(Our Christmas card 2009, by winksanddaisies)
Photo Christmas Cards. They are my fav. Both to send and receive! :-)
Wal-mart, Costco, etc all have the Christmas templates that you can choose to use. You simply pop in your own photo and write your message, place your order and boom you're done. I have used these in the past. I would say the only drawback to this option is that you are limited in the design - you really can't make any choices in the design of the card, the colours that are used or the wording that's in the design.
That's where this fantastic option comes into play - custom photo Christmas cards. Cost wise, it's very affordable and you end up having so much more control over the design of the card.
I've been getting quite a few requests over the past few days for information and links to the sites that I have used in the past. I promised to put together another list and post it here on my blog. There are alot of little businesses on Etsy that create custom photo cards. I spent some time this afternoon browsing to come up with a list. I tried to include a variety of styles because I realize everyone has different tastes. I gravitate towards a clean, modern look so there are quite a few on the list that offer that.
(My parents 2009 Christmas card, by winksanddaisies)
How does the process work?
* Once you have picked your card (making your decision is def the hardest part of the whole process!), you must purchase it on-line for the price that is listed.
* Cost wise, a digital card ranges between $10 - $18 (US). Average/most common cost is $15.
* At the same time, you will be corresponding with the business owner back and forth via email - sending them the photo(s) you want to use and the wording you want included on the card. This is also the time to communicate if you want colours changed in the design or wording (Merry Christmas instead of Joyeux Noel, etc.). Keep in mind, each designer will be different to work with so I can't guarantee what they will/won't do for the price of the card. You will have to work with them and figure that out.
* You are emailed a proof of the card. Once you have signed off on the card, the actual pdf is emailed to you.
* Then you simply can email it to your favourite photo developer and print off as many copies as you want. In the past I've printed mine at Walmart in the 4x6 size. They charge 19 cents for their 4x6's. So you end up getting 5 cards printed for $1.00. I buy the business letter size envelopes to mail them out.
* Alot of designers offer card options for more than one photo to be included on it. This is a great option when you don't have a photo of your entire family that you like. You can pick and choose a bunch of photos that will include everyone. And if colours in clothing don't match up? Ask the designer to flip the pictures to sepia or black and white and that instantly makes it flow together.
I want to mention that by no means is this the be all and end all list. There are many more options out there! If you don't like anything I've listed, just simply do a search on Etsy for "digital photo cards" or something similar to that and be prepared to go through pages and pages and pages of different cards. :-)
I do want to give a shout out to Dorie of winksanddaisies. She has designed our Christmas cards for us for the past two years and she is absolutely FANTASTIC to work with. All around AWESOME! I can't say enough good about her. I think my sister LeeAnne used "westwillowdesigns" last year and was very pleased with her card as well. If you have any doubts, make sure you click on the "feedback" button under the "owner" section of the page and you'll be able to see what previous clients are saying about the service they've received from that individual.
May I suggest that before you sit down to start perusing the list below, brew yourself a nice cup of hot tea and grab a little treat for yourself. Be prepared to spend more than 10 minutes browsing!
And same as last year, if you end up going this route, let me know! I'm always interested in knowing who you went with, how you found the experience and what you thought of your final card.
1 comment:
Thanks Patti! What is the approx. turn around time in your experience? My new photos won't be available until first couple weeks of Dec!
Post a Comment