifts today.

P.S - We also do teddy bears in printed t-shirts - why not add their picture to the t-shirt or for older brothers and sisters, why not keep them feeling special with their very own jigsaw puzzle?

New - Engraved gifts for him

2009-09-04T14:51:00.003Z

Engraved silver cufflink case - New at Fabulous Photo Gifts.

For that special someone, we have a new exquisite range of engraved gift ideas. Birthdays, anniversaries, presents for the Best Man etc.

There's a great range of silver engraved cufflinks, cufflink cases and hip flasks etc. to choose from as well as carefully selected novelty gifts.

We'll be adding new gift items as we 'try and test them' ourselves.

Head over to Fabulous Photo Gifts now and choose from one of the largest range of hand printed photo gifts and personalised presents.

New Engraved Gifts for Her...

2009-08-31T11:47:00.004Z

Whether it's a wedding, anniversary, birthday, engagement or you're after something special for Bridesmaids etc, then you'll be delighted to learn that we've just introduced a brand new line up of silver engraved trinket boxes, photo lockets and hip flasks.

Each gift idea can be engraved with your choice of message - just add your chosen gift to your shopping basket, click personalise and type your message etc. It's as simple as that.

Our engraved silver gifts are engraved by professionals and delivered within 10 days.

Our full range includes: lockets, trinket boxes, hip flasks and make up brush sets - all engraving is included in the price.

Click here to see our new range of engraved gifts for her...

Metal business cards proving so popular - they're getting their own website

2009-08-26T17:57:00.003Z

When we blogged a couple of weeks ago, little did we know then that our newest personalised gift idea was about to take on a 'life form' of its own.

Unknown to us was the fact that our good friend and loyal customer - Alan at Compass Distribution - had been handing his first order out left, right and center - so much so that his second order are lining up on the presses now.

And that's prompted such interest that we've taken the decision to start work on a brand new website just for the metal business cards.

Don't worry - until it's finished, you'll be able to order business cards direct from Fabulous Photo Gifts (and probably afterwards as well). We just felt that because the metal cards were so specific, they really deserved their own site.

So watch this space and who knows, if you follow our RSS Feed, you may just be the first ones to see our new site in action.

Until then, and long afterwards, Fabulous Photo Gifts will still be there for all your personalised gift and photo gift needs.

Metal business cards - new product

2009-08-18T19:49:00.005Z

Metal business cards - a new innovation

We'd like to introduce a fantastic new product to you - printed metal business cards. They really are the latest must-have accessory.

The same size as a normal business card and only slightly thicker than a good quality card, when you want to create a lasting impression, then our metal business cards are for you.

They've available in 5 different finishes:- Mirror Silver, Mirror Gold, Brushed Silver, Brushed Gold and White and in two different edge styles - smooth or diamond edged.

Full colour printing is available and with minimum quantities of just 10, there's no reason not to use them to create a favourable and lasting impression. In fact, customers have reported their contacts exclaiming "WOW" when they've presented one of our personalised metal business cards.

But their use doesn't stop there.

Here are just a few other scenarios where they've been used:

Teen introduction - They're into all the popular social networking sites, they all have mobiles. So why not create your very own 'intro' card with your facebook profile picture etc, your mobile and your email address? A great way of sharing your details with friends and much better than a scrap of paper that'll get lost before it's used.

Club memberships - Part of a club? Why not use our metal cards for membership cards - with minimum quantities of just 10 available, every club member can have their own card.

Loyalty cards - running an exclusive loyalty membership scheme? Our metal cards make a great, long-lasting member card that won't be easily destroyed.

Made by... Designer manufacturer cards - got an exclusive product? Like to identify it with a quality conscious customer base? Why not use our metal business cards as exclusive tags? Real metal cards, hand printed in our own workshops.

Coming soon - an exclusive collection of metal business card holders. Why not make a great gift for someone by personalising a set of metal cards and adding a stylish card holder from our forthcoming range? Watch this space or subscribe to our RSS Feed for further updates and availability. Remember - the metal business cards are now available online at Fabulous Photo Gifts - metal business cards shop page.

Ordering your personalised metal business cards couldn't be simpler. Simply go to our metal business cards page, select your style (edge finish and surface colour) and select either 10+ or 100+ price to add to your basket.

Personalise your order by adding your everyday email address, adjust quantity required on the basket page and proceed to checkout and pay for your order online.

We'll contact you within 48 hrs by email and arrange to receive your completed artwork or your images/text you'd like on your cards. If we're doing the artwork setting (for which there is no charge), we'll email you a proof for approval prior to printing your order. Orders despatched within 7 days of order approval.

*Images used with kind permission of those companies.
*Online price breaks for 10+ and 100+ quantities (same image). For quantities of 250+, 500+ and 1000+ (same image), please contact us for more information and further price break opportunities.

Keeping the kids amused during the Summer holidays

2009-08-10T17:38:00.002Z

Keeping the kids amused during the Summer holidays

The Summer holidays doesn't have to be one endless drain on the bank of mum and dad - here are a few top tips for keeping your kids entertained without paying theme park style prices every day. Don't forget your camera's - Fabulous Photo Gifts can take your photo's and create a range of quality hand printed gift ideas - from mugs and mousemats to placemats and coaster. Don't forget our very popular range of boxed and wooden jigsaw puzzles - great personalised present ideas for all the family (and friends).

Life's a beach.
Are you lucky enough to live near the coast? What could be simpler that packing a picnic, gathering up buckets and spades, a couple of old racquets, maybe a kite and heading for a cheap day on the beach.
Who knows, if they're good enough, maybe they'll get an ice-cream? Don't forget to cover up with sunscreen and hats.

At the Park.
Municipal parks make a great location for some outdoor fun that's free and good for you too. Aside from any play equipment on hand, make your own fun with bats or balls, and of course a picnic. If the weather's on your side, you can while away the hours long into the evenings.
Why not try inviting another family along? The kids will enjoy all playing together and the adults can relax and chat with some 'quality time'. Make sure everyone knows it's a bring your own picnic food affair. Some parks allow bar-b-ques - check it out before you carry all the gear with you though.

Your own back garden.
Who says you have to jump in the car or walk miles when there's a perfectly good outdoors right outside your own back door?
Paddling pools are cheap and offer plenty of fun - water pistol fights etc before everyone's exhausted and lies back on the grass for a break.
Encourage eating outside with picnic food, plug in a radio and add a little 'quiet' music to the day.
For older ones into camping, pop up tents are cheap and plentiful - why not suggest an impromptu camp in the back garden?
Again, it's a great opportunity to invite other friends over for the kids and for you.

The great outdoors.
Britain is blessed with it's fair share of National Parks and smaller nature reserves / outdoor centers. If you're near one, why not make use of it? Ring the changes by visiting different ones, organise larger gatherings amongst friends or groups i.e nursery/playgroups - there's usually plenty of space.
For the older ones, get back to nature. Encourage wildlife hunts and foraging - collecting leaves or drawing plants and wildlife spotted along the way.
You'll be amazed looking back how great the day really was.

But the Great British weather doesn't allow anyone outside during the school holidays I hear you cry. No fear - we have some indoor ideas too.

Shopping centers.
You don't have to spend loads everytime you go shopping. Check local press etc for free events being put on by the larger malls - puppet shows etc are often organised to attract and entertain shoppers. Try the park and ride for a change - kids love trying the bus out.

Whilst we're on the subject of buses, during holidays, there are often bargains to be had on public transport. Why not take a tour of your local city or town by bus instead of the car? Look out for family tickets, kids go free and all day explorer type tickets. Think of inviting childrens friends along to take full advantage of the extra free travel or get together with a friend to help you shepherd your little flock around.

Schools not out for Summer.
Although jaws may initially drop, many schools run holiday clubs and workshops - kids can try their hand at anything from RC cars to cooking. Some sessions may involve a charge but they're usually quite cheap as the school will have secured party booking discounts etc.

Sleepovers.
Let the kids invite some friends over - let them stay up late with a movie marathon, games playing tournament etc.
Lay on plenty of junk food and pop and let them get on with it. Works particularly well with older children who when the suggestion of a family outing to the park is made, usually look at you like you've gone stark raving mad.
Don't forget to arrange return visits with friends parents. A few sleepovers to look forward to and the 6 weeks will go awfully quickly.

Can't cook, won't cook?
Kids love getting creative in the kitchen. Pick a cheap recipe - cookies or cakes and let them loose with a minimum of supervision (best if an adult handles the oven bit!) and a few pence for eggs and flour. Splash out on a mini icing set to extend the fun or encourage something that the whole family can eat - pizza etc.

Cinema.
Check local listings as very often, cinemas will run extended kids club films right through the week. Ticket prices may be lower or you may find an adult gets in free with every child. Be wary of fizzy drink and popcorn prices turning the whole trip into an expensive one - shop for bottled drinks or large packets of sweets at the local supermarket before you go.

The best bit of advice is don't try to do it all on your own. Get other friends and their families involved and try to share the partying. That way you won't be stressing about having to everything and the kids will enjoy the change of scenery as well.

Don't forget to take your camera with you on outings and trips to the park. Not only will you have plenty of pictures to remember the holidays by, but they'll also prove very useful as presents for family members who weren't able to join in the fun or perhaps grandparents who only get to hear about your amazing days out.

Fabulous Photo Gifts can take your photo's and create a range of quality hand printed gift ideas - from mugs and mousemats to placemats and coaster. Don't forget our very popular range of boxed and wooden jigsaw puzzles - great personalised present ideas for all the family (and friends).