CrossTimber (A Homeschool Crew Review)

 

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

What is in a name??  When naming our children, we often put a lot of time and effort in finding the perfect name.  Does it sound good with the last name?  Do the initials spell anything bad?  Will other kids that my child goes to school with make fun of her if I name her after Great-Grandmaw Helga?   I know I spent much of the 10 months of pregnancy with each child worrying about the perfect name but I never gave much thought about the meaning of each name.   When it came to my youngest, I opted for Ashleigh because it was a combination of two cities in North Carolina where my husband was from - Asheville and Raleigh. Jordan turned out to be a name that I liked alot from the TV show Crossing Jordan.  I thought they worked well together, and so that was her name. For all I knew, that perfectly sounding Ashleigh Jordan could mean "Child who eats bad sushi".. I just never gave it much thought beyond how it sounded with our last name.

I was given the opportunity to receive an 8x10 Plaque Print from CrossTimber with the meaning of Ashleigh's first and last name and I am happy to report that her name definitely does not mean "Child who eats bad sushi".  In addition to the plaque, we were also given a set of the AmazingName Print Activity Sheets.

CrossTimber  offers a large array of personalized gifts that feature the recipients name meaning as well as the country of origin from where the name derived.  They also include inspirational verse from the Bible that pair well with the meaning of the name.  They offer a number of various gift options: Plaques featuring a single name (in either 5x7 or 8x10 sized options),  Name Plaques featuring up to three names (in the 8x10 option), Coffee Mugs, Music Boxes and animated cartoons featuring the recipients name. They also offer plaques that feature the Names of God.  For this review, I was offered my choice of an unframed 8x10 plaque with my choice of up to three names on it.  There were many different design options I could pick from with options such as faith inspired designs with crosses, beaches and mountains for backgrounds, elegant Celtic style backgrounds featuring Celtic knots and crosses, and pretty butterfly backgrounds in a wide array of colors. 

In the end I opted for the Silverblue Butterfly design option with Ashleigh's first and middle name.  She loves butterflies and that Blue butterfly was just too pretty. I knew she would absolutely love it.  

 Once the design was selected, ordering was easy.  There's a selection of frames you can pick from if you want your plaque to arrive already framed, as well as some add on options such as matching bookmarks that you can pick.   After carefully typing the names I wanted on my plaque (and double checking for spelling to be sure that I didn't fat finger a typo), I was done.  

About two weeks later, I received a large mailing envelope in my post box.  The envelope was well reinforced with a very thick sheet of cardboard inside, so that it maintained rigidity to keep it from being bent or folded while in shipping. Inside was both the name plaque and the AmazingName Activity sheets. 

The plaque itself is printed on high quality glossy paper. My phone sadly does not do it justice.  The colors are bright and vivid, the lettering is crisp and it really turned out pretty.

As you can see, Ashleigh Jordan does not mean "girl who eats bad sushi" but instead her first name, derived from Anglo-Saxon means peaceful, concord, harmony and healing meadow.  Her middle name is Hebrew meaning river flowing down; humble before God, and lifted up with grace. Seeing the meaning of her name, I do think her name is quite fitting for her.  For the most part, she's a peaceful child, but she can be untamed like a river, for sure.

In addition to the plaque, our package also contained the AmazingName activity sheets.  These were super cute and contained a wide array of mazes, word find puzzles, writing practice and coloring sheets that each incorporated her first name into the activity.  

Ashleigh immediately took the more adult style coloring sheets which had a mountain scene as well as some mandala style animals. Unfortunately, as she is still working on them, she refuses to allow me to post her incomplete work.  

We really like the products that we have gotten from CrossTimber, but this time and in the past.  Four years ago we had the opportunity to the 5x7 plaque.  At that time, I decided to also purchase one of the coffee mugs that they offered, as I was going to give the plaque and the mug to my husband as a birthday present.  The plaque has been in our glass cabinet since we received it and the colors of the plaque look just as good as the day we received it.  My husband has used the mug almost daily for his coffee and with the exception to a chip on the back from when he dropped it one time, it has stood up well to daily use and still looks amazing as well. So I know the plaque for Ashleigh will be something that she can keep and enjoy for many years to come.

 

For more information about CrossTimber and the many options they have for gifts for your loved one, be sure to visit their website.  You can also find them on the following social media sites:

Facebook: www.fb.com/meaning.name
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/crosstimber

 

 Members of the Crew were given their choice of either an 8x10 plaque or a combination of Name Bookmarks and NameCards in their design of choice.  Be sure to click the banner below to see what everyone chose and read their reviews today.