Tag: christmas cards

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.

Don’t Forget to Sign Your Christmas Cards!

Have you ever received an unsigned greeting card, in an envelope with no return address?  If so, you may be more likely to appreciate the efficiency and freedom of personalized Christmas cards.

On the surface, you might find the incident to be amusing.  But, like her Royal Highness, “I am not amused.”  I am annoyed.  Who do I thank?  How sincere are these good wishes if the sender was too uninvolved to remember to sign?  I have enough to keep track of in my life without a little mystery like this popping up to distract me!

Perhaps you can imagine my embarrassment when I discovered that I had committed this very faux pas.  I truly don’t know what mental lapse caused it, but one year I discovered that several of my Christmas cards went out in this clueless way.

How did I discover this, you ask.  Well, I had picked out some really distinctive, fabulous looking cards so it was easy to spot mine within the tree-shaped Christmas card display on my friend’s wall.  I was so proud of myself!  Until I started peeking inside the cards to see who sent which.  When I peeked inside my card I was chagrined, but of course my friend knew who sent it because of my return address on the envelope, right?  That’s when I learned that I had sent an unsigned card in a blank envelope.  We shared a little embarrassed laugh.  Oh, well, these things happen.

When I saw the same unsigned card on display in a client’s office, I was mortified.  The worst part was, I had no way of knowing how many went out unsigned (I remember signing some cards) or how many went out with no return address on the envelopes (perhaps a blessing in disguise if the card was unsigned).

That was probably the first time that I messed up in that way (I hope) and it was definitely the last time!  Now I order my cards with my name printed on them and I order my envelopes with my name and return address printed on them.  I still like to handwrite a salutation and a couple of words, if time allows, and sign my first name.  But now I have the comfort of knowing that, if I’m in rush or if I forget, my Christmas greetings will still go out to spread holiday joy without creating confusion.

Using Christmas Cards to Think Outside the Box

Christmas cards are sometimes more than meets the eye. Yes, I did just use a line from Transformers but not the movie…the only place real Transformers exist in my mind – the cartoon!

Take any of those business Christmas cards you received this holiday season for instance. They may look like just mere Christmas cards to you, but there are other things you can do with these works of art. How about converting them into your own masterpiece? Cut the front off of these beautiful designs; make a collage; and hang them on your wall. Maybe put them in your cubicle, and keep that holiday spirit all year long.

If you want to be really advanced, try and make a customized gift box out of them. These Christmas greeting cards can help make any gift look good. Take a plain gift box, spruce it up with a bunch of cut outs from Christmas cards from years past. Now look at that plain gift box…not so plain anymore, now is it?!?

I kept last year’s Christmas cards and strung them altogether, hung them off the top of the ceiling, and look at that…I had a festive banner. So don’t think all you have to do with your Christmas cards is open them, hang them on your mantle, and then throw them out. There’s infinite ways to use these little pieces of art. Just be creative and think outside the box.

How Personalized Christmas Cards Saved Santa Claus

Personalized Christmas cards may be something we all take for granted these days, but as with so many other things, personalized holiday cards didn’t always exist. Originally, people made their own greeting cards. The first known “manufactured” Christmas card was in 1843 London, with one individual commissioning a lithographic artist to design and print his cards. Presumably, he still had to sign them.

As Mrs. Claus pointed out to her hubby, people were always saying “thank you” to Santa for his gift-giving (past, present, and anticipated future) but rarely thought to say “thank you” to any of Santa’s elves. So, at some point, Santa decided it was only right and prudent to give Christmas cards to all of his elves, who after all, had worked so diligently all year to provide for the holiday happiness of others. There were a lot of elves, but Santa did have all year to prepare the cards, plus he had the able and enthusiastic assistance of Mrs. Claus.

Years passed and the world population kept increasing. Fortunately, the elfin population increased proportionally, so the workshop was able to keep pace in the production of toys and other goodies. Another fortunate event was the invention of computers, which made Santa’s record-keeping, not to mention his delivery scheduling, more manageable and efficient.

One problem, however, came to be known as “Santa Burn-Out.” He simply could not keep up with hand-signing so many Christmas cards! Poor Santa lost weight and was starting to lose the twinkle in his eyes. But then Santa became a customer of The Gallery Collection. His custom Christmas cards are now perfectly, professionally printed, and he’s able to send them in such a timely fashion that the elves receive them while Santa is making his Christmas Eve deliveries. And, you know what? Now that Santa uses personalized holiday cards, when his big annual journey is completed, he gets the biggest, warmest “welcome home” that you can imagine!

What do Brushing Teeth and Christmas Cards have in Common?What do Brushing Teeth and Christmas Cards have in Common?

Brushing teeth and Christmas cards in my house have A LOT in common. My children are the age of “real teeth” and they must brush them religiously! Every parent loathes the idea of having a child less than perfect in a fashion that was avoidable. That whole parent-child psychology thing is a big topic and not one to get into right now. So you ask what’s the connection? The answer is simple – I constantly remind my kids to brush their teeth.

I have four children and they all react differently. Lindsey is great. She has generally already brushed her teeth, and so when I ask, her response “I did!” comes with a big smile. Daisy most often says “Oh yeah! I forgot,” and she rushes off to brush her teeth (despite the fact that I probably reminded her 20 minutes before…she just gets distracted, I guess). Katie, the oldest, rolls her eyes, huffs and says “Daaaddddddddyyy, pluuuuuuease” and pouts, and won’t make a move towards the bathroom and the toothbrushes. Jackie says “Oh yeah!  I will right after this…” and then she seems to always forget until the next reminder when she promises again “Right after this…”

The thing is, helping customers to remember to order their Christmas cards and corporate holiday cards in time often feels like trying to get my kids to brush their teeth. Everyone knows it needs to be done. Some just put it off more than others or mean to order and then forget. In the end I’m hopeful my kids teeth are beautiful – a testament to their responsible upbringing. Of course, I also worry that too much responsible reminding will impact our relationship if they perceive me to be pestering or annoying.

A Healthy Dose of Business Holiday Cards

The popularity of sending business holiday cards is increasing in leaps and bounds as more companies begin to realize the real value of doing so. Working for The Gallery Collection has taught me a few things, among them being the importance of remembering all the people in our lives during the holidays. What might seem like a small gesture can be quite meaningful to the person who receives a business holiday card.

Case in point is my mom, who called me one fine day in mid-December of last year, elated that her doctors had sent her Christmas cards (and beautiful ones at that!) She described one of the Christmas cards in detail, oohing and aahing over the lovely winter scenes card complete with snow-covered evergreens and personalized in elegant gold foil. She couldn’t wait to show the Christmas cards to me.

That Thursday night I joined her for dinner as I usually did once a week. She loves the thin-crust pizza that I always order for us, since they never serve it at her assisted living facility. She always complains about the food there, but that’s another story. Anyway, as soon as I walked in she said “Before we eat, I have to show you the wonderful Christmas card that Doctor B. sent me. It really is special and you know, I’ve been to lots of doctors in my 87 years and this is the first time I ever got Christmas cards from one of them.”

She handed me the Christmas card and all I could do was smile. I recognized the Christmas card as soon as I saw it! It seems that Doctor B. had excellent taste, since the greeting card he sent was from The Gallery Collection. It was one of my favorite winter scenes holiday cards!

As I looked at the Christmas card, I wondered if the good doctor realized how much happiness he brought, not just to my mom but to all his patients. That one little Christmas card was the best medicine my mom could have gotten from him!