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6 Ways to Savour Your Summer Memories

As the days begin to shorten, we become more aware of the fact that summer is starting to wind down. But while summer will inevitably come to an end, you can still relive your summer memories all year round…with the help of your photos! If you’ve been taking snapshots of your best summer moments with your smartphone or camera, it’s a good idea to have a plan for those photos so they don’t end up simply collecting metaphorical dust on a hard drive or your phone. Instead, you can reinforce your summer memories by making those moments into something tangible – like a photo book, a puzzle, or even a blanket!

Here are 6 ways our Photolab can help you savour your summer memories:

1. Staycation Photo Book

This summer has been far different than most. People are spending time closer to home, exploring their own backyard and going hiking, doing local road trips, hitting the beach or just enjoying time at home. It’s been the summer of the staycation. A great way to preserve all of those staycation memories in one place is to create your own photo book.

Printed on high quality photo paper using exceptional inks, our Photolab Technicians review every image and correct as necessary so you know your photo book will be just right. If you have tons of photos to choose from, not to worry! You can add extra pages to any of our photo books to accommodate. While customizing your photo book, you’ll also be able to choose from some great summer-themed templates. Personalize even further with text to help tell the story of your summer adventures.

For ideas on how to capture your summer staycation memories, check out this blog here.

2. Instagram Books

Are all of your best summer photos on Instagram? You can easily share those #Summer2020 memories, straight from Instagram! When you order an Instagram Book through our Photolab, you’ll be able to upload photos directly from your Instagram account. The books are available in 4×4 and 6×6 to best display your square Insta pics. All of our Instagram Books are ready within just 24-72 hours.

3. Puzzles & Playing Cards

With more time being spent a home this year, we’re all looking for new activities to keep us entertained while indoors. You can personalize puzzles and playing cards with your favourite summer photos so can play games with family and roommates while also reliving your summer memories. If you’re looking for a challenge, some of our puzzles have 1000 pieces! They also make a nice gift to include in a care package that you can send to family and friends.

4. Blankets

Wrap yourself in your summer memories by personalizing a photo blanket! Cozy up this fall in a fleece or sherpa blanket with a favourite photo from your summer staycation printed on it – why not send one to the grandparents too? Or add a snapshot to one of our beach blankets and use it to soak in the last days of summer. If you can’t decide on just one photo, you can also choose our blanket collages, which allow you to personalize your blanket with multiple photos!

5. Photo Mugs & Bottles

Reminisce about your summer with every sip! You can personalize your own photo mug or water bottle with a little help from our Photolab. We even have stainless steel tumblers, beer steins, and latte and espresso mugs that you can add your own photo to. Why not customize a mug or bottle for each member in your household, so you’ll never argue over whose is whose again?

If you want one in a flash, our 11oz designer mugs are ready for pick-up in up to 24 hours!

6. Summer Holiday Postcards

You’ve made some great memories this summer, and our personalized postcards make it easy to share them with loved ones! Just pick a size and quantity (you can order individually or in 25-packs), upload a photo, and choose from a wide variety of fun templates. Type your message on the back or add a handwritten note once your postcards are printed; update your friends and family on how you’ve been spending your summer and let them know you’ve been thinking of them. It’s a nice way to keep in touch while also creating a great keepsake.

Find even more creative ways to savour your summer memories by checking out our Photolab online, or by downloading the London Drugs Photolab App (available for iOS and Android)!

Mother’s Day Gifts Made at Home with Love

If you’ve already exhausted your supply of puzzles, we’ve got a new activity to keep yourself and the kids busy while self-isolating. Our Photolab’s free Take and Create Book is now available online! Even better, you can use this Take and Create Book to create unique and personalized gifts for Mother’s Day – right from home in 4 easy steps.

1. Get your Take and Create Book

You can pick up your free Take and Create Book at our Photolab if you happen to be in-store, but if you’d like to get your hands on a copy while you’re self-isolating at home, you can simply download it here.

2. Fill in the Templates

These Take and Create Books are full of templates for custom gifts like mugs (for mom’s daily cuppa joe) and ornaments (to hang in her car or anywhere at home) that both you and your kids can draw and colour in. Let the creativity flow! Have the kids write a special message for mom, or draw an image they think mom will love. You can even put your artistic skills to the test too – doodle something that shows your appreciation for your own mom. It makes a great art activity for an afternoon indoors. Plus, mom is sure to appreciate that you crafted her Mother’s Day gift yourself.

3. Scan Your Drawings

Once you’re done filling in the book, simply scan the templates using an at-home scanner or a smartphone scanning app to digitize them as image files. Crop what’s outside the template lines, and you’ll be all set to upload to our Photolab’s website or to our London Drugs Photolab App (available for iOS and Android).

4. Upload to our Photolab

After your images are uploaded, you’ll be able to browse our Photolab’s products to find the ones that match your templates, like mugs and ornaments. Then just customize each gift with your images, and choose delivery to have them shipped directly to your home!

All done making a gift for mom and looking for another activity to pass the time? We can help you customize your own puzzles! Just choose a photo, and our Photolab can turn it into a puzzle with 25, 114, 120 or even 1,000 pieces.

Bring Out the Creative Side in Your Kids this Spring Break

Spring Break is here and if you’re looking for innovative ways to keep your kids busy, we’ve got just what you need. Our Photolab provides free Take and Create books with templates designed to encourage kids to explore their creative side; they’re a fun family activity! Once they’ve created their works of art in the free book, you can purchase magnets, mugs or even coasters with your kid’s masterpiece on them!

Great for kids of all ages, the books provide simple templates for kids to draw on – like the mug template pictured above. The templates are sized according to product, so we can easily scan and print onto your chosen surface. Just pick up your free Take and Create book from your local London Drugs Photolab, bring it home and let the kids have fun drawing and colouring their own designs. Want to get in on the action too? Colour a few of the templates yourself along with the kids! Once you’re done, bring the book with the templates back to the London Drugs Photolab, where we’ll scan the artwork and print it on the photolab products you choose to purchase.

Or, if the kids are getting a little stir crazy in the house, and you’ve got shopping to do…just drop by our Photolab and let the kids colour in their Take and Create book in the store while you shop!

Did you know you can also bring in any paper copy of your kid’s artwork and we can scan it and put it on any of our Photolab products? Or simply use your at-home scanner, and upload the digital copy directly to our Photolab website! Choose from bookmarks, coin banks, blankets, mouse pads and gamer pads, key chains, ornaments and more to print on. There are also all kinds of cool products like beach blankets and beach bags available, if you’re planning on jet-setting somewhere warm for Spring Break.

So, get started on your kid’s spring break project by visiting your local London Drugs Photolab and pick up your free Take and Create book today!

Holiday Gift Ideas for Neighbours, Teachers, Co-Workers & More

During the holidays, surprising your loved ones with the ‘big ticket’ items they’ve been dreaming about all year is easy – what’s hard is finding a way to really wow with the smaller gifts meant for neighbours, teachers, co-workers or anyone else on your holiday shopping list. This year, consider foregoing the usual box of chocolates in favour of something that will really make them feel special: something personalized.

Our LDExperts recommend personalizing a photo mug, water bottle or carafe with a photo (and even a personal message if you like) to create a truly unique gift for all of the special people in your life. It’s sure to not only spread some holiday cheer, but will show them you’re thinking of them.

To help get you started, here are some ideas for customizing your own photo gifts:

For Your Neighbours

Do you have a snapshot of your neighbour and their family from a block party this summer? Or do you have a photo of your kids and theirs playing together? Maybe you can easily snap a photo of their pride and joy sportscar in the driveway. Whatever it is, find an image that will showcase some of the favourite things or people in their life, and use it to customize a mug, water bottle or carafe for them. It’s a small way to thank them for being such a wonderful neighbour this past year!

For Your Teachers

If you’re looking for a thoughtful way to thank your child’s teachers for all their hard work, a personalized gift will go a long way. Teachers generally get a lot of mugs as gifts, so why not switch it up and personalize a water bottle for them instead? Employ your child to draw up some artwork – maybe a simple ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Thank you Ms. ______’ theme – and we can help you scan that artwork and put it on a water bottle! Or if you have a scanner at home, you can then simply upload that digitized artwork to our Photolab site to customize your bottle.

For Your Co-Workers

Co-workers aren’t always easy to get gifts for, especially when you’re trying to keep it to something small. Here’s a creative gift idea you’ll know they’ll appreciate: personalize a mug or carafe for them, so that no one in the office will ever accidentally use their mug again! Add some custom text to it like ‘This is Gary’s Mug’, or simply add a photo of their face to the mug, so there will be zero confusion who’s mug or carafe it is. Now they won’t have to fear leaving their mug in the office cupboard! That might just make you their new favourite co-worker.

For Your Friends

This is an easy one – just pick a favourite snapshot of you and your BFF. We’re sure you won’t have any difficulties finding lots to choose from. Or take a quick peek at their Instagram, for a particularly special moment from their year, and surprise them with that on a water bottle or mug.

Our LDExperts also suggest making your gifts even sweeter by including some treats inside! Add a packet of hot chocolate mix, a candy cane, and a small baggy of marshmallows – all wrapped up in some cellophane.

To get started on your own personalized gifts, just visit our London Drugs Photolab online, in-store or simply download our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android.

And don’t worry – if someone surprises you with a gift you weren’t expecting…you can order our 11oz and 14oz mugs same-day!

Celebrate World Photo Day by Sharing the Power of Photography

This August 19^th on World Photo Day, we will be celebrating an incredible 179 years of photography!

Photography has come a long way in 179 years

In 1839, the Daguerreotype was invented by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre—the first commercially successful photographic process. Each daguerreotype was a one-of-a-kind image on a silver-plated sheet of copper. Things have certainly changed a great deal since then!

With advancements in technology, we can now take photos digitally and duplicate them an infinite number of times. The diversity of print surfaces has also grown to photo paper, canvas, bamboo, aluminum, and everyday objects like water bottles and beach blankets. The options are endless!

It’s truly amazing just how far the art of photography has come, thanks to photographers like yourself who have kept it alive with your passion for the craft. Why do we continue to take photos 179 years later? We think it’s because photos have this seemingly magical ability to make our best moments live forever. They have the ability to bring back memories, transport you to places you’ve never been, make you smile, or even shed a tear. They even have the ability to connect people around the world. It’s all the power of photography.

How you can celebrate World Photo Day

Why not share the power of photography with someone special? Families and friends are sometimes around the globe. Keeping in touch when you can’t be there in person isn’t always easy, but photos can help. Here are a few ways to make someone’s day with the power of a photo:

Make them laugh: send them a funny up-to-date snapshot of your family on a mug.
Help them reminisce: have an old, cherished family photo digitally restored for them.
Bring them tears of joy: share a photo calendar of your little one’s first years (human or pet!).
Help them feel connected: send a small square Instagram book of all your latest adventures.
Make them smile: surprise them with a framed print of your favourite photo together.

There are lots of other ways you can surprise a loved one with the power of a photo. Visit our London Drugs Photolab online, in-store, or on our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android for more photo gift ideas.

Remember: there’s no need to send them the original photo – make sure you’ve digitized old photos first, so you can share the duplicates with as many friends or family members as you like!

4 Unique Father’s Day Gifts for a One-of-a-Kind Dad

Father’s Day is quickly approaching and you want to gift Dad something extra special this year. But where to start? A sure way to impress is to gift him something from the heart. Our Photolab Experts suggest creating a personalized gift that shows you put time and thought into it. From cards to beer steins, we have a few creative and customizable gift ideas up our sleeves that Dad will love.

Father’s Day Cards

Sometimes it’s hard to find the words to tell dad just how grateful you are to have him in your life. So why not say it with photos? Create a completely personalized Father’s Day card with your own photos, to show him just how many special moments you’ve cherished together.

You can even choose from our wide variety of Father’s Day-themed card templates. Does he love baseball or golf? We have designs for those and much more. As always, our cards also come in an assortment of styles and papers, so you can make your Father’s Day card one-of-a-kind—just like Dad!

Father’s Day Photo Mug

You know Dad needs his ‘jet fuel’ every morning, so why not gift him a personalized photo mug to sip on his favourite brewed coffee? We have designer mugs, espresso mugs, latte mugs—even a special designer magic mug, which only reveals your hidden design when hot liquid is added.

If you’re helping the kids with their Father’s Day gift, our Photolab Experts suggest adding an extra special touch, using their own artwork! Make it a fun DIY project at home, then scan their hand-drawn images and upload them to our Photolab website, or we can help you scan them in-store. Then just simply add their scanned artwork to any of our mugs! Will it make dad tear up? We think it just might.

Father’s Day Beer Stein

Or if beer is more dad’s style, we have a feeling he’s going to be very excited to give this new gift a try. Our designer beer stein can be personalized with Father’s Day-themed templates and your own photos and text, to create a special keepsake he’ll love to use.

Instagram Photobook

You and dad have shared so many special memories together. You’ve posted a lot of them on your Instagram, but if dad isn’t the most tech-savvy, he may not have had the chance to see them. Show him how much you’ve treasured those times together by whipping up an Instagram photobook of your best square snapshots. He’ll appreciate having a hard copy he can flip through and cherish for years to come.

Remember: our Photolab Experts are always here to help you with your photo gifts. Just visit us at your local London Drugs! Or, if you’re ready to go, you can start personalizing your Father’s Day gift on our Photolab website, at any of our in-store Photolab kiosks, or using our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android.

Celebrating Life and Special Milestones Through Photos

Life is filled with all kinds of defining moments and milestones. From birthdays to anniversaries, and even funerals, these moments in time are an opportunity for us to appreciate and celebrate the life we have lived.

For over a hundred years, photos have been an essential way of preserving life’s moments, allowing us to look back and celebrate each and every one of them. What has changed in those one hundred years, however, is the expanded variety of ways to showcase those precious photos.

Milestone Birthdays

Every birthday is special, but milestone birthdays, like the 30^th, 40^th, 50^th (or even 90^th!) birthdays, are extra special. A great way to commemorate that special year is with a Poster Collage or Photo Book of their best moments – from birth to now.

Dig through old snapshots to find some adorable baby photos, some of the awkward teen years, and some that are more current. In the end, you’ll have compiled a collection of photos that tells the story of their life…so far! We even offer a variety of birthday templates, to help design and customize your Photo Book. Wrap it up as a gift, or put it out on display at their birthday party so guests can flip through it.

If you need some help digitizing a collection of old photos to add to your Poster Collage or Photo Book, our Photo Scanning Box Service will make the process seamless. Just fill the box with up to 800 photographs and documents, bring it back to your local London Drugs Photolab, and our Experts will digitize them for you.

You can even use those digitized photos to create all kinds of other birthday gifts, from personalized t-shirts and puzzles, to photo calendars and jewelry boxes.

Anniversaries

Whether it’s your first wedding anniversary or your 15^th, you’ll want to make that relationship milestone special. Why not celebrate by surprising your significant other with a gift that truly captures your love?

If you’re planning to give your hubby or wifey a traditional anniversary gift, we have a few suggestions that will show them just how much you appreciate the time you’ve spent together.

1^st year: Paper

Don’t just go with regular old paper for your first anniversary, gift them luxe, glossy photo paper! Choose from any of our Photo Books, Enlargements, or Poster Collages and customize with your favourite photos together. Your wedding photos are a good place to start. In fact, we have lots of wedding-themed templates you can use while personalizing your photo gift.

2^nd year: Cotton

Get creative with your second anniversary gift by ordering a Canvas Gallery Wrap. The textured print surface is made of cotton, so you’ll be on the dot with the traditional anniversary gift, plus your other half will be super impressed that you’ve turned a photo of you two into a piece of fine art for your home!

9^th year: Pottery

A Photo Mug is the perfect way to fulfill that traditional ‘pottery’ anniversary gift, while also making them something thoughtful and personal. Just pick a mug colour (their favourite colour, perhaps?), a few photos, and some text (your anniversary date?) to completely customize your gift. It’s sure to impress!

10^th year: Aluminum

The traditional ‘aluminum’ anniversary gift is meant to reflect your marriage’s resilience. What better way to share that than with a beautiful photo, printed on one of our highly durable Aluminum Metal Panels? Pick one memory you’d like to showcase from your 10 incredible years together, or if you can’t choose just one, create a collage with all your favourite moments.

15^th year: Crystal

Just when they think you’ve run out of great anniversary gift ideas…you gift them a beautiful, personalized Photo Crystal for your 15^th anniversary! A truly unique gift that showcases a favourite moment in time together. Choose from our selection of photo crystals, or our crystal ornaments (we think the heart-shaped ornament or crystal with base would be especially fitting).

Funerals

There’s a reason funerals are often called a ‘Celebration of Life’. It’s a time when family and friends can come together, in memory of someone special, to celebrate a life well lived.

A very touching way to help preserve and celebrate their memory is with photos. Start by combing through old photo albums and digging through shoe boxes full of old photographs. To make things a bit easier, use our Photo Scanning Box Service to have up to 800 photos and documents digitized for you by our Photolab, so you can easily personalize all kinds of beautiful photo keepsakes with the digital files.

To create a truly sentimental and heartfelt memento, personalize a Photo Book with images of their life, and blank sections for family and friends to add personal message and stories by hand. It’s a keepsake the family can take home at the end of the funeral service, and read over the kind words from supportive family and friends.

Another thoughtful gift for the family is a personalized Fleece Blanket. The cozy blanket will feel like a warm hug, as they cuddle up in the memories of their loved one. Choose one photo, or a selection of photos, to feature as a collage on the blanket’s surface.

Need a little help creating your photo gift? Speak with one of our Photolab Experts at your local London Drugs! Or, if you’re ready to go, you can start personalizing your gift on our Photolab website, or at any of our in-store Photolab kiosks.

6 Ways to Savour Your Summer Memories

1. Staycation Photo Book

2. Instagram Books

3. Puzzles & Playing Cards

4. Blankets

5. Photo Mugs & Bottles

6. Summer Holiday Postcards

Mother’s Day Gifts Made at Home with Love

1. Get your Take and Create Book

2. Fill in the Templates

3. Scan Your Drawings

4. Upload to our Photolab

Bring Out the Creative Side in Your Kids this Spring Break

Holiday Gift Ideas for Neighbours, Teachers, Co-Workers & More

For Your Neighbours

For Your Teachers

For Your Co-Workers

For Your Friends

4 Unique Father’s Day Gifts for a One-of-a-Kind Dad

Father’s Day Cards

Father’s Day Photo Mug

Father’s Day Beer Stein

Instagram Photobook

Celebrating Life and Special Milestones Through Photos

Archive

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Newsletter

6 Ways to Savour Your Summer Memories

1. Staycation Photo Book

2. Instagram Books

3. Puzzles & Playing Cards

4. Blankets

5. Photo Mugs & Bottles

6. Summer Holiday Postcards

Mother’s Day Gifts Made at Home with Love

1. Get your Take and Create Book

2. Fill in the Templates

3. Scan Your Drawings

4. Upload to our Photolab

Bring Out the Creative Side in Your Kids this Spring Break

Holiday Gift Ideas for Neighbours, Teachers, Co-Workers & More

For Your Neighbours

For Your Teachers

For Your Co-Workers

For Your Friends

Celebrate World Photo Day by Sharing the Power of Photography

Photography has come a long way in 179 years

How you can celebrate World Photo Day

4 Unique Father’s Day Gifts for a One-of-a-Kind Dad

Father’s Day Cards

Father’s Day Photo Mug

Father’s Day Beer Stein

Instagram Photobook

Celebrating Life and Special Milestones Through Photos

Archive

Categories

Pages

Newsletter

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