Month: March 2013
Decorating with Business Greeting Cards for Christmas
I love getting cards. I love the fact that someone went to the time and the trouble to pick out a card, write some stuff in it and actually mail it to me. It doesn’t matter if they are birthday cards, Christmas cards or even business greeting cards, I love them all because it means someone took the time to think of me.
I am passionate about the whole recycle reuse concept and, after I have enjoyed reading and looking at the cards, I immediately set my sights on breathing new life into them.
For the smaller size Christmas cards I am a fan of cutting the back off of them, punch a hole at the top right corner of the front of one and using them as a gift card. When I receive both personal holiday cards and company Christmas cards I use them as part of my Christmas decorations. The bigger and brighter they are, the more I enjoy decking the halls with them.
Here is how I make a greeting card Christmas tree:
1. I take a large piece of felt and cut it out in the shape of large rectangle about 16 x 16 inches.
2. I then cover the front a 14 x 14 piece of old cardboard.
3. I wrap the excess material in the back and staple it.
4. I then take my cards and I begin arranging them in the shape of a Christmas tree. Just put them on a slant and overlap them until you have the angled corners sticking out until you create a tree shape.
5. I then take a solid piece of holiday ribbon and glue it down the front of the tree.
6. I use whatever I have on hand to make the tree stump.
7. For a finishing touch, I add snow to the bottom of the tree by gluing some poly cotton fiber fill to by board.
8. If I am really feeling creative, I dig up some of my previous year’s “gift cards” or Christmas cards that have not yet been repurposed and look for ones that have gifts on them and cut the presents out and place them under my tree.
There you have it! A Christmas card tree.
The Gallery Collection Announces the 2nd Chance – $1,000 Christmas Tree Design Contest
The Gallery Collection is pleased to announce our 2nd Chance – $1,000 Christmas Tree Design Contest. This exciting new contest is open to the finalists from the Gallery Collection’s 6th Annual Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship contest.
After receiving such a large number of outstanding entries, we wanted to run an exciting new contest to give one finalist from the 6th Annual Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship contest a second chance to win.
All finalists from the 6th annual scholarship contest are invited to submit designs that feature Decorated Christmas Trees. The finalists are allowed to submit as many decorated tree designs as they would like in the allotted time. Submissions to the contest can be an original photo, artwork or computer graphic. The winner with the best design as chosen by a panel of judges will receive a $1,000 award.
The contest begins on March 27th and will end on April 21st. The winner will be announced on May 15, 2013, so all of our 2nd chance finalists won’t have long to wait to see if they are the winner! The finalists of the scholarship contest created such beautiful and unique designs that there is no doubt the Christmas Tree Design contest will have equally wonderful art.
Congratulations to all the finalists of the 6th Annual Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship contest. Everyone at the Gallery Collection looks forward to seeing the amazing decorated Christmas tree designs that are sure to be entered.
2nd Chance – $1,000 Christmas Tree Design Contest Guidelines:
Submission Deadline: April 21, 2013
Winner will be announced: May 15, 2013
Eligibility: Must be a 6th Annual Create-A-Greeting Card Scholarship Finalist
Official Rules
Type of Holiday Card: Decorated Christmas Tree
Format: Original photo, artwork or computer graphic as a jpeg* accompanied by your name and contact information to designcontest@gallerycollection.com
Preferred Size: 7.875” x 5.5”
While the design itself would need to fit within those
dimensions, it is not necessary for you to submit in
this exact size.
Orientation: horizontal or vertical
Maximum File Size: 2 megabytes
Minimum Resolution: 300 dpi
Keep original layers in tact.
Business Birthday Cards That Show You Care
In every stage of my life the most important thing I’ve learned is that people will appreciate being appreciated. From my time in the Army when our commanders acknowledged our birthdays or anniversaries to when I was working in a corporate environment and smiled every time my bosses praised me for a job well done. Even walking down the street and someone saying a simple “Thank you for your service” when they saw my military shirt. It just feels wonderful to know that people care. And it’s a great motivational tool. That’s why when I started my own small business, I didn’t hesitate to order business Birthday cards from the Gallery Collection. I knew from experience that it was well worth the few extra dollars to let my employees and clients know that they weren’t just a number to me and that they were valued. More so, I wanted them to know they were worth the best quality cards out there, not some cheap dollar store card.
Once you give your employees and clients their special card on their special day, it’s hard not to light up inside just as much as they do. The feeling of making someone smile is great. And you know what, I notice that once you give cards your employees and clients will be more loyal, friendly and appreciative back. It’s not only a good thing to do, but it’s also a great business investment. I find that throughout these years since I started sending cards my business has only gotten stronger. In fact, now I buy my birthday cards in bulk, in case I have new clients who come in. As the Army taught me, it’s always best to be prepared. I wouldn’t want to miss a single chance to reach out to a client and dazzle them with the beautiful cards that we have. They create a lasting impression and it’s always nice to let people know that we’re much more than your average business.
Sympathy Cards and Treasured Thoughts
Sending sympathy cards is not the most pleasant task, as we all know. It is however, a part of life. Our logical minds tell us that but our hearts aren’t as easily convinced. Just conveying condolences can be stressful. We are never quite sure what to say. We don’t want to upset anyone. If you are like me, just the thought can bring on the waterworks. What if we send the wrong type of card or say the wrong thing? Sometimes this means we may do nothing at all.
As one that has been on both ends as a sender and a receiver, way too many times I might add, I can vouch for the value of sympathy cards. After losing my daughter several years ago I received many, many sympathy cards. Every single one was so greatly appreciated. I placed all of them in a plastic container. Once in awhile, I would pull them out and read them. It was so comforting to read all of the kind words. Some were just simply signed, while others had handwritten notes. It didn’t matter. Each one was a great source of comfort. I still have that little plastic container with the cards.
At work corporate sympathy cards come into play. Over the last few years I have lost a few more family members. Each time I was sent a sympathy card be my employer, as well as my co-workers. These too were treasured more than words could ever say.
Whether you’re a business or sending out personally, consider keeping a supply of sympathy cards on hand. Choose a couple or order an assortment box of cards. Include a few words if you like or just sign your name. It doesn’t matter if it is simply signed or includes words of remembrance. The receiver will be eternally grateful.
Keeping the Tradition of Birthday Cards Alive
Need to talk? Send an email! Not sure how to spell a word? Spell check! Ah, the wonderful age of technology. Now don’t get me wrong – we have come a long way with the help of computers and other digital gadgets. But where does it end? Is it possible we are using technology a little too much these days? It’s sad that even a simple practice like sending birthday cards is slowly diminishing. I recently received an automated email (the kind you cannot reply to) wishing me a happy birthday from one of my business associates. How impersonal!
While I can’t stop the rapidly-changing world we live in, I can pick and choose the traditions I’d like to preserve. I pride myself on the fact that I still send high-quality birthday cards to my employees, family and friends. Besides, it’s quite an enjoyable process. At the beginning of each year, I buy a box of assorted birthday cards from The Gallery Collection and keep them at my office. As birthdays roll around, I pull out the box from my drawer and select the perfect design (this is my favorite part). After jotting a note inside, I hand-address the envelope, slap on a stamp and off it goes. The responses I get are overwhelming! I think it reminds everyone that a touch of humanity every now and then is still very much needed and appreciated.
Congratulations to the Winner of our 6th Annual $10,000 Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest
Congratulations to Kathy Zhou of Philadelphia, PA! She is the winner of our 6th Annual $10,000 Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest! Kathy is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania who is studying Computer Science with a minor in Design. She has created a beautiful design that features a unique and creative representation of a traditional Christmas image. Kathy submitted a design that is 100% original, and we can’t wait to see the finished product! Our judges had a truly difficult decision to make as there were so many creative entries in the finalist pool, but we think Kathy’s design will make a truly amazing card.
Here is the design Kathy submitted:
The 7th Annual $10,000 Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest will begin on March 18, 2013. Be sure to visit the entry page to reacquaint yourself with the rules and guidelines. You may also check out our newly updated winners page to view the designs submitted by our previous winners and to get inspired.
St. Patrick’s Day – Celebrating A Culture
“Top O’ the morning to you!” A traditional Irish greeting whose proper response is “ and the rest of the day to yourself.” Just the thought of it brings a smile and memories of years and years of wearing green and eating corned beef and cabbage. As I sent out photo invitations to my annual St. Patrick’s day celebration I wondered how we came to a food and drink celebration in honor of a man who by all accounts was a devoutly religious man who spent his life in prayer and spreading Christianity. Armed with my curiosity, I did some research and found some interesting facts about St. Patrick and his feast day.
St. Patrick was born around 385 in England to a wealthy and high standing roman family. He was captured at the age of 16 by Irish raiders and sold into slavery to high priest of Druidism, a pagan sect that was the ruling religious influence in Ireland. As he worked as a shepherd he spent much time in prayer for guidance and so became more devote in his Christianity. He had a vision that the children of Pagan Ireland were reaching out their hands to him. In time he became increasingly determined to convert the children he had a dream that impressed on him the need to escape his enslavement. Finding his way back to England he devoted his next few years to learning and eventually was sent to Ireland by the Pope as a missionary bishop to convert Ireland to Christianity. Nobody can imagine that this was an easy task, but apparently his mission was blessed for he survived many trials and converted Ireland to Christianity before his death on March 17, 461. Thus making him the most celebrated of saints in the world. Around the ninth or tenth century March 17 was celebrated as a holy day of obligation for the Catholics of Ireland, although the day is also celebrated by the Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox and the Lutheran church. The traditional celebration which comes during the Lenten period would be to attend mass in the morning and eat and drink in the afternoon since the Lenten prohibitions were suspended for this one day. The traditional meal was Irish bacon and cabbage.
Oddly enough the first parade on this day was not held in Ireland, but in the United States. In 1762 Irish soldiers serving in the English army marched through New York City which helped them connect with their Irish roots. As Irish societies sprang up they joined together and in 1848 united their parades and so was born what is considered the largest St. Patrick’s parade in the world and certainly the oldest and largest in the U.S. Parades are not limited to New York and Ireland now but to many places around the globe, such as Japan, Singapore, Russia, England and Canada. What started out as a celebration of one man’s dedication to his faith has turned into a celebration of all things Irish. Or maybe it is the celebration of how one small nation has sent from it’s shore it’s sons and daughters to spread a natural love of food, dance and a little religion mixed in to the four corners of the earth.
In celebration of St. Patrick and all that he has inspired I will be celebrating once again on March 17, eating corned beef and cabbage, wearing green and singing the words of the old Irish song:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand
Bulk Greeting Cards Keep Employees Happy
Working in a busy office can be tough at times. I try to make life easier by having snacks and developing employee contests in order to keep stress at bay. I’m always looking for new ways to create a friendly working environment. Sending out birthday, holiday, and congratulation cards are a fabulous way to connect with employees and show appreciation. In addition, I feel great knowing that I have wonderful relationships with everyone in my office. In order to continuously give out cards (it seems that there’s at least one birthday every week), I found that buying bulk greeting cards really makes a difference. No longer do I have to continue a weekly run to the local drug store. I have all the cards I need right at my fingertips!
Assortment boxes are the absolute best. I can purchase a box that has cards for every single occasion. I love that greeting card companies choose the best of their selection and put a few of each design in a single box! I know I have a difficult time choosing; all of the cards are so intricately designed! The assortment boxes let me get the best of the best in conjunction with peace of mind. You definitely can’t beat that!
Saving That Trip to the Store for Assorted Birthday Cards
I work as an assistant to the Regional Manager of a large retail chain. I’ve been doing this job for a number of years and part of that job is to make a trip to the local card store to pick up a few birthday cards for my boss to send to employees. While this is not a particularly big deal, it just got to the point where I said “There has to be an easier way”. I started my search on the internet and found a card company called The Gallery Collection that sold an assortment box of birthday cards. The box contained 35 assorted birthday cards and 38 envelopes, with several different designs and greetings. To make a long story short, I ordered, I liked, I used!
Since I was on a roll, I pointed out to my boss that he could place an order for business birthday cards that could be sent to clients. He didn’t need much persuasion. I called and requested a few samples to choose from and he was definitely impressed with the quality of the cards. Once the decision was made about the design and a greeting was selected, I went online and placed the order. The process was so simple that again, I ordered, he liked, he used!