Review: Designer Holiday Cards from Minted

This post is sponsored by Minted.com. All opinions are my own. 

Hello friends! Long time no blog. I hope you all are well! We have been busy around here making our house a home and prepping for a new addition to our family coming in February.

My kiddos couldn't be more excited! My son asks every morning if the baby is done growing yet. :)

So what brings me out of the woodworks this time? Well, firstly, I do love sharing with all of you here on the blog, seeing what you are doing. Between my new freelance work (which I love) and my growing family (which I love even more), this little blogging hobby of mine has just gotten a little lost most days.

And secondly, when Minted contacted me and asked if I'd review their holiday card collection... I couldn't resist. I love fun and fresh designs, and Minted has great designs for cards, personalized art prints, journals, and pretty much anything you could want to print.

I personally love sending and receiving photo cards, because I love seeing how we all change over the years, especially the kiddos. I have saved all of our holiday cards from the last 3-4 years and bring them all out with our Christmas decorations, so we have a sort of time-warp Christmas card display on our door where you can see babies getting all grown up! Love it.

So, I headed straight for the photo cards. The site is easy to navigate to find exactly what you want -- holiday cards, Christmas cards, New Years cards -- and once you're to the area you want, it's easy to narrow down the field by the number of pictures you want, flat vs folded, and even the photo orientation. I always end up falling in love with a card that has the photo turned the opposite direction of our one good everyone-smiling family photo, so I really love that feature!

You can also choose from their selection of shaped cards (most square/rectangle cards can be personalized to have the shape/edge style you want) and even choose a specific color, so your card will coordinate with your photo.

Snowflake Corners
I chose purple. It's kind of one of my new favorites :)

I insist on having my husband's input approval on our Christmas cards. [That's how we spend our Friday nights, me designing and him pretending he has an opinion ;)] He hates trying to choose a card that has someone else's face on it. So the Find It Fast feature was awesome! With Find It Fast, you just upload your picture and it puts it into the cards so you can easily browse through and see how your photo looks in many cards without having to actually go through the personalizing process for each one.

Using the Find It Fast feature

Minted has a global community of designers for their products, and the designers really cover their bases. For example, most cards come in multiple color schemes. It's disappointing to find a card design that you love and have the color of text blend in to your photo and disappear -- so with different color schemes that doesn't have to happen!

Gold Foil Pressed Card

I spent a lot of time just browsing the collection -- because the collection is HUGE! They have a great variety of designs and styles. They even have a section of cards that are foil pressed -- real shiny foil accenting your cards! So pretty. They also have cards specifically for newlyweds and new babies -- and even a few for dog lovers :)

One of my very favorite features of Minted is that most everything is customizable. I can be a little bit... particular... about some things design-wise so I love that I can change a saying or font easily. And if you are even more particular than I am, you can have Minted's designers help you with additional design tweaks.

Personalizing the Holiday Revelry card

And have you ever picked out a perfect card and then had the "Merry Christmas" end up right across someone's face? With the simple online design interface, you can move the text areas wherever you want and even change the font of certain text areas. And they have a great selection of classy and non-traditional fonts to really help your card be distinctive.

Cheer

So, my final word: The selection of cards at Minted is a little pricier than you might find somewhere else, but the designs are stellar and not like you'll find most other places. If you want to impress everyone on your mailing list with a personalized, high-quality card with an awesome design, check them out! And if you sign up through this referral link, Minted will give you a $25 credit toward a purchase of $50 or more!

Happy holiday card season! :)

A Mama Schema, or An Homage to Moms of All Kinds

Mrs. Rosenlof (yes, we called her Raisin Loaf...), my 7th grade English teacher, spent the first few weeks of the semester teaching us about schema. She would get this wild, excited look in her eyes and tell us to explore our individual schema: the unique experiences, people, and objects that make us who we are, the collective framework that shapes our thoughts and actions.

At the time, I was just irritated because the discussion kept going on and on, and I just couldn't get why this older woman was so excited about a crazy, abstract thing like schema.

But now I get it. Schema is important because it is the key to our individual identity. Schema means that no two people will handle a situation in an identical manner, no matter how many shared experiences and qualities the two have.

Since Mother's Day is fast approaching, I've been taking some time to think about my mothering style and the history of its development: my mama schema, so to speak. (I just couldn't resist the alliteration. Forgive me :)

When I am at a mom crossroads (most often mean mom vs. calm mom...) and contemplating my next step, I have a hundred voices, with a hundred faces, in my head, contributing to my decision.

Talk about parenting paralysis :)

Thankfully, most of those voices and faces are of kind, confident, and supportive women (and men, but they'll get their spotlight later). But, while so many of these women have been so influential in my life, how many of them actually know how much I appreciate their contribution to my schema, to my life?

Almost none of them.

And if there's anything I've learned in my nearly-four short years as a mother, it is that every mother -- every woman! -- needs to know that she has an impact on someone, somewhere, at sometime. Because motherhood is rewarding, but the dividends don't always pay out regularly.

So, for Mother's Day this year, I've decided to give the most heartfelt gifts I can, to each of the women who has been influential: a hand-written note telling them specifically thanks for their impact on my life. And, because I like being crafty (and because I dislike paying $5+ for a generic card at the store), I'm going the extra mile and hand-crafting the note cards, too.

For the next week, I'll be sharing a simple-to-make card and paying homage to the different types of mothers in my life -- because it takes all kinds of mothers to make the world go round, and giving birth is not a prerequisite to mothering.

I'd love for you to join me, and I'm sure there are a few mothers in your life who would love a quick note telling them how much you value their contribution to your life. And, you know, it's a good exercise to think about that schema thing. :)

Have a happy day,

Lorene

Lucky Milk Lid Specimen Art

Goodness, this week has flown by! We've been organizing up a storm, and I'll have some fun projects to share next week. Today I want to share a super fast update to the milk lid specimen art from last week.

My friend Amy suggested that I paint one of the milk lids gold to make it pop and be more festive, but... paint sounded like work. And drying time. So instead I cut a four leaf clover from some brushed gold vinyl (using my Silhouette... I'm old-school SD not new Cameo :), and stuck it on one of the milk lids.

As a bonus, the vinyl will peel right off once I decide to take the art down and let my kids have their milk lids back to play with. But... let's be honest... those kids are never getting these green milk lids back. And the other colors are in danger, too, because momma is loving on how easy and cheap milk lid specimen art is! Next time, though, I think I will leave some space between the milk lids to give it more of a specimen feel. And there will be a next time. :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

-Lorene

Yardstick Photo and Decor Hanger (plus St Patrick's Day decor on the cheap)

Remember my two free printables earlier this week? I had every intention of just tossing them in some frames and putting them on my mantel. But then I had a midnight-hour realization: I have no 8x10 frames in my house. Not just no empty-able frames. NO frames. So I started rummaging around and came up with a few office supplies and that turned into this:

It is not what I first envisioned, but I am totally in love with it and can't wait to use it for other holidays, too!

Want to make one of your own? You'll just need

• a yardstick
• washi tape (optional, if your yardstick is vintage/pretty i.e., not covered with business info)
• paper clips (large are better)
• string (I used baker's twine)
• hot glue or tape

If your yardstick has unsightly business info all over it (not that Sunroc isn't a great business! love Sunroc :), cover it with washi tape. I was going to leave the measurement side uncovered, but I didn't love that look, so I put two strips of gray polka dot and one strip of pink stripe to jazz it up and help cover the numbers/logo better.

Now, to make the hangers. I call this the poor man's midnight photo hanging solution ;). 

Slightly bend the center section of the paper clip out to form a little hook and tape it on to the yardstick, putting the tape behind the section you just bent out. Note: as I was typing this my shamrock fluttered to the ground... so I'd suggest using tape stronger than washi tape or multiple pieces. You could easily hot-glue the paper clips to the yardstick as well, but I wanted mine to be movable in case the things I want to hang next time are different sizes. 

Then hot-glue a short section of string, knotted at either end to keep it from unraveling and to help hold it in the glue, to the back of the photos and/or lightweight decor that you want to hang. Be sure to glue the string down far enough on the hanging item that the paper clip won't show at the top. (I also glued my photos to poster board to keep them from bending while they're hanging.) 

Having to stretch and use what I have on hand really gets my creative engine going sometimes, so I kept going with the green projects, using what I have on hand. Up there at the top of my yardstick display, I have a crepe paper shamrock. 

I found a shamrock coloring page, traced it on cardboard (the lid of a donut box ;), and then cut it out and glued random spirals of squished and twisted crepe paper streamer until it was covered. Don't look too closely or you'll see the leftover hot glue strings ;)

Hanging next to the yardstick display on our weird stair wall, I just glued some yarn (freehand, in case you can't tell ;) to say lucky... and that is supposed to be a clover on the tail of the y... (The frame is one that I won a while back from Janny at Que Linda. She even gives you the tutorial here! I love it and it fits the holiday perfectly!)

I have one shelf on our front room bookshelf that I put seasonal things on:

An Easter chick masquerades as a leprechaun using the hat I made for my son when he was a baby, and it wouldn't be St. Patrick's day without a pipe cleaner rainbow and the traditional cotton ball clouds!

And then I was on to my mantel. I have only had a mantel for about 6 months and I am still getting a feel for my mantel style... but this one is my favorite yet! Simple but festive. And all from things sitting around my house. Sometimes it pays to hoard ;)

 Just ignore the extra rustic feel... the mantel still needs painted :) From left to right:

• Hurricane jar with coiled dollar store garland inside, on top of two dollar store bowls
• Recycled mini Martinelli's bottles with dollar store flowers (whose stems are lengthened with drinking straws)
• Plain candle on a candle holder, dressed up with more washi tape
• Milk lid specimen art in white Ribba frame from IKEA
• Clock from Deseret Book a year or so ago
• My only still-living plant, in a thrifted ceramic teapot that is normally in my kitchen (propped up with a recycled orange juice concentrate container)

My favorite part? The milk lid specimen art!

So easy. I covered a piece of cardboard with burlap and then just glued the milk lids to it and popped it in the frame. It adds a great color, and I'm thinking how fun it would be with many colors of milk lids. 

Oh, and I don't normally hoard milk lids. I collect them. For my kids. Really, they are great for putting in and out of a wipes container (thank you, Pinterest and Learning Through Play!) and for counting and sorting and stacking. So I put a very small amount of glue on them so my kids won't be green-deficient next time they play ;)

So, how are you decorating for St. Patrick's Day this year? Or are you skipping it since Easter is so close on its tail?

Have a happy {green} day!

-Lorene

An Irish Blessing or Two | free printables

I am generally very slow about getting our holiday decorations put up and taken down. Just ask Debra -- I once had our Christmas tree up from the week before Christmas (as my husband's birthday tree) until Easter. The tree was redecorated for all the holidays in between, at least ;)

St. Patrick's Day is approaching, as I'm sure you know. But this is one of those weird years when Easter is actually in March (the 31st), so the Irish decor is going to have to come down after my kids go to bed on the 17th so my Easter decor can get as much time in as possible. I love Easter because it means SPRING!

So I'm resorting to the best of quick-and-dirty holiday decorating: printables! I love the wording of some of the Irish blessings I've seen around, so I took two of my favorites and made 8x10 printables for myself and to share with you. (If you're interested in other sizes, drop me a line.) Download the full-res images by clicking on the pictures or the download links -- your downloads do not have my logo on them. :)

Irish Blessing #1

May your troubles be less and your blessings be more and nothing but happiness come through your door
credits | font: Tork | frame shape: StarSunflower Studio | background: Elemis Freebies

download here -- yours will NOT have my logo on it

Irish Blessing #2

May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.

credits | fonts: Tork and Gruenewald VA | rainbow image: OCAL on clker.com

download here -- yours will NOT have my logo on it

Feel free to pin and share these, but please share this post and not the download pages. 

As with everything I share here, these are for personal use only, please. 

Happy decorating! If you use these in your home, let me know -- I'd love to see how you use them! I'll be sharing what I've done with mine soon, too :)

-Lorene

I'm sharing this at
  

Peanut Butter Popcorn: A Holiday Tradition

Good morning! I'm over at Housewife Eclectic today sharing about my holiday traditions, so here today I'm going to share a recipe for one of them: peanut butter popcorn. (I originally shared this recipe last year as part of Holiday Treat Week with Tricia over at Leafy Treetop Spot.)

FAMILY.

Me and 6 of my 7 older siblings, plus my dad and his new car
I'm the cute chubby one in pink :)

While not inherently holiday-ish, this delicious treat is all about family and isn't that what the holidays are really all about?

Let me introduce you to Peanut Butter Popcorn:

It might not look like much, but it's delicious, sinfully sweet, and cheap!

I grew up the youngest in a family of 8 children (as you can see from the picture above). Cheap is important. Cheap and makes enough for everyone is the difference between living in harmony and... not-so-harmonious living. A harmonious day is a holy day and therefore a holiday, right? :)

So, at our weekly family-together nights and any other family gathering, my mom would make Peanut Butter Popcorn. It's perfect for making with a large brood because there's a job for everyone. It's actually more difficult to make by yourself than with a helper, so grab a helper or two (or six) and let's get started:

You'll need

• Popcorn -- 2-3 servings, kernels with an air-popper are best, but the microwave bags are fine
• A big metal bowl
• Your oven
• Another big bowl, in any material
• A saucepan
• 1 cup peanut butter -- chunky or smooth, doesn't matter
• 1 cup granulated (white) sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat your oven to 275*F  or so. Place the big metal bowl in the oven and turn the oven off. (You want the bowl and the popped corn to stay warm because that makes it SO much easier to evenly distribute the topping.)

2. Start one helper popping popcorn into the non-metal big bowl.

3. After the first batch of popcorn is finished, have another helper shake the bowl so that the biggest, fluffiest kernels come to the top and the yucky unpopped "old maid" kernels fall the bottom.

Yup, my family togetherness memories are based on an elitist popcorn hierarchy. :)

4. Carefully remove the *hot* metal bowl from the still-warm oven. This is a good job for a parent or an older helper.

5. Enlist a helper (or two) to scoop the fluffy kernels off the top of the bowl, using their hands, and place the the fluffy, high-class popcorn in the metal bowl, being careful not to touch the bowl since it is still *hot*.

6. Dump all the old maids and the smaller lower-class kernels that are left in the bottom of the bowl. Return the metal bowl to the still-warm oven to keep the bowl and popcorn warm.

7. Employ your helper(s) in popping another 1-2 additional batches of popcorn and give those the same elitist treatment, returning the high-class kernels in the metal bowl to the oven after each batch.

8. When you've sorted the final batch of popcorn and your metal bowl is about 2/3 full (probably about 8-10-ish cups of popcorn), combine the vanilla, sugar, and corn syrup in the saucepan. (Another job for a parent or older helper.)

9. Heat the sugary goodness until it boils and the sugar is completely dissolved.

10. Remove the boiling sugary goodness from the heat and quickly add the peanut butter, stirring until it's all melted into the sugary mixture.

11. Carefully remove the hot (possibly warm by now) metal bowl from the oven and quickly pour the *very hot* peanut butter sauce over the top.

12. Stir...

13. Stir... this is a good time to have helpers. :)

14. Stir some more. Make sure that the peanut butter sauce is evenly distributed and covering every fluffy kernel.

15. Now you make a choice: keep stirring until the sauce is completely cooled OR spread the cooling popcorn onto waxed paper.

You could also form the popcorn into balls, but leaving the still-warm popcorn in the bowl sends most of the still-warm peanut butter sauce to the bottom of the bowl, making it hard to get OUT of the bowl, both to eat and to clean. :)

16. Enjoy! Share with family, friends, the UPS man (for bringing all those fantastic holiday packages), or whoever.You could even add it on your Christmas Cheer Garland. :)

The Christmas Cheer Garland {Haul Out the Holly}

Today I am thrilled to be sharing with you as part of Haul Out the Holly, a Christmas crafting extravaganza hosted by my awesome friend, Gwen, of Gwenny Penny. She's lined up 3 weeks of fantastic and talented guests (and then there's me...) to share fun holiday craft ideas with you, so be sure to pop over and check out the amazingness there.

And so, I present, The Christmas Cheer Garland

This garland is as inexpensive and easy as you want it to be, and it's sure to bring a smile to everyone who graces your front door this holiday season. Why? Because, as much as I hate to disagree with Buddy the Elf, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is NOT by singing loud for all to hear (especially if you sing like I do), but by spreading treats far and near...

I learned this truth (along with many others) from fantastic friends of ours. Every year at Christmastime, they bake up a huge batch of sugar cookies, decorate them, and then hang them on their Christmas tree. Every guest who comes to the house then gets to take home a cookie from the tree.

I loved this family tradition of theirs and decided this year to start it with my own family. There were only two problems:

1. Our (fake) tree is only 3 feet tall.
2. My husband hates (most) sugar cookies.

So, with a little improvising, we ended up with the Christmas Cheer Garland: individually wrapped treats strung up on the garland by our front door so that each visitor can take a little bit of Christmas cheer (and holiday calories) home.

Last-minute Pumpkin Decorating with Mr. Pumpkinhead

If you're in a crunch for time and still need to decorate your pumpkins, hop on over to Housewife Eclectic today where I'm sharing a new friend of mine:

Happy Halloween!