2013 Christmas cards!
{Blurry photos as a result of taking photos while a certain grabby baby was pulling up on the table and my legs.}
Our 2013 Christmas cards are here! They're ready to head out the door and bring holiday cheer to mailboxes near and far.
I'm super proud of these cards not only because I designed them myself but because I saved so much money compared to the past two years. After seeing Elise design her own adorable cards on the cheap using Overnight Prints I knew I had to try it.
To get ideas for the card design and layout I browsed holiday photo cards on several websites. They are surprisingly simple! I noted that they usually use at least two different fonts and two different font sizes. Sometimes it's just one word overlaid on a photo. I thought, "I can do this..."
This collection of free fonts via Pinterest is where I found two of the fonts I used (Hallendale Deco and Santa's Sleigh). The handwriting-like font is Loved By The King via dafont.
On the back I used the exact same design that Elise used. I created a simple banner by making a rectangle and then overlaying red triangles to create a banner. I typed up some news from this year and called it done.
When I first uploaded the files to Overnight Prints the formatting wasn't right and I had a few ARG moments. But then I found a handy tutorial on the website that told me the exact pixel dimensions for my card images. This was key! Once I made that easy change to my Photoshop Elements files the images uploaded perfectly and the quality of the cards is great.
I ordered 100 4.25 x 5.5 inch double sided postcards with rounded edges and white envelopes. Using a coupon code for 59% off (!) my total was $36.32 even with two day shipping. Call me impressed. In previous years I've paid about $75 for 50 cards. With this many cards I was able to include everyone that I wanted to on my list and even have a few left over.
Overall my experience with Overnight Prints was positive (P.S. this is not a sponsored post!). I was a bit frustrated that I paid to have my order delivered on Friday, December 13 and it didn't arrive until Monday, December 16. I emailed customer service about it and within a couple of days they refunded me the difference in shipping. Gold star.
I was high-fiving Chris and feeling so awesome for spending so little on holiday cards this year. And then I remembered I still have to buy stamps. And that there's no coupon code for stamps. Blerg!
But the gingerbread house holiday stamps this year are pretty cute...
I would send a card to each of one you if I could but please accept this e-version of our card instead. I sincerely wish each of you a cheerful and cozy holiday season!