Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Make your own CUTE & EASY Christmas cards!

I decided this year that I wanted to make our own Christmas cards.... but I knew I didn't want to put a lot of time or money into it because we send out about 50 cards. Well, one day I was driving past our old church and saw a big red barn and it just HIT me & I knew exactly what I wanted to do! The barn actually belongs to our old pastor so I asked him if we could take some pictures in front of it and he said yes.....so we met my parents up there and my mom took some pictures of us. This is the one we are using for our Christmas card:
I made the banner by cutting burlap squares and the letters are actually stickers. I wanted to stencil them on but this was easy and the letters show up really good for the pics :)

First thing I did was go on picnik.com and did some editing. I like to use the vibrance tool on everything except our skin....if you use it on the skin it makes it look weird and not cute. Trust me. I also sharpen the picture to give it a more clear look and sometimes I adjust the highlights (under the exposure tab). Then I added the text at the bottom with a holiday font called Winceslas.

Then I ordered 50 4x6 prints from mpix.com. That is my favorite place to get pictures printed. My wedding photographer actually told me about it. They have great quality at a great price!!!
Then I went to Hobby Lobby and bought this little book that was 40% off!! :) It has 50 different designs that are all 4.5 x 6.5. The PERFECT size!
Then I glued (I just used a glue stick) the picture onto the paper right in the middle so there is a border around each picture. I really love the way they turned out and I love how there is such a variety!! Here are just a few:


So for about $16 we got 50 really cute Christmas cards! :)

Link Party
Positively Splendid

14 comments:

  1. You are TOO cute! I seriously think your cards are awesome and the price is amazing:)I would love if you stopped over to link up at Get Schooled Saturday a Too Much Time on my Hands!

    http://kim-toomuchtimeonmyhands.blogspot.com/2011/12/get-schooled-saturday-3.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are ADORABLE! You and your hubby are too cute! I love the bright red color of the barn! Thanks for sharing this with us! Happy Holidays! :)

    Ruthie @ Tattered Bliss

    ReplyDelete
  3. Genius!! Love the scrapbook idea for a border...pinning so I'll remember for next Christmas! :)
    I would love for you to share this at Show & Share going on now!
    http://vintagegwen.blogspot.com/2011/12/show-share-18-darlings.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Those are so adorable! The barn is the perfect backdrop, and your banner is darling! Great photo, cute idea...and cheap too! What a winning combination. I would love for you to share this at my party:

    http://oneartmama.blogspot.com/2011/12/shine-on-fridays-6-and-some-fabulous.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. What about envelopes?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I just bought a box of envelopes at walmart :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm doing the same thing this year, with a nice photo of my 2 boys...already took the photo and edited it, just need some cute scrapbook paper! Your cards are adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great idea! Thanks for posting this :)
    -Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  9. hi wondering where you got the stickers? we have a barn and would love to try this

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is too cute! Featuring your DIY Christmas cards on our Facebook page today, as each Thursday we dedicate as "Thrifty Thursday," featuring DIY/inexpensive ways to save money & craft! :)

    www.facebook.com/betterhalfweddings

    XO,
    The Better Half Girls in South Florida!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have been scouring the web looking for Christmas card ideas and digital scrapbook paper backgrounds to use for our DIY cards this year when I found your post! I love these, and I think the added element of mounting a photo to an actually piece of scrapbook paper is just lovely, and communicates a little something extra! Hooray! Check Christmas card design off the list!! {thanks}
    g i n a

    ReplyDelete