shutterfly holiday card giveaway

Last year I got Shutterfly Christmas cards and madly loved them, the printing was amazing as was the quality of the card stock. I was thrilled last week when I was invited to participate in their 2011 promotion where I will get to host a giveaway where three readers will win 25 free holiday cards! The card shown in the beginning of this post is the Initial Wreath Christmas Card which I added a photo of Auden to [but not the one we'll be using on our real cards]. Here are a couple of my other favorites from their new Christmas card lineup:

Retro Stripe Frame Christmas Card

Sparkle Joy Holiday Card

My favorite designs are the photo Christmas cards with a strong focus on the photograph so I'm leaning really hard towards the Initial Wreath Christmas Card, hopefully Trey can agree with me on a design again this year. Since our Christmas card experience was so positive last year, we have ordered multiple photo books as gifts for other holidays and probably will do the same for Christmas.

Anyway, I'm sure you are more excited about the giveaway than what I would do with the free card credits...

Rules:

• US only
• One entry per person [please be fair, after all there will be 3 winners!]
• Fill out the form below
• Contest ends November 6, winners will be notified via e-mail with the code to collect your free cards!
  

And if you have any desire to see our Christmas card from last year, you can view last year's post here, we choose the first design!

merry christmas

i hope you have a nice christmas... i'll be back to post once or twice next week before the new year!

Top 5 Christmas Gifts for Hipsters

Hipster Christmas Gifts: Spirit Hoods Wolf Full Hood Animal Hat
The hood is furry with wolf ears, the sides go down to make furry mittens. This adorable wolf hood has been seen on hipsters all over the internet, Audrina Patridge, Khloe Kardashian, and on Ke$ha on the cover of Paper Magazine. It is sure to keep the recipient nice and warm while looking incredibly cute. Works well for men and women. You can find the wolf hood on Amazon.com for $129. For a more affordable option, check out the long bear hat from Hot Topic for $34.

Hipster Christmas Gifts: Bicycles
What you will want to look for is a tandem bicycle if the person you are buying the gift for is in a relationship. If your favorite hipster is not in a relationship, any fixed gear bicycle or beach cruiser will do. You of course will get bonus points if it is used so look on Craigslist or at your local bicycle shop before you search for a new one.

Hipster Christmas Gifts: Books
Look for something by Kurt Vonnegut, Jack Kerouac, or Chuck Palahniuk. If you are looking for something for a female hipster, try picking up one of Sylvia Plath’s books or "Influence" by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Make sure you pick a used copy of any of these books that you decided to purchase. The easiest way to do this is to browse Amazon, then choose the option on the right side of the page that says “used”. You get bonus points if there is already writing in the margins. If you cannot find what you need on Amazon, try eBay, your local thrift store, or your local used book store.

Hipster Christmas Gifts: TOMS
TOMS are the ultimate hipster shoe. The best part about buying TOMS is that for every pair purchased, a new pair of shoes is given to a child in need. They are available for men, women, and children and even in wedding style. There are casual versions and sparkly versions. TOMS cost around $50 unless you pick up their adorable boots which are closer to $100.

Hipster Christmas Gifts: Film Camera and Expired Film
Check out the Four Corner Store to kill these two birds with one stone. They offer a really great variety of toy cameras, some of which I hadn’t even heard of before visiting their website. Some of my favorites include the Golden Half, 35mm Holga, milk/juice box cameras, and the Disderi robot cameras. The Four Corner Store is the best legitimate store online to buy expired film. If you cannot find expired film that looks good to you on there, try eBay instead.

You Might Also Enjoy
Top 10 Stocking Stuffers for Hipsters

[as also published here]

polyvore play: top 10 stocking stuffers for hipsters for christmas 2010

alright, so all of them aren't displayed in the image/polyvore set. if you want to see the entire collection of stocking stuffer suggestions for hipsters for christmas 2010, you will need to read the article.

what are you hoping to find in your stocking on christmas morning?

i don't know that i consider myself a hipster, but i really do want almost every single item listed in the article.

50 free holiday photo cards for bloggers

I was so excited when Janae from Somehwat Couture told me about Shutterfly's offer for 50 free holiday cards for bloggers. A few months ago I ordered a really great photo book of my son's first month from Shutterfly so I know the quality is going to be superb and I cannot wait till we get our pictures taken this weekend or sometime next week so we can get these bad boys ordered and out in the mail to our families. Thank God she told me about this offer, the idea of Christmas cards hadn't even popped into my head yet so I am sure my entire family is grateful since now they will be getting a nice holiday card with Auden's bright shining face on it. How could I have forgotten about Christmas cards on Auden's first Christmas?!

I was looking through the design options last night and I will probably be ordering from the flat stationary holiday photo cards. There are tons of really pretty designs to choose from. My absolute favorite are the French Vintage Christmas cards:


And I’m also a fan of the Pretty Pattern Indigo Christmas card:

Thank you Auden for being such an adorable and willing model for my sample Christmas cards!

If you have your own blog, make sure you hurry up and sign up before it gets too close to Christmas! Bloggers can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly.

I will be sure to share mine with you guys when they come!