Tag: christmas cards

Design 713CS – Glowing Ornament Christmas Card

I remember many a Christmas Eve, much like Design 713CS – Glowing Ornament Christmas Card, when I was younger and it would snow. There was about a foot of snow on the ground and everyone was walking to Church for the midnight service, and I felt such an overwhelming sense of peace. As I entered the church there was warmth and a feeling of belonging. Later that evening we all sat together near the tree and read our Christmas cards, and everything seemed right in the world.

When I look at Design 713CS – Glowing Ornament Christmas Card, I imagine the peaceful serenity of that Christmas Eve as the choir sings in the small village church surrounded by pine trees and twinkling stars. The snow is slowly falling in fluffy flakes as you warmly embrace the message of joy on a cold December evening. That sense of belonging and peace is enclosed in this holiday ornament card depicted on a glossy white card stock. The pale blue ribbon and colorful ornament are lined in elegant silver foil next to the simple message of Merry Christmas.

Design 713CS - Glowing Ornament Christmas Card
Design 713CS - Glowing Ornament
Christmas Card

I know when you send this card everyone receiving it this Christmas will feel that you have shared something special with them.

Does Sending Greeting Cards in Times of Tragedy Really Make a Difference?

When I first heard about the terrible earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 10, 2011 I had tears in my eyes thinking of the terrible devastation and the thousands of people who surely lost their lives.

Working in the greeting card business I am surrounded each day by Christmas Cards, Birthday Cards, Get Well, Thinking of You and many other types of cards. But what type of card would provide comfort to someone who is surrounded by such tragedy? As the news stories grew grimmer, greeting cards started to seem…well hardly a necessity. It honestly got me thinking about how I spend my time working at a greeting card company…do greeting cards really serve a purpose? A legitimate question I think when you consider how much of our lives, how much of our time is actually spent on and at work. Was I really spending my life’s work on something worthwhile?

So I thought further and realized that greeting cards were really all about connecting with other people. It differs from any other type of communication when you really think about it. You might be giving it to someone sitting as close as the cubicle next to you or sending it to someone thousands of miles away. Unlike an email, letter, text or phone call, a greeting card always has a cover with a design or photo or some decorative text on it. It can feature something funny, touching or beautiful.  It is designed to invoke some kind of reaction or emotion upon receiving it. The sentiment inside is often chosen with care and conveying a certain message or thought. Many of us who might struggle to find just the right words to say, can find a greeting cards that appropriately expresses our thoughts. Yet, what would I say to someone in Japan in a greeting card? How does getting a greeting card from someone in the States even matter under the circumstances?

I actually think it could matter a lot. It is a way to show emotional support even from a complete stranger half way across the world. With an opportunity to write your own personal message it can bring hope, love and prayers to someone who has suffered so much loss. It could be one of the only bright spots in someone’s day. It carries with it the potential to be the only reason someone has to smile that day…perhaps even for the first time in a long while. I don’t happen to think that is any small thing. It just might remind them that beyond the destruction there still exists a world, one that truly cares about the fate of these unfortunate people. It has the power to connect one human being to another.

I remember the many sympathy cards we received after my father’s untimely death. I read each and every one – some of them more than once. I was continually surprised and amazed how we heard from people who we had not been in touch with for years, yet who dearly remembered my beloved father. Some wrote a brief funny little story, others simply remembered him fondly and expressed their deep regret at our loss. During such a dark and difficult time in my life, those sympathy cards brought real comfort and did so in a way that I could handle. I had the luxury of reading them in private and on my own time table, when I was ready to do so.

I think it was then that I realized that a greeting card can say a lot to the recipient but it can also speak volumes about the thoughtfulness of the sender. And so now, many years later and after some serious reflection, I have decided that I am, indeed, doing something worthwhile with my time. In fact, right now I’m feeling pretty good about what I do, but much more importantly, what greeting cards can do to others when selected and sent with real thought.

So yes, I do believe greeting cards really can make a difference…even in troubled times.

Put the Person Back Into Personalized Christmas Cards!

Did you ever get a personalized Christmas card and notice there was nothing too personal about it? It almost seems the once thoughtful tradition of sending a Christmas card has become a thing of the past. If you’re like me, you get the same, predictable cards – some of which aren’t even signed at the bottom! So, when I send my cards out, I make sure to spice each one up with a little something extra to make the recipient feel as though the card was made just for them. And since I only send cards to a few relatives and close friends, it’s easy to figure out what would make them smile a little brighter after opening my card.

First, you should try to choose a design with a common theme that most of your recipients would appreciate. For example, since all of my family and friends are from a big city, I usually try to select a card that has a skyline or city lights. I chose Design #844CX – Sparkling Skyline, two years ago which was a big hit!

Next, personalize the inside to reflect the way you feel during the Christmas season. After all, that card may be the only communication you have with a distant friend or relative for months at a time. I try to include a greeting that reflects my feeling about Christmas and conveys a hopeful message for the New Year. After selecting the greeting, don’t forget to let your recipients know who the lovely cards came from! I always let The Gallery Collection print my name at the bottom – it gives them such a classy finish.

If time allows, add a quick handwritten message. This is a thoughtful way to let people know the card was made just for them. For example, my mom absolutely loves anything having to do with our beloved cat Fleecie who I ended up “adopting” when I got my first apartment after college. So, I’m always sure to jot down a few details on Fleecie’s latest habits of chewing my brand new pair of shoes or finding his way to tip over the catnip jar.

Taking these few extra steps will ensure that your card stands out among all the rest, not to mention your genuine intent of the season will really show through to your recipients. After all, isn’t that what sending Christmas cards is all about?

3rd Annual Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Design Process – Part 3

We have arrived at the third and final part of our “Making a Winning Doodle into a Dazzling Christmas Card Design” series. So far in Parts 1 and 2, we’ve gone through the process of scanning the image, cleaning the image up, changing the artwork to fill space, and separating the image to determine colors and finishing techniques. We’re almost done, and soon we’ll have a beautiful holiday card.

The creative team has gotten together to give critiques and advice on how they feel the design should look. At this point in the process the Creative Coordinator decides which colors and styles will be tested. There are many different colors of paper stock, and some of these different colored stocks will be tested with various inks or foils, depending on the design. The card is sent to production so the creative team has a chance to actually see all the different choices, and decide which will be the best-seller.

Here is a look at the design in the early process of separation to see which colors or foils would look best.

Create-A-Greeting-Card Contest Scholarship Winning Design

When the cards come back from production there are many different styles to choose from. This is an important step in the design process, as the Gallery Collection is always looking for the most visually appealing and creative Christmas cards. Here are some examples of the different foils and colors that were tested to determine the final appearance of our winning card.

Some of the different color combinations to choose from included buff cards with green foil, and white cards with multi-colored foil.

Design Concept - Buff Card with Green Foil Design Concept - White Card with Multi-Colored Foil

The Gallery Collection also offers a wide array of beautiful dark stock cards. Since there were so many options we just had to test them all!

Design Concept - Dark Blue Card with Silver Foil Design Concept - Dark Red Cards with Gold Foil
Design Concept - Dark Green Card with Gold Foil Concept Design - Black Card with Multi-Colored Foil

The creative team will once again gather to review and discuss the different holiday cards. They will decide what works and what doesn’t work in terms of color, style and finishing. They will also decide if any revisions need to be made to the final design. With so many choices and options, this isn’t always an easy process. But in the end it’s worth it, as the Gallery Collection has some of the most visually stunning cards available.

After much discussion, a final design is chosen. It combines the beauty of Lauren’s winning artwork with the amazing skills of our creative team. Two amazing cards were made from this one beautiful design, and they will truly take your breath away!

Design #798CW - Holiday Tree Christmas Card
Design #798CW - Holiday Tree Christmas Card

Design #730CW - Snowman Surprise Christmas Card
Design #730CW
Snowman Surprise
Christmas Card

Every design that graces the cover of our catalogs and is displayed on our website must adhere the high quality standards of the Gallery Collection. Changes are made to most designs, whether it’s sizing, color, or addition of foil. So whether the design has been submitted by one of our talented artists, or the design is a scholarship winning contest entry, they all go through the same process. This ensures that we always have the most beautiful, high quality greeting cards around.

3rd Annual Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Design Process – Part 2

In Part 1 of our “Making a Winning Doodle into a Dazzling Christmas Card Design” series we discussed the scanning process of the original artwork from the scholarship contest. Now we delve further into the process of creating a card.

The original artwork is given a Hi-Res scanning into our system, where a graphics program makes the image nice and crisp. This cleaning process makes the art suitable for reproduction. Once the image is set the production person, or Imager, gets to work.

The Imager has many different things to do at this point. Lauren’s artwork needed to be changed to fill space. The original piece was vertical, and the personalized Christmas cards that will feature this design will be both vertical and horizontal. The artwork is proportioned for a horizontal holiday card so that all the aspects of the original design are not lost.

This is Lauren’s artwork after it has been scanned, cleaned and revised.

Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest Winning Artwork

The image then goes through a separation process. The Imager prepares the file, determining the different colors and finishing techniques to be used on this particular Christmas card design. There are many different options for each piece of art, including ink color choices, die-cutting, foil stamping and foil embossing.

The creative team will gather together and discuss these choices. Everyone will share their insights and give critiques and advice on how they feel the design should look. This creative input helps to make the final design a unique vision for the Gallery Collection and the Christmas card itself a thing of beauty.

The artwork that Lauren submitted to the scholarship contest is coming to fruition through the hard work and creative minds of the Imagers and everyone on the creative team. This design will become personalized holiday cards that Lauren, and everyone at the Gallery Collection, will be very proud of.

Coming up in Part 3, our final installment, we’ll share how the final decisions on colors, foils and the appearance of the card as a whole are made. You won’t want to miss this!

Christmas Card Winning Scholarship Design Turns from Doodle to Dazzling! An Inside Look at the Process – Part 1

How exactly do we take the simple line drawing submitted by Lauren Ondreko, winner of our 3rd annual Create-A-Greeting-Card $10,000 Scholarship contest, and turn it into a potential best seller in our Christmas cards line? You are about to get a rare glimpse inside the process of how a leading publisher of business Christmas cards (yes, that would be us) works some holiday magic!

The contest was a very exciting one this year; with so many talented student artists and photographers submitting their work, the decision was a difficult one. After much deliberation, we finally chose the design submitted by Lauren Ondreko from Friendswood High School in Friendswood, Texas.

Lauren’s artwork, a beautiful line drawing filled with symbols of the holiday season, turned out to prove a somewhat controversial choice as our winner of the $10,000 prize. It was a truly fine piece of art that just so happened to be submitted on a sheet of loose leaf paper! The submission style of the art work caused a bit of a stir, but in the end it was the design that won, and not the medium on which it was received.

Here at the Gallery Collection there is a wonderful creative team who, year after year, successfully turns out some of the most beautiful and original Christmas cards in the greeting cards market today. So just what did they do to this winning doodle to make it into one of our holiday cards that people everywhere will want to purchase?

It all started with the design itself. The original design received a Hi-Res scanning into our system. Once the image had been scanned, it was cleaned up with a graphics program. This takes all of the fine line work and makes it smooth and neat for reproduction.

Here is the original artwork submitted by Lauren for the scholarship contest.

CAGC Scholarship Contest Original Artwork

This is what Lauren’s drawing looked like after it had been scanned into the system, but before the image had been cleaned up.

CAGC Scholarship Contest Scanned Artwork

The artwork cleaning process is an important one. Sharpening the image makes the art suitable for reproduction, which in turn makes a beautiful holiday card. Without this process the image could appear rough or blurry, and would be unfit for use. Once the image had been properly taken care of the production person, or Imager, got to work their own magic on the design!

The next step of the process will follow the design as it moved through the Imager’s hands. Lauren’s art was ready to begin the creative journey of colors, spacing, and everything else that would make it the dazzling Christmas card it was destined to become. Stay tuned for Part 2 and Part 3, where we will give you the inside scoop on just how that happened!

Design #688CX – Merry Christmas Sleigh Bells

Sending and receiving Merry Christmas cards is a special tradition that can bring back childhood memories that trigger the sounds of the season. Sleigh bells are one of those happy sounds that are synonymous with the holiday season. Many carols have bells in the lyrics or use bells as one of the instruments in the background. The bells on design #688CX, Merry Christmas Sleigh Bells Card, are good enough to hang on a one horse open sleigh! Six gold bells hang from a luxurious red ribbon. The embossed detail on buff card stock gives this design a rich quality that will catch your eye and delight the recipient. Gold foil or red ink will make the greeting and personalization on the inside match the color scheme on the front.

Design #688CX - Merry Christmas Sleigh Bells Card
Design #688CX - Merry Christmas Sleigh Bells Card

Just looking at the beautiful bells on this card can bring back warm memories of Christmases past. It’s a good feeling you’ll want to share with everyone!

Framing Business Christmas Cards to Hang Around the House

Who would’ve thought that framing business Christmas cards could become a tradition in my family during the holiday season? With the aroma of turkey and stuffing cooking throughout my mom’s house we are reminded that Christmas is just around the corner. Along with wrapping gifts and personalizing our Christmas cards, out comes my mom’s collection of framed Christmas cards from years past to be placed around the house.

I’m sure you are asking yourself why would someone want to frame and display business Christmas cards around the house. Most people might think that business Christmas cards from companies like The Gallery Collection would strictly be for corporate use, but think again. As an employee of The Gallery Collection, I’ve come to know their Christmas cards line very well. The line is both elegant and distinctive and there are so many different themes of cards to choose from. There are themes that include beautiful sparkling snow scenes; there are wildlife themes that include cuddly bears, birds perched in trees, and deer grazing by trickling streams. There are also the more traditional designs that include decorated Christmas trees, beautiful gift wrapped boxes, and iridescent ornaments. The Gallery Collection also has cards for the young at heart with several fun-filled designs featuring dancing penguins and snowmen.

As you can see The Gallery Collection’s line of Christmas cards are perfect for both business and personal use. Each design is so warm and inviting to look at that I’m sure most would agree they are deserving of a frame and to be placed around the house for all to see year after year. My mom tastefully displays her framed business Christmas cards, whether it be an iridescent ornament sparkling in the foyer or a warm inviting winter scene placed over the mantle of the fireplace to add warmth to the room.

As strange as it sounds, this tradition of framing Christmas cards has been passed on to my sister, and as much as I hate to admit it, I’ve also have been known to frame a few designs myself. Who knows, after reading my story, this just might become your family’s next great holiday tradition.

Bringing Back Memories with Personalized Christmas Cards

The holidays would never be the same without my Christmas cards from friends and relatives strategically arranged like garland around the open French doors to my living room. This area served as the first stop for visitors who entered my family’s home. They couldn’t help but admire the personalized Christmas cards that caught their eyes. Aunt Gert and Uncle Klaus were notorious for adventure and each year they would write about new escapades in their Christmas cards. Everyone looked forward to reading about where they traveled to and what predicaments they got themselves in to…and the content was always as amusing as it was educational.

After appreciating the Christmas cards, guests walk through the open French doors and see the grand piano, which in the past served as the gathering place each holiday when loved ones and guests would burst into harmonic caroling. Fritz always started off the night tickling those ivory keys to tunes of those upbeat classics: “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Joy to the World.” Zelda would sit back cracking her knuckles awaiting her turn at the piano to play the mellow tunes that included “The First Noel,” “Little Drummer Boy,” and “Silver Bells.” They entertained guests throughout the evening and everyone always knew when the night was winding down; Fritz and Zelda would sit together on the piano bench and simultaneously start playing “Silent Night.” No matter where guests had scattered to, this song drew everyone back to the grand piano for what they knew would be one of the last tunes of the night. When the song concluded we held our glasses up high and toasted to another memorable holiday before joining in the final holiday classic “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

In recent years growing families, out of state residences, and busy schedules has kept the tradition from continuing, but for me the magical moments come alive each Christmas. I remember the joy and fun each time I gaze atop the piano where I display the personalized Christmas cards from my dear family and special friends who at one time, on that very spot, let their vocal pipes loose for the sake of good times and tradition.

Design #887CX – Golden Accents

Design #887CX, Golden Accents Seasons Greeting Card, is one of The Gallery Collection’s most elegant and intricate Christmas ornament cards. The design is printed on a heavy, textured deep green paper stock and luxuriously accented with generous quantities of shimmering ruby and gold foils. The primary object of attention is the large garnet Christmas ornament, set left of center, which features a painstakingly detailed golden pattern. Small, swirling etchings populate most of the ornament’s surface around a circular flower pattern at the center. The ornament hangs by a fine string of miniature pearls and is flanked, above and below, by a series of gilded holly leaves and baby pine needles. A few glistening red berries are interspersed amongst the leaves and the words “Season’s Greetings” appear to the right of the ornament in a script font which appears almost handwritten.

Design #887CX - Golden Accents Seasons Greeting Card
Design #887CX - Golden Accents
Seasons Greeting Card

This Christmas ornament card is almost majestic in its appearance and is a perfect choice for companies who wish to make a lasting impression on their valued customers. Any client receiving the Golden Accents card is certain to be impressed by its ornate appearance and elaborate design. It is also perfect for private individuals to order, especially those who greatly value the time-honored tradition of sending Christmas cards. Your friends and relatives who receive this design are sure to be awed by its obvious quality and upscale bearing.