Growing up, from early December through the New Year, I’d throw elbows to be the first of my sisters to get to the mail box and rifle through the holiday cards. The envelopes were always satisfyingly oversized and colorful, with our family’s address scrawled across the front in that special brand of Catholic-school cursive that so many people we knew seemed to have. Or else they were printed with the kind of glittery metallic gel pen that was the envy of every third grader in the tri-state area and me, especially. Once open, we kept the cards on the edge of the kitchen counter, stacked into a basket. During my after-school snack, I would make a habit of going through them again. It didn’t matter if I’d read them just the day before. I’d slurp up hot chocolate and popcorn—it was an indulgent time of year—and read through the cards.
Even though we never sent them, I always liked the photo cards best, so I was thrilled to have the chance to put together our first holiday card as a family of three with Artifact Uprising.
The new 3-in-1 card from Artifact Uprising is a brilliant little twist on the traditional family photo card. Designed with perforated folds, the photo portion of the card tears off to be a stand-alone snapshot for admiring all year long. And the message on the left-hand side of the card has a punch hole on the top so that it can become a gift tag. We chose the Joy card and used a photo from our family photo shoot with Lightworks360.
Like everything else Artifact Uprising makes, their holiday cards are beautifully printed on 100% post-consumer recycled stock. Check out their Holiday Pop-Up Shop for calender and print gift ideas. Last year we gave my sister a hardcover photo album of my nephew’s first year.
This week, Artifact Uprising is offering Reading My Tea Leaves readers a chance to make a holiday pack of 25 cards. To enter for a chance to win, leave your email address in the form below. A winner will be chosen at random and notified on December 2. And just for fun, tell me about your holiday card traditions. Do you send your own, too? Photos, or no? UPDATE: Thanks so much for entering! A winner has been randomly selected!
This post and giveaway was sponsored by Artifact Uprising. Reading My Tea Leaves is proudly supported by thoughtful, innovative, and creative entrepreneurs and businesses. Thanks so much for supporting brands that keep Reading My Tea Leaves afloat.
Top photo by James.
42 Comments
This is a beautiful holiday card. If only I could convince my boyfriend to join in on this idea 🙂
For the past couple years I've been sending out 'new year' cards (link to 2014's, below) as a way to break away from christmas-theme constraints (as well as to give myself an extra week or so to get those puppies sent out, because let's get real about christmas prep during finals).
http://instagram.com/p/im8cZmzJyQ/?modal=true
lovely! i sent out new year cards last year too….mostly related to that extra week 😉
With the arrival of our two daughters (Olivia now 5.5 & Hazel just 2), we've had so much fun preparing our family photo card. Sometimes they've made it out before Christmas and sometimes way after New Year, cuz with little ones, you know, life is filled with blessed stress. Thank you for introducing me to Artifact Uprising- they're just the company I've been looking for! Happy holiday preparations!
My constant is that each year I start too late and I don't write a proper hello like I always intend to. One year we did a picture card of our family and my sisters. Group photo of our u-cut Christmas tree adventures in the back woods of Sisters, OR. This year will be a photo of our family together at the beach. Great idea and giveaway.
I usually send out holiday cards, sometimes with our family photo, other times with a more artsy shot. Love Artifact Uprising!
I've never done photo cards before — usually I go for pretty, wintery cards with a chatty handwritten message inside. But I these are so cute!
My husband and I do a photo card every year. We travel a lot so it's nice to keep people updated through a quick photo. I'm sending cards to family friends who received cars from my mom since I was a baby. It's a fun tradition to continue 🙂
What creative Christmas cards. I always want to send out traditional Christmas cards but then the season gets away from me and they become a New Year newsletter from our family. My friends and family say they really look forward to I and appreciate it more since its not lost amongst all the others they're receiving.
We've never sent Christmas cards, but we hope to this next year. This would be perfect!
I moved in with my daughter and son in law this year. Taking care of my grandson while they are off to work. They have always done a comedic photo with their two cats. Now Owen will be in on the action. Photo taking this coming week end. It will be interesting! haha
I love sending Christmas cards, but I love receiving them more!!
This is such a nice idea. I absolutely love it. And the creativity behind it.
With a 6 week old addition to our family, we're looking to send our first photo card this year.
I, too, have always LOVED getting holiday cards in the mail, and I've always done it as an adult, even when I was single. It saddens me that, every year, we seem to get fewer and fewer cards. It's such a wonderful tradition! We keep the photo cards up on our magnetic chalkboard wall in our kitchen all year. They make me so darn happy!
My husband and I did the 3-in-1 Artifact Uprising cards this year too! Ours arrive on Wednesday, just in time to get them in the mail on Dec 1. So excited!!
Oh we used AU for our wedding book – we eloped in New York so sent some books home to Australia 🙂
I miss Christmas cards! Although I always found the 'family letter' my parents wrote with them embarrassing!
What peculiar characters send my family letters every holiday! I always look forward to their rambles. Most are distant acquaintances I have never met except through their rambunctious prose.
We always send photo cards over the holidays. It's a tradition my parents started and I love continuing it with my family!
i just love artifact uprising! what a great pairing, you two!
I have always sent cards. It varies year to year. Contemporary one year, vintage the next. But I have always tried to include a family photo. I am now loving the fact that there is the option to incorporate both.
I love sending Holiday cards!
This will be our first year sending a card with a photo (those are my favorite to receive too). We got married last month and just got our photos from the photographer ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!
With a new little one, we're thinking about sending holiday cards for the first time this year. Artifact Uprising is so creative – I love this idea!
What a lovely idea! I love card giving but hate the waste that goes alongside it so this sounds like the perfect solution.
Becky :: accooohtrements.wordpress.com
we used to always send christmas cards with pictures and i still love to receive them. with my girls getting older, i don't really feel a huge need to send the pictures in the cards anymore though. i did hear of someone sending pictures where each kid got to pick a stand in for themselves and the picture ended up being of a barbie, an elmo and the dog…or something like that. i liked that idea- it said something like- not cute enough for the family photo cards anymore or something. 🙂
My parents never sent holiday cards growing up but I did love reading all of the ones that were sent to my grandparents each visit to their house. My grandmother always kept them all in a basket and I'd sort through and read all the letters and look at the pictures. Since getting married last year I've pondered if I'd start a card tradition of our own, however the wastefulness of paper kinda bugs me. This is a great solution!
I love sending Christmas cards out every year! Great giveaway, thanks for the chance!
i'm attempting cards this year for the first time in a few years… i have let it slide. i always include a photo of my 3 kids {more difficult when one is away at college} ♥
Love this idea. All of my children are older than you, BUT I did holiday photo cards when they were young. I am amazed by the options you have available to you. We either went to the drug store or a photography shop to have our cards made and the selections were few! I've a new home and dogs now, it would be fun to do a card again with all of them included. Great give-away.
kberkh0426@gmail (dot) com Kathy
That is the most brilliant idea for a Christmas card.
This will be the first year we take professional Christmas photos with our beautiful new huskies: wife + husband + captain + lady.
I never send pictures in the cards…Im not sure why lol. Its hard getting the family together for a dinner during the week Im not sure if I could handle getting 25 people together for a picture lol!
My sweet husband and I just got married in July and we've decided to send holiday cards with our favorite wedding photo to our family. These would be perfect!!
I would love to send out holiday cards this year!
After surveying all the cards companies Artifact Uprising is on the top of my list for albums and cards.
We began sending Christmas cards 2 years ago when my daughter was still a baby. We take our photo using a self timer and we always have so much fun doing it. It has become a family tradition! These cards by artifact uprising are so perfect!
Growing up my mom wasn't intense about sending cards or pictures, but I'm wanting to be now that I have two little ones and friends and family are scattered around the world. I'd love to win this and make it happen this year!!
I would love to start a lovely holiday card tradition and this would be the perfect way to begin!
I've been meaning to send cards for the past two years and STILL haven't made it happen!
I've been going through their website trying to decide which things I can honestly afford to get. AH!
I'm in limbo; do I wait to see if I've won tomorrow, or do I go ahead and order my Christmas cards today while they are 10% off!?!
Since I was young, getting the mail each day was my biggest joy. Sometimes I would go multiple times a day to check if it came, or listening for the mailman to drive on our dead-end road. Christmas season was best, as I knew there was so much mail to look at!
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