Monday, December 14, 2009

Heritage Makers Holiday Cards

Now that most of my holiday cards have been received, I feel like I can finally share them here! I used Heritage Makers, and this was the first time I had made anything besides a scrapbook through their system.

I'll be honest, I had been planning to just make cheap Costco cards which run around $0.25 each (with the right coupon). They're quick and easy and cheap - but not very personal. As soon as I saw our fall photos from Olivia I knew what I wanted to do for a "theme" - but none of Costco's designs worked for me. I thought for a while about my options because Heritage Makers is not cheap - flat cards run about $1 each, but they are fully customizable on both sides, so I could use the three photos I really wanted to, and my own wording. I put in the order with other credits I was purchasing for myself and for gifts, and basically I was able to get my holiday cards free with host credit. Here's how they turned out:



Isn't that cute? I love it when you greeting and photos can work together in a theme, aka the "HUGS & KISSES" with the photos of us (including Normy) giving hugs and kisses :) Then on the reverse of the card, I wanted to use one larger photo, and have a little place to write:



I included the white space at the bottom so that I could write a personal note and sign each card, I think that is a nice touch. I didn't use a template, but stayed pretty simple - the background is all one piece (the red, gree, and gold stripes), I added the frames, the snowflakes, and the text piece by piece.

The cards are bright and professional, and they're on a slightly glossed cardstock which feels more substantial than photo paper and is much easier to write on. One thing I was really surprised about was the envelopes - they were REALLY NICE. This isn't a huge deal, but it was a little something that stood out to me - with photo center cards you usually get really thin, cheap envelopes. With Heritage Makers I got thick, textured envelopes, which I don't think I've seen outside of wedding invitations for quite some time. Very impressive.

Overall I was really happy with Heritage Makers' cards, and I think I might be hooked :) I just love being able to design my own from scratch, match the colors and themes I want to, and have something truly one of a kind in the end :)

1 comment:

Mindy said...

Had no idea they were 2 sided!!! I just jumped out of my chair & peeled the card off my mirror (that is where I hang them) and discovered the other pic on the back!!! I must not have even thought to look on the back!!! LOVE IT!!!