Since Jackson was born, I’ve worn the necklace “he” gave me at the hospital. My husband picked it out prior to Jackson’s birth:  a “mother’s charm” necklace where a mom is embracing the child. I’ve always cherished it because it brought me back to my first day as a mother. However, since my daughter was born I felt like she was left since the mother has only one child. When a local jeweler, Forever Touch, contacted me to see if I had any interest in meeting with them and learning more about their unique fingerprint jewelry, I was thrilled. I could finally design the perfect piece of jewelry that includes *both* of my children.

I stopped by the Forever Touch studio, located in Cranston, a few weeks ago and the owners, Virgil and Cynthia, are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Do you know when you meet people and know immediately they are kind, warm people? That’s how I felt when I met them. I spent an hour at their store learning about their unique design process and seeing many of their one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry.

There are several reasons why I would choose Forever Touch for jewelry over any of the other jewelers out there, but here are just a few:

• they will design anything your heart can imagine: necklaces, bracelets, key chains, if you can dream it they can make it!
• to gather the fingerprints (or paw prints), they send you a wax collection kit that is more effective than the ink most other jewelers use in taking the fingerprint impression (read more about the process)
• they will ship ANYWHERE and for Rhode Islanders, you can support a local business and meet with Virgil and Cynthia in person at their Cranston showroom (935 Park Ave., Cranston, RI 02910)

I enjoyed spending time with them learning about their jewelry and deciding what I wanted to design for my own Forever Touch masterpiece. I’ve always loved having an everyday necklace to wear and wanted to design something that would match a dressier outfit while not overpowering my every day mom uniform of black yoga pants. I decided on a heart charm with both kids’ fingerprints on one side and couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out.

After I chose the charm I wanted, Virgil made a wax piece in the shape of a heart and brought it out for both kids to put their fingerprints on. He asked me exactly where I wanted their prints and then proceeded to get several impressions of the kids’ prints on a few different wax models. By doing this, he was later able to choose the wax with the best prints to make the sterling silver charm. The kids had a BLAST putting their fingers on the wax heart and Jackson kept asking when he would see my new necklace. If you’re not local, Virgil and Cynthia will mail you everything you need to get the perfect fingerprint impression. Taking the fingerprints is definitely something we could have done at home if we weren’t lucky enough to visit in person.

After taking the impressions, Virgil took a couple of weeks to craft my one-of-a-kind necklace. He even emailed me a picture of the finished necklace asking what I would like engraved on the back and I decided “Jackson Sidney 2013” on the back of the heart. I fell in love when I saw the picture and couldn’t wait to wear my kids’ fingerprints close to my heart. After allowing a few days for the engraving, I got the call that my piece was ready for pick up. Of course, the stomach bug had just run through our house so I held off on going in public for a few days. Last Wednesday, the kids and I went to pick up my new necklace and we all LOVE it. The necklace is exactly what I envisioned when I designed it and Jackson loved placing his finger on “his” print on the heart.  

I can’t express in words how much this necklace means to me. With the past week of turmoil in Boston, it is comforting to hold my kids near my heart. I feel like Forever Touch has captured my children’s innocence for an eternity with their fingerprints forever etched in my heart. Not only are Forever Touch pieces for parents but they are also for spouses. Just imagine how comforting it would be to have your spouse’s fingerprint to hold if they were serving in the armed forces. Virgil and Cynthia have also made pieces for people who want their dog or cat’s print on things like conversation pieces or necklaces. I would have totally done this with my Lambchop if I knew about Forever Touch before she passed  away.

Everybody should have a Forever Touch piece in their life and I hope you’ll remember them when trying to find the best Mother’s Day gift. A gift certificate to Forever Touch would be the perfect gift for the mother in your life who has everything and I’m thrilled that Virgil and Cynthia have very generously offered to give away a $250 gift certificate to their store. Just imagine what you could create!

If you know you need a Forever Touch keepsake in your life, please use the code “Baby Gator Mama” for a $30 discount off any purchase of a Forever Touch Jewelry Keepsake.

Visit Forever Touch to learn more at:

• ForeverTouch.com
• facebook.com/forevertouchstudio

To enter to win the $250 Forever Touch Jewelry Keepsake gift certificate, please use the handy Rafflecopter widget below (if it doesn’t show up, please reload your browser). The contest is open to US residents and will end on May 1st.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure: Forever Touch provided me with a sample in order to facilitate the review but my opinions are always my own.