Pretty much everyone I know can croon the catchy little jingle from a well-known card company’s TV ad and for the past few years, I’ve been a fan, dipping in and out of their range of personalised greeting cards for special occasions. However, I admit to being a bit of a new discovery snob, and once the world and its wife are using a product, I have to admit, I kind of go off it a little (this does not apply to Chanel – some things are sacred &  beyond criticism!).

I have been looking for a little something extra for Father’s Day this year, and I think I may have just found it! The Inkly app goes that step further and allows you to do the whole thing just using your mobile, PLUS it allows you to integrate your own message, in your own handwriting! How cool is that??? It’s totally free and works on all devices. There are so many options for a cover photo for Fathers Day, you can even frame him on the cover if you like! My dad and the boys beloved Grandpa lives in Scotland so we don’t get to see him as often as we would like. He is a sucker for anything which tugs at the heart strings when it comes from his grandsons, so when I found this, I just knew he would love it.

Since I’m trying to be quite organised this year, instead of my last minute mad-dash to the post office the day before begging for a special next-day pricey delivery to Bonnie Scotland, I got the boys to write their Grandad a little message and do a drawing too, with a view to using Inkly. I thought this would entail several botched attempts and a lacklustre result if I’m honest as I’m not super confident on new apps, although I’m perfectly capable on a laptop or similar device. However I was pleasantly surprised to find that the boys’ artwork uploaded with ease and was incorporated into the card of choice and  et voila, our card was done! I think the whole process (minus work of art time of course!) was about 1 minute 30 seconds, not bad considering most of that time was taken up by me choosing the base card. I really do need to be more decisive! Thrilled with our finished result, I opted for free delivery, direct to my old man and I expect at least a one salty tear report from my mum when he opens it.  Sentimental old fool that he is! I know he is an avid fan of my blog, so I can’t reveal what it looks like until after Father’s Day but I will edit it in to show you here, afterwards.

On days like Mothers Day & Fathers day, its important to remember there are thousands of children across the UK (in excess of a staggering 23k) who won’t have their parent to physically give a card to.  Grief Encounter is a phenomenal charity which supports these children at the hardest of times and helps all bereaved children. They have teamed up with family-focused Inkly to raise awareness and highlight the cause by donating ALL of the proceeds from very fully priced Fathers Day card bought on the Inkly app – how committed is that! So we can all do some good by supporting this amazing cause, whilst buying something unique which will delight our men in the family at the same time. Win-Win!  Well, actually, there’s another bonus to the app – it really is all happening at the moment!

As I was pottering with Inkly, I discovered they have a cracking comp going on across social media until 22nd June. Simply get the kids to play dress up with dads shoes and have some fun, take some snaps and upload them to the Inkly app‘s free ‘Moments’ area.  Who wouldn’t love a freebie deluxe day out for the family – we pretty much all baulk at the cost of entry to theme parks, zoo’s etc, not to mention the travel costs, so Inkly are giving us all the chance to win just that, up to the value of a whopping £200! Competition will be fierce I reckon, look at the talent of some unassuming but incredibly imaginative people on Pinterest!

Get creative guys, old tackety boots, muddy wellies or comfy old slippers, they all work! I know I will be encouraging Dominic & Harry to use their imagination and do their own thing, fingers crossed for comp-winning results! Check out Inkly’s Facebook page for lots more info….

Have you tried Inkly? Did you find it really easy to do too? Id love to hear about your creations…..