Get a FREE Treat Card: Monday 11/19 & Tuesday 11/20 ONLY!

In college, I worked at a greeting card store. It was the best job. Why did I love it so much? In part, because I got to see all the new cards as soon as they came in. When business was slow, I could pore over the rows of cards, carefully choosing greetings for my friends and family for every occasion imaginable.

Now I can combine my love of online shopping with greeting card shopping. Personalized cards are especially awesome. Treat is Shutterfly's latest foray into allowing consumers to create one-of-a-kind cards. They have a wide range of greeting cards for every holiday and special event, and each one can be specially customized, either with text or photos AND text.

Visit Treat to find cool cards like this one, for any occasion!

Treat is cutting edge. I mean, have you ever seen a Twihard greeting before??

Interested in checking out Treat for yourself? Today and tomorrow ONLY (Monday, November 19 & Tuesday, November 20), you can use the code TREATBLOGR to order one free greeting card from Treat! FREE SHIPPING too! This is a total win-win! Now get on over there & claim your free card!

Disclaimer: In exchange for this post, I get free cards. However, all opinions are 100% my own.

Send Smartecards & Donate to Charity of Your Choice! Win 25 Credits to Get Started!

Sending out Christmas cards is such a gigantic hassle that I only get to it about every other year. I do love to send cards, but by the time I get a decent picture of the kids, find a good deal online, design the cards and order them, I'm about tuckered out. But then I still have to buy stamps, address all the envelopes, and mail the cards.

If you have trouble finding the motivation to go through all that too, I just found out about something you might be interested in, called Smartecard. It's a website where you can go to design your holiday cards and email them to everyone on your list. At the same time, your purchase goes to a non-profit charitable organization. Plus, since the cards are virtual, it's environmentally sound. This is how it works.

1. Create an account and indicate which charitable organization you would like to support.
2. Choose your card style. Right now they're mostly limited to holiday designs, but they have plans to add lots more categories in the future, including Birthday, Friendship, and Love.
3. Choose images. You can upload pictures from your computer and choose 3 to use in your card. If you'd like, you can include an image from your chosen non-profit, which will be provided for you.
4. Edit the text on each picture by clicking on the picture and then clicking on the text box. Right now the editing options are pretty limited - you can't choose your font or font size, but you can move the text box around and change the color of the text. Maybe this is something they'll improve upon as they grow.
5. Choose music. There are 21 songs to choose from, and you can listen before you choose. The music will play as your images are shown, slideshow style.
6. Preview your card. Make sure you do this so you can see your card exactly as your recipients will see it.
7. Name and save your card.
8. Choose your recipients. You can import email addresses from your email account (including AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and more) or enter them manually. 
9. Add an email subject and a message that will go in the body of your email.
10. Send your cards. Your recipients will have the option to respond to the card with a personal message just for you, which will be delivered directly to your email. After you send the cards, you can log back into your account to see who has opened your card.

It costs $1 for each Smartecard (equal to 1 email - so if you design a card and want to send it to 10 people, for example, the total would be $10), but here's the breakdown:

• 70% goes to your designated charity
• 10% goes to Urban Affairs Coalition (a 501c3 organization)
• 20% goes to Smartecard for licensing and operating costs

So not only are you saving yourself time and postage and helping the environment, you're also make a tax deductible donation to a charity of your choice. For further information and updates from Smartecard, you can connect with them on Facebook and Twitter. 

Thanks to Mom Select and Smartecard, I have a special giveaway to offer my readers. You can enter to win 25 Smartecard credits, which is equal to sending 25 emails. This prize is valued at $25. 
*I received Smartecard credits in exchange for writing this post. Prize will be awarded directly from Smartecard.*

Seasons Greetings from Tiny Prints

November is flying by and as much as I hate to admit it, I really must start seriously thinking about Christmas. I prefer to fully enjoy Thanksgiving before decorating and wrapping presents, but it's true that I've started a shopping list. Another thing I need to start thinking about is Christmas cards, because if I don't do that soon I'll never get around to it.

I prefer photo cards, so I was browsing around Tiny Prints to see what I might like to order this year. There are so many wonderful options, I don't know how I'll choose just one! The filters on the left side are helpful. You can narrow your search result by several different factors, including design styles (with delightful and aptly categorized style names like "preppy," "vintage," and "whimsy"), the number of photos you want on the cards, the photo orientation, and many more.

Since I love old things, I was immediately drawn to the vintage category. Can you blame me? Look at these gorgeous things!

 




 


But I'm also enamored with the the full bleed photo Christmas cards. I am stymied, I tell you! As you can see, these are utterly fabulous as well!

As soon as I do the impossible and choose which card I like best, I need to get to work figuring out which picture(s) to use.


Which do you like best? Or is there another style on the Tiny Prints website that you prefer? Are you already planning your holiday cards as well?


I would like to thank Tiny Prints for introducing me to their wonderful line of cards, and for offering me this opportunity to share their beautiful products with you.


In exchange for this blog post, Tiny Prints is providing me with 50 photo cards at no cost. However, all opinions are 100% my own, and I truly do love these products! If you are a blogger and interested in working with Tiny Prints this holiday season, please fill out this form by November 11th, before midnight. Be sure to let them I sent you, and let me know if you sign up, because I'll be eligible for some free address labels to go along with my cards!