My sister Eva is 10 years younger than I am.  She and my 8-year old daughter, Stella, have a very close relationship.  Eva is not just Stella’s cool aunt; she is also her friend, playmate, and co-conspirator!  Stella wants to be just like her Aunt Eva when she grows up.  As Eva and Stella are two of the most important people in my life, I am so grateful that they have such a special relationship.  Eva’s job as a marketing manager for a cruise line is fun and exciting, but often keeps her on the road, traveling to wonderful places (I know; poor Eva, right?!).  To show Stella that she is thinking of her even when she is far away from home, Eva makes photo greeting cards for Stella of the places she has visited.

While she is away, Eva will have her picture taken at the landmarks of wherever she happens to be.  She is usually doing something silly in the picture to amuse the 8-year old Stella.  For instance, when she visited Italy, she pretended she was holding up the leaning Tower of Pisa, and in London she pretended she was going to kiss the Royal Guardsmen outside Buckingham Palace.  When Eva returns home, she loves to choose floral designs to make her digital photo greeting cards for Stella.  These cards last longer and mean more to Stella than store-bought trinkets (though Eva brings her those, too!), and are much more fun (for both of them!) than a traditional postcard would be.  They are also often educational for Stella, because the pictures allow she and Eva to discuss where Eva was, what she saw, what kind of historical background the place has, etc.  So these digital photo greeting cards not only show Stella that Eva is thinking of her, they also teach her something and amuse her as well (not to mention the people who take the pictures of my crazy sister’s antics, who I am sure are also amused by her!).

I come from a large family of 5 sisters and 4 brothers.  We used to get together for every holiday and had the best time. Since our Mom passed away we just don’t see each other as much; the family is moving apart.  I saw an ad for photo greeting cards and that gave me a great idea for a party invite that would truly get the family interested in seeing each other again.

I found a picture of the entire family which was taken at my 40th birthday party. We’ve taken tons of pictures in the past but not many of everyone in the same shot, so this was perfect.  Honestly who doesn’t look for themselves first in group shots? Frankly, I hate having my picture taken, I am not photogenic, my Mom used to say that I would appreciate the pictures years later and she was right.  This picture was just right; we all looked good – younger, thinner and more hair. I set out to find a site that sold digital photo greeting cards.  I remembered receiving a digital photo greeting card from a friend this past Christmas and I was impressed with the quality, I dug it out to find the vendor.  It was from ChristmasCardsDirect.com. Oh well,  I thought, I’m not having a Christmas party. But I decided to check out the site anyway.  There were photo cards that could be adapted to any occasion but I chose what was called a full bleed; taking up the whole front of the card and the information could be printed on the inside.  Actually it was probably the best choice because it would keep everyone wondering for a few minutes why they got a photo of my party in the mail.

The invitation was very well received; everyone loved it!   Thank you ChristmasCardsdDirect.com for making my idea so easy to accomplish – you are my digital photo greeting card hero!

At ChristmasCardsDirect, we have a lot of fun figuring out non-holiday uses for our photo greeting cards. One of our favorites is using photo cards as birthday invitations.

When you use a photo of the birthday boy or girl (and they could be any age), there is no doubt about the occasion or who is the honoree. Using Create Your Own Personal Photo Cards, Design #E78DAC1, the photo you upload will fill the entire front of the card. Before you upload the photo, you can use one of a number of your own photo editing tools to add the words, “You are invited…” You would then upload your completed design to ChristmasCardsDirect.com.

For the inside of the invitation, you can create the exact wording you want for your special invitation. For example, you might use the traditional line-by-line wording to give the date, time, and location. Or, you can describe the event in more detail and even let people know if the party is a surprise.

Birthday invitation photo cards are a wonderful keepsake to get the party started. And here is a great gift idea for the person with the birthday – thank you cards with a photo from the party on the front. What an easy way to share the fun with photo greeting cards.

Photo greeting cards are a great way to stay in touch with family and friends. Sometimes you wonder if anyone would like to see a picture of you or if they are even interested in your life. For those of us with grown children, life is basically work and home with a few forays into shopping malls or a dinner our. Grocery Shopping, cleaning and laundry would be the average weekly activities with the added attraction of television viewing which means digital photo greeting cards would not be enhanced by my daily life. Not to say that my life is without color, but there is certain sameness that I am totally convinced will make most people want to nap. To my great surprise, I received a photo greeting card that has changed my opinion.

My dear friend Marcia moved to Texas about five years ago. Not being the best phone conversationalists we have been occasional snail mail correspondents, but neither of us has really embraced the Internet social scene. The usual cards of friendship and Thinking of you with short notes are the epitome of contact. We understand that each is busy with our own lives and most times we just want to relax after work and the daily routine. We have a group of friends that know that we care about them scattered around and we all follow the same routine. My friend decided to shake up our ho-hum blasé routine by sending out great photo greeting cards to us all. Life didn’t seem so boring when I received the card!

Marcia was wearing a cowboy hat, boots and jeans with a great blouse that looks like a tablecloth with puffy sleeves. Her blonde hair was all in disarray while she was holding a duster in one hand and vacuuming with the other. The background showed her sofa covered with newspapers, the end table had a dish and half empty glass on it, and the TV was playing behind her. Her saying that I had heard before, “Life is so Daily”, said it all. Inside the message was “Let’s talk more often”.

I am delighted, inspired and motivated to outdo my friend and prove there’s still imagination left in me. I have heard rumblings from other friends and we have all now embraced the idea of digital photo greeting cards as a fun and entertaining method of keeping in touch. One giant step into the 21st century for the middle age “set in our ways” sect. I have renewed energy and find myself calling my friends more frequently while secretly searching for inspiration so I can send my photo greeting cards soon. Look in your mail box tomorrow; you never know what will be coming to delight you!

I have anticipated my trip to the post office every day the last two weeks as we had mailed our photo greeting cards out just after Thanksgiving and I knew we would start receiving cards in return shortly. What can I say; I like to get a jump start on the holiday season! Most of the cards we send travel cross country so it’s best to get them out first thing. I insist on waiting until after Thanksgiving though – you have to let the other holidays have their time to shine as well!

While I have been excited to get all the photo greeting cards in the mail along with the more traditional cards we receive, there was one specific card I knew would be coming and would touch me in a way the others just couldn’t. Tragedy had struck our family earlier this year and my dear cousin (and bridesmaid in my wedding just months earlier) had lost her husband after a short lived battle with cancer. Their family always sends photo cards with a letter containing the happenings from the prior year. I knew it was going to be difficult for them to send their cards and Christmas letter out this year. It would also be difficult for all those receiving the cards to see the family without a very important member present. He was truly an amazing husband and father and just an extraordinary person. Everyone who met him felt blessed to have him in their life. We are all enjoying the holidays as best we can but not a day goes by that we don’t think of him and ask why he was taken from us so young. He had read at my wedding just one month before he passed and I later learned he was horribly ill that day and I will be forever grateful that he insisted on being there.

Their digital photo greeting cards were sent fairly early and I received mine just a couple of days ago. I brought my mail home first instead of opening in the car as I usually did. I knew I would get upset and didn’t think behind the wheel was the place to have a little emotional breakdown.The photo was adorable and portrayed three smiling faces, my cousin, her two kids and the family dog, Sawyer. A small note was printed at the bottom of the card. “In Loving Memory of Greg, Husband and Dad.”

Their yearly letter was also enclosed with additional photos of the entire family. It was written by their two kids and told of the new things going on their life. They spoke of the trips that were able to take with their dad earlier that year, what they were doing in school, the activities they were participating in and the trip they were taking to Disney this December. One paragraph spoke of their dad and his passing and I will share it with you.

“As you know Santa, Daddy died on October 4th from cancer. We are very proud of him and Mommy and the love and courage they showed the past year. We really appreciate all the love and food and gifts from our family and friends! We miss our Dad but we know he is with us always in our heart.”

These words should never have to spoken by an 8 and 5 year old but they are poignant none the less. They have a wonderful extended family and we are all there to love and support them. We will spend the rest of our days telling them stories of their dad and everything he meant to us so his memory always stays fresh in their hearts.

Some might say this story is too depressing around the holidays but I look at it as one more way to express our love for someone who is gone and remind everyone to appreciate the people in their lives every moment of every day. There is not one person out there who has not lost someone they love and although we never forget them, we think about them even more this time of year.

I don’t know about you but trying to keep up with all this digital photo cards technology, status updates, and “tweeting” has got me feeling like I just can’t stay with it. I’m going to be the “F” word this year. That’s right, FORTY! I know all of you twenty-somethings out there can’t fathom what we did before the personal computer become a staple in everyone’s home and the Internet came into existence, but I miss the days of not having to answer emails or your phone 24/7.

Be that as it may, technology is a wonderful thing. Photo greeting cards are the thing to do for the holidays and I am proud to say that I have sent digital photo cards for the past few years (even before some of my friends started!). In the past few weeks, I have made huge personal advancements by joining Facebook, Twitter, and using birthday invitation photo cards for my daughter’s birthday in January. I hadn’t really thought of doing a picture invitation and was fully prepared to buy generic invitations and fill them in, but then I thought how great it would be to send photo invitations. My daughter is already deciding what she will wear for her photo shoot. Photo greeting cards are great for any occasion. They’re a fun way to share photos with family and friends whenever you send out greeting cards. So get with it, all you other forty-somethings, and start sending some digital photo cards. If I can do it, anyone can!

Something happened these past few years
   that has caused me to shed quite a few tears…
The things I knew and always trusted
   got so very old and rusted!

It seems that overnight my camera had become
   some thing dated and really quite dumb.
Photo greeting cards had become the rage
   and digital cameras were space age.

I was now forced to learn this new technique
   because Christmas photo cards were really quite neat!
I considered my options and decided to jump in;
   otherwise this just wasn’t going to happen.

Off I went to the internet to buy me a camera,
   but I didn’t realize I’d need so much stamina!
Different sizes, different shapes, dpi? – oy vey!
   What would be my fate?

It took some time for me to decipher,
   but I finally got it done and mastered.
Now I can take pictures of my beautiful grandkids,
   and order photo cards to show off my talents!

Several years ago (I won’t say exactly how many in order to protect the innocent), my uncle celebrated his 60th birthday. My aunt created a very unique and special invitation for his surprise party. The photo greeting cards that my aunt selected to use for his invitation featured space for three different pictures. The photo montage she chose to use included three pictures from various stages throughout my uncle’s life. In the first picture (black and white, of course), Uncle Bob was an apple-cheeked baby with a full head of blonde curly hair. In the middle picture, he was a teenager with enormous awkward glasses and dark brown hair. The third picture was from my cousin’s wedding last year, and you guessed it – Uncle Bob was all smiles but had even less hair and it was yet another color – silver! Seeing the pictures of my uncle throughout the years definitely brought back fond memories for everyone who was invited to the party.

The surprise party went off without a hitch and my uncle was truly touched that we had all gathered together to celebrate him. My aunt received rave reviews on her invitation and as a result, the photo invitation cards she chose started a new family tradition. Over the years my family has spread out and moved to different areas all over United States – Hawaii, California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, and even a few in different countries! We have all started sending out Christmas photo cards at the holiday season to keep in touch with each other. I am always eager to receive new pictures and photo cards from my relatives – these photo cards hang on my refrigerator all year long in anticipation for the next holiday season!

What makes you choose a photo for photo greeting cards?  There seem to be lots of occasions for which, looking back, I realize that I’d forgotten to bring the camera or (I sincerely hope I’m not the only one who has done this) actually did bring the camera, carried it around all day, and never once remembered to take a picture!  The most extreme case of all (please don’t tell anyone I did something so empty-headed) was when I was snapping away while my visiting relatives posed, only to discover later that there was no film in the camera and no photos to mail to them.  Mortified?  Believe it!

So, what can you do with all the photos you do have, besides (if you’re organized) putting them in albums or (if you’re me) putting them in boxes until you “find time” to organize them?  With birthday photos, I’m thinking you could make a neat collage, something along the lines of those “school days” frames where you install the child’s school photo from each grade, with their high school graduation photo in the middle.  No reason you couldn’t do that at home with birthday photos, right?

With more than one child in the family, you could do a wildly immense collage, and throw in some photos of the old folks from their childhood birthdays.  (Got any old photos at your house with someone seated atop a pony?)  By the way, making a collage is a great way to save and display photo Christmas cards, whether for yourself or as a gift for someone else.

One way to treasure, save, share and display your favorite photos is to have them made into photo cards.  It’s so easy now to upload or scan photos for the face of your photo cards, made to say whatever you want inside of them (for instance as birthday cards or birthday party invitations), or to be blank inside for multi-purpose note cards.  Let your imagination run free and think of all the photo ops you have seized and how the resultant photos would make great thank you cards, anniversary cards, get well cards, and definitely some cool welcome cards or congratulations cards!  The possibilities are endless when it comes to photo cards!

Anyone out there have kids who make it a challenge when taking pictures?  Am I alone in this?  You know the daunting task of taking a young child to have digital photos shot professionally at one of those photo studios that specialize in such things?

Each year, I bring my son to have digital photos taken to ensure that I have great photos of him at every age.  Sometimes I also brave the trip to a photo studio to take digital photos for the photo Christmas cards I send out at the end of the year.  If I were any kind of photographer, I’d skip the whole process and just take the digital photos myself, but unfortunately a photographer I’m not.  Some people may think it’s exciting to go get portrait photos done…memories to last a lifetime, right?  Well, if you have a child over the age of six this may be the case, but for me, it’s not.

Somehow keeping them clean, stopping the crying, teaching patience while we wait on line (didn’t I make an appointment???), getting them to look at the camera (would it be too much to hope for a smile?), and praying they don’t punch the photographer while having their photos taken is not so exciting!

Then when it all settles down, I think to myself “Why would anyone choose to do this?  I don’t need to have portrait photos done, do I?”  Then I realize of course I do, and that the daunting task is worth every second once the digital photos arrive.  It’s true what they say, memories do last a lifetime and when the kids are little, it’s a memory you’ll want to keep forever.

So, maybe I should consider some photography classes for myself.  Make my own greeting cards, create beautiful portraits and photo greeting cards for friends…why not show off my portraits?  Who knows, with a little practice I might be the next Annie Leibovitz!