‘Tis the season: holiday cards!

Hard to believe, but it’s time to start thinking about holiday cards. Seriously, where did the last ten months go?!

Ever since I heard Minted CEO Mariam Naficy talk about starting and growing the online stationery’s business at Alt SF (she was completely inspiring), I’ve been curious about the brand. Minted sent me a box of samples from their new holiday collection and I was really impressed! Now I find myself favoriting far too many designs on their website for our holiday cards this year. (There’s something like 700 holiday card designs—all beautiful—so for a non-committer like myself it’s going to be a tough choice.)

I’ve started going through Lightroom to tag photos that include all three of us as well as my favorite ones of just Hudson. (Because then you can then test a sample photo in various designs and I’m thinking that will help me narrow things down.)

It’s funny: I used to be self-conscious about sending photo cards (sounds counter-intuitive for a blogger, right?)… but I realized how much I love seeing others’ pictures and reading their updates. They’re the best! And now that we have a cute boy who looks different every month, I really look forward to sending them out! Frankly, I also love it when people send those family update letters, but I figure everyone’s heard enough about our goings-on for that.

Looking through the site, I was really impressed with how well Minted tries to cover all family make-ups and practices. Classic or modern, foil printed or letterpress, religious or generically holiday… you can search by New Year’s cards, pet cards, newlyweds, new baby and so on. And many cards can even have the number of photos, the colors, and even the phrases customized.  For example, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year can just as easily be swapped for “Merry everything and Happy always” (like this one). There are postcards, flat cards, folded cards, extra-thick cards, or these cute mini books—which would be awesome for families with multiple children… or a couple sharing wedding photos with far-flung family.

I haven’t picked out our cards yet (and always like saving them for mailing out), but perhaps the most wonderful bit of all? I get to import all of my addresses and they’ll pre-address the envelopes for free. Hand-writing them or even trying to figure out how to put the darn labels in the printer and get them centered and right-side-up usually takes me about a million years so this was what really sold me. Who knows? It may mean I’ll actually have the energy to write some personal notes!

Do you send holiday cards? Do you try to get them out right away? Or do you wait to see who sent one to you? (Confess! I know some of you do!)
Good news: Minted is offering $25 off + free shipping through 11/11 with the code JOY25FS.

This post is sponsored by Minted. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Hither & Thither.

Try this: Wreath-making tutorials

I wish I could say I made this Bay Leaf wreath (shown smelling wonderful on our Thanksgiving table last year before it went on to adorn our door for far too many months), but I bought it.

Not once, but twice, this year I’ve purchased materials with the best of intentions to make a wreath: first a wire wreath form—with this succulent wreath in mind (we have the materials in our yard); and then a dried grapevine wreath with the impulsive thought that Hudson and I would hot-glue his stash of mini-white-pumpkins to it. I brought it home only to remember that… oh yeah… I don’t have a hot glue gun.

So while I’m sort of a DIY-fail, I really do have the best of intentions! And I’m assured that making your own wreath can be very simple. I’ve been collecting inspiration for those of you with more follow-through: if I were to make a wreath this year, here’s where I’d look first.

Oh Happy Day: 3 wreaths to make for the holidays
Design Sponge: Bits & Bits wreath (pictured twice) and Bittersweet & Rosehip wreath
Kinfolk: Holiday wreath & card holder
Martha Stewart: Corn Husk Wreath (she, of course, has many useful tutorials)

And for backup? A for-purchase Olive branch or Bay Leaf wreath would be lovely throughout the holidays.

Try it. Then let me know how it went so I can continue to be a vicarious DIY-er?

Roar like a lion, bend your neck like a giraffe…

I hope you all had a happy Halloween! Before I eat another fun-size snickers and look toward Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a few photos from this year’s safari! (If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen a couple of these–hope you’ll indulge me!) These top ones are from when Hudson first tried on his costume. He loved it immediately, especially because he and Sawyer both had tails!

But it was Aron who really committed this year, and went as a seven-foot-tall giraffe!

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