christmas cards Archives - Page 12 of 20

Christmas Cards – Something Worth Sending

To send Christmas Cards or not to send Christmas Cards. That is the question. Does it make sense to purchase holiday cards? Does it matter if we send them to our customers? Do we really need the extra expense at this time?

Owning a small trucking company has many challenges. In a time when everyone is cutting back on expenses, it seems one is cutting cost wherever one can. This means that companies will give a load to the trucking company that bids the lowest, even if it is only a few dollars difference. It is a fine dance trying to decide how low we can go in our charges, but still make a profit. It’s every man (or trucking company) for themselves. Everything takes careful and meticulous thought and planning.

Because we must plan for each expenditure we make, each year when the holidays approach, we sit down and weigh the pros and cons of sending business Christmas cards. Each year we decide that it is indeed worth the money spent. Because we want to keep our name out there, we decided that it is well worth the small amount spent on each holiday card we purchase and send. We look at it as an investment. A low cost form of advertisement. It is a way to say thank you for considering us. We may not have got your business the last time, but we sure hope to get it the next time.

Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Look Back Series – 2010 Winner Interview

In today’s entry into our Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Look Back Series, we have an interview with the 2010 Scholarship winner, Dawnee Burson. We recently caught up with Dawnee to see what she has been up to and were able to find out how the $10,000 scholarship came along at just the right time! Read on to find out just how amazing a person Dawnee really is and the things she was able to persevere through. It truly is inspirational.

Interview with Dawnee Burson

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1. How did you hear about the scholarship contest?
I found it online through scholarships.com. It’s kind of an interesting story. I had looked for scholarships on that website and saved those that were my favorite months back. I was going to apply for graduate school, but was also thinking of a mission for our church. I’m LDS, or a Mormon, and women can serve a mission if they choose for 18 months. One night I got really sick. I thought I just had the flu and went to work, but my dad was worried about me. He called me at work and asked about different symptoms and I started to realize I had had them over the past months. He told me he was picking me up and taking me to the hospital and he and my mom ended up taking me in and I had emergency abdominal surgery for a cyst that had ruptured. I was lucky I made it in just barely in time or my outcome might have been worse; I might not be here. I’m very grateful to my parents for watching out for me at that time and for my hometown community’s support. I came through surgery ok, but unfortunately caught the swine flu shortly after as it was going around New Mexico at the time. I recovered from that but went through a long and rather grueling recovery period that lasted about six months. It was a very difficult time, and it pretty much ruled out going on a mission. I actually took the GRE not long after surgery; it was definitely a rough exam that day. I got accepted into graduate school, which was great, but due to costs of the surgery and repeated doctor appointments I wasn’t sure how I was going to afford it. Still, I decided I was going to go and find a way to do so. I returned to scholarships.com hoping I could find the scholarships I’d saved months ago there and try for one of them.

2. How many scholarships did you apply for?
I applied for a couple with the college I planned to go to and started a couple of those online, but then decided to just focus on this one because I wasn’t doing well, had very little energy, and this was my favorite of them all. It seemed fun and provided such an amazing award, and it gave me something enjoyable to do while I was down. I’ve also always liked cards and thought they’d be fun to design, so it was right up my alley. Plus, I loved the fact that it provided another smaller award that would benefit your school. That is such a cool idea! I have to tell you, though, friends and I used to joke that we didn’t even know if the scholarships online were a real thing. Coming from such a small town, you don’t really know of anyone who’s ever received anything like this or of the companies that provide such contests. It seemed almost unbelievable to think that a company would do something like this, but I certainly hoped the scholarship contests were real and was going to give it a shot because I desperately needed it.

3. What was the idea behind your entry?
I love the outdoors, the mountains, and country homes nestled in beautiful areas. I know a lot of people love that, so I thought I would try to paint a scene portraying that and used my parent’s log home and the Montana mountains where I spent my summers growing up as elements for it. I’ve also seen cards showing all four different seasons and thought I might try a type of calendar card showing the same setting in all four seasons. Since oil paint hardens, oxidizing rather than drying, I thought I might be able to overlay clear plastic sheets on top of a canvas and just paint sections on those sheets to change the season. I had no idea if it would really work, but after doing the first layer and finding the oil paint stuck, it seemed like it was going to, so I created a few more that could be layered one on top another to change the seasons (summer over fall, spring over summer and fall, and winter over the other three seasons layers). I also thought of kids. I know kids love different things like that and thought they might like a card where you could flip one season over like a flip chart to see the next season below.

4. Did you create the entry specifically for the contest or did you submit a piece you already had?
I created the entry specifically for the contest and tried to make it something that would work card-size.

5. How long did it take to create your entry?
It took many months to create. I would paint part of it, then rest for a while till I had energy again and the paint had hardened. Oils oxidize rather than dry so it takes a long time for layers to set before you can paint another layer—sometimes days. I didn’t finish it in time for the year I intended to send it in. I considered doing a quick job to finish it but decided I would wait till the next year and make it a little better. It was hard to wait because I worried whether the competition would occur again the next year; I know things can change, but I waited and sent it in the following year after I’d finished it to the standard I wanted and that turned out to be the most perfect timing actually.

6. Does your entry have any special meaning to you?
It has a lot of special meaning. I think it shows a glimpse of what I love and what a lot of people love. I love the mountains, country areas, and the old style fence you see in the painting. I’m pretty patriotic and I love our land; we are lucky to have so many beautiful areas and I tried to make the scene one. I also love a lot of the simple things in life I tried to stick in the painting—gardens, tire swings, and anything to do with Christmas! Also, I spent my summers on my grandmother’s ranch in Montana growing up, a country area that will always have a special place in my heart, and I was trying to add some aspects of that country to the painting.

7. Where were you when you received the news that you won the $10,000 Scholarship prize?
I was in my apartment at college working on a paper.

8. What was going through your mind when you found out that you won?
About twenty things at once! Disbelief, elation, and a lot of gratitude being the top. I was trying to keep myself contained through our conversation. I was also trying not to laugh at Mr. DeVore’s nonchalant way of telling me I won. He had a good sense of humor in it all and was patient with my stumbling excitement.

9. Who was the first person you told after you found out that you won?
My mom, then my dad and brothers, then my roommate and friends, and then . . . 🙂

10. Did you celebrate in any way?
After I calmed down from jumping around in my apartment in excitement and gratitude I definitely did! My roommate and I went out to dinner and celebrated.

11. Have you recommended this contest to other people you know?
I have mentioned this contest to many many people and encouraged people to try for it or to try another type of scholarship contest because . . . they are real! And they are wonderful. Any artist reading this ought to give it a shot, you never know until you try, or continue to try if need be.

12. Did receiving the $10,000 scholarship change your school plans in any way?
It completely changed my plans. I was planning to quit graduate school if I didn’t receive the scholarship to work full time so I could save enough money to return and complete my degree. I have held at least one job all throughout getting my education, usually two, but the costs of a graduate degree can be steep.

13. How did receiving the $10,000 scholarship help you with your education?
Honestly, I wouldn’t have my education right now without it. I wouldn’t have completed graduate school, and I wouldn’t have the great job I have now.

14. What did you use the $10,000 for?
I used it for tuition mostly and some rent.

15. Which school did the $1,000 prize go to?
The $1,000 prize was given as a scholarship to another student, Michaela Stuver, at our college (the College of Natural Resources, Utah State University) and I was allowed to present it to her; that was, honestly, one of the coolest parts of this scholarship, especially as Michaela was pursuing her education to do some neat things in a related field.

16. What was your schools reaction to receiving the $1,000 prize?
Everyone was so pleased! When the cards came out, the college purchased cards to send out for that year’s Christmas cards and sent one to me here in Arizona. I think the scholarship spread some good will and excitement.

17. What are you currently doing?
I currently work as a NEPA planner (NEPA stands for the National Environmental Policy Act) with the Forest Service in one of the most beautiful areas of the Southwest and an area I used to want to live in when I was little— I really lucked out. I feel really blessed.

18. What did you study in college?
My master’s degree was in natural resources with a NEPA certificate. I just received my diploma in the mail a couple weeks ago.

19. What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about entering the scholarship contest?
Do it, don’t doubt yourself, take a chance and do something creative you’ve thought about, and if it doesn’t work out, don’t quit, continue to build on what you know and try again. Success is often built on the stepping stones of failed attempts. I can’t remember how many times Edison tried to make a light bulb work, but it was many. And when he had one of the first models that actually worked, he handed it to a boy who dropped it and it shattered. Twenty four hours later after creating a working model again, he handed it to the same boy. I’ve done contests of various types throughout my life many without the hoped for results, but others that have worked out. You’ll never know what could happen if you don’t try, and give it your best try, and you’ll never know what you can do or come up with if you don’t challenge yourself. Plus, like Edison was with the boy, you’d be amazed at the people willing to take a chance on you or support you, even when they don’t even know you.

20. Were you always interested in art or design?
I have always been interested in art. I always liked to draw and paint and since we didn’t have a lot of elective courses to choose from in our school I took art almost every year if not every year. I had a truly good art teacher who moved to our small town for a few years and he really helped me with painting. I have actually been trying to locate him to send him a card.

21. How did it feel when you first saw the card produced with your design?
Excited, grateful, and motivated to continue painting, and I am. I hope to be able to learn from some other artists, possibly try a few new mediums, and if I can get my pieces to look like I want, perhaps do a few art shows down the road.

22. Do you still have one of your cards?
I certainly do. I have it framed as a reminder of the incredible good things that can happen if you keep your head up through hard times and of the good people willing to give to help a complete stranger in life.

We are honored that even though Dawnee was going through so much at the time, she still took the time to submit such an amazing piece of artwork to us. We want to thank Dawnee again for taking the time out to answer our questions and we hope you enjoyed catching up with Dawnee as much as we did!!!

Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Look Back Series – 2010 Winning Entry

In our first installment of the 2010 Scholarship Contest Look Back Series, we wanted to give you a behind the scenes look into the very interesting and creative idea behind 2010 Scholarship Winner Dawnee Burson’s winning entry.

As Dawnee explained it in her letter that she submitted along with the entry, “I wanted to do a Christmas calendar card with four layers, one for each season that could be pulled off the front of the card as the seasons change”.

In order to accomplish this, Dawnee started with a base farm scene illustrating the fall season. She then provided us with acetate overlays (sheet of clear plastic laid over a background) which depicted different seasons for the same farm scene. Each overlay would have its own painted details which we would then use to lay on top of the base painting in order to change the seasons. In the slideshow below, you can look through Dawnee’s interpretation of the four seasons. Look at the differences in the details between each version from tire swings in the summer version to a scarecrow in the fall version. We think Dawnee came up with an amazingly creative way to show off different seasons all while using the same painting as the base!

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Below is the summer overlay which Dawnee provided. As you can see, the empty areas allow for the details from the original painting such as the mountains and forest to show through while also being overlaid with the new additions such as the tire swing and roof.

Acetate Overlay Depicting summer season. — Acetate Overlay depicting Summer season.

We hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look into just how creative Dawnee’s winning entry really was. We hope you come back next week as we continue to reveal even more about the 2010 Scholarship Contest!

Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Look Back Series – Contest Team Interview

We are very excited to launch a brand new weekly feature titled the $10,000 Create-A-Greeting-Card-Scholarship Look Back Series. This series will look back on all of our previous annual Scholarship contests with each month focusing on one contest with weekly posts full of behind the scenes information, past winner interviews, card transformation and much much more.

With our first official entry we want everyone to get a little more familiar with the Scholarship team that is responsible for going through the entries, selecting the finalists and eventually the winner. Read the interview below to get an inside look into who makes up the team, what they look for and more!

Interview with the Scholarship Contest Team

How many members are on the Scholarship team that judges the entries?
We have a total of 6 members on our panel. We have people on the team from different departments in our company such as Production, Creative and even an artist from our Art Department in order to provide a different viewpoint for each aspect of turning an entry into a card.

How often does the scholarship team meet to go over the entries?
We start meeting a month after each contest begins and go on to meet once a month moving forward until the contest ends. We like to meet once a month in order to avoid having the entries get backed up to such a large number that would be difficult for us to view. During the 2011 scholarship contest, we received over 13,000 entries so saving them all for the end wouldn’t have allowed us the ability go through each entry as thoroughly as we would have liked.

What typically goes on in these monthly meetings?
In each meeting we like to go through the entries that we have received since the last and set aside any potential finalists that we feel could be turned into cards. The first thing that we look for is Creativity and Originality. We want to see an effort was put into the entry and then we go through the remaining criteria. Many times an entry can be very good art but unfortunately does not meet 5, 6 or 7 from the below judging criteria.

JUDGING CRITERIA

Overall aesthetic appeal
Quality of execution
Creativity and Originality
Successful incorporation of design elements
Appropriateness for use as a greeting card
Attractiveness to The Gallery Collection’s corporate and consumer customers
Suitability as a design in Prudent’s Gallery Collection greeting card line

When do you officially choose the finalists for the contest?
Once we start getting close to the end of the contest, we begin to look through the potential finalists that we set aside in our monthly meetings to narrow them down to around 200 entries. Then once the contest officially ends, we go through the remaining entries that we have received and choose any others that we feel meet the judging criteria and could be turned into beautiful cards. We then like to post them up on our website to let everyone see just how amazing the pool of finalists really is.

How do you eventually settle on the winning design?
Once we have the 200 finalists chosen, we begin our voting rounds which we use to narrow down the number to around 5-10 “Super Finalists”. At this point we put together affidavits which are sent to each entrant to ensure that their artwork and identity is confirmed. Once we receive the affidavits back we then go through the final voting phase which also involves some of our executive team at the company to pick our final winner.

What is your favorite part about being on the Scholarship Team?
I think each of us can easily say the absolute best feeling in the world is when we finally contact the winner to let them know they have won. A call like that is something amazing to be a part of because it makes all of the work and time that we have put into this contest worth it. Knowing that the $10,000 Create-A-Greeting-Card-Scholarship is going to help a student further their education means the world to us. We all look forward to this each year.

That brings us to the end of our inside look into our hard working Scholarship Team. We hope this interview gave you a little insight into the amount of work and thought that goes into each years contest. Without this team this scholarship contest would not be possible!

We want to let everyone know to keep a look out for next weeks post in our weekly series which will be a behind the scenes look into the transformation of our 2011 Scholarship Contest Winner, Whitney Fuertes’ entry into a card!

Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Look Back Series – 2013 Scholarship Contest Updates Coming Soon

With the 2013 Scholarship Contest currently running, we are more excited than ever to get a look at the types of entries we are going to receive. This is the first year that we have added in a new $1,000 Military Prize that will be awarded to an entry from a member of the United States Military. This is just a small token of our appreciation for all members of the United States Military service that we are very excited to offer.

We invite you to come back soon to get a behind the scenes look into the 2013 Scholarship Contest with things like a winner interview, a look at the transformation process from the entry to the card and much more!

Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Look Back Series – 2012 Scholarship Contest Updates Coming Soon

The 2012 Scholarship Contest was a blast for all of us and was our largest contest yet! We received over 13,000 entries and were busier than ever sorting through them all. In the end, Kathy Zhou was selected as the winner with her beautiful design featuring an Ornament composed of various Christmas themed wording.

We invite you to come back soon to get a behind the scenes look into the 2012 Scholarship contest with things like an interview with Kathy Zhou, a look into the transformation process from the entry to the card and much more!

Christmas Cards – A Tradition That Transcends Time

Christmas cards are, of course, a great way to catch up with friends in a personal way. When I was younger I always meant to send out a year in review, touching base with the people who meant so much to me over the years, but I was always too busy. It’s a sad fact that time goes quickly. Sometimes years pass before you realize you’ve lost touch with a friend, co-worker, or classmate. Which is one reason why simple, personalized Christmas cards can be so touching.

My mother, for instance, wrote a holiday letter and sent out cards for years. On more than a few occasions I remember her actually handing me boxes of blank cards so I could start my own tradition. It took me more than a few years to finally act on it. Once I did, I realized I had more than 75 people I wanted to reach out to with personal wishes for a happy holiday.

The modern world has simplified so many things, for better or worse. Text messages have all but ended catch-up phone calls. Video games have limited the amount of time children interact with each other away from the television. Email has cut deeply into the amount of actual letters we write. These changing times have made receiving a holiday card that much more special. If someone in this busy world takes the time out of their schedule to write you, it means they care.

Holiday cards, for me, have simply become a tradition. I enjoy keeping in touch with my close friends and informing them of what is going on in my life—and hearing from them in return. More than a few of my friends have asked me where I find the beautiful cards I send and have started reciprocating, mailing out their own cards annually. There really is nothing more heart-warming than receiving a card from someone you’ve lost touch with. Cards reconnect you in a uniquely personal way.

My First Time Sending Christmas Cards

I’m 35 years old and this is the first year that I sent out Christmas cards. I just never thought it was very important. That’s kind of strange since I really enjoy getting them. It all started as I began wondering about all the cards I get, and why people send them even though they’ve never gotten one in return. I get them mostly from friends and relatives that I usually see around Christmas, and so I get to wish them happy holidays in person. But still, they take the time to send me a card as an added little expression of cheer and I suddenly started to feel a little bit guilty.

Actually, the more I thought about it, the more I realized everyone I know sends me a card. Even the company I work for sends cards out to all the employees, and business Christmas cards to all their customers. So I decided I would send out cards that look awesome, don’t cost much, and don’t require too much time on my part. I got a nice customized greeting, signed them and sent them off.

I know I sound like I’m just “keeping up appearances”, and I guess that’s part of it. And maybe I haven’t got quite the right attitude about it yet, but there’s hope. And this will truly be a Happy New Year, because everyone coming to my party tonight got a card from me!

The Three Little Elves That Loved Personalized Holiday Cards!

Every year I usually just stress myself out with trying to get all three of my children to sit for the perfect holiday card to send to friends and family. This year I decided that they are all at an age were they can sign their own names and make it more personal. I wanted personalized holiday cards without the stress of getting the perfect portrait. So I searched the web looking for the “perfect card.” I came across The Gallery Collection late one night since that is the only time I get access to the laptop. The next day I called and had them send me a few samples. I wasn’t expecting much, because it’s only a greeting card, right? Boy was I wrong! One of the samples that I received was of Design 077CX – Cheerful Greetings Card. The excitement I felt of seeing the three elves on the card reminded me of my children. I knew instantly that was our card this season. The next day, I instantly called and placed my order for our cards. The woman I spoke to was so patient and helpful. When we got to the personalization she asked what I wanted. I explained that I was planning on having the whole family sign the cards. She pointed out something I did not even think of – children usually do not want to sit and sign all of those cards. So she told me that they can put all of our signatures on the cards for us. A couple of weeks later my cards arrived and they were breathtaking.

In my excitement to order my holiday cards, I happened to make my order a few short of my Christmas card list. Since I was so pleased with my first choice, I decided to mix it up and order a different design. I went back to the website to browse some more, and I have to say I’ve become quite addicted to this site! I soon found another card, Design 727CW – Purrfect Packages Christmas Card and called again and placed a second order. When my second order arrived I was just as amazed as I was with the first initial order. They were even able to reuse our signatures! The whole family fell in love with our Christmas cards. They even helped stash them in the envelopes and place the stamps on. Sending our cards was stress free this year and I owe it all to The Gallery Collection.

Company Christmas Cards Are Easy To Order Online

I’ve always been very skeptical when ordering company Christmas cards over the internet. I worry about – does it look as good in person, what if the boss doesn’t like them, etc. Well, I went for it and ordered our cards from the internet. I was very surprised when I opened up the package and discovered that the cards that I had ordered were beautiful! The cards were shiny and had a 3D effect. It came with white envelopes lined with gold foil inside. Was I impressed!

I decided to have the cards imprinted with the names of the executive team, but was very skeptical about how it would look. I chose gold foil imprinting since I thought it would look nice with the shiny gold greeting on the front of the card.

I needn’t have worried, because everyone from the office was just thrilled when they saw our Christmas cards, and they couldn’t wait to send them to all our clients. They were also quite pleased to discover how easy ordering our cards online from The Gallery Collection turned out to be!