PhotoWise Calgary

Tag: photobooks

  • Photo Books Make The Perfect Holiday Gifts For Your Family

    Photo Books Make The Perfect Holiday Gifts For Your Family

    Welcome to the month of December!

    For many Canadians, this month marks the most joyous time of the year. With the holidays coming, many families are planning their get-togethers and parties and will be engaging in the annual traditions of eating hearty meals, singing carols and exchanging gifts.

    I’m willing to bet that, like most holiday seasons, you’re not entirely sure about what should be on your holiday gift list. Depending on the number of people you plan on shopping for, it can be quite the exhausting task to think of the perfect gift for everyone on your list. That’s why I’m also willing to bet that I can help you out your holiday gift ideas!

    How can all of your photos turn into the perfect holiday gift for your family?

    At PhotoWise, we proudly create one-of-a-kind Photo Books that have completely revolutionized the way photos are organized, stored and preserved. PhotoBooks, make amazing gifts for all family members as they uniquely capture your family history through vibrant collages that are created out of the photos you’ve been storing in various places for decades.

    Firstly, let’s start with all of those digital photos that are sitting on your phone, laptop, tablet and/or digital camera. Not only are they taking up all of the memory on those devices, but they’re not providing much usefulness other than the occasional swipe when showing them to friends.

    Many of those photos may have already been shared on your social media accounts. But they’re not exactly organized in a way that tells the story about the various happy moments you’ve enjoyed with your family members and friends. Not to mention, they don’t tangibly exist in a form that can be wrapped…and then unwrapped on Christmas morning!

    Secondly, let’s discuss all of those old photos you have collecting dust somewhere. You know the ones that you have tucked away in shoeboxes or are slowly deteriorating over time in those archaic photo albums? How great would it be to compile all of your most precious old pictures with the digital photos you have stored on your devices in order to create an incredible collection – all in one professionally manufactured Photo Book?

    Can you think of a family member who wouldn’t appreciate a Photo Book?

    I’m a firm believer that Photo Books are among the best ways to cherish the memories that you and your family hold so dear. Similar to coffee table books, Photo-books have pages that are made up of the photographs themselves. So, unlike photo albums, the pages of the book won’t cause any damage or produce deteriorating effects on the images.

    grandparents love to share memories over photobooks

    The Photo-books created by PhotoWise are made up of high-quality, high-resolution reprints of your photos. They preserve the quality of your cherished photos for decades to come. As well, Photo-books are generally accepted as some of the most thoughtful gifts one person can give to another. Especially when gift shopping is such a chore because of the confusion around knowing what your loved ones really want, Photo Books provide ideal gift solutions!

    Please don’t hesitate to contact me today so that we can get started on a Photo Book that will make the perfect holiday gift for your family!

  • Dear Empty Nesters, I Can Help You Downsize!

    Dear Empty Nesters, I Can Help You Downsize!

    Dear Empty Nesters, I Can Help You Downsize!

    Welcome to June! It’s a wondrous month for most kids, because it represents the last month of school. For so many parents, however, it’s a time of year when they fear how crazy their homes are about to get with the kids being in them more often. Needless to say, most parents have their hands full during the summertime. That is, of course, parents of school-aged children.

    Empty nesters have the complete opposite dilemma. Their kids are all grown up and have moved out of the house, leaving them to resume lives as couples. For many parents of adult children, the transition to living without kids is a tough one. Their homes were designed to house a much larger grouping of individuals than just the two of them alone. So what to do? Many, as you are likely aware, choose to downsize.

    What makes downsizing so difficult for empty nesters?

    Most people find that they have homes full of no-longer-needed items. In other words, clutter becomes a major issue. Clearing the clutter, therefore, becomes an intimidating task. Hans Wydler and Steve Wydler lead the Wydler Brothers real estate team in Washington, D.C. They are practically experts in the field of helping empty nesters de-clutter during their downsizing processes.Close up portrait of middle aged couple over white background

    “The first three things we tell empty-nesters to do to get their home ready for market is to de-clutter, de-clutter, de-clutter,” they share in The Washington Post, “It’s amazing how many things one can accumulate over a lifetime. As we age, we also tend to hold onto things as they connect us with our past. We know first-hand. We lost our dad almost 20 years ago, and to this day, our mom still refuses to throw out any of his belongings.”

    What can help empty nesters let go of their belongings?

    A couple of months ago, I highlighted the importance of photo preservation in the PhotoWise Blog. In doing so, I pointed out that capturing images of our prized possessions is often a great (and even therapeutic) way to hold on to your cherished items. In fact, the photos can often serve as replacements of the items themselves.

    Interior designer, Kathia Emery agrees with this practice and lists it as an excellent method of overcoming the “emotional power our belongings have over us”.  As reported by Bridget A. Otto on OregonLive.com, Emery has advised many of her clients to “take photos of the things they can’t take with them — the things they might feel guilty about letting go, such as their grandfather’s chair or a family piano.”

    How can PhotoWise help empty nesters to downsize?

    One of the ways we’ve been able to help with downsizing is through our in-home Photo Organizing service.  I am happy to help you gather your photos from all of the albums, boxes, frames and nooks and crannies around your home and sort them into a nice organized and compact system.  From there we often scan these photos so that the whole family can enjoy them.

    Another option we offer to empty nesters downsizing is to create special photobooks with such titles as “Our Family Home”. In them we showcase photos that capture the various pieces of memorabilia, furniture and other belongings that used to reside in their older, much larger homes.  I had one client who took photos of each of his kid’s rooms – untouched – before they renovated so that there would always be photographic proof of how each room was personally decorated by each child before they left home.

    Dear empty nesters, let’s preserve those family keepsakes together!  Contact me today to learn more about how I can help you to downsize!

  • The Importance Of Preserving Your Children’s Artwork

    The Importance Of Preserving Your Children’s Artwork

    How to Preserve and Display Your Children’s Artwork

    In case you haven’t yet been able to tell, I’m the sentimental type. I can get misty-eyed watching romantic comedies or when someone does something thoughtful for me. That goes double when it comes to my kids! As a mother of two, I can’t tell you how many times I have had to wipe away tears of joy (“Oh my, this is so sweet…you made it for me?”) each time one of my children offered me a gift. (I’ll take the opportunity here to show you one of my favourite masterpieces my daughter made for me… bless her heart!)  daughters drawing of mother and daughter age 5

    As all parents can agree, there is no greater gift to receive from a child than one he or she created themselves. Everyday that my children came home from school with one-of-a-kind pieces of art was a special one for me. I cherished each and every one of their masterful works of art and went to great lengths to display them for all who entered my home.

    However…it didn’t take long for a problem to become apparent. There wasn’t enough wall space in my home to showcase these wonderful art pieces – and new ones kept walking in the door!

    What do parents generally do with all of their children’s art?

    Storing it all in plastic bins is a popular choice – but it doesn’t do the art much justice. (The same can be said for printed photographs, by the way…but that’s another story). Not to mention, such storage attempts will often serve to damage and decay the materials used to create the works of art. Turning your children’s work into faded, ripped and crinkled remains of once-cherished gifts is no way to honour the legacy of your young one’s efforts.

    Tiffany Doerr Guerzon of ParentMap.com hit the nail on the head by saying, “we all love the masterpieces our kids create. But if we kept it all, we’d be starring in the next season of ‘Hoarders’. Creative efforts deserve to be displayed, shared and archived, but it’s hard to keep up when your preschooler churns out multiple pieces per day.”

    What is the ideal solution for preserving the artwork created by your children?

    Appreciating our children’s artwork also increases the self esteem in our kids.  When they see a parents face light up in admiration of their work – they light up inside as well!  They feel valued and loved and an increase of self confidence! My quest to find a way to easily preserve and view my children’s drawings helped me to discover one of my most unique services. At PhotoWise, we proudly create artistic photobooks (“artbooks”, if you will…) that are complete with beautifully scanned images of your children’s precious artwork and drawings. I’ve found they are the perfect solution to the “What do I do with all of these drawings and paintings?” dilemma.

    kids art drawing with crayons

    We offer a variety of conceptual ideas for artbooks so that you may capture the history of your children’s artistic endeavours. For example, we can create artbook volumes that represent the different stages of school (ie. preschool, kindergarten, grade school) or we can split the book volumes up by age range (ie. 2-5, 5-7, 7-9). Or you could simply include the scanned images in your annual family yearbook! You certainly have options…

    At PhotoWise, we use top-of-the-line photo scanning equipment and software that offers high-speed and high-quality scanning. It enables us to professionally preserve priceless family photos, documents, certificates and children’s artwork up to 12″ x 18″. I’d be more than happy to help you sort through your favourite pieces in order to create these special artbooks that will both provide your family long-lasting enjoyment of your children’s art and save you a lot of storage space!