There is always a story inside…
Every piece of jewellery I create is special and has it’s own little story, several of which I write about here on my blog. Quite often though, a story can be extra special, one the majority of people will relate to and the story I am about to share with you is definitely one of those stories. Karen, a lovely lady I used to live near messaged me on Facebook a few months ago and asked if I would send her a handprint kit as she really wanted to capture her Grandpa’s handprint. Now, Karen’s Grandpa has always been a huge part of her life and is affectionately known as “Gpa”, what an awesome name! Karen very kindly agreed to share her story with me and tell me a bit more about her amazing Gpa…
Grandpa “Gpa”
“At the age of 4 my family and I moved in to my Grandpa’s home after the loss of my Nan a few years before. He became more of a parent rather than a Grandparent, a person I could talk to and confide in when times were tough, a squeeze of his hand and a bowl of his homemade soup made everything better. We were lucky enough to live In a beautiful village where we often walked in the woods, picked mushrooms and Grandpa told us all about the trees and flowers. As I grew up and left home Grandpa remained a special person in our lives and an active Great Gpa to our girls.
A few years ago he began to become frail and after some falls and a diagnosis of Parkinsons disease Gpa moved into a care home. We visited regularly and as his body failed him that hand squeezing became more and more important to me. He couldn’t always find the words but that squeeze of his hand told us all everything we needed to know. “
Capturing a precious moment in time…
Karen realised that her Gpa, who she absolutely adored was fighting but the disease was getting the upper hand, so I got a handprint kit sent out to her straight away. Karen’s Mum sent back Gpa’s handprints and I spent a bit of time tidying up little smudges to make his handprint a little clearer. Karen and her Mum both loved the print and asked me to capture Gpa’s precious handprint that means so much to them in sterling silver charms for their bracelets.
Holding hands, a precious moment
An honour…
I was truly honoured to be asked to create such special jewellery. Karen had told me how much it meant to her when Gpa gave a squeeze of his hand, it was like a special language between them, that maybe only the two of them would ever really and truly understand. So I set about creating these special charms and posted them to Karen as soon as they were ready. Karen’s heart charm had “Gpa x” hand inscribed on the back and Karen’s Mum’s charm had “Dad x” inscribed on the back. I then received this message from Karen…
“Thank you so so much, I have just picked up our charms from the post office as I missed the postman yesterday morning.
I came home and burst into tears when I saw them, happy tears that no matter what, a piece of Gpa is right here with me. Thank you for capturing and immortalising my special and amazing Grandpa. What you do and the way it makes people feel is truly wonderful. Thank youxxx”
xxx”I was over the moon Karen loved her charm and was sure her Mum would love hers too. Now they could both keep a part of Gpa with them wherever they went and that was a huge comfort to Karen, particularly as she lived quite a distance away from the care home but visited as much as she possibly could.
“To have Gpas hand print forever with me seemed like a beautiful way to hold those memories close. With your help Lisa, I have that hand that’s has given me so much strength and comfort over the years. “
One last squeeze…
“On 27th June 2018 at the age of 92 Gpa took his last breath, holding the hand of one of the very special ladies in the care home. I was not able to be there, however having my charm and his hand print on my bracelet has helped me to feel close to him. My Gpa will always be one of the most important people in my life and I will carry not just my memories but that all important hand to squeeze when ever I need it most. Thank you Lisa for creating a little piece of Gpa that will last a life time and I will cherish always. Xxxx”
“Those all important hand squeezes
My charm really is a huge comfort to me. Xxx”
Small heart charm with Gpa’s handprint
Inscription on the back of the charm
Small heart charm with charm carrier showcasing Gpas handprint
Inscription on the back of the charm
Capture your special moments…
Squeezing hands together
Karen is not the only person to contact me and want to capture a Grandparents precious hand/footprints, several others have too. I, myself have taken handprints from my Grandparents who are still with me, as well as my parents and Sister (I have had my boys’ handprints since they were tiny). I have all the prints safe and am creating charms with each of the prints to make a family bracelet.
If you have read this blog and it has resonated with you, perhaps it’s struck a chord and you are now considering if you would like to capture your own Parent’s, Grandparent’s or even Great Grandparent’s hand/footprints, please get in touch and I will be happy to help you capture your special memories. I can send you an easy to use inkless hand/footprint kit that will take a couple of minutes to use and then you have those special prints to keep with you, wherever you go. Kits are easy to use and come with full instructions, once you have prints simply send a photo or scan of them to me via email and I will then remove any little smudges or tidy up accordingly and the email your special prints back to you.
Order your hand/footprint kit today for just £2.99 and you will also get a code with your kit to use on the website to get 10% off personalised hand/footprint stamps and silver jewellery. This is exactly what Karen did, she knew she wanted to keep her Gpa with her forever so she ordered a kit, tooks prints, I prepared the prints and then sent them to her to approve. Karen then ordered 2 stunning sterling silver charms, one for her and one for her Mum so they could cherish and keep Gpa with them for eternity.
Capture your loved one’s unique hand/footprints today, order your kit here..
