Design Crafters

It seems as if every few months, a Christmas card that was mailed long ago (fifty, sixty, or even 100 years in the past) resurfaces in the mail and is delivered. One can’t help but wonder where the cards were hiding all that time, but it sure is interesting to look at the stamps and cards from the past.

One such postal find was a little more out of the ordinary, though. Recently, a Dutch schoolteacher found a real one-of-a-kind Christmas card in his family’s antique store near Amsterdam. The Christmas card (very similar to a postcard, actually) was signed by Anne Frank, a 13-year-old German girl whose diary later became the most widely-read Holocaust-related book.

This long-forgotten Christmas card was sent in 1937 and addressed to Samme Ledermann, one of Frank’s best friends. It was postmarked from Aachen, a town just across the Dutch border in Germany. The front of the card was a picture of a Christmas-decorated bell in front of a snow-covered field. There was no message beyond the address and signature.

The schoolteacher found the Christmas card while gathering materials for on Anne Frank for his school to mark Liberation Day, which marks the anniversary of the end of German occupation in World War II. Liberation Day takes place on May 5.  Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis for just over two years in a secret apartment in an Amsterdam office building. The Frank family and others in the apartment were arrested in August 1944 and deported to Auschwitz. Anne died in a concentration camp just two weeks before the camp was liberated in March 1945.

Not many people can brag about sending out Christmas cards with pictures of themselves and their 103 year old twin.   I don’t know if the Clifford twins actually sent out photo greeting cards, but nevertheless, they certainly are remarkable. Living to 103 is amazing to begin with, but both twins living that long…wow.

Lilly and Marie Clifford were born on Christmas Day in 1904 and were only recently parted when Lily passed away. But believe it or not, they’re not the oldest twins. The Guinness Book of World Records recently recorded 105 year old Canadian-born twins, Ellen Robertson and Sarah Jeanmougin to be the eldest.

Certainly many people wonder what the Clifford twins secret is to such a long and relatively healthy life. They claimed there is no secret, but Marie did once say “We just lived and enjoyed each day.” Perhaps that’s the trick…be happy, enjoy life, have a good outlook on life. Or perhaps it was the fact that they literally lived for one another. Not only through their love, but also for necessity. Between Marie’s poor eyesight and Lilly’s failing hearing, they relied on each other to be the others eyes or ears, to “get a full sense of the world around them”.  Whatever the secret is, their love for one another will go on forever.

The original article about the Clifford twins can be found at:
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=71716&section=news&freebie

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Many stores carry musical Christmas cards that start playing music when you open them, but have you ever thought about getting creative and making your own musical photo Christmas cards. Recently I heard of someone making their own musical wedding invitations.

Apparently a friend of a friend of a friend received a wedding invitation that played a little jingle when they opened it. The bride had her invitations made and then she personally added the little musical device inside of it. It would be a little tedious, but it could be fun at the same time if you did it as a group. The same could easily be done with your photo Christmas cards.

I thought that would be a fun thing to do as a family so I did an online search for the little musical devices that could be added to these cards, but I couldn’t find them. I was inundated with online musical greeting cards (e-cards). I have to admit I didn’t put too much effort into looking, but I’m sure you could find them once you weeded through all irrelevant sites. You could probably narrow the search if you know specifically what they were called.

It’s understandable that some people may want to wait on taking next Christmas’ photo Christmas cards pictures. This can be especially understandable if they have young children who will change drastically in appearance in the next few months. Or perhaps they’re like my friend Liz who’s on a diet and wants people to see her when she’s “looking fine” (her words). But assuming there are going to be no people in your photo Christmas cards and you live in a snowy climate,  now is a great time to start snapping those winter scenes for next years photo Christmas Cards.

I actually ran across some of this winter pictures that are being submitted to an online photo contest that would make beautiful photo Christmas cards. They were taken by regular people like you and me with a regular digital camera, but they looked like they were professionally done.

If you get that perfect picture then you can even print off your photo Christmas cards early and be ready to go when the time comes to sending them out. Oh to be that organized would be so nice. But I know everyone out there is much more organized than me ;0).

If you don’t live in a snowy climate, that’s ok, you can still take your pictures early too. You’re photo Christmas cards picture will send “warm wishes” to those who could use a little warmth during the winter. It’ll give warmth or harbor jealousy ;0) Oh well.

For some people (like myself) getting those Christmas cards out can be quite the challenge.  Some of us need a little more motivation than others.  John and Carrie in Canada actually went as far as having a photo Christmas cards competition with her network of friends and family.

This tradition turned competition was first started by Carrie and a friend when they vowed to stop being slackers and actually get their Christmas cards that year. As Christmas approached, they both realized they needed some more motivation and created this contest. As they told their friends about it, more and more people wanted to join in.  Since then it’s been a huge success in motivating all of them to get their Christmas cards out in time each year.

How it works…Each participating member picks their favorite picture for their photo Christmas cards and then sends them out. The picture is kept a secret from everyone until then. This way no ones ideas get stolen and the others have no idea what they’re competing against. Once all the members have received their cards, they each get to vote for theirs and one more. The person with the most votes wins the prize. The prize usually consists of an item of choice sent from each participant. These items can be gags or real. The most motivating year however was when they actually had a pot of money that everyone had donated for the winner. That year it added up to $457. Apparently some fantastic photo Christmas cards were created that Christmas. 

Some pictures on Christmas cards are so beautiful or adorable, you just can’t stand the thought of throwing them away. At the same time, if you keep every single one over the years, you’ll have boxes and boxes full of them taking up space. Let’s face it, how often are you really going to pull them out and look at them? Obviously there are going to be some very special ones from special people in your life that you’ll want to keep as a keepsake.  As for the others, it’s time to get creative.

In my case not only have I received more cards than I know what to do with, but I’ve also messed up a lot of Christmas cards. I am also famous for not sending them out in time. In both cases I now have adorable used Christmas cards that I don’t want to go to waste.    

Why not turn your Christmas cards into Christmas gift tags for the next year, by simply cutting them out. Not only can you attach them to regular gifts, but also to any goodies you make for people. For example, I make healthy & delicious homemade peanut butter cups using organic peanut butter and organic dark chocolate I found that actually tastes good and not bitter. You could do the same and then attach those homemade gift tags to it.

Be sure to take a peek at the January 4th post in our photo Christmas Cards blog that gives you some more ideas of what to do with your Christmas cards.

Before you waste a stamp and send those photo Christmas cards to any North Carolina government officials, you may want to take note of this…

According to the News and Observer, it is officially unlawful for North Carolina government officials to accept Christmas cards from lobbyists. Now how they determine the fine line between a lobbyist or someone truly wishing goodwill, I do not know.

When I first read this I thought “of all the silliest nit picky laws….”. Then someone I was sharing this with suggested it could be because those Christmas cards often included a “donation” which could be interpreted as a bribe or sway a government officials’ views. That makes sense I guess.

So when some of the NC officials didn’t know what they were supposed to do with the cards, they turned to Gov. Mike Easly for advice.  He advised they simply buy stamps and send them back. Ouch. Hopefully those people know about the law so they’re not too offended. With the upcoming elections, offending people is the last thing they want to do. There is however a loophole to the law. It does not indicate a certain time frame which the cards must be returned. It will be interesting to see if they send them back out after the elections are over.

So before you get offended when you receive your good hearted Christmas card back in the mail from a North Carolina government official, just know it’s not personal ;0).

You can see the full article relating to this at: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/869670.html
 

Ever wonder what to do with all those Christmas cards you’ve received over the years and can’t bare to throw them away? What about all those photo Christmas cards? Some people are really organized and actually put their photo Christmas cards directly into photo albums. Then there are those of us who still have them somewhere in years’ worth of shoe boxes.

If you don’t want to make photo albums out of all your photo Christmas cards, that’s ok. Shoe boxes can be very convenient and inexpensive storage containers. The problem with plain ol’ shoe boxes (even when labeled), you still have to shuffle through them to find what you’re looking for. There’s nothing that makes them stand out. Well, here’s an idea for you that will not only help those boxes stand out when you need them, but also put those Christmas cards to good use.
 
Be sure to use a steady shoe box and pick out the Christmas cards you are willing to decorate the box with. Cut off the front side of the cards and simply glue them onto the shoebox. It will basically look like a collage of Christmas cards. When you’re done and the glue has dried, then apply clear contact paper. The clear contact paper also serves as a water resistant surface and prevents the cards from getting torn off the box.  Now you have a storage box that stands out and you’ll know exactly what’s in it. People do this for their Christmas cards, photo Christmas cards, Christmas decorations and other Christmas keepsakes (ie. Letters to and from Santa).

This can also be a great project for you and the kids to do during school breaks. 

Why not get really creative with your engagement pictures and put it on photo Christmas cards? It would be a great way to announce it to people as well as getting those Christmas cards out at the same time. Save some time, postage and money ;0)

If you have a picture of the proposal in the process, that would be great too. With that in mind I’d like to share a true story of a close family member of mine, to give you an example of what I mean.  We’ll call her Anne and her fiancé Ben.

Ben had it all planned out. He was going to take Anne on a rock climbing and repelling adventure with his family. He had one sister with a stowed away digital camera already at the bottom of the cliff and another sister at the top with another camera. I believe there was even someone repelling along side of them with yet another camera. They wanted to get the perfect shot. The plan was that the people at the top, who were letting them down, were to stop belaying when Ben and Anne had reached halfway down the cliff. Anne was of course confused until Ben pulled out the ring and proposed. The family got the perfect pictures. Now they just need to turn them into photo Christmas cards. By the way, Anne said yes.

Photo Christmas cards are a way to make a difference. Sure, you can buy a regular Christmas card in a boxed set like most people do. However, most of those cards will end up thrown away – more trash for the landfill. A photo Christmas card is more personal than a store bought card, and more likely to be preserved and cherished.

One thing I love is seeing all the cards my sister has on her door during Christmas. In her group of friends, photo Christmas cards are popular. I see the pictures of her old friends from her high school years who I’ve heard her speak of many times. Even though I don’t keep up with them I see their families change from year to year by looking at their Christmas cards. They are just more personable and intimate than a regular card.

Photo Christmas cards are a blank slate, and they open up the door to creativity. You can capture all sorts of styles. Many people just have a group photo that’s more or less the same each year. I’m a fan of branching out and thinking of other possibilities.

What I like about designing your own cards is the unique inscription you can put in your card. That way you can skip the often cheesy or clique inscriptions in cards purchased at a supermarket.

If you like the idea of a personalized photo Christmas card but need some direction, keep reading this blog. I will give some suggestions of what you can write in your Christmas cards. Be sure to keep reading for some of my best ideas.