Mother's Day Gift Ideas -- Nature's Notebook -- Expressing Your Love in the Sand (Review)

Disclosure:  I was sent a sample from the vendor in order to write up an honest review.  The views I share are mine and mine alone.

When I was diagnosed with cancer back in 2008, I found myself thinking about things I still wanted to do in life, and started a bucket list.  I knew I had a battle to fight and win, but I just knew that I would get through it, and that I would be able to check out things I wrote on my bucket list for years to come.  One of my bucket list items was to draw the names of my children in the sand on a beach, with the backdrop of blue water.  I wasn't sure I would be able to check this off my list as doctors had told me that I probably wouldn't be able to have children due to the radiation and chemo treatments I was having.  But, "probably" to me meant, there was still a STRONG chance that I could be a Mom one day.  And, in 2010 and 2011, my dream of motherhood came true when I welcomed healthy baby girls into this world.  Check, Check, off my Bucket List!!! :-)  So, now that I had the children and their names to write in the sand, I had to find the time to write their names in the sand.  

If you have young children, then you know how difficult it is, not only financially, but also patience wise to go on vacation, let alone a day trip.  Because of this, I have yet to make it to a beach or the ocean to check this off my Bucket List.  But, thanks to Courtney Noelle of Nature's Notebook, she was able to do this for me.  "Drawn to the soft sandy edges of the sea, artist Courtney Noelle has always felt inclined to inscribe words or names, thoughts or dreams into the ever-changing landscapes of the beach.  Something about its tumultuous fate, an uncertainty that parallels our own lives, makes sea sand the perfect tablet for expression.  And what better way to capture that expression, the memory and the magic of the beach forever, than in a photograph."

Artist, Courtney Noelle can make any occasion that much more special, by writing names or a special message in the sand.  Perfect for couples, weddings, anniversaries, new babies and, in loving memory of, etc etc. You name it, she will write your message in the beach sand and take a photo of it, so that you can treasure it for a lifetime! :-)   All of the photos Courtney Noelle takes of her sand art includes a confirmation with a certificate of authenticity stating your photographs are authentic originals taken by Courtney Noelle of Natures Notebook! Also if you order a framed name in the sand, or a name in the sand print, she will sign and date it with what beach she took the photograph at.

Like I said, Courtney Noelle was able to help me check off an item from Bucket List by inscribing my daughters' names in the sand, at a beautiful beach in CA.

I don't think I could have done it better.  I especially loved the addition of the starfish, and how she was able to capture her sand art, as the wave were coming and going.  As soon as I received the print she sent me for review, I went out and bought a frame for it, and hung it on the wall.  Now, each morning when I get up, and every night before I go to bed, I glance up at the photograph on the wall, and can't help but smile.  And, as I come upon 5 years out of treatment the end of May, this sand art means so much to me.  I have to say that one of the perks of being a blogger is being able to stumble upon amazing people and their products. But, never did I think that I would have stumbled upon such an amazing gift idea, as with Nature's Notebook, that means so much to me.  Even on the hardest of days, when the girls wear me down, or the in-between time that I have to wait to receive scan results, just being up to look up and see the photograph of the sand art Courtney Noelle created for me, brings a sense calm to me, and lets me know that everything will be OK.  If I can beat cancer, I can do anything.  And, right now, I am enjoying being a mom (my lifelong dream) to two beautiful girls.

Thanks Courtney Noelle for sharing your sand art with me, and for helping me check off another item on my Bucket List.  I will forever be grateful to you!

Want to see more samples of Courtney Noelle's work?  Visit her website, Nature's Notebook or follow her on Facebook to learn more.  And, if you plan to order a sand art gift for Mother's Day, make sure you get your orders in by May 1st, to guarantee delivery in time for May 12th.

I am loving her recent sand art dedicated to affected by the recent marathon bombing in Boston -- my birthplace.  Boston Strong!

"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." ~Mahatma Gandhi

Disclosure:  I was sent a sample from the vendor in order to write up an honest review.  The views I share are mine and mine alone.