Stand Out with Your Own Photo Note Cards

This post is about creating your own photo note cards that will stand out from all the other personalized stationery.

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Personalized stationery has been around for years. Monograms and names written in attractive fonts are classic. Today, however, accessibility to professional printing systems makes much more possible!

Do you have a favorite photo you’ve taken? It might be of your family or a special spot with extra meaning in your life. Whatever it is, you can use your camera of iPhone to make standout-from-the-crowd photo note cards. You can even make it seasonal because order quantities are so low!

creating a custom photo note card

For the launch of my website, I wanted to create a personalized photo note card and send it out as an example of my work.  I thought about something with my name or American School of Charm but then decided it would be more fun to send something useful for the recipient. My choice, a photo of my beautiful hometown, which many of the recipients have visited, with a funny quote.

On a very cold – really cold doesn’t quite come close to describing it – day in January I went down to my little main street and took photos. I love my hometown and so this was a personal touch to add to the note cards.

These are the three I liked the most.

While all three are special spots to me, the last one stood out because it looks soooo cold and the pier appears to go on forever. Don’t you love how you can actually see the ice crystals on the railing!

I’m far from a professional photographer. I’ve been trying to learn more about cameras but this is definitely the work of an amateur and that’s fine. You can use your smart phone to get your photo.

Next up comes the personalized text. If you’re making this for your own correspondence then you can simply add your name or a quote you find appropriate for where you are in life. I wanted this to be generic so the recipients could send it out themselves so I worked hard, with some input from my daughter, to pen a humorous statement.

Through many edits I finally thought back to the day I took the photos and remembered how cold I was and how much I needed my hot latte. So I added in a typewriter font:

Voila! With a little setup on my graphics software, my note cards were ready for print. As an Envelopments® dealer, I order my cards through them. You can reach out to me to do the same or use another online printer.

For an extra special detail, I decided to line my envelopes. Envelopments® sells liners that are easy to add to the envelopes (see photos below) but you can also cut and tape any wrapping paper of your choice to the inside of your envelopes.

You can easily create your own personalized note cards. Here are your three simple steps:

Find a personal photo that has significance for you. It might be a notable landscape so you can add a meaningful quote or a photo of your family (remember the pets). Have fun with this and don’t worry about being timeless. You can order a small supply and make a new design next season or the following year.

Add your name or a cute quote to the photo. I use Adobe Lightroom to edit the photo and Adobe Illustrator to add my text. If you don’t have these to use then you can check out some great free options.

For really quick and easy, you can go to minted.com and order a photo note card right from their website.

Another option that I use sometimes is Canva.com. Not only can you create personalized note cards but you can also do all sorts of graphics for your social media channels. I use them a lot for Instagram.

That’s it! Now you simply place an order and wait for them to arrive in your mail. Photo note cards also make great gifts for you to give to graduates, new parents, and children living away from home.

Making your own photo note cards

So many of us think about sending photo cards at the holidays. I’m a huge fan so this is no put-down. Keep the holiday cards coming and PLEASE add a picture!! Even if it’s with you and your pets.

So not holiday photo card shaming. Instead, I’m encouraging you to use the photo note cards throughout the year. Receiving hand written notes is so special in this day and age. Everyone sends texts and emails but few of us send a note for no other reason than to simply say, “Hey, I was thinking about you!”

Make this the year that you get in the habit of reaching out to your friends and family all throughout the year with photo note cards that make them put it on their fridge for the entire year!

Love this idea but need help getting it together? Just let me know and I’ll help you create your own personalized photo note card.

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