Last year, we went to New Zealand in October to visit friends. We had just bought our first digital camera, and J spent lots of time testing the various features for taking close-up pictures. His subjects were generally flowers and plants, which seem to bloom with very little effort all over NZ. When we got home, we realized how awesome the pics were, and decided to make note cards for friends and family as Christmas presents. They were such a hit that we’ve already had several requests for a repeat this year. When we were in Hawaii, we took lots of pictures, and a bunch of them are note card worthy.
I went to Hobby Lobby this weekend and bought two packages of blank ivory note cards and envelopes. They were 50% off, so I got 80 cards for $8.88 – worth stocking up, since I make cards all year for birthdays. We chose about 15 scenery pics that we liked best from Hawaii, and I ordered copies of them for 12 cents each. I use spray adhesive to stick them to the cards (I learned after I stuck newspaper to our hardwood floors that this is best done outside or in the garage…). It’s a pretty easy project, and the results are awesome. I tie them up with pretty string in stacks of about 10 cards, and give them to friends and family. It’s amazing how many people comment on how we should sell them at craft fairs, or tell us about how they’re so pretty that they just hang them up in their house instead of sending them out. Seriously, we get better feedback about the cards than just about any gift we’ve ever given. And they cost $2.30 for a stack of 10. Pretty sweet. Between that and our handmade ornaments for our nieces, we probably won’t even notice holiday expenses in our budget.
The great thing about photo note cards is that you can take pics anywhere. It doesn’t have to be Hawaii or New Zealand, we just used those pictures because we had lots of them. But you could take pictures of scenery anywhere. A dandelion growing up through a crack in the sidewalk looks pretty cool when you take a close-up picture and mat it on a note card.
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