Family Pictures 2012 ~ Shutterfly Holiday Cards

I take hundreds, actually, thousands of pictures each year.
 ~ No joke, I take anywhere from 600-1000 pictures in any given month...

We actually had an 'official' family photo shoot today, so I can't wait to see what kinds of pictures came out of the day! GAH! Could go either way...we got lucky with the weather, that's for sure!

Now that it's October, and it's time to start thinking about Holiday Cards ~
You might think that's an easy task for someone who takes a ton of pictures, but I actually think it makes it harder...

HOW. DO. YOU. CHOOSE?

Even harder for me that choosing a picture...
Is choosing a Holiday Card design...

I find myself drawn to the more 'non-traditional' cards, if you will..................

And I just love that out of the 100+ photo cards we get each year, we NEVER get any two the same!

I mean honestly, what are the chances? With hundreds to pick from, I suppose.............but still - isn't it odd that we don't pick the same as our friends?

One of the new designs I came across this year...

HELLO! 

PERFECT for the FELIZ NAUGHTY DOG in our house! 

I just might find a way to incorporate this into our holiday card design this year!

How early do you start planning your holiday cards? Do you have your pictures ready to go or do you rush to get them done at crunch time?

I'm a planner, so I like to have my cards ready to go as soon as possible ~ besides, it's never too early to take advantage of the many special offers available out there ~

AND, thanks to the generous folks over at Shutterfly,

I've got a gift code worth $50 to give away to one lucky reader! 

(Giveaway prize: $50 off total order (does not include shipping & cannot be combined with any other promos.)

How do you enter?
Easy! Simply pick one or more of the following Rafflecopter Entries Below!
Good luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

*** Disclosure: The words above are my own. In exchange for sharing my favorite Shutterfly Cards with you, I will be given a gift code to use on my own holiday cards. ***

Holiday Cards by Shutterfly ~ & a GIVE AWAY!

The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are dropping off the trees...and according to local retailers - Christmas is just around the corner!

That's right folks - we are on the downslide to the end of October - next month brings Thanksgiving, & a few days later - it's time to mail out the Holiday Cards!

Yes, yes I do try and get my cards out as quickly after Thankgiving as possible. We all want people to have our awesome Holiday Cards up as long as possible right?

I love love love seeing which person's Christmas card lands in our mailbox first...We hang our cards up as soon as we get them - and leave them up into the end of January. I love seeing the different designs that people have picked to send out. Picture cards are my favorite ~ it is soo fun to see how families have grown over the year...

Even in this day of social media running rampant- or should I say especially in this day of social media running rampant, I just love getting snail mail cards!

My go to place to design cards is Shutterfly -

From Photo Gifts to Christmas Cards ~ they really do have something for everyone!

I love love love the black & whites...

And I love the simple designs...

And I love the bright colors.


I'll be honest, every year, I usually make a couple of different designs ~ Yes, I have that much trouble deciding on one design - and no...I won't tell you which ones I'm choosing for 2011!

There are literally hundreds of different designs you can use!

And isn't it interesting that every year we get in the ballpark of 150 cards - and no two are EVER alike? Maybe once or twice we've gotten the same design, but not more than that!

Amazing!
And FUN!

Are you a blogger? Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register here!!

Interested in getting going on your holiday card making with Shutterfly?

Well, you are in luck! The fine folks at Shutterfly have offered 25 FREE cards to not one, not two, but THREE lucky Gust Gab readers!

That's right folks -
Three lucky winners will be chosen at random...

How do you enter?
Easy - like usual...

* Leave me a comment here - tell me, do you send a holiday card every year? If so, I'd love to know how many you send out...aka...am I crazy?

*** Do you like Gust Gab on Facebook? Bonus Entry! Leave a separate comment telling me that you do (this makes it easier for the random.org generator to do it's thing!)

*** tweet my give away & get a 3rd entry! (& leave a comment that you did!) feel free to copy & paste the following

Gust Gab (@darciegust) is giving away #Shutterfly Cards! http://tiny.cc/zm295 Simply leave a comment to be entered!

Give away will close at noon on October 27th, 2011 ~



*** A huge thank you to Shutterfly for offering me some complimentary holiday cards to get started, and for offering up complimentary cards to three lucky readers of Gust Gab! Words & opinions are my own, as usual! ***

Holiday Card - 2010

I had SUCH a hard time narrowing down our Christmas Card this year!
This is the first of 2 selections for our 2010 cards...
Am I crazy for doing 2 different cards?

How do you choose?

Paper Snowflakes Christmas 5x7 folded card

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.