What one factor makes a keepsake worth keeping?

Every year my husband and I give our daughters a new Christmas ornament. Sometimes we let them pick one out and sometimes we surprise them.

As our girls reach the teenage years, we are realizing that we have quite the ornament collection (including some of mine from the early 70’s). We have more than can reasonably fit on the tree this year.

And so began the discussion of what to keep, what to toss or give away and what to store.

My favorite is a drummer ornament from 1976. I was 3 years old at the time I received it. I have no recollection other than it has hung on my Christmas tree every year for 37 years. I would never part with it.

But what makes it special? Because it’s me. I’m the drummer. I connect with it. I started playing drums when I was 16 and suddenly that ornament was special.

The plastic angel with the trumpet? I’m giving that away. I don’t play the trumpet and I’m no angel. ;)

As we sorted through the shiny and fragile keepsakes, I noticed an interesting trend.

There were certain types of ornaments that always landed in the “keep” pile.

Every time.

What made the difference? Personalization.

Custom Ornament If the ornament reflected the owner in some way, whether it looked like her or held a photo, there was a very personal connection to it. It wasn’t something she just liked one year because it was cool – like a cartoon character. It was an extension of her in some way. Those personalized ornaments were special to her.

Some of my girls’ favorites included the t-shirt style ornaments I made with their jersey numbers on them from their respective sports that year; some handmade ornaments we made with their baby pictures inside; and the sports figurines that matched their hair, eye and school colors.

This year, my girls were a big help in testing the ColorizeME app for the Girls Can’t WHAT? shop. I was already intending to let them create a custom Girls Can’t WHAT? ornament with the app. I’m excited to give them a gift that reflects the process we spent testing and building the app, and I’m also pleased that the ornaments will be a unique representation of them and what they do.

How does it work?

Now that I’ve said all that, you may be wondering what the heck this ColorizeME app is and how does one use it?

We launched the app in September and most of the Girls Can’t WHAT? inventory has been converted to this format.

Check out the ColorizeME drummer girl below. As you can see it’s pretty simple to use. Just click (or tap) on the image and then pick a new color to create your own design. Go ahead click around and make one. WARNING: It’s kind of addicting.

Create Drummer Girl Gifts

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Click the image or select a current color.

Current Colors:

Click the image or select a current color to begin creating your design. Then save, share or order your Drummer Girl design on shirts and other great gift items!

Select Skin Color:

Select Hair Color:

Select Eye Color:

Select Accessory Color:

Select Shirt Color:

Select Pants Color:

Select Jacket Color:

Select Hat Color:

Select Uniform Color:

Select Belt Color:

Select Ball Color:

Select Sock Color:

Select Skate Color:

Select Glove Color:

Select Equipment Color:

Select Shoe Color:

Select Camouflage Color:

Select Instrument Color:

Select Vehicle Color:

Select Fur Color:

Select Sign Color:

Select Text Color:

Select Gun Color:

Select Skate Color:

Your ColorizeMe Design

Order your personalized design on great gear like shirts, mugs, tote bags, phone cases, jewelry and more!

Copy the link to save your design or share it with a friend on your favorite social network!

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Download your custom design for your avatar or web page! Select a size below.

Download 400px X 400px
Download 300px X 300px
Download 150px X 150px

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Creating Your Drummer Girl ColorizeME Design

Hang Tight!

We're loading your Drummer Girl design onto lots of cool gear!

Generating Image

Preparing Products

Once you have your colors set, click the “Create Products” button and order your design on any of the ornament styles or other custom products in the shop. It’s that easy!

Want to make your own? Click here to choose your category!