Memory making

I’m going to be brutally honest with you; every stage of the parenthood journey has brought me happiness and anxiety in equal measure! Just as I’ve dared to think that I’ve overcome one challenge another begins and to honest with you it’s been exhausting.  There’s been pregnancy sickness, sleepless nights, nappies, toilet training, sitting in car parks while my babies slept, weaning, the list goes on BUT do you know what when I look back now the details of the challenging times are actually really hazy. What I do remember most are the fun memories that we’ve made of going to the park, reading, playing, first steps, painting, trips to the beach, dog walks, tree climbing, tickling, laughing, this list also goes on. These memories always put a big smile on my face yet make me slightly sad as those moments have been & gone.  As they grow they’ll become less dependent on me (and most likely think I’m really uncool – I’m ok with that, honest!) so as well as having these precious memories tucked away in my mind, I’ve collected other mementos to remind me of those treasured times.  You’ve no doubt been collecting them too; baby scans, hospital name bands, baby book achievements, special clothes, toys, drawings and of course the phone full of photos. My two boys love getting their memory boxes down from the attic and having a good rummage through them, they marvel at the what I’ve kept , love listening to the stories I’ve written in their baby books and can’t believe how small coming home from hospital baby grows were! I’ve a few favourite baby & toddler memory items that I’m going to share with you.......

Baby Book

I love both my boy’s baby books. It chronicles from when we found out we were expecting a baby to the end of the boy’s first year. It includes when I first felt movements (that I was sure wasn’t wind!), scan pictures & our feelings of becoming parents to first foods, first steps and favourite toys. It’s got the stories of how the boys entered the world and how they’ve kept us on our toes since then! I’ve included photos, drawings, scan pictures and hospital name bands. My mother in – law also kept a baby book for my husband and it’s been lovely to show the boys their Dad as a baby. They love looking at the photos and hearing about what he did as a baby! Maybe one day, they’ll be able to show their children their books too...…

Bump casting

This is something I have to admit that I knew nothing about when I was pregnant with either of my boys but it’s definitely something I would have done – they just look awesome! Unfortunately I had Hyperemesis  Gravidarum both times so didn’t enjoy pregnancy and counted down every moment of the 40 weeks. To this day I still feel guilty about how I wished my pregnancies away but yet I marvel at how my body amazingly changed to nurture and grow my beautiful babies. I have very few photos of me while I was pregnant and I feel really sad about this. I wish I could remember more about how my bump looked and a bump cast would have been a tangible unique way to capture this time. Plus what a great addition to a newborn photo shoot it would have been to have my baby perfectly nestled in just as they were inside me.

Christmas Santa Handprint Decoration

For my eldest’s first Christmas I got creative and decided to make some tree decorations.  I have a silver angel that I was gifted as a baby that I hang on our tree every year and I love the nostalgia it brings – I’m sure if she could talk she would tell a few great stories! So we made salt dough Santa handprint decorations. It was easy, cheap and fun to do & I especially loved painting them! We made them as Christmas gifts for grandparents too and every year we all bring them out to hang on our tree.  My son loves putting his growing hand against his teeny baby hand amazed at how small he once was before carefully choosing the perfect branch to hang it from.

Handprint Necklace

For my first birthday as a Mum, my husband surprised me with my hand print necklace (ok, he listened to my very unsubtle hint dropping well!). I’ve since added to my necklace with another charm with my second sons hand print. The prints were taken when the boys were the same age, yet they are so very different and personal – my eldest’s bent pinkie even shows! They are admired often and I love having a little piece of them so close to me in such a precious yet discreet way.

 Keepsake Toys

I’ve kept sooo many baby clothes that I can’t bear to part with. Each piece has its own memory but not being sure how much more my attic would hold I decided that I should do something with them. So, I’m currently having keepsake toys made from them. This is where pieces of the clothing are cut to create a pattern that’s then made in to a toy – I’m having bears made for the boys & I can’t wait to see them.

I hand craft a range of personalised memory treasures.

Bespoke silver imprint treasures, capturing hand, foot and finger prints that can be finished as charms, pendants, cufflinks, keyrings and bookmarks. Pregnancy bump casting that can be used as part of newborn photo shoots and personalised to reflect you, your baby and your family.3D Body casting that captures a true to life memory of little hands and feet

For more information about Truly Treasured Originals and the ranges I offer, visit my facebook page www.facebook.com/trulytreasuredoriginals

Louise x