Find Out What's New at Tiny Prints in Photo Greeting Cards & Gifts for Holiday 2013!

Thank you to Tiny Prints for providing the gift code for our giveaway prize and for sending me one as well as a thank you for taking the time to share their new products and features with 3G2S readers.  All opinions expressed are my own.

This weekend (weather-permitting), we will be taking our children's portraits for our Holiday photo cards.  Over the past few years, it has become a tradition for our Holiday cards to feature one photo of each child alone plus a fourth photo of the three together.  Because of this, we are limited to cards that have a layout with 3 smaller rectangular or square photos and one larger landscape photo.  I usually only find 2 or 3 that I like, so I was surprised to find 7 or 8 Holiday cards at Tiny Prints with both a design and a 4-photo layout that I liked.  It was so easy to find what I needed using the filters on the sidebar to specify the number of photos, the format of the card, the size of the card, and much more.  After showing all the cards I found to my husband, we narrowed them down to the 5 pictured above.

Finding so many Holiday card options in the layout I wanted was not the only thing that surprised me while I was shopping.  I always knew that I had multiple options for color, format, and layout for most Tiny Prints cards, but this year I found that I could customize the trim for the edges and corners of the cards.  I am particularly partial to the rounded and the ticket corners.  The bracket and scalloped trim options are a little too ornate for me.

There are also new design styles for 2013 that will pretty much fit anyone's taste.  One of my favorites is the new All That Glitters cards.  These cards have the look of glitter without all the mess because the glitter is actually printed right on the cardstock.  Brilliant!

My husband and I were leaning towards the 7 x 5 Chevron Shine Flat Holiday Greeting Card.  We both liked the overall design and I loved the All That Glitters chevron background.  We still were not sure if it was the right card for us.  Then I clicked on the square format option and voila!  It's perfect!!

Now that the big decision has been made, we'll need to decide on the details . . . Should we go with the Pearl White Shimmer Paper?  Should we get the matching address labels too?  How about envelope liners?  Should we get the modified rectangular envelopes to save on the extra postage charged for mailing square envelopes?  Yes, there are a lot of decisions to be made, but I am thankful to have all these options to make our Holiday cards just perfect for our family.

To view all 708 Holiday greeting cards available from Tiny Prints for Holiday 2013, visit TinyPrints.com.  While you're there, be sure to checkout their photo gifts.  This year, in addition to photo books, photo iPhone cases, mugs, calendars, etc . . . , you will find new photo iPad cases and photo ornaments.  For a limited time, you can get Free Standard Shipping on all orders when you checkout with Tiny Prints promo code FS13.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. A random number drawing will be held shortly after the contest closing. The winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

The Die-Cut Holiday Photo Greeting Cards I Designed for 2012 (plus a 50% Off Promo Code)

For Holiday 2012, I tried ordering my Holiday photo greeting cards from a different company . . . Paper Coterie.  This company sent me a gift code to partially cover the cost of my order if I was willing to give their greeting cards a try, so I thought it would not hurt to hop over to their website to see what they had to offer.  What I found was a large variety of very unique, modern, yet down-to-earth cards.  I was especially drawn to the cards that had sleeves that slipped over the cards because they added an extra touch of elegance to the presentation.  My husband and I could not agree on a design with a jacket, so we ended up choosing the scalloped "Happy Holidays" Shaped Card, which is a double-sided 5"x7" flat card.  This card is printed on premium 100% recycled fiber paper, which adds to its charm.

All the Paper Coterie cards have a pre-made layout, but are very customizable.  Our card started out with a photo that filled the whole top half of the front (brown side) and a place for 4 photos in quadrants on the back (green side).  I basically changed everything on this card except for the "Happy Holidays" on the front and the background colors of the front and back.  If you like a card's layout the way it is, all you need to do is upload your photo(s), drag and drop them into the photo areas, and change the greeting or signature to represent your household.

If you are in the market for unique Holiday greeting cards this year, checkout the selection at www.PaperCoterie.com.  For a limited time, you can receive 50% off your Holiday card order when you checkout using Code:  HOLIDAYCARDS2012.


Although the Paper Coterie sent me a gift code to partially cover the cost of my order, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Gallery Collection Holiday Cards

For many families, sending out holiday cards is a long-time tradition.  Unfortunately, for some who grow too busy or are just too tired to be motivated to write out cards to everyone on their list, this tradition comes to an end.  I fall into the busy category.  I have been ordering holiday cards with pre-printed personalized greetings and pre-printed return addresses on the envelopes for years and they are solely responsible for keeping our holiday card tradition going.  My parents fall into the unmotivated category.  They have never tried using personalized cards, so I had these cards made for them this year to show them how much easier sending out Christmas cards can be.  All they will really have to do is address the envelopes, seal them, and put stamps on them.

My mother chose the card she liked best out of all the 360 personalized Christmas cards available from The Gallery Collection.  With so many to choose from, this was no easy task, but she finally settled on the Penguins On Ice holiday card.  The next step was to choose from a long list of greetings to have printed inside.  She wanted something that mentioned Christmas and New Years, so that helped to narrow the choices down a little.  Then she need to decide on how to sign the card and ended up going with something simple.  She even remembered to include the dog's name since he is as much a member of the family as anyone else.  She was also able to choose in which color the inside greeting and the return address on the envelopes should be printed.

The quality of The Gallery Collection holiday cards is impressive.  The charming penguin graphic is raised on the card.  Plus the foil lining and torn edges on the envelopes make a great first impression before the recipient even reads the card.

To view their full selection of holiday greeting cards, visit GalleryCollection.com.

Thank you to The Gallery Collection for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive their choice of one of the following sets of 30 boxed greeting cards (ARV $55) . . . 

• Holiday Card Assortment
• Birthday Card Assortment
• All Occasion Card Assortment

Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Browse the selection of Christmas cards offered by The Gallery Collection. Then leave a comment telling me the name of the card design that you like the best. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1)  For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)  For 3 extra entries, follow me on StumbleUpon. Then come back here and leave THREE separate comments with the link to your StumbleUpon profile.

3)  For 1 extra entry, "Like" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here with the link to your Facebook profile.

4)  For 1 extra entry each, follow The Gallery Collection on Twitter and/or "Like" The Gallery Collection on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.


5)  Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

6)  Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

7)  Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

8)  Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, November 7th, 2011 at 10:00pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Holiday 2011: Taking Holiday Portraits at Home

With the exception of one year, our family has always taken our holiday photo card portraits at home.  In fact, I am already thinking about this because we usually do this at the end of October so that we have our cards back in plenty of time to mail out after Thanksgiving.  When it was just our oldest son, we would simply put the tree up early, have him stand in front of it in a cute hat or holding a holiday plush toy and the results were always adorable.  When our twins were added into the mix, the whole portrait-taking experience began to be more stressful for me.  Suddenly, I was worried about matching outfits, poses, a suitable background, and don't get me started on getting all 3 children to smile and look at the camera simultaneously.

Last year, after 6 years of holiday portraits, I finally perfected my portrait-taking technique.  I took photos of each child individually first.  This helped them to warm up to the camera before the group shot.  Then when it came time for the group photo, I skipped trying to have a fancy backdrop and formal poses.  Instead, I asked our 3 children to huddle together with their arms around each other's shoulders on the sofa.  With the frame filled with the 3 children from the waste up, I did not have to worry about the background.  I also only had to coordinate their tops rather than whole outfits.  By allowing the children to be their silly selves, I ended up with some great photos!

Last year's holiday card layout had a place for the group shot and 3 smaller individual portraits.  This year, I am leaning towards the Little Berry Bunches holiday card in Rich Red by Tiny Prints.  I like this one because, once again there is a spot for a group photo and 3 individual photos, but there is an extra spot for a photo of my husband and myself.  We have only ever made an appearance on our Christmas photo cards once.  I think it's time we did again.  Now, I just have to break the news to my husband . . .


Tiny Prints provided holiday photo cards to my family as a thank you for taking the time to participate in this campaign.

Ruby Tuesday: Crafty Stocking Exchange

This year I am participating in a stocking exchange on the blogging community to which I belong. This was a two part challenge. The first was to make or decorate the stocking. The second challenge was to find out as much as you could about your exchange partner and stuff the stocking with items according to your findings. I have been waiting for my partner to receive and open her stocking so I could post this photo for Ruby Tuesday without ruining the surprise.

If you'd like to see more Ruby Tuesday photos, go visit Mary at Work of the Poet!

It's Time For Holiday Portraits & Choosing Our Christmas Cards!

Ever since our oldest was born, we have been sending either Christmas cards with a photo tucked inside or holiday photo cards to our friends and family. After six years, we think we have perfected this undertaking. I have found that it is easiest to take a portrait of just our three children myself at home and to have my favorite photo printed professionally on personalized cards. I always have a holiday greeting from our family printed on our cards, so all I need to do is address and stamp the envelopes. I even try to have the envelopes preprinted with our return address when possible.

A great photo is one of the key factors to having the perfect holiday cards. This year, I let our 3-1/2 year old daughter choose her own outfit to wear for the portrait. I am so relieved that she chose an adorable top and a charming headband to wear in her hair. The two boys will be wearing matching polos. I am so excited to see how our portraits will turn out. You never know what you will get from my three. Will I end up using a traditional portrait or choosing a less formal candid shot instead?

The other key factor is to choose a holiday card that compliments your photo and your personality. I like the Merry Merry Swirl Christmas card above because of the asymmetrical design. I also love that it is square, which makes it stand out from the traditional 5x7 or elongated rectangular cards. Also, red is my favorite color!

I have looked at quite a few card designs with a 3-photo layout. I like the idea of having a spot to highlight each child, but I do not think I could ever leave out a photo of all three of our children together. It is the togetherness that makes a sibling holiday card great. I think the above Sparkling Lime Snowflakes Christmas photo card is a wonderful compromise. It would allow me to show the children together and then still show off each individual child's personality. I have been seeing a lot of lime and red the past few years during Christmas and the idea of it is growing on me.

The above Ribbon Wishes Christmas card is simple and I like how the layout does not take the focus away from the photo. The sheer ribbon makes this card stand out apart from the usual cards with a banner added into the design. I think this particular card would work with almost any landscape photo I end up with.

Of course, I will not know which of these card designs I will go with until I hold a mini photo shoot and decide on the best group photo. Hopefully, I will get this done within the next few days. I am so excited that Christmas is only 8 weeks away!

****************************************************************

Do you want 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? Click here to go to Shutterfly for information on how you can get 50 free cards this holiday season, and make sure to select Clever 1000 as the referral source.

****************************************************************

This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received a holiday photo card package as a thank you for participating in this series.