Five on Friday: Holiday Cards

I am kinda in love with Holiday Cards - I love shopping for them, I love scouring the world wide web in search of the perfect card, and I love getting them in the mail from our family and friends around the country, I just love them. I even love the assembly process of stuffing the envelopes, putting the return address label on (I love shopping for those too), the stamp and this year, we beefed it up a bit with a fancy sticker on the back, the girls are all about stickers, and if you can add one, why the heck wouldn't ya?

There are tons of fabulous card vendors out there.  This year I ended up scoring a Groupon Deal for Cards from Zazzle.  Zazzle had some amazing designs, some of which were applicable to the Groupon deal, so I was able to find one I liked and it turned out well, and for the price, I was thrilled.  I ended up needing to order about 30 extras, and didn't feel like paying the extra money for the non-Groupon prices, so I ended up ordering a different design from Costco - so this year marks the first year we will be sending out two different designs.

My favorite vendors are generally the ones that are a small fortune, but I am thrilled when I can find a good deal. I am loving the card stock papers this year vs. the photo paper ones, but I can't pass up the $14.99 deal from Costco.  50 cards for $14.99 - that is a steal.

I am drawn to a diverse selection, but when it boils down to it, I am a "Happy Holidays" or "All things Merry" type of girl, I don't end up selecting the Merry Christmas versions - and believe me, we celebrate Christmas, but I have several friends that do not, and for us, these cards are about the Holidays in general, so I like to keep it open ended...

Here are some of my favorite vendors:

Zazzle.com - but I have to admit, the user interface wasn't very friendly, I had to employ Brad's help because I was about to lose my mind. The Groupon deal didn't allow me to customize the back, but one feature I like about Zazzle is that you can customize the backs - it would have been neat to share some family memories on the back of our card.

Costco.com - amazing value, perfect when you have to buy 150 cards like we do.  Please Note: Costco now partners with TinyPrints and offers a 20% discount - HOLLA.

TinyPrints (I love a single photo look with design on top - classy!)

TinyPrints.com - I haven't met a TinyPrints card that I haven't loved. I just adore TinyPrints but the prices, I don't adore those so much! I love that TinyPrints sends a catalog in the mail too, I love being able to look at a sampling of their cards. And PS: all the models and photos are simply perfect!

TinyPrints

Shutterfly.com - We got a catalog in the mail from Shutterfly this year, and while I haven't used them in the past, I saw some great designs.

TinyPrints

Etsy.com - there are so many talented designers out there who are making a living with small businesses out of their home, the prices are reasonable and then you can print them on your own, at either Costco or Walmart.  We've gone this route several times before, and generally find an Etsy shop to create our Birthday Invitations too, I highly recommend spending the time time to search, the options are endless, and if you have something in mind, or find something on another site, but don't want to pay $1.39 per card, maybe you can find a designer to make it for you, and then you can print at Costco for $14.99.  Some designers only charge $8-12 per design - peanuts in the grand scheme of things - and I love supporting the gals who do this work.

Bonus: Erincondren.com - y'all know about my love for Erin Condren - enough said.


I have also loved using Pinterest for some Card ideas as well - people post their cards, and you can pin them for inspiration.  I can't believe I've gone two whole years without our monogram on our card, but I've done it.  Pinterest is also great for holiday photo inspirations as well, if I had a little baby, I would totally wrap them up in Christmas Lights, adorable!

Here are some ideas I've pinned on Pinterest.

How precious is this photo idea?

What a great idea when the kiddos get a little bigger?

And I couldn't forget an idea to bring Riley into the mix

I love the idea of using the Chalkboard to bring in the holiday or the year, but funny side note, this photo is from one my friend's blogs - I got the idea from this photo that I thought a cute, funny photo would be a nice addition to the card this year, and we almost captured a really funny one of us trying to strangle the girls, but it didn't work out quite how I thought it would, there is always next year! HA!