24 November 2013

Holiday Cards by Minted




















Every single year at about this time, I find myself scrambling to put together our Christmas cards. In my experience, it always feels too early to think about the holidays until all of a sudden, I'm running out of time! Last year, the holiday season coincided with our crazy remodel and the busy season at my work, so let's just say that our 2012 Christmas cards never quite materialized. It was a bummer to not send out cards for the first time since we've been married, but I promised myself I'd make up for it this year!

Ideally, I'd like to make my own cards. It's hard to find Christmas cards that meet my high standards for both design and paper quality. But although I have the design background and the resources, at this time of year especially, I can never find the time! That's where Minted comes in! Have you heard of them? With the holidays approaching, I thought this was the perfect time to introduce you to one of my favorite stationery companies. Minted is on a mission to find exceptional artists and designers all over the world and bring their work to consumers who appreciate great design. In addition to stocking truly original designs, Minted is also looking out for paper lovers like me. They print their designs on a variety of luxuriously thick paper stocks. And this year, they've even introduced foil pressing! All of this makes me one very happy customer!

I could browse their photo Christmas card designs for hours (and maybe I have!) but I'd love to save you the trouble and show you my very favorite designs available this year! 

























































Links: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Since I haven't been able to find a standout photo of us so far, I'm also debating going the more traditional route with a photo-less card. A part of me feels like that when it comes to Christmas cards, most people look forward to seeing a recent photo. But these designs, especially the retro-inspired ones, might just win me over! They couldn't be more charming!
























































Links: 12 / 3 / 4

I also want to introduce you fellow readers-of-blogs to Julep, a well-designed blog created by Minted and filled to the brim with inspiration for home, weddings and parties! You all know how much I love decorating for the holidays. Two inspirational DIY projects I've found on Julep for Thanksgiving are the Paper Pumpkin Centerpiece and instructions on How to Gold-Leaf a Pumpkin. Considering that gold-leaf and pumpkins happen to be two of my favorite things, the likelihood of me recreating these is about 100%! I look forward to seeing all the Christmas-themed projects and inspiration they post in the coming weeks!

The above designs are actually the ones I'm considering for our personal Christmas cards this year. I'd love to hear which ones are your favorites! And I'll make sure to share our Christmas card with you on the blog once they arrive! As this week is kind of the official kickoff of the holiday season, I wish you all lots of fun decorating, cooking and watching favorite Christmas movies with your family and friends! xoxo, Bri

*Edit* Here it is... our 2013 Christmas card! We took a quick photo by our tree before heading out to a holiday party one night and made it happen! I was very impressed with the quality of the Minted cards and absolutely love the end result of the foil pressing effect. Thanks so much for your input, and I wish all of you a very holly and jolly Christmas!

Full Disclosure: I partnered with Minted on this post and received credit from them in exchange.