Look Who it Was Random video

Perfect Inspiration: Episode 34 - On The Importance Of That Personal Touch

325 views · Published 22 November 2013 · 10:15 · Indexed 21 September 2026

Channel: ON1 · 2013 · Education

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I may be falling into a minority population anymore, but I love doing holiday cards every year in December—especially once my photography skills improved and the printing options available to photographers have increased over the last 4 to 5 years. But I have to be honest—there were a lot of years (probably most of them!) over the last ten years where I didn't do a card. I was too busy, there was too much going on, I knew I'd have big news to share soon (engagement, wedding, pregnancy, etc.) that wasn't quite ready for public knowledge...and I put off cards for too many years. (Does that story sound familiar to you??)

But four years ago, in 2008, I realized to my horror that I hadn't sent out a Christmas card in probably 7 or 8 years. Whoops! So that year I was determined: I was going to do them come hell or high water. I had some great photos of my daughter, which Brian and I shared in last week's video, and I lucked out: Costco had a card template I liked well enough that coordinated with the colors and visual style of my images. But I also realized something new: that I could upload my own finished card design. I didn't have to stick with their templates! Who knew??

The next year I did cards, I modified a template I'd bought from online graphic designer Sassy Designs. I resized it to the dimensions I needed for a Costco photo card, changed the colors, added all my photos, and uploaded the final card design to their shopping cart. It was so easy! What I loved was that the finished card was tailored specifically to what I wanted and no one else I knew would be giving that same exact card.

Since then, I became a professional photographer and gained access to print labs and products I couldn't use as an amateur. But there are still a lot of options available to nonprofessional photographers today to print your own card designs. Mpix is one print vendor open to everyone that allows you to upload and print your own cards without using their existing templates.

What can be better than designing your own card to showcase your images to their absolute best and sharing them with your family and friends? You can create card templates in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or many other photo editing programs—such as our own Perfect Photo Suite 7. Watch today's video where Brian shows you how we created a quick card design in Perfect Layers 3, and then download the sample background and word art to start designing your own holiday card! (Or if designing from scratch isn't your thing, check out our onOne Marketplace for some holiday card templates that do the heavy work for you!)

Happy designing!
- Candice Christensen

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