Creative idea, personal touch, pleasant feel and sentimental value – can they be combined in a single gift? Yes! Probably even in many ways. Today, I will tell you about one of them that has made a lasting impression on me: a photo blanket!
When I visited my older cousin in her new flat, I noticed a thick, soft blanket. Since I get cold easily, I wanted to wrap myself in it as soon as possible. You can’t imagine how surprised I was when I discovered that its pattern was not random. The black blanket was covered with carefully arranged black-and-white photos! I simply had to hear its story and tell you about it.
Creative idea
The photo blanket was a gift from my cousin’s sister and flat-mate. The girls were inspired by a movie whose title they cannot recall. That was where the three of them saw a photo blanket, and my cousin remarked that she would love to have such a thing. On the first possible occasion – my cousin’s 30 birthday – her sister and flat-mate made her dream come true.
Personal touch
The girls started working on their gift by choosing photos. The blanket was to be a life-long keepsake; therefore, it contains the images of all relatives and friends and the birthday girl. Selected pictures were then sent to the printers and printed on a fabric.
Pleasant feel
Printed pictures had to be sewn onto a blanket that the girls had bought. Many companies offer ready photo blankets. If you choose this option, you won’t have to buy a blanket, print and sew photos, and the gift will definitely be cheaper. The girls, however, wanted to supervise the whole process: pick a thick and soft blanket on their own, and decide how big the photos would be and where they would be placed. Theoretically, they could have sewn the pictures on their own, but it didn’t cost them much to instruct and let a seamstress do it.
Sentimental value
What was the outcome? Sentimental, black-and-white photos emerging from soft, black background. My cousin was delighted. The blanket is very strong – although she received it several years ago and uses it on a daily basis, it doesn’t show any signs of wear and tear. The girls hope that on her 90th birthday, my cousin will sit on a rocking chair with the blanket covering her cold feet, and tell her grandchildren for the umpteenth time where it came from and who the people on the photos are.
Would you like to have such a blanket, too? What photos would you place on it? Or would you rather receive an embroidered gift? Let me know in the comments below!
My advice:
– If you feel that a black blanket with black-and-white photos is too sombre, try a ginger blanket with sepia pictures or any other colour with photos edited with a matching filter. Naturally, you may also print colour pictures on a patchy blanket, yet be aware that you risk them disappearing amongst gaudy patterns.
– If you order the gift online, be careful about the size! A 70 x 100 cm photo blanket may have an attractive price, but it’s a baby blanket! An adult won’t even cover legs with it.
– If you have more time, order a trial print to make sure that your gift will be made of a decent fabric that will be pleasant to the touch.
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