Christmas Card Conundrum Resolved

I am a little late posting our Christmas card. Work was hectic and I spent the week after Christmas totally unplugged. It was refreshing! We took a new year's trip to visit family in Indianapolis. So we hope you had a very merry Christmas, and that your 2012 is blessed!

Christmas Card Conundrum: Tiny Prints

If you've read my blog for long... at least a Christmas season... you'll know that I have been getting my Christmas cards from the same place for a few years now and have consistently been pleased. This year I ran across Tiny Prints and decided to give them a try. I'm looking forward to getting my Christmas cards... but first I have to make a decision, and one thing about Tiny Prints that has totally impressed me is their selection. So I'm going to throw out some I like, and maybe finally make a decision in the process!

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to my Christmas cards. I lean toward designs like the Stamped Damask and Mirror of Merriness.

http://www.tinyprints.com/product/31677/christmas_cards_stamped_damask.html

http://www.tinyprints.com/product/27787/christmas_cards_mirror_of_merriness.html

But Tiny Prints has these really cool cards that practically display themselves. Give them a little bit of mantel space and they decorate for you! Seriously, Damask Darling... be still my heart!

http://www.tinyprints.com/product/20701/die_cut_christmas_cards_damask_darling.html

But, speaking of displaying themselves... check THESE out! It's a Christmas card... it's an ornament... its adorable!

Royal Ornament speaks to traditionalist me, while catering to

"IT DISPLAYS ITSELF!" me.

http://www.tinyprints.com/product/28050/ornament_cards_royal.html

But Booming Blossoms is bright and fun.

http://www.tinyprints.com/product/29695/ornament_cards_booming_blossoms.html

And I love, love, love hymns, so Angelic Wish sings to me.

http://www.tinyprints.com/product/31680/christmas_cards_angelic_wish.html

Here's the back of it, which I just might actually

like more than the front.

One other thing I've really liked about Tiny Prints is that they offer more flexibility than many of the other card companies I've seen. They have DIY cards that give you the freedom to do your own. This is just one of those options:

http://www.tinyprints.com/product/30359/diy_cards_7x5_holiday_card.html

And I really appreciate that just about any of their cards can be edited so that the "Happy Holidays" card with the adorable design, which coordinates perfectly with the picture I want to use, can quickly and easily become the "Merry Christmas" card I'm going to use.

You can check out their great designs at http://www.tinyprints.com/shop/picture-christmas-cards.htm

25 Days of Thanksgiving: Days 16-17

Yesterday I posted the link to a cute everyday kind of card. And I started to think that my blog looks like a big ol' monument to Shutterfly. I felt kind of weird about it for a few minutes and then thought "But I LOVE Shutterfly!" Maybe I'll settle down a little after Christmas. After Princess Pea Pod has opened the (not one, but TWO) Fairytale Friendship stories I wrote and have ordered in photo books, and after we've read both of the stories a jillion times because she is going to be fascinated by the fairytale stories about herself and her friend Lily. After all the adorable Christmas cards have been sent... maybe then I'll settle down a little. Maybe. And so, for day 16, I am thankful for...

Can you guess?

Is the suspense driving you bonkers?!?

Shutterfly!

(Were you surprised? Really?)

Day 17 takes a more serious tone. This morning we got a call and learned that our very favorite, very best babysitter in the WORLD would not be coming to play with Princess Pea Pod today. They had a death in the family. And so I did what I could do: I baked. I am still baking. I bake when I'm happy, I bake when I'm sad, I bake for a crowd, or I bake pumpkin muffins just for myself. Because we adore K and her family, I'm sharing pumpkin muffins with them. (Yeah, she's THAT special!) I am tempted to say I am thankful for baking, or for pumpkin muffins, or that insane coconut cake that will scream my name till we cut it tomorrow night. More than all those things, I am thankful for K and her family.

We've known them since K and her sister T were little girls. She started babysitting for us about 2 years ago, before she was old enough to watch Princess Pea Pod all by herself. She comes over once a week to give me a 2 hour break when I can work in peace, and she gets experience. She is now able to babysit all by herself. I'm a little teary eyed! I can't believe little K is old enough to babysit all by herself! Now I'm going to dry my eyes and check on my last batch of pumpkin muffins.

Shutterfly Always Brightens My Spirits!

I have already posted about how much I love Shutterfly. But I've focused on their photo cards in the past and would be remiss if I didn't tell you how awesome their photo books are. I have friends who are scrapbooking queens, and I admire their work. But I've always been more of a photo album kind of girl. Having said that, sometimes you need more than a photo album for a certain event. For example, our family has created photo books for two fun family vacations. These were opportunities to highlight the best photos and really emphasize the story of our travels. (Trust me, traveling with all 10 of us leaves plenty of opportunity for stories!) My favorite, though, is one that I made for our daughter for Christmas last year. It was a much nicer version of one that I had created with a few photos from her birth, some contact paper, and a cheap board book when she was an infant. I titled it "My Family Loves Me" and included pictures of our family members and some of her first friends. She treasures it, and I really enjoyed putting it together especially for her.

So I was thrilled when House Party and Shutterfly selected me as a hostess for their national Shutterfly Making Spirits Brighter house party! What better way to share Shutterfly with my friends?!? They sent a fabulous party pack, including some super cute Shutterfly totes, festive balloons, coupons for freebies (I love freebies!) and several other items to set me up for success. All I had to do was bake tons of muffins and set out lots of fun, warm, cozy drinks for all the friends I had invited.

Now, I thought I had chosen the perfect date for my party. I went with opening day of rifle season, so that my dear hubby wouldn't have to figure out an escape route. He would be in the deer woods with his dad, leaving his mom and me "deer widows" to party and photo book all day! Oops! I didn't consider that my friends' husbands (and, who am I kidding, several of my friends) would also be in the deer woods that day. (And that is the story of how I came to vow to never again schedule anything but the annual "deer widow" shopping trip on opening day of rifle season.) Having said that, I am blessed with super supportive family members who showed up and had lots of fun talking about photos, photo cards, photo books... and photos.

So I have a little "Merry Christmas" for you! For my dear readers, I have two separate freebies, offered to you! One is for a free 8x8 20 page hard cover photo book. The second is for 10 5x7 folded greeting or flat stationery holiday cards. Simply post here what your favorite Christmas tradition is, and I will select two winners. Only one entry, and you have until 11:59pm Friday to post. You'll LOVE Shutterfly's photo books and cards! (A side note: Our Shutterfly Christmas cards have arrived and I'm MISERABLY waiting until time to mail them!!!)

Post away, my freebie-loving, picture-snapping, mom-a-razzi friends! GO!

25 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 3

Today I am thankful for friends. If I started naming them, I would inevitably leave someone out. They might forgive me, but I'd forever regret such a grievous mistake. So you know who you are, and I am thankful for you!

On another note, I am also thankful for the code I just received for 50 free Christmas cards from Shutterfly! I posted about Shutterfly's excellent selection of holiday card designs the other day, and although it was a difficult decision, I am chosen the perfect card for our family. It is called Blessed Elegance. Check it out. And just wait till I post our Christmas card to you... I love it! I'm sure you'll be hearing more about Shutterfly in the weeks to come. Because they are awesome. The End.

The Christmas Card Conundrum

Christmas is coming! Everyone who is so excited they could burst into “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” raise your hands. Both of mine are up so far it hurts! I absolutely LOOOOVE Christmas. Not just Christmas day, but the whole Christmas season. The Christmas season unofficially starts for me somewhere around mid-July, when I slip over to Grooveshark.com and click play on my Christmas music playlist. The Christmas season officially starts after lunch on Thanksgiving day. That’s when I pull out the Christmas cards and mailing list, and start jotting happy little notes, signing and sealing the envelopes with cute little stickers and coordinating address labels.

This year I am ordering my Christmas cards from Shutterfly (http://www.shutterfly.com) again. I ordered some from them last year and loved-loved-loved them! The designs are great, they processed and shipped my order quickly, and the print quality is excellent. But I have a problem, dear friend. I don’t know which one of those fantastic designs to choose! Here are some of my thoughts…

Going to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards, I find the Peppermint Bliss design.

How cute and fun is that?!? I adore peppermint at Christmas! But the options abound, and I am the kind of girl who likes to explore my options before I make a decision. I click my Back button and find Family Frame, Lovely Leaves Story, Starry Starry Snowflakes… GAH! Which one to choose? Is this year’s card bright, merry, fun? Do I go with something more traditional and serene? Clicking on http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards takes me to a simple, clean design called Starlight Joy. 

This one is a major contender, but I also really like the options in their Religious Christmas Cards. In His Name seems to be the front-runner… along with Christ Is King and Elegant Cross.

 I appreciate that Shutterfly offers card designs that relate to the real reason for the season.

I’m pretty sure I have made my choice. Have you? Great news! Shutterfly is offering 20% off all holiday cards. Just go to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery and choose your favorite design, input your photo, and add your text. It’s so easy! (You can also check out Shutterfly on Twitter and Facebook. “50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010 #SFLY”) Stay tuned to find out which one speaks for our family this Christmas season!