Pre-baby I had all these grand plans of commemorating every step of pregnancy and life once my baby was born.
Keeping a journal, taking daily belly shots, recording firsts, filling in baby books etc. I may have had the best intentions, but my enthusiasm was no match for the insane reality of a newborn. There was no time for any of that. All I have managed to do (five months post baby) is to write
two letters to my daughter, print out a few photos to decorate the fridge and order an instagram book for the grandparents. Major fail.
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My fridge looks pretty though right? |
I'd be lying if I said I don't feel guilty about this. The first child is meant to be the one you make all the fuss over, right? And then the motivation to continue doing the same wavers a little more with each additional child (
so I'm told). So I've been feeling really bad that I hadn't even managed these things for the first. But, I found a way to make up for it and she won't even know it took me a couple of months to get my act together.
When I was little there were only the standard baby books and chunky old-school photo albums. At least thats all I've got (so either there was a lack of options or my mother was cheap). These days though there are a plethora of items available and a heap of personalised items too! You just have to know where to get them from. That's the hard part. So, let me tell you about a great place to find a whole range of personalised items....
Cheese and Pickles is an online store that specialises in personalised items for babies and kids. It is run by a fellow mum who understands the desire to find the perfect item for the special little people in your life. Whether you are after a keepsake, unique gift or cute nursery decor they have you covered. Cheese and Pickles stock personalised kids items including toys, prints, cushions and name blocks, to name a few. I have to say thanks to them for
saving my butt allowing me to create an awesome keepsake for my daughter. I was lucky enough to be able to design my own personalised cubbie for bubba. They are so cute (see image above) and a great unique option for many occasions.
Baby cubbies are personalised teddy bears (and other animals) that come with a range of different motif and text design options. Each cubbie is personally embroidered by Cheese and Pickles resident professional sewing extraordinaire (
also known as mum). The designs are machine sewn onto the cubbie according to the specifications you choose. There are so many ways to personalise your cubbie and the process is so easy.
1. First you pick the cubbie you would like.
You can choose from:
- a lion
- a turtle
- a monkey
- a penguin (black or blue)
- a teddy bear (blue)
- an elephant
- an owl, or
- a lamb (pink or blue ribbon).
Then decide what design style you would like to be embroidered onto the cubbie. There is name & motif, birthday, christmas or birth detail options.
Just select which option (animal and design) you would like from the main list and then you can further personalise the design on the next screen.
I chose the elephant with the birth details design. I'm not going to let her play with it because
I'm a mean mummy I want to be able to keep it for years to come. Right now she's into eating everything and pulling things, so I doubt it would last very long if I let her play with it. I will get her another one she can play with, I'm just deciding between the name & motif design or holding off and getting the birthday one. Anyway, I am digressing, back to the ordering process.
On the same screen you will find the different text and colour styles for your chosen design (see below).
2. You simply choose your text style and then add your child's details. You can also change any of the colours in the text design to make it even more unique. I spent ages deliberating over the NBP4 design (shown above) and the more girly G2 design. In the end I decided on the NBP4 text design and then changed the colours to be very similar to the ones in the G2 design. That way I got the best of both worlds with the font and colours I was after. I thought it might be too many changes because I changed nearly all of the colours, but they were more than happy to alter them for me. The best thing is that it doesn't cost anything extra to change the colours which is a nice change because most places usually charge for alterations from original designs.
3. Once you've done all your alterations simply check out. Its seriously that easy! You will receive your cubbie in the mail within 3 weeks (mine came earlier than 3 weeks, it just depends on how many cubbies they already have waiting to be embroidered at the time of your order).
So, here's what my final design looked like...
I would definitely recommend Cheese and Pickles personalised cubbies as they provide a unique, highly personalised gift or keepsake. There are heaps of options in regards to cubbies, embroidery designs and text styles so you are sure to find one that suits what you're looking for. If you are super fussy like me and want to change the design even further, you can. They really have catered for everyone.
In addition to this at $44.95 cubbies are great value for money. These days you would be hard pressed to find a good quality 30cm tall stuffed animal for that price, let alone a personalised one (especially if you are buying from a boutique gift shop). Another feature that I think makes them even better value for money is the removeable cover so you can easily wash them without having to put the whole toy through the wash. So if you do let your kids play with them you have an easy way to keep them clean and looking new.
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I let her have it so I could get a photo, it only took 5 seconds for her to try and eat it! |
Cheese and Pickles also have a great Facebook page. Its one of the funniest ones I've seen. Seriously you will lol everyday with her posts. It's my go to entertainment at the end of the night when I'm over the day (you know the point where you've just got to the end of your tether, finally got the kids to bed but no longer have the brain capacity to read a book).
CUBBIES GIVEAWAY

Just incase you may be in the same boat as I was and you haven't got that something special for your child, Cheese and Pickles have you covered. They are generously giving away a personalised cubbie to one lucky
Finding Myself Young reader (total value $54.90 incl. postage). You can choose any cubbie you like, with any design. It doesn't have to be the birth print like mine. Maybe you need a special gift for a newborn or a present for a birthday?
All you have to do is follow the rafflecopter prompts below
and leave a blog comment telling us
which cubbie you would choose and who you would give it to. Its that simple!
Toni xx
Linking up with
Jess for #IBOT
a Rafflecopter giveaway