A visit to the Palace...

GG Print was proud to support last month the inaugural Place2Be Wellbeing in Schools Awards at Kensington Palace, in the presence of the Duchess of Cambridge. Place2Be is the leading UK provider of school-based mental health services. Understanding the importance of the link between a child’s home and school life, councillors engage with parents and family to provide much needed emotional support. Awards for parents, teachers, counsellors, and students, the evening was just a snippet of the amazing work that is currently undertaken across 230 schools in the UK.  

I was lucky enough to see this first hand at a school visit to Upton Cross Primary School last week, and the incredible results the charity has achieved at this school. Both parents and students talked of the fantastic life changing support they had received. To read more about the charity, click here to visit their website. 

First Birthday Fun

Last month I was very excited to attend my nephew's first birthday party in the Big Apple. The highlight for me had to be his London-themed chocolate cake. Three tiered, it featured a personalised bus and tube stop, the Queen's Guard, Big Ben and the London Eye - wow! Definitely a show stopper.

Face painting by GemFaceNY proved a big hit, with lions, butterflies and supermen appearing. The kids were entertained with singalongs, bubbles and yummy snacks; they couldn't have been happier. Giant animal helium balloons served as the perfect going home present. Smiles all around. 

The written word

With a fantastic team of calligraphers at our studio, and me behind my Mac, my handwriting is often out of sight. When it comes to taking notes or scribbling a little thank you I'm horrified at the results. So last week I was very excited to attend a masterclass 'How to: Dramatically Improve Your Handwriting' with professional scribe and lettering artist Cherrell Avery put on by the 'How to: Academy'. With a few little tweaks, Cherrell had me slowing down and creating legible text.

                                                               

                                                             Green & Stone, Chelsea

Today I've been sitting at my desk thinking about my posture, the way my paper slants to the left, the speed at which I write, and most importantly, the not-so-impressive biros that I write with. I popped down to Green & Stone at the weekend and bought myself a beautiful Sheaffer pen. Although I won't be a professional calligrapher any time soon I should be on my way to having better handwriting with the tips and advice picked up.

Calligraphy at GG Print

Links to Love 19/08/14 - Wedding Gift Ideas

Personalised Wedding Gifts

Below £50

Bar Excellence Irish Coffee Glasses from Darlington

Personalised Mr and Mrs chopping board at Personalised Wedding Gifts

Gold dipped cutlery from Anthropologie

Normann Copenhagen Cognac Glasses from Handpicked Collection

LSA Wine Carafe from Oliver Bonas

Silver dinner candle holder from Marks and Spencer

Personalised postcode map from Handpicked Collection

Photo tray from Handpicked Collection

£50 - £100
Vera Wang toasting flutes from Harrods

LSA Hector Decanter from Oliver Bonas

Dinner and Theatre for 2 - a gift experience offered by John Lewis

Blanc de Blancs Champagne and Ice Bucket at Fortnum and Mason
Wedding Wine Box at Not on the High Street

Over £100
Nespresso machine from Harrods

Fondue set at The Wedding Shop

Croquet set at The Wedding Shop

Links to Love 02/07/14 - Wedding Favours

Roc Candy

• Personalise your own rock candy; there are plenty of websites that offer this service. Roc Candy allows you to choose your own text and colours, so it's easy to match to the colour theme of your wedding.
• Love hearts are a classic that all ages are familiar with. You can purchase 'Just Married' love hearts with a personalised wrapper.
• Bubbles...not the alcoholic kind but the other type of bubbles we like! They're some really elegant options to go for and you can get them from party shops or online from many suppliers. 
• We absolutely love these personalised matchboxes you can get at notonthehighstreet.com. With a choice between a packet of heart mints or sparkling table confetti, you can also choose from a wide range of colours.
• Green and Blacks allows you to choose a selection from their organic chocolate which they will wrap in ribbon for you.
• Personalised themed candle tins are a great little something for your guests to take away with them. A Wedding Less Ordinary offers a variety of colours, designs and scents.
• There is also the option of donating money to charity for your wedding favours. Charities such as Scottish SPCA will send you small pin badges that come with a small note saying that a donation has been made to the charity. Have a look to see if a charity close to your heart offers this service.

Don't forget to get in touch with us if you need any help with sorting out personalised labels or stickers.

 Confetti

Summer 2014 top picks

The summer season is well underway in London and here are a few events that I'm particularly looking forward to...

Photos - YaNas Media, Source - Visit London

AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPS,  9 - 15 June

The Queen's Club annual tournament is a particular highlight for me. A great warm up for Wimbledon, Murray will be hoping to retain last year's victory, alongside new coach Mauresmo.

THE RA SUMMER EXHIBITION, 9 June - 17 August
The Summer Exhibition is most certainly something not to be missed; anyone can enter and I'm intrigued to see what this year's talent has produced.

FIFA WORLD CUP, BRAZIL,  12 June - 13 July

Having spent Christmas in Rio, I'm most certainly getting hyped for the World Cup. Find the match schedule here.

ROYAL ASCOT, 17 - 21 June

Take a look at the ultimate Royal Ascot guide for tips not just on betting but also what to wear.

TASTE OF LONDON, 18 - 22 June
It's not all about music festivals this summer, Taste of London returns to Regent's Park to create a 'foodie wonderland'. Enjoy tastings, classes with top chefs and masterclasses.

WIMBLEDON, 23 June - 6 July

Wimbledon is soon to kick off which really means strawberries and cream. Double win.

MASTERPIECE, 26 June - 2 July
From antiquity to contemporary, Masterpiece shows a brilliant display of art across the eras. Make sure to enjoy Urban Caprice's pop up restaurants, including The Ivy and Scott's.

NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL, 24 -25 August

Notting Carnival takes place on the August bank holiday weekend. Check out the details of this lively weekend at Time Out.

LONDON FASHION WEEK, 12 - 16 September

Put your glad rags on as London Fashion Week commences at the end of summer. Visit the website to keep updated with news.

Ladies Lunch launches

Congratulations to Rebecca Masri, Fiorina Benveniste-Schuler and their committee, for launching 'Ladies Lunch' at the Four Seasons Hotel last week. 150 talented ladies met and networked over delicious food and wine in aid of The Eve Appeal, set up to lead research into gynaecology cancer. The lunch successfully raised almost £10,000, enough to fund a nurse at UCH to lead new research.  

From left to right (Fiorina Benveniste-Schuler, Serena Guen, 

fundraiser from The Eve Appeal & peach and feta quinoa salad)

Guest speaker was Serena Guen, who at the young age of 24, has achieved great success with her travel and fashion magazine Suitcase. If you're headed to Brazil for the World Cup, be sure to pick up this month's edition. Serena and her team will guide you through your travels in true style with advice on what to pack, where to eat and stay, and how to find those places off the beaten track...Watch out for this darling who has been described as the 'Mark Zuckerberg of Publishing'.