Let me Do the photo for your charm.

Photo by Ildiko Gagyor Photography 

You're just about to order one of my wedding bouquet charms and are thinking to let me do the photo for you, but it costs $5 more.
Here's what my customers say.

 I increased the price of my add-on "Photo service"-  from $3 to $5.
Yes that's a big increase and here's why:
   It's really EASY to do the photos yourself... (IF you have access to a printer, can resize a photo and have a little patience... ) or you may know someone that could easily do it for you.
My customers agree that it's rewarding and intimate to add your own photo to one of my charms, that's why they are offered as a DIY (do it yourself) ....  but the reality is, not everyone can or wants to do it.  So I started offering to do the photos (a couple of years ago) on my Etsy shop. It was so seldom requested and I enjoyed making them, so $3 was a good price.

It's not hard to add your own photo

   I enjoy making them, although I often get teary or sad knowing that this person's image I am editing, is no longer with their loved ones and sometimes this is the only picture they have. So I do my best to fix what I can.
I rarely know anything about these fine folks, but just looking at their faces & what they are doing gives me a tiny connection as to who they were, and I want this photo & charm to be perfect to honour their memory for years to come!

It often takes a lot of my time to edit photos. The best ones have been scanned, but some  are thumbnails or smartphone photos of photos... (sometimes the original pictures are so old they are yellowed, cracked,  orfuzzy to begin with. )

Not all shoppers are techies, so I try to be as helpful as I can. One lovely mom actually mailed her only treasured pictures to me, so I could scan them, make the charms with the photos, and send her pictures back- with the charms :)  Luckily we had lots of time to do it that way.

I use a clear plastic dome "sticker" to enhance and protect each photo then cut each one to fit snuggly into it's frame.
Anyhow if I want to keep offering the service I should pay myself a bit for doing so.
I think you'll find that for $5 it's still a great deal!

I'd love to add the photo for you.

Wedding bouquet photo charms. What my customers say...

 Photos from my brides 

photo by Ildiko Gagyor photography 

photo by Ildiko Gagyor photography

Sarah, Brittany, Chelsea, Annabell and Dora were kind enough to share their photos with me.

Thank you and congratulations Ladies!

My charms look so much better with a photo in them.
 I've used an old photo of myself to model some of my memory charms. 

I thought I'd share some recent reviews from my customers.

  I've been making these memory charms for brides, but have found that they also make priceless gifts for: family reunions, Valentines, Christmas, birthdays, and more. 

 Here's what brides say about my wedding bouquet charms.

Wedding bouquet charms. Freshwater pearl set of 3. Dec 18/13

Perfect to remember the 3 special people that won't be here for my wedding day. Came in very quickly and they were just what I was looking for to make my day one of a kind. Thank you!

Sparkling wedding bouquet charm. Memorial photo charm. Dec 15/13

Received my 2 customized bouquet charms and they are absolutely gorgeous and came in pretty packaging which was quite thoughtful:) Great service and beautifully done too:D can't wait to use them on my wedding day next week!thanks a whole bunch!

Wedding bouquet memorial charm- Galaxy blue photo charm.

great work!keep up the flawless service:D thanks!

Just add your own photo.

Nov 23/13

Wedding bouquet charm. Pink shell pearl charm.

a very special part of my wedding day, for my grandmother and I were very close and wished for this wedding to happen for so long. Not only are her dreams coming true but mine will too. Although she will not be physically present, her memory and her photo will walk me down the aisle. The seller was so helpful and prompt!

Nov 16/13

Wedding bouquet photo charm. Freshwater pearl.

I love them! They are going to look great attached to my bouquet! Thanks so much!

I have many colour options, and love custom orders!

Nov 15/13

Wedding bouquet, Memorial photo frame charm. Metallic blue.

Shipped promptly. Product as shows. Love the color blue of this charm!

Nov 8/13

Wedding bouquet memory charm. Light purple photo charm.

I always dreamed of my grandparents walking me down the aisle, but they passed a while back. With these charms I was able to hold them close to me and it was like they were still walking me down the aisle. They worked absolutely perfect and the color of the bead matched my bridesmaids' jewelry EXACTLY. I couldn't have been more happy with these charms! Thank you so much!

A lovely DIY project, or I can do the photo/s for you 

Nov 5/13

Wedding bouquet memorial photo charm. White shell pearl charm.

Beautiful job, even nicer than the photos. Thank you so much.

Oct 22/13

Wedding bouquet memorial charm. Bright white shell pearl, Bud

Very beautiful, timeless, and vintage. A Very great addition to my wedding details. Not Very big, but it is just what I was looking for. Now my grandfathers can both walk me down the aisle along with my father.

Oct 13/13

A little way to remember someone special.

Reserved listing for Tanya

I loved that it was exactly as described and for a minimal fee, the photos were placed for me. Correspondence was prompt and I am thrilled with the charms. I have been showing them off :)

Filigree heart lockets, with a pearl or crystal, and I've got a
great selection of other colour beads just ask.
 I love custom orders!

Oct 4/13

Wedding bouquet photo charm with pearl, heart and frame.

Just what I was looking for. Affordable, simple yet beautiful.

Sept 29/13

Wedding bouquet photo charm. Freshwater pearl.

So adorable. Worked great for my bouquet and husband's boutonnière. Perfect size. Great quality.

Aug 27/13

Wedding bouquet memorial charm. Bright white shell pearl,

I used this to add a charm of my sister who passed away to my wedding bouquet. It shipped quickly and is exactly as pictured. The image was easy to install and attach to my bouquet.

New design- Blue shell pearl and heart wedding bouquet charm.

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/173408293/

A new clock for the kitchen.

Here's my finished clock.

Update June 7/11- The recycled clock parts, quit working, after less than 24 hours. I don't know if it was the weight from my little "bug" ornament, or if it should've been trashed instead of recycled. Anyhow, I have an unused clock mechanism, with much smaller but fancy hands, so I just replaced it.

3 days later and it works fine, but I think I'll skip the bug … not everyone has the same appreciation of insects, even handmade ones. Go figure :)

June 4/11

I've been thinking about a new clock for our kitchen.

Of course I want it to be unique, so I looked around on-line, and decided to make one myself.

The finished clock isn't perfect, which is fine, it's about instant gratification and using stuff I have collected. It was easy to assemble, but I think next time I'm working on clay, I'll make some funky clock faces. I've got some great ideas brewing...

What a fun way to start the weekend :)

It took all of 20 minutes (including looking for a clock mechanism that I had stashed years ago.)

I dug around my studio and found everything I needed:

- A decorative round box lid - for the clock face. (The lip is 1 inch deep, perfect to allow for the clock

movement part.)

- Black paint in a squeeze bottle (Dimensional fabric paint). To quickly "write" the #'s on.

- Clock mechanism with hands -salvaged from a cheap clock, years ago . I didn't glue it in place but could've used a bit of hot glue, but may do that later, if it needs it.)

- Exacto knife (to "drill" a hole in the middle of the box lid- just big enough for the clock thing to poke through).

- Hand made bug (optional- I bought this little guy years ago, and have used him as a cool thumbtack, but this is the perfect way to show him off.) I used a dab of hot glue to attach him to the hand, so that he's easy to remove if I find a better place for him...years from now.

P.S. On a recent bargain-hunting expedition (in Cranbrook, with Katie). We stopped at Liquidation World, and I found some boxed sets of 4 ceramic plates. Too bad most of the plates had noticeable flaws, but I loved the fish design on them AND on the round box, so I kept looking until I found a good set.

I should've bought more anyway. I love the design, and besides, small plates are so handy!

Anyhow, that's where I got the perfect FACE for my clock.

A powder puff for my home made antiperspirant.

I'm thrilled! I just received the powder puff I bought from another Etsy seller: kcresson .

It's perfect for my homemade deodorant/antiperspirant and looks nice too. Not to mention it was reasonably priced, nicely made, shipped quickly AND helps by supporting a fellow handcrafter, on Etsy. How good is that?

I've read stuff about antiperspirants and how bad they are for us, but never really considered other options … until I ran out.

I didn't want to drive 1/2 an hour to town, just for that, but then the Natural gas to our community got shut-off for a couple of days... no hot water!  What's a girl to do?

My son suggested I google it, so I did ..." diy antiperspirant" and checked out a few recipes. Looking for one with ingredients that I already have on hand.

Many recipes use baking soda and cornstarch, along with a little essential oil.

It sounds pretty simple and natural, but I didn't have any suitable oils, so I substituted a few drops of glycerine & rosewater instead. I have no idea how long I've had that little bottle of liquid, but this is an opportunity to use it up .

(Yah, I sometimes cook that way too.)

I used about a 1/4 cup cornstarch & 1/4 cup baking soda, and then some drops of the rosewater/glycerine liquid. Using a teaspoon to mix it all together in a little ceramic dish, keeping it a dry, crumbly, powder that I pressed into the bowl with the spoon.

I used some cotton balls to apply it under my arms, and swore I'd make a puff for it, if I like the powder.

Well that was months ago, and I've used many cotton balls, and still haven't gotten around to making the puff, but I do love my new antiperspirant (or is it just a deodorant?) Whatever.

  I don't smell of BO by the end of the day, it doesn't irritate my pits, and it's cheap/quick/easy to make. If you try it, and like it, you may want to buy a puff too.

It's definately worth trying out, if you're looking for alternative/natural and effective options.