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The last day to submit your Holiday Photo card for our Picture Perfect Contest is Monday! Don’t miss this amazing chance to win $300 spending money and $100 of Pear Tree Greetings cards.
Find all the details, here.
For one hour this Monday, November 30th, from 8-9am CST we’re giving 50% off any order of $100 or more for the first 100 customers. Yep, you read it right…50% Off! For helpful hints to make sure you're one of those first 100...click here!
While addressing my Christmas card this evening, catching up on my blogs, listening to holiday music and just plain relaxing, I tried to take a moment and realize how much I have to be thankful for.
My husband. My son. My family. They are my world. I get excited every day to pick my son up from daycare, just knowing that I'm going to see his huge grin and he'll run right atme, arms wide open. I don't exactly get this from my husband every time...but I know he's happy to see me too ;) We are so blessed.
My parents. Writing this post made me realize I need more pictures with my parents, I obviously had to go back a few years. I have so much to be thankful to them for and seeing them as grandparents adds an entirely new emotional tie with them. I knew my mom would make a great grandmother, but seeing my dad with Connor melts my heart. My in-laws are amazing too, definitely lucked out there. They are the most kind and genuine people and I know that they'd be there for us in a heartbeat. No question.
My friends. New friends, old friends, college friends and work friends. I am thankful for each and every one of them. I know I can call any of them at any time and also know that if it's a month or two between calls we can still pick right up where we left off.
My health. I am thankful that I'm able. Able to run around chasing Connor, able to play in multiple volleyball leagues throughout the year and able to train for and complete a half marathon. I have truly made an effort recently to be healthier and not take things for granted. I want to be chasing after Connor for many years to come and completing many more half marathons, maybe even a full marathon. This will require me to start making healthier choices in life. I can do it!
I hope you have the time to take a moment in the next few days to remind yourself what you have to be thankful for, I promise you it will bring a smile to your face. I'd love to hear your comments tonight or tomorrow of something you're thankful for!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
We’ve finally settled on our Black Friday offer and we are SO excited.
Friday, November 27th through Monday, November 30th enjoy our very own Friends and Family discount of 20% off your entire purchase of $75 or more. This is our BIGGEST sale of the year so don’t miss out!
Use code FAM20 at checkout to receive the discount.
The season is upon us. No, I don't mean the football season, or basketball season, or winter season, or holiday season. The season I'm talking about is the season of stuffing your face until your jaw hurts. The "these pants have an elastic waist - perfect!" season. The butter makes everything better season (this may not be a season, it's just true). Thanksgiving kicks off the winter gorgefest and, it occurred to me last year after hosting for the first time, it's a lot of work. What better way to commemorate those efforts than a quality food photo!
I'll get this disclaimer out of the way now, and you can proceed at your own risk: Taking professional food photography is disgusting. It's not glamorous. It smells. It's messy. You get grease on your lenses. You have to touch everything. I shot sandwiches one time and spent more time deconstructing and artfully reconstructing the sandwiches than I did on the actual shot. My fingers smelled of oil and mayonnaise for three days. On top of all that, you never get to eat what you shoot. You wouldn't dare. Lucky for you, the chances of you professionally shooting your turkey day dinner are slim, so enjoy. There are, however, a few tips that boost your chances of getting a great shot that are universal when it comes to food. Here you go:
Set the scene
Meals are usually pretty boring served on a paper plate, or don't come with any side dishes. The same philosophy goes for the photograph. Make it look inviting, like you want to sit down and eat it (or drink it!). And add contrasting color, always add color.
Light is right
Food is often an indulgence, but that doesn't mean we want to feel like we swallowed a brick of lard. Introducing lots of light to your shot makes everything less heavy, and more approachable.
Get down to food level
Get close, get personal, make it easy to dig right in. I don't know about you, but I like to be right next to my food while I eat it. The photograph should feel just the same, like you can eat it off the frame.
Lastly, if the food is unappetizing to begin with, chances are you photo is going to be the same. So make it yummy. And always ask yourself this question when looking at the final product: Does it make you hungry? If it does, great job. If not, keep shooting!
-wyatt
Many of you may have received the email we sent yesterday (if not, sign up here so you don’t miss such amazing announcements in the future) but just in case you didn’t, we’ve launched our first collection of free photo e-cards today! We are SO excited. There are three Thanksgiving ecard designs to choose from for you to personalize by adding your photo and your custom text. Then you can send to up to 50 of your friends or family wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving or telling them how thankful you are to have them in your life.
Or maybe send out a picture of the burnt turkey from last year to your family who all happens to be coming over to your house again this year promising what NOT to expect.
We don’t care how you use it, but have fun with it. Take the time to thank those that make your life easier or that have helped you get to where you are or to show off you beautiful fall photo you recently took.
Oh, and add me to your list! I’d love to see how you used the e-cards and made it your own! Christy@peartreegreetings.com
Nothing makes holiday photo cards unique, personal, and memorable like including a great photograph. It offers the perfect opportunity to let your personality shine.
While this is all tons of fun, taking a great photo for your holiday photo cards can be more difficult than you might first think. The hardest part is deciding what kind of picture you'd like to take. From formal posed portraits to candid and funny shots, here are a few ideas for taking great holiday pictures for your Christmas photo cards.
What Comes First, the Picture or the Card?
This question can lead to quite a debate between people who take their holiday photo cards seriously. Some people choose a card that suits a picture already taken while others like to choose their Christmas photo cards first and then take their picture so it matches the card.
Regardless of which works best for you, at least looking at the selection of holiday photo cards available will give you some ideas for the size of photograph you might want to take and some ideas for colors that might complement the look of several of your favorite cards. Some of our holiday cards are all about your photographs, such as our All About You Holiday Photo Card or Classy Collage Holiday Photo Card. They offer the opportunity to include many images, so knowing your choices might help spark an idea for the perfect Christmas picture that wins best of the season.
Ideas for Standout Christmas Photo Cards
You’ve heard the saying, "The more, the merrier?" Well, it's definitely true when it comes to your holiday photo cards. Don't just put your kids in the picture this year. Jump in the picture yourself along with the dog and your pet hamster to make a merry picture even merrier. While everyone loves seeing pictures of cute kids, your card recipients will also appreciate seeing the whole family in the picture. (That means you, too, Mom and Dad.)
If you want to do something a little different, consider taking black and white pictures for your Christmas photo cards. Most digital cameras have a setting that will allow you to shoot in black and white or you can use software to change your digital photo to a grayscale image. Black and white photographs look best when very simple, such as a close up of a baby sleeping or work well when you love how the people in the photo look but the background colors are distracting.
While posed portrait shots are gorgeous, sometimes the best pictures are candid shots full of personality. Instead of stiff posed portraits of your children standing in front of the Christmas tree with perfect hair and not a wrinkled shirt in sight, consider taking snapshots of the family goofing around, giggling, acting silly, or doing things they enjoy.
Gift Boxes - Put some open big gift boxes under your tree and let your child, cat, husband, or whoever sit in the box and put their hands up just like they popped right out on Christmas morning. You can even set the scene by strewing wrapping paper and bows around or even place a bow on their head for a super cute photograph.
Include the Year - If you have at least four people in your shot, you have the perfect opportunity to include the year in your photograph. Simply buy large wooden numbers from your local craft store and paint them with a holiday theme or make your own creative numbers for the year of your photograph. Have the people in your photo hold the numbers up in a fun or unusual way and no one will ever have to think back to remember what year you took this Christmas photograph.
Trimming the Tree - This is an oldie, but a goodie that still makes for a great picture for Christmas photo cards. This can be Norman Rockwell type image where you set up something funny like Mom decorating the tree, Dad placing a star on top, and the kids sneaking a peek at their presents under their feet.
Antlers and Santa Hats - Overdone? Perhaps. But still as cute as ever for holiday photo cards, especially on kids and pets.
With many styles and colors of holiday photo cards available, we make it easy to try something different or stick with traditional pictures for your Christmas photo card this year. Start planning early and let your imagination go wild for the most special holiday cards of the season.
Starting to stress out that you don't have your holiday photo picked out yet or aren't sure what you're even going to do? Would you LOVE to get your holiday cards ordered and addressed but think you can't do that without having your photo ready? You're not alone. I'm right with you.
Introducing our Pear Tree Greetings Pocket Holiday Card collection where you insert your own photo.
Not only are they beautiful and unique but they solve all of the above problems! You can order them and even address the envelopes without having to pick out your photo yet. Plus, if you have had your photo taken by a professional this allows you to order 4x6 prints directly from them and place in one of these beautiful pocket cards.
So, problem solved, stress reduced.
Here are a few of my favorite pocket designs for 2009.
Jump for Joy - Holiday Photo Card
Sweet Blossoms - Photo Holiday Card
One of my friends had a little boy a week ago and three more of my friends are due in the next two weeks. It's so exciting, I LOVE babies! Personally, I'd probably send out a baby announcement AND a holiday photo card, but I'm probably considered crazy by many of my friends. If you're not as crazy as me, we've created a small collection of winter birth announcements, perfect for sending your holiday wishes and announcing your new arrival!
Cozy Birth -- Boy Winter Birth Announcement
Baby Reindeer -- Pink WInter Birth Announcement
Love Squared -- Girl Photo Birth Announcement
So if you've recently had a baby or are due in the next few weeks, check out our collection of winter birth announcements!
We're close to revealing our sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but to be sure you're one of the FIRST to hear about them, make sure you sign up for our emails!
Trust me when I say that you won't want to miss out on these deals.
