This homemade gift idea kind of goes along the same lines as the previous post Homemade Gift Idea #96: Homemade Photographic Personalized Calendars. I was initially hesitant about this gift idea. Would people really want greeting cards as gifts? I have another hobby in nature photography. A friend of mine had seen some of my shots and told me that it would make a great homemade gift idea to use some of them in greeting cards. She said the recipients would be impressed and would use them, two qualities that I strive for in every homemade gift I make. I was hesitant, but I went ahead with it. Along with Homemade Gift Idea #99: Homemade Melt and Pour Soap Bars, they ended up being probably my most successful homemade gift idea.
There are a few ways you can go about this:
You could upload your photos to a site like cardsdirect.com. You can choose from many different of sizes, styles, backgrounds, and borders. The minimum purchase is 100 cards, but if you are making a several boxes of these as gifts, you’ll easily make that many. The downside to them is that you can only choose one photo for every hundred cards.
The other way requires more work, is more hands-on… but hey the name of this site is 100 homemade gift ideas, so you are probably here anticipating some amount of work, right?
You can print them out yourself. All of the materials you need can be found at redrivercatalog.com. I did a lot of research on the appropriate quality of stock, and these guys really know their stuff. They literally have this stuff down to a science. Their quality is the best out there, they have a great selection, and their customer service is top-notch. They also have a detailed tutorial on how to go about printing them on their help center page.
Paper stock.
I have used their 53lb Premium Gloss. It comes pre-scored so all you have to do is print on it and fold it on the score line, and you’re done. As of this post it was $25 for a box of 100, a real bargain. If you are pressed for time you could always run down to the office supply store and pick up a few packs of Avery® Inkjet Half-Fold Greeting Cards with envelopes. They are $12.49 fro a pack of 20, so they re not nearly as much of a deal, nor are they of the quality that redrivercatalog.com offers.
Envelopes.
Redrivercatalog.com also carries a wide variety of envelopes. Just make sure you are getting the right size for the card.
Boxes.
To make this a more memorable gift, I’d very much recommend these clear-top boxes to place the greeting cards in. They really add a professional touch to the gift.
If you or are going to shoot some photos specifically for this gift, here are three very basic tips for better composition in your photos.
1. The rule of thirds. If your composition were divided into nine equal parts, illustrated by the diagram, it is often most aesthetically pleasing to place your subject not in the center, but along one of the lines or their intersections. Placing your subject in the center often creates a very static image. Moving your subject up, down, or to the side of center usually creates more energy and interest. Here is a site with the rule of thirds explained with examples. Horizon lines should not cross the center, but across the horizoantal lines in the illustration.
2. Fill the frame with your subject.
3. And along with tip 2, simplify the composition. Cut any extraneous elements out of the frame that really have no added impact to the final image.