Tag: christmas cards

Creative Crafts with Business Christmas Cards

I hate to throw away all the beautiful personal and business Christmas cards I’ve received through the years. Yes, I keep all the cards I receive, and all the Christmas cards my family receives too! They are too pretty to throw away and they mark the years as my children are growing up. However, since I have so many of them, sometimes I like to get crafty with all the great cards and designs.

One of the great things you can do with your old personalized Christmas cards is to make garlands that you can hang all around the house and outside (in warm climates) as well when you decorate for the holidays. Begin with using as many horizontal cards as you have. You can use a simple ribbon about 6 to 8 feet long. If you need a longer size, make sure your ribbon is a big spool. You can also use a thin clothesline, string, or wire. Measure the size you need and cut it to size. Start overlapping the horizontal cards over the ribbon and staple them around the ribbon making a thin pocket for the ribbon or string to be enclosed in. To keep the cards in place at about 5 or six inches from each other, staple the card to the string or ribbon in the center top of the card. To make them even prettier, use a pair of pinking shears or craft scissors that are available with the crazy cuts on them to put a beautiful edge on the cards.

You can also glue some glitter onto the card in the art or on the edge of the card, or attach some little rhinestones or colorful buttons or small shiny items on the card to give it some sparkle. You will be surprised at what a difference that makes. If you have vertical Christmas cards to be used you can use a small hole punch to make a hole on the top of the card and run a ribbon or string through it and then hang the card with tying a bow on the banner ribbon or string.

You can also use Christmas cards to create cupcake toppers or decorations. Use any and all of your cards and cut around the art on the front of the cards. You will have to make the art somewhat small to fit nicely on the top of a cupcake. Once that is done, get some little sticks that they sell in the baking aisle of your craft store or food store and glue the art from your cards to the stick.  Once dry, you can stick the decoration right on the top of the cupcake and line them up on a platter and you have beautiful, colorful cupcakes perfect for holiday get-togethers.

Now you have two new ideas for you to try when you have all those beautiful cards that you do not want to throw away!

Christmas Cards Time or Mayan Calendar End of the World!

Fourteen days. That’s it. According to a countless number of people and their interpretation of a 5,000 plus year old calendar, the end of the world is coming in fourteen short days on December 21st, 2012. The date 12/21/12 has been floated in front of us for what seems to be years now. Over the past decade, the Earth has survived many other “End of the World” dates but this time it’s for real, right? The Mayans predicted this many millennia ago through their Mayan Calendar so it has to be true, right? Wrong. We will all wake up on December 22nd, laugh off another failed End of Days prediction, and continue the excitement of the holiday season.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways that the world is going to end on the 21st. A popular notion is that planet Nibiru is going to collide with Earth. This was first predicted to happen in May of 2003 but when (surprise, surprise) it didn’t, the date was moved to 12/21/12 to coincide with the end of the Mayan Calendar. Lucky for us, NASA itself has confirmed that we are in no danger of being as much as scratched by any rogue planets.

What else is out there that is going to destroy our world? The planets are going to align and supposedly create some sort of devastation but that means very little. This has happened multiple times in the past few decades and we are still here. Maybe the sun is going to put out a powerful solar storm which will destroy Earth. Sure, it is true that the sun is entering the peak of its solar cycle (which happens once every 11 years or so). This isn’t a threat to Earth as a whole, however. The only things that need to be afraid are some satellites floating far above Earth.

Is speculating about the end of the Earth an interesting conversation topic? Sure it is. It gives everyone something to talk about at their holiday parties over the next few weeks. Who doesn’t enjoy taking about some cataclysmic event? Is the end of the world something to be legitimately nervous about? Absolutely not. Spend your time enjoying the season and not worrying about the silly speculation. You will be happy you did when you wake up on December 22nd and realize you still have to send out all your Christmas cards!

Personalized Christmas Cards and December Madness

The time between the end of the football season, at the beginning of February, and April, when baseball returns, is like a no-man’s land for me. I don’t follow hockey or basketball, don’t listen to sports talk radio, hardly watch the sports on the 11 o’clock news, and I skim through my local paper’s sport page in all of three minutes. For others who are into basketball, especially the college variety, there is something exciting called “March Madness”, which is a tournament where I think something like 300 or more teams play each other until there is a winner. For me, there is only “December Madness”, which is when I have to sit my butt down and figure out how many personalized Christmas cards to send out and to whom.

The sending of Christmas cards should be a joyous task because it’s “that time of year,” yada, yada, yada. But I find it to be a bit on the stressful side because I don’t want to make a mistake by forgetting someone who expects a Christmas card from me, you know what I mean? However, I usually am praised for my personalized Christmas cards selection, as I always buy my cards from The Gallery Collection. My clients want to know from which company I buy my cards and I always tell them to flip over the card for. The Gallery Collection’s Christmas cards selection, which includes designs featuring gift boxes, Christmas trees, wreaths, holiday winter scenes, as well as religious cards – contain beautiful colors, shimmering foils, and sculpted embossing. No one can beat their astounding selection.

As for “March Madness”, I think I’ll pay a few bucks to be part of my office’s contest where one can pick a team to win the whole thing and then you win a big bundle of money. Hey, maybe I’ll get lucky and win enough to pay for my Christmas cards!

Religious Christmas Cards and Helping Others

Every year as I prepare my religious Christmas cards and get ready to send them off I think about my church and all the people who most of my cards will be going to. I think about the people in need and I’m glad through my church there are so many opportunities to give. We have a ministry that is called Urban Feet. We go into heavily urban areas and give out coats, socks, shoes, scarves and many other types of clothing. We also are part of the Angel Tree ministry, where the children of an incarcerated parent or parents will receive gifts in their parents name from those who give gifts to the ministry. I also like to include Christmas cards with my gifts.

Each Christmas after sending out my cards I receive tons of praise on the quality. People would say “These are the best Christmas cards I ever received.” That brings joy to my heart, knowing I picked the right cards to send to family and friends. Being able to share the holiday spirit with those in need, as well as all the wonderful people who I am lucky enough to have in my life, make sending cards a truly important part of the season.

What Your Christmas Cards Say About You

November is an exciting time of the year. There’s Thanksgiving, a time we gather with our families and stop for a moment to give thanks for the smallest blessings in our lives. That’s what I do anyway–it gives me perspective. But it’s also the time when I begin to think about what kind of Christmas cards I want to order.

You see, I have a thing about greeting cards. I know, many say it’s just a card and who really cares what it looks like or what it says; it’s the thought that counts. That is true. But how about the card that arrives year after year with an incorrect last name, or the one with the wrong apartment number and no zip code, which then causes it to arrive days after the holidays? That can certainly make you look like no effort was made at all. What about those beautiful personalized Christmas cards with names imprinted? That can save you tons of time and effort, but still show you care.

Christmas is a beautiful time of the year. Yes, it’s hectic with everything one has to do to prepare for it. But when I sit down to write my cards it’s really the only time in the year that I get to think back on all the special people in my life and how thankful I am to them. And although I cannot afford to get everyone a gift, it is through my Christmas cards that I am able to express my gratitude individually. So yes, before I send out each card, I make sure every “t” is crossed and every “i” dotted, because they mean that much to me.

Ordering Christmas Cards Can Be Fun And Rewarding

I love when it comes time to choose Christmas cards I really cannot want until the catalogs start pouring into the office. I realize this sounds nutty or as if I have nothing better to do, trust me, I have a very hectic schedule so the thought of losing myself in a Christmas card catalog is heavenly. I look forward to seeing the new designs that are introduced each year and wonder how the designers come up with them!  One of my responsibilities is to order the Christmas cards for the company but first I have to select a few designs, order samples and present them to our executive team. Although the task seems simple, there are many things to consider. I first get a budget and the number of cards to be ordered so when I present the selection to the team I will have all of my facts. There are several things that are constant year after year like quality and the sentiment on the front of the card. For us it is Season’s Greetings or Happy Holidays so one design can be sent to all of our clients.

This year I noticed many of the cards sold are made from 30% post consumer waste recycled paper which is a plus for our company. I wasn’t totally sure what 30% post consumer waste meant so I Googled it and according to Wikipedia:

Post-consumer waste is material discarded after consumer use, such as old corrugated containers (OCC), old magazines, old newspapers (ONP), office paper, old telephone directories, and residential mixed paper (RMP).

To think that the papers I recycle at home become recycled paper Christmas cards is pretty cool!

Christmas Cards Personalized For Your Style

I love greeting cards. I love all the picking out that perfect card for someone that let’s them know that I put thought into this card just for them. But more than any other occasion, I love Christmas cards personalized for my style. When I am choosing the cards I am going to send out for Christmas, I always have a hard time choosing just one design. I like choosing cards that express my easy going personality as well as my love for vibrant colors and designs, but narrowing it down to just one is so hard when there are so many beautiful options to choose from.

I usually like cards that have bright colors on them.  Not necessarily the same color schemes but just vibrant combinations of colors – both traditional and non-traditional Christmas colors.  I also like the cards to be fun but still convey a message of caring and celebration. Finding that one card that encompasses these traits is hard but I usually find something that speaks to me.  Just searching through all the cards on this site was a delight to my eyes and senses. There are so many different images and styles to choose from I could have spent weeks looking – but alas I must send my Christmas cards out before the holiday actually arrives so I have to focus on the goal of choosing the card that will don the family name and our wishes of joy for all we hold dear.

Christmas Cards Keep Us Connected

Who would have thought in these days of instant news and entertainment, getting Christmas cards would have such sentimental value.  We all have anywhere from 50 to 100+ friends on Facebook, Twitter or some other form of social media.  But realistically, how many of those friends would you send, or would send you a Christmas card?  How many of these so-called friends actually “know” you?  Besides looking/commenting on their latest holiday status updates and pictures do you really care about expressing holiday cheer to these so-called friends?  But when you get a card, you know for sure, you have friends beyond the confines of social media.  The fact that you are receiving something in the mail, that you can touch and feel, and has been specifically sent to you, means more than any “like” or “status update”!

Personalized Christmas cards take this a step further.  The fact that your friend or loved-one, took the time to not only select a beautiful card, but express their personal sentiments gives that annual Christmas card even greater meaning.  It means I’m not just a blip on your screen; I’m a person worthy of the time and effort it takes to send a distinctive greeting.  For me it means we’re connected in the real world and it makes me feel special.

Make Your Corporate Christmas Cards Perfect

I’ve been in business for over 20 years and have always been able to find corporate Christmas cards that ideally match what I want to say, and how I want to say it, with style. Sometimes I go for poignant or nostalgic; other years I want something more modern. Whatever I feel it takes to make my business look good, and my customers feel appreciated.

I’ve used a card that featured a wood-sided station wagon with a Christmas tree on the roof, heading home in a glistening snow. A number of other cards had the same simple, timeless feel; a scene of glittering pines in the snow was another of my favorites. Sometimes I feel like something a little more vibrant, even edgy, for my cards. I got a ton of compliments last year for one with shiny gold, red and green foils on black paper! The variety is endless, with new and original designs out every year. On the front, a simple “Season’s Greetings” says it all for me. Inside, I customize my own message.

This year I’ve been making some business contacts overseas, so when it came time to order Christmas cards, I needed just the right look and feel to impress potential customers. I had no trouble finding just what I was looking for: a variety of great looking cards with an international feel, heralding “Peace on Earth”.

The perfect sentiment, one we can all embrace.

Impressing My New Family With Personalized Christmas Cards

With another Christmas holiday fast approaching, it is yet again up to me, and me alone, to come up with the best way to say happy holidays to our family and friends – only this year is VERY different.   This year marks my 1st year of marriage to my husband Rick and I very much want to impress my new family and friends with personalized Christmas cards commemorating our marriage.

It is very important I pick out just the right card, with just the right personalization.  Let’s face it, my mother-in-law never thought I was good enough for her baby boy.  I’m sure there are many of you who can relate, and who are dealing with this same problem I am dealing with right now.  Though my mother-in-law always seems to be criticizing me about one thing or another, I am refusing to give her yet another reason especially in regards to our Christmas cards.

The quality of the card I choose has to be of course perfect.  In order to do so, there are a few steps I have to follow to find this perfect card.  First step, I have to light the fireplace. We moved into our new apartment that actually has a fireplace and I’ve been waiting for this moment since moving in.  Second step, find my favorite Christmas CD to play, and last but not least, make myself a cup of my favorite vanilla flavored hot chocolate to relax me for the long search ahead.

Well, I’m sure some of you are wondering how this story ended.  I finally did find that one special card, with just the right wording that touched my mother-in-law in such a special way that we actually became much closer. In fact, she has even asked me to be the one to help pick out her Christmas cards in the coming year.