Picture this
No new advent ideas for today, but I thought I'd share a trick I learned the other day for personalizing gift tags. Sure, you can pay the photo labs to create photo tags for you, but your talking to a girl who didn't buy gift tags until two years ago when they were on clearance for 99 cents.
My whole life I've taken a rectangle of wrapping paper, folded it in half, and written the To: and From: info. I take that back. There was a year that I used stamps and special scissors to make gift tags. Then I had kids.
I use photoshop elements 3 to create this 4x6 image (click on it to see the detail) and then copy and paste another version of my Christmas card (You'll have to wait until closer to Christmas to see the real deal. I don't want to spoil the surprise for the few people I send cards to.) I upload this image to Walgreens(dot)com and select a pick-up location that has matte finish paper. You can have them sent to you and chose the matte finish option, but I don't have the patience for that. I like to print one to make sure everything is perfect and then I make my "big" purchase.
I put big in quotes because I get two tags for 19 cents. That means I can buy one of a kind gift tags with the change I find around the house. I used the landscape orientation and a square photo but if you decide to give this a try I recommend using a vertical picture with a portrait orientation. Why you ask? Because then your friends and family can cut off the To: and From: part after Christmas and the photo becames a wallet size photo.
There are so many fun options out there for tags, cards, Christmas letter paper...
I love the variety of Christmas cards that we receive and even if two people happen to pick the same template, the picture is always different. If you send out cards what tricks have you picked up over the years? Do you get yours out in early December or closer to Christmas? My mother-in-law received her first card the day after Thanksgiving.
"Who's the overacheiver?" I asked.
"Our priest," she replied.
"Oh. That makes sense," I said with a grin.
3 comments:
Those look GREAT!! I wish I had photoshop... How about I send you all my stuff and you make them for me (lol) just kidding.
I always finish all my cards before Thanksgiving, so they are ready to send. But I like to wait to send them until December. My favorite time saving tip? I print all the addresses on labels. That way I don't have to write every address. And I sign up for bunches of free return address labels online, so I don't have to write my own, either!
That's so cool!! I may have to fiddle a bit. :)
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