Tag Archives: Photos

Last month, I told you we ordered our Christmas cards from Simply to Impress and when we returned from our weekend Disney trip, they were waiting for us!

I couldn’t wait to see them and the box they come in is so pretty, it just adds to the excitement.

Of course, we continued with the humorous theme from last year.

We upgraded and got the Fashion Pearl Finish, which puts a pearlescent/shimmery finish on the card. I like how it gave it that little something extra. It also made it impossible to take photos of the cards to show you the finish, but trust me, they looked so purdy.

A little behind-the-scenes info: Brett set up the camera at the edge of our yard on a tripod. He set it to take a photo every 2 seconds, so he didn’t have to worry about a remote and we could just do various poses and let Trent act silly and just go through them all at the end and pick which one we liked. To get Trent to look toward the camera, we put the iPad on the ground by the camera and put Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on. Worked like a charm.

We wanted to show Brett and I relaxing with our drinks while Trent is supposedly doing all the hard work with decorating with lights. I really wanted him to hold his arms up with all the lights, kind of in frustration, but the one time he lifted his arms up, this happened.

Parents of the year, right here. I love how Brett is still just chilling in his seat while I’m the one running up to get Trent.

After we submitted the card to Simply to Impress, we had the idea of putting the outtake on the back of our card, but it was too late as the cards had already started printing.

I am glad I got to work with Simply to Impress for these cards…we really like them and hope everyone else enjoys them and gets a little chuckle from it (or they can come here and look at the outtake).

And for added fun, here is our Christmas card from 2012:

Can we take a moment while I pick my jaw off the floor after seeing how little Trent looks in last year’s card?

Tell me: do you prefer funny cards or traditional cards? I like funny cards, but I hope we can keep coming up with ideas every year!

 

With just 17 days until Christmas, we’re getting down to the wire folks. Have you started shopping for gifts yet? Are you already done because you started in July and are now laughing at all the last minute procrastinators? Are your Christmas cards mailed? Decorations covering every inch of your house?

I guess I’m a halfway-procrastinator…our Christmas cards are ordered, but not mailed; the house is decorated, but there’s a few things that still need to go up; we’ve bought a few things for Trent, but no one else.

So, if you’re like me and are still looking for some ideas and want to get them all in one spot, try Minted.com!

We are the world’s premiere marketplace for crowd-sourced independent design and art. Artists and aspiring designers from around the world have their work featured on Minted. We believe in providing the best service to our customers and uphold that ideal by using only the finest materials and products. Minted is dedicated to the celebration of life’s most important events - whether birthdays, weddings, or reunions - we’re there every step of your life’s journey.

Here are some ideas if you need inspiration.

At Minted.com,the stars of the show are the variety of holiday and Christmas cards and party invitations (anyone want to invite me to their New Year’s Eve party or Dirty Santa party?).

They offer a variety of formats and you can even change the color theme on most of them.

For all the parents of fur babies out there, they even have pet holiday cards…how funny is this?

If you’re planning a party, you can get party decor all centered around a theme…like this gold and silver theme, so you can throw a Pinterest-worthy party.

As far as gifts go, they offer beautiful stationary for her, him and even kids too. I found this one particularly simple and cute.

For your photography or Instagram-loving friend (or yourself!), they have photo gifts too.

One of the cutest things that caught my eye was this shark door sign for a kid’s room!

Right now, they are offering 15% off and free shipping through Monday with code SLED15FS. But after that, you can check the website for their next promotion!

 

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I received a credit to Minted.com in exchange for posting this review. All thoughts are my own. Thanks for reading!

Ok, I admit that I shook my head a little when I first started seeing Christmas items in stores in July. However, I can understand getting a jump on the to-do list for some things…and this year, one of those things is ordering and sending out our Christmas cards. The past two years (our only two years sending cards) we waited until the last minute, had to pay extra for shipping and then had to get them out as soon as we got them.

I think we run into this problem because we always try to think of different ideas we could do and then have a hard time choosing which one to actually do. We also wonder which printing company to use, looking for deals the best we can.

This year, we vowed to get started much earlier.

The first step: the idea. We were surprised at how quickly we were able to decide on our idea. We plan on taking the photo this weekend, so let’s hope it turns out as planned (I’ll save the idea for when we share our Christmas card - you can see last year’s here).

The second step: where to order, what cards to order and how many to order. I was grateful to be sent a sample box of cards by Simply to Impress to see the various types of cards they offer.

A little about Simply to Impress:

Simply to Impress is dedicated to providing our clients with quality invitations, announcements, and stationery at an affordable rate. We offer unsurpassed customer service, and our attention to detail keeps us standing above the rest. We are known for our high standards and artful presentations. People are shaped by personal and professional experiences - they affect how we see the world, how we react and relate, and how we set our priorities. We adopted our philosophy at Simply to Impress through our search for creativity with our own personal events, and by beleiving they shouldn’t have to come with a high price tag.

Life’s special occasions are notorious for being expensive… With Simply to Impress, they don’t have to be!

 

It’s one thing to see your options online, but it was so nice to be able to see the different sizes and finishes in person. The cards are quite thick, the quality is amazing and they have a nice variety to cater to your different needs:

They have small cards…

All the way to large cards - perfect for displaying an amazing photo. I love the scalloped edge on the left!

Or skip the photo all together and go with a simple heartfelt message…how easy is that?!

Most of the cards also have designs on the back for added fun.

You can also get the envelope customized.

While we liked all the options, we’ll probably choose the large card to best display our photo. I do recommend at least taking a look at card options before taking your photo. You may find one you really like in landscape-style and if you already took your photo portrait-style, you’re out of luck. By having a general idea of what you like, you may be able to plan your photo accordingly.

The third step: find a deal! Currently, you can use code 10FREE4ME to get 10 free cards! (Ends 11/30) And since orders are processed and shipped within 2 business days, you’ll get them quickly in order to send them out and start hearing about how great they are! Then you’ll be ready to move onto the next item on the never-ending Christmas to-do list! ‘Tis the season!

I’ll be sharing our card as soon as we receive them and send them out! High five for not procrastinating!

 

Connect with Simply to Impress to stay updated on current promotions!

 

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Ok, I know that Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away, but I chose today’s photo because when I switched my calendar over to November, I had this cutie pie staring at me and just had to share it. I think I may have shared it at some point last year, but who’s counting?

We had received this Gobble, Gobble outfit at the baby shower and waited 5 long months for him to wear it. What kills me is the turkey on the butt. Only babies can get away with that. I’m sure no one would be saying “Awww, how cute!” if I had a turkey printed on my butt.

He was starting to move around a lot more, making our photo-taking endeavors much more difficult, but also resulted in some cute poses.

On another note, I also wanted to share this because it’s a reminder to me to remember to still take photos of him in this white chair. We have moved it in and out of the studio ever since we stopped taking monthly photos of Trent, but we need to remember to at least take photos of him in it every now and then in order to put together a good progression sequence years down the road. I think it’s fun to look back and see how much someone has grown along with something that has stayed the same (the chair). The holidays are a perfect time to do just that.

 

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Having a photographer in the house (along with being parents), means we have a lot of photos and not many of them ever leave the confines of the camera or computer. As I mentioned the other day, we are trying to get better about filling these empty walls in our house, so when Bumblejax contacted me about a possible review, I jumped on the opportunity to get one of our photos of Trent printed. We normally do framed prints or canvas prints, so I was excited to try one of their many unique printing & mounting materials.

About Bumblejax:

Bumblejax is at the forefront of modern photo display techniques, specializing in transforming digital images into gallery quality wall art on bamboo, acrylic (including 1” acrylic blocks), aluminum, dibond and gatorfoam. Each piece is handcrafted in Seattle. We pride ourselves on careful attention to detail, craftsmanship and customer service and can’t wait to get started crafting your art!

Modern photo display techniques are no longer reserved for New York lofts and high end galleries in Miami and Los Angeles. Our passion here at Bumblejax is to bring modern photo mounting to the masses with unparalleled customer service. It’s never been easier to transform your digital photos into stunning, gallery quality art using unique materials such as bamboo, acrylic (plexiglass) and raw aluminum. The past was all about traditional wooden frames and canvas wraps, while the future is modern, frameless photo mounting. Now your photo is the star beautifully enhanced with Bumblejax photo mounting. Whether you’re a pro photographer looking for a new product line, a business owner wanting to spruce up the white walls or you want a unique photo gift idea, we’re here for you.

Why BumbleJax?

• Experienced. Our in house craftsmen have years of experience in the industry
• Gallery Quality. We are meticulous about making sure your print is perfect.
• Free Image Consulting & Color Correction. We won’t nickel and dime you for quality service, we just want you happy.
• Passionate. Your art is our passion and we pride ourselves on outstanding customer service.
• Quick Turnaround. Your art will ship out within a week!
• Ready To Hang. Comes with wood slats and easy hanging hardware.
• Superior Customer Service. We pride ourselves on offering the kind of support that isn’t matched in this industry.
• Hundreds of 5 Star Reviews. See our testimonials page to see what our customers have to say.

 

We chose to have this photo printed in size 15×10 on acrylic.

This has been one of our favorite photos ever since it was taken during his first Disney World trip and I love how the print came out. The colors are so vibrant and everything in the photo is so crystal clear.

Can you believe the photos above and below are of a photo of the print? It’s that crystal clear and vibrant!

The print comes with the tools for you to hang it on the wall, making it that much easier.

Seriously, you can hang this print with one hand. Just find the spot on the wall you want to hang the photo and push the hook into the wall…

Twist it up…

and then push it in until just the end of the hook is showing…

Then hang the photo on the hook.

It looks like the photo is floating off of the wall. I definitely recommend printing to acrylic from Bumblejax for a vibrant and unique photo that will stand out among your photo collection. The order processing and shipping were super fast too!

If you’ve never heard of acrylic photo mounting, here is some info:

Not All Acrylic Prints Are Created Equally! What Are The Differences?

Whether you have your beautiful prints mounted in a traditional way with glass and frame or in a more modern way with our acrylic frameless photo mounts, it’s important to know the differences in how it’s made because it can affect color as well as durability.

Direct Print vs Face Mount: There are many companies printing directly onto the acrylic out there right now. It’s a cheaper option if price is an issue, but it’s important to know that you will lose some color vibrancy and accuracy. Here at Bumblejax we print to high quality paper and then face mount your image to acrylic for the absolute greatest color quality and vibrancy.

Stand Off Bolts: Most companies will use stand off bolts in each corner to provide a way to hang or attach two acrylic pieces. We believe this is distracting and takes away from the center of attention, which should be your image!

Dibond vs Sintra vs No Backer: This is real important particularly for larger pieces. The backing material is very important to stabilizing your acrylic photo mount over time and there is no better material than Dibond. ALL our pieces ship with a dibond backer and we wouldn’t consider using anything else (we switched to Dibond from sintra very early on). Lots of companies use either Sintra which is cheaper and offers less stability or no backer at all if they are printing directly. We will never sacrifice quality for cost cutting measures here at Bumblejax and we pride ourselves on perfection.

 

Visit Bumblejax.com to see all their offerings.

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I was given this product in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own. Thanks for reading!