Month: July 2011

Design #867CX – Holiday Berry Wreath Christmas Card

I have always loved Christmas cards with simple elegant beauty. Before now I had not thought that the color black was attractive for Christmas cards. It always seemed more appropriate for the holiday season to use more vibrant colors. I changed my mind when a card with the utter beauty of a wreath of gold berries done in lustrous foil against a deep black background took my breath away. Design 867CX – Holiday Berry Wreath Christmas Card, with its sprinkling of red berries and a simple bow done in a rich red foil, has been elevated to a level of beautiful sophistication. Season’s Greetings printed in a flowing script states exactly what I want to convey to my clients and associates.

Design 867CX - Holiday Berry Wreath Christmas Card
Design 867CX - Holiday Berry Wreath
Christmas Card

This exquisite personalized holiday card on sturdy black stock is my choice this holiday season. Design 867CX – Holiday Berry Wreath Christmas Card makes me feel I am sending my clients and associates a tastefully simple yet exquisitely beautiful holiday wish this year.

An Unlikely Testimonial For Holiday Cards

It may seem strange, but I’m really looking forward to my employer’s holiday cards this year. Especially the Christmas selection.

In most workplaces getting Christmas cards from the boss is nice but hardly a cause for excitement. The sentiment is appreciated but… corporate Christmas cards are so often colorless and boring and a little cold. Why bother? I used to say take that money and put it in my paycheck!

That all changed last year when my company started getting their cards from the Gallery Collection. Design 822CX – Shimmering Skyline Card, was a real stunner of a card. An artist’s vision of a glimmering city skyline against a dark blue night sky, with windows glittering as if lit, and glistening snow swirling in the air. It was a card worthy of a frame.

So I started wondering which one my employer would send this year. If anyone had told me that corporate Christmas cards would ever be worthy of any kind of testimonial, I’m sure I would have laughed. But it’s no joke. Sending a card can be more than just an impersonal formality. If your boss chooses the right card, it can really add to the joy of the season.

Design 739CX – Thanksgiving Berry Garden Holiday Card

When shopping for holiday greeting cards I’ve never actually considered Thanksgiving cards.  Automatically I head straight for the Christmas cards.  You know the ones with snow scenes, wreaths, ornaments or Christmas trees as the cover design.   I might choose a card depicting a Nativity scene for those friends who celebrate the day as a religious holiday or maybe a card that observes Hanukkah for Jewish friends.  But in my search I discovered Design 739CX – Thanksgiving Berry Garden Holiday Card, which caught my attention and drew me toward it.  The design isn’t quite what one might come to expect from Thanksgiving cards.  Typically I would describe most Thanksgiving designs as robust, featuring the bold colors of autumn, pumpkins, covered bridges, cornucopias and turkeys.  This card, on the other hand, is a delicate display featuring a spray of berry branches adorned with soft, pastel colored foil berries.

Design 739CX - Thanksgiving Berry Garden Holiday Card
Design 739CX - Thanksgiving Berry Garden Holiday Card

Design 739CX – Thanksgiving Berry Garden Holiday Card, is also a great way to extend goodwill at the start of the traditional holiday season.  And since it is a secular holiday it offers the opportunity to express your feelings to one and all confidently.  There is never a need to concern yourself as to whether a specific card is appropriate or not for any of your friends or clients.

Holiday Wreath Cards at Christmas Time

My Mother and Father could never tell me when it was Christmas, as the thought of all of the fun filled family moments would make me utterly sick with excitement. I would lie awake, which seemed to be all night long, waiting for the noise of his sleigh bells, the sound of glistening snow tapping my bedroom window, the moon shining through our living room window and Santa’s arrival. Mom would decorate a circle of greens with ornaments of shiny red and gold which included sprigs of holly, the tiniest little red berries and a golden bow. The wreath’s fragrance of the forest permeated our home before our family walked through the front door. I knew Christmas was getting closer, and the man who had white hair, and a red suit, would bring special toys to my two sisters and I. I would save my small allowance so I could walk to the Red Letter Gift shop to buy my parents something beautiful. My next clue that my favorite holiday was approaching was the daily arrival of the man in the white truck who delivered our mail…beautiful shiny, shimmering holiday wreath cards. These cards looked just like the wreath my Mom dressed up for our big wooden door. Perhaps she got her idea from those cards. Many other cards were decorated with white sparkling snow covering pointed green trees that led me to even more anticipation. I knew that Dad would soon take all of us to pick out our Christmas tree.

Christmas has always blessed my family with so many extraordinary memories. I have always remembered the excited feeling I got when all of my parent’s very special friends and family took the time to send us their beautiful shiny, shimmering Christmas cards. These friends always wrote a special wish for us. In the time of computers, email and cell phones, some have forgotten about the beauty and the thrilling feelings that Christmas cards deliver to your heart. I learned the thought, time and personal touch a Christmas card brings to my favorite holiday warms the heart for a life time. I continue to encourage my own children that a Christmas card or any type of greeting card will warm, encourage and make a special person smile. And to all a good night!

Design 572AE – Let’s Celebrate! Birthday Card

Are you looking to send festive personalized birthday cards to celebrate employees and co-workers’ birthdays? Design 572AE, Let’s Celebrate! Birthday Card, has a colorful cast of characters that are in the midst of a celebration. Some are wearing party hats and everyone is having fun. There is one gentleman that looks like he is wondering whose birthday it is that they are celebrating. Or if he is anything like me and my co-workers, he is wondering, “Where is the cake?” At the top of the card, “Happy Birthday from all of us” is written out in blue, red, yellow, and green. This whimsical birthday card is sure to please!

Design 572AE – Let’s Celebrate! Birthday Card
Design 572AE – Let’s Celebrate! Birthday Card

Design 572AE, Let’s Celebrate! Birthday Card, is truly a festive way to share your warm wishes for a great day with any employee or co-worker. Such a bright and exuberant birthday card also makes being at work on your special day just a little bit easier to take!

Thank You Cards and Operation Home Improvement

Have you ever sent thank you cards to contractors for a job well done?

I recently had work done on my house. It was not the most pleasant experience for a few reasons:

• My husband, Dan, and I were newbies to major home improvement jobs. We didn’t know what to expect and stumbled through the process a bit. (What, we need a permit???)
• The work we needed done was unexpected, necessary, and completely practical. (Not a “fun” cosmetic project such as a beautiful kitchen or bathroom renovation we could admire when finished.)
• We had just built up our savings to buy me a new car, and now that plan is on hold. (Booo-hooo!)

It all started in March. Mounds of melting snow coupled with days of heavy rain caused flooding in our basement. We couldn’t ignore the problem. We hired a reputable masonry company to waterproof the basement, which included rebuilding our crumbling entryway and installing French drains and a sump pump.

The work wouldn’t be done for a few months, so we at least had time to prepare and save money. April came, and so did my birthday. The cash my family stuffed inside of my birthday cards would go straight to the basement job. Happy birthday to me! And Dan’s birthday was in June, so the gift money inside his birthday cards would go towards the job as well.

When the project finally started, my nerves were shot. Could we afford to do this? Will the workers do a good job? Remind me again why I wanted to buy a house?!

Three days later, the job was done. Everything went smoothly and the work looked great.

I sent our contractor, Adam, a thank you card to express my appreciation. Throughout the entire process, Dan and I had pelted him with lots of questions. Adam was always so patient and put us at ease. Sending a greeting card wasn’t necessary, but I thought it would be a nice gesture since we were so pleased with the work. And hey, maybe the next time we hire them they’ll remember the gracious thank you card I sent and give us a discount!

Design 732CS – Christmas Eve Holiday Card

Every year as autumn approaches we begin to think about the holiday season that is fast upon us.  They begin with Halloween, then comes Thanksgiving, then Christmas.  And with the holidays comes the annual selection of personalized holiday cards.  Recently I came across a specific card, Design 732CS – Christmas Eve Holiday Card, that immediately caught my attention.  It is a bright, cheery design that catches the eye and brings a smile to your face.  Colorful buildings are set in a rural country village featuring horse drawn sleighs while carolers in the Village Square sing in front of an evergreen tree decorated for the holidays.

Design 732CS – Christmas Eve Holiday Card
Design 732CS – Christmas Eve Holiday Card

The cartoon like artwork of Design 732CS – Christmas Eve Holiday Card, has a whimsical feel with farm animals peeking from behind barn doors and windows, wreaths hung everywhere and Christmas trees prominently displayed in some of the homes.  And as smoke wafts from chimneys a bright full moon teams up with seemingly endless stars that fill the night sky to illuminate the snow covered village below.  Santa Claus is ready for a landing as he descends from the sky with his famous reindeer and gift laden big red sleigh to deliver presents to the joyful townsfolk. This design will be something fun for everyone who receives it.

Why Should I Wait To Order My Holiday Cards?

I always like to get things done early.  In college I was never that person to pull an all nighter to finish up a paper…I had it printed out days before it was due. Everything in my house needs to be in order hours, not minutes, before company arrives. Because of this, it came as no surprise to my business partners when I suggested we order our holiday cards in June. Sure, most people wait until the temperature drops below 80 to even begin thinking about this, but I figured, why not get them now?  That way if someone sends out the same cards as me, I can be sure I got them first!  The nice summer sales on holiday cards are good reasons as well.

To tell the truth…it’s not just because of my “Get things done early” nature that has me purchasing our corporate Christmas cards in June.  It’s part of it, but there is something else.  The holidays are my favorite time of the year.  I wish everyone had the Christmas spirit all year round.  By ordering my cards in June, I get a little bit of that feeling again.  Looking around at all the holiday images gives me a little taste of what I can expect come November and December.  Something about Santas, Christmas trees, and snow just puts me in a good mood.  I even once had the urge to send out mid-year Christmas cards just to see what kind of reaction I would get.  That idea was one my business partners were able to talk me out of, however.  Well, I’m still glad to say my 2011 corporate Christmas cards are ordered and I plan to have them written out by the end of the summer.  As to when I actually send them out…that’s not decided yet.  I think around Thanksgiving sounds nice.