It's only September, the season has only just turned to fall, and yet here I am, thinking about Christmas. Grossly premature, I know. Don't worry—I haven't bought any gifts or decor yet. I'm not that good.
But being the stationery aficionado that I am, I'm thinking about holiday cards. Every year I intend to send out warm wishes in paper form to my friends and family. Some years it happens. Other years it doesn't. The procrastinator in me is to blame.
So that's why I'm thinking about it now, three months in advance. As you probably know, I have plenty of recent professional photographs (here's looking at you, engagement session and wedding) that cost big bucks and I want to share them! It's like that expensive fancy dress you justify splurging on by telling yourself you'll wear it more than once—over and over and over again, in fact.
We used Minted for our wedding invitations and were absolutely delighted with their look and quality, so it was a no-brainer to turn to the online marketplace once again for its selection of unique holiday cards created by indie designers and artists.
There are tons of wonderful options (including non-photo cards) that can keep you busy browsing for hours, but here are my fave flat-format photo cards:
Painted Banner. (This may be my top contender; I am smitten with the holly and pine banner and matching envelope liner and label!)
Clockwise from top left: Mosaic // Merry Brush and backer options // Oh So Merry Collage // Festive Type and envelope liner & label
I'm also loving the beautiful foil-stamped holiday cards (available in gold, silver and rose gold foil). The shimmer and shine is perfect for the holiday season.
If you're planning ahead like me, make sure to take advantage of Minted's annual preview sale, going on now but only for a limited time. Minted doesn't offer discounts often, and usually never this good: 20% off holiday cards with the code PREVIEW2014. You're welcome!
(Top image via Edelweiss Post, an awesome Etsy shop dedicated to keep real mail alive and well, one vintage stamp at a time. Love.)
I'm a little torn on sending out holiday cards this year. Not because I don't want to send them, but because I'm due in December and also want to send out baby announcements. I keep thinking I could combine them, or just send out announcements, but haven't quite figured out a plan yet.
ReplyDeleteAnd we actually didn't send out holiday cards the year we were married, but that was because we sent out thank you cards, with our photo, right around the same time, and I was faced again with the dilemma of sending two similar looking items out at once.
Yeah, that is tricky. Though, everyone loves getting mail, so if you sent out a holiday card and a baby announcement I'm sure people wouldn't mind ;)
DeleteI wanted to send out holiday cards last year using our engagement session photos, but since our session was the last day in November, we didn't get them in time. That's why I'm set on sending out ones this year with our wedding pics!
Of course, after I posted this, I found a whole section on Minted of holiday cards specifically for newlyweds. There are soooo many options!! :)