Designing Digital Holiday Photo Cards

One of the really fun features of Crane's new website is the ability to create digital holiday photo cards right from your own computer. Crane has lots of designs to chose from, with options to personalize your greeting text, typestyle and ink color.

But the most fun is the digital photo editor. You can upload your photos from your computer, from Picasa or from Flikr. Once upoaded, the photo editor lets you crop, flip, rotate, change to black and white or sepia tone, fix those nasty red eyes and even use a fill flash to bring out the best in the photos. There's also an auto fix for the less adventurous. You can even get a printable pdf proof. So don't bother messing with your photos before you design your cards. You can do it all on crane.com

Here are a few experiments:

National Magazines Making Gift Guide Selections

It's been a busy time of late, as the national magazines start making selections for their Holiday Gift Guides. I never know until I have a copy in my hand if a piece of Crane stationery actually makes it to print. So in order not to jinx the situation, I'll show you their selections to date but won't name the magazines.

Hand-engraved Angel with Harp

Calligraphy Dove

Black Label Collection: Hand-engraved Elephants

Engraved Flame Red Monogram

kate spade awning stripe calling card

classic kate spade post cards

kate spade plaid holiday greeting card

Martha Stewart Sea Life Correspondence Card

Julia Farill's Spectacle Note Selection

And, of course, a Classic Thank-you Note

Christmas In July: A Sneak Peek

I just got my Crane holiday albums, which means they are now in stores. But before you head out to get an early start on ordering your personalized holiday cards, here are some visual teasers:

A Martha Stewart Morning: Repurposing Holiday Cards, and New Wedding Invitations Albums Arriving at Stores

Whilst checking on my stock portfolio in the Wall Street Journal this morning (not!) I came across an article entitled "What Would Martha Stewart Do With Holiday Cards Still Sitting Around?"

Here's a link to the article so you can check it out yourself. 

In the article I noted with interest and enthusiasm an option for those of us who are not crafty and who want to be able to make a contribution to a very valuable cause even when we don't have the funds to write a check.


Those used holiday cards can be turned into new cards as part of the St. Jude's Ranch for Children Recycled Card Program. Mail the fronts of your cards to 100 St. Jude's St., Boulder City, Nev., 89005 before Feb. 28. For more information, go here.

And while I'm on the subject of Martha Stewart and stationery, brand new albums displaying the Martha Stewart Weddings collection have arrived in stores, just in time for the busiest invitation-planning season.

 

To have a look at the collection from the comfort of your own computer, you can click here. To find a Crane stationer nearest you who carries the album, you can click here.

Share Your Holiday Card Displays

I just happened to run across - via the wonders of Twitter - a clever and beautiful way to display holiday cards. Here's how Mindy Lockard of Manner of the Month is displaying her cards this year. Make sure you go here to see how it's done.

Send along web-sized photos of your displays. I'd love to see them and share them!

peter dot hopkins at comcast dot net

Dreary Outlook for the Annual Trek in the Woods

It's time once again for the annual foray into the wilds of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom in search of the elusive Whitetailus Slipperendae. And it looks like the weather won't be cooperating. I am not looking forward to Tropical Storm Ida's aftermath, which looks to bring wind and rain and temperatures in the 40s. I am not happy. Not that they would have anything to worry about from my presence in the woods. After al,l I still have my lucky shells from 1972.....

Since I probably won't be seeing any in the woods, I have taped the following on my wall.

 

 

Holiday Cards are for the Birds!

And they're on sale to boot! All Crane personalized holiday cards are 10% off through the end of the year. Some of my personal favorites have flown in to strut their stuff:

The First Day of Christmas

 

Partridge in a  Pear Tree

 

A regal pheasant

 

Three Festive Flamingos

 

Peace to the World

 

Dove of Peace

Martha Stewart Holiday Cards - Yes, It's That Time

It's the day after Labor Day and it still feels like summer, but protocol calls for stowing away the seersucker jacket and white pants until next season. The nights are cooling off here in Vermont, some trees are starting to show some color, and dinner tonight is lamb and roast potatoes.

Yes, I'm gearing up for fall and among the many annual autumnal activities is the search for the perfect holiday card. As you can imagine, I don't mean the rack at the drug store; I'll write more about that later on.

So, to help get you started on the quest for that perfect card, here are some brand new offerings from the Martha Stewart boxed holiday collection:

Santa's Best Friends

Engraved Calligraphy Tree

Holiday Tides

Letterpressed Noel

Letterpressed Peace

Engraved Calligraphy Santa

I Want to be a Holiday Card Designer!

But alas, I have no talent. So, I must live vicariously through the works of others. In this case, a New Year's card from Crane's kate spade holiday collection.

I love the cover.



The inside is bright and fun.



And it took me a while to understand that "Cheers" is constructed with little holes punched in the paper with a laser die-cutter. Such fun!

Last Sneak Peek Before the National Stationery Show

There are so many things to do tomorrow before catching the train to the city on Saturday, that I'm going to wrap up our exclusive sneak peeks at Crane stationery debuting at the National Stationery Show.

I'm chickening out on making a single pick for the best-selling holiday card this season. Too many opportunities to be wrong, so I thought I'd even out the odds just a little. So, without further waffling, here are my top three picks.







And here's the dark horse: Rounded edge, gold foil, printable menu cards. These are a budget-friendly way to dress up any dinner table - even an intimate dinner for two. They come in white and ecru, with either gold or silver foil - 25 for $26. The example shown below was printed on my little Epson inkjet. They have an imprintable finish and are made with 64-pound paper. One cautionary note. You can't put cardstock like this through an all-in-one printer. You need to have a printer that feeds from top to bottom without sharp turns. You will probably waste a couple until you get the hang of getting them started in your printer, but it is way worth it!

Once the word gets out - and it will at the Stationery Show - these cards will sell like hotcakes (with real Vermont Maple Syrup)! See you at the show.