holiday greetings...and a giveaway!

THE GIVEAWAY PORTION OF THIS POST HAS ENDED. THANK YOU FOR ENTERING!

halloween is less than two weeks away, so it seems a bit silly to think about holiday cards, right? no.

choosing the perfect card to give to family & friends can be a daunting task. there are so many themes, styles, and designs to choose from. should you include a photo? or, should you keep the card simple? these are decisions that can make even the most organized person sweat. if you're not familiar with shutterfly, you need to be. why? because not only is shutterfly a great website that offers photo sharing, but you can also create photo gifts, calendars and beautiful cards, too {cards for all occasions, i might add}. 

creating a holiday card on shutterfly is easy. how can that be? deciding on the perfect design might be difficult {it's hard to choose just one favorite!}, but shutterfly breaks down the card creation process into three simple steps:

• card theme: christmas, holiday, religious, or story
• number of photos: one, two, three, or four {or more}
• card format: flat, folded, or high-quality photo paper 

uploading & editing a photo to create the perfect card could not be easier! the possibilities are endless & the prices are affordable. in addition, shutterfly also offers address labels, gift tags & even thank you notes to round out your holiday needs.

i've been a fan of shutterfly cards for years, especially during the holidays. here are the holiday cards i've ordered from shutterfly in the past:

i love knowing that i'm sending my friends & family a beautiful, high-quality card . . . it's not your average greeting card. instead, i'm giving the people i love an item that can be cherished. 

and, yes, the third card down is totally from the erin condren collection at shutterfly. that particular card style is no longer available, but shutterfly does offer many cute designs by erin!

are you a blogger? want a chance at 25 free holiday cards this season? if so, then register here:  http://goo.gl/DDw7Q

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now, about the giveaway mentioned in the title...

shutterfly has generously offered to give THREE of my readers 25 free holiday cards.* 

seriously, this is an amazing deal! 

all you need to do is comment on this blog...that's all!

you have until 11:59pm on sunday, october 30th to comment.

i'll choose THREE winners on monday, october 31st {halloween!}.

*please note that you will be responsible for the shipping charges

the fine print: in exchange for this post, shutterfly gave me a promotion code for 50 free cards. all opinions are my own. 

{semi} wordless wednesday: katydid it.

i don't want to disappoint, but i think this will be the last set of bug pictures i post for a while. why? well, i'm lazy & not interested in scouring my backyard for another insect to photograph. besides, i'm sure y'all want to see pictures of things like the beach, the pups & various other shenanigans that may {or may not} take place at mi casa. no? well, whatever.

so, here is my latest installment for {semi} wordless - yet bug filled - wednesday. i'm not sure what kind of katydid this is, but it is indeed a katydid.

i harassed the hell out of this katydid. out of the 23 pictures i took {yes, 23!} there were only three that were fit for sharing. of course, i should consider myself lucky because had i not been watering the butterfly bush i would have never known there was a katydid hanging out on the plant. of course, had i not been hosing the plant down with water then the katydid would not have flown from one side of it to another...only to walk towards the center of the plant where i couldn't get a good shot of it. silly bug.

anyways. enjoy...because this is it for the bug pictures. well, unless i find where those swallowtail larva went.

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speaking of pictures, i've received many lovely compliments about my pictures. thanks, y'all! seriously, the feedback i'm getting is amazing. i'm not blessed with photography skills nor do i use a fancy camera. many of you have asked what kind of camera i am using. believe it or not, i'm using a digital point & shoot that has dslr tendencies. my camera is a "tweener" because it IS a point & shoot, but it also features manual settings, too. it also looks like a little wanna be dslr.

{source}

i was once a kodak girl, but back in february i treated myself to a new camera made by panasonic {i bought my camera from qvc...surprise, surprise}. the fz40 is my favorite toy. i'm still learning how to use it. for every great picture i take, there are about 15 or more crummy shots. but, overall, i am in love with this camera.

p.s. tomorrow i'm guest posting on my friend rachel's blog.

{semi} wordless wednesday: lil' mantis.

"mom, people are going to think that all you do is take pictures of bugs!"  {malia, age 10}

yes, people, that is what i do. i take pictures of bugs & i post them for you to see every wednesday. or, so it seems {click here, here, here & here if you don't believe me}.

last wednesday, adam & malia were in the backyard. malia found a little praying mantis on her leg. it freaked her out {read: therefore, i grabbed my camera}. when i got outside, adam had the lil' bugger & was placing him on one of our sunflower plants. the leaves of our sunflower plants are huge. and, this guy was, well, he's just very small. 

i wonder what kind of bug i'll post pictures of next week?

moon jellies.

the kids & i went to sandbridge this morning with every intention of having a photo shoot at the beach. yeah, that didn't exactly happen. first of all, the weather was gloomy. i wanted sunshine & rays of light in my pictures, not dark, gray clouds. second of all, after taking one step into the shore break, i heard nothing but squeals of delight...

moon jellies!

i'll spare you the science lecture, but moon jellies {or aurelia aurita} are pretty common on our beaches. they're harmless & i don't mind the kids playing with them. if you're curious to know more about moon jellies, then click here & here.

anyways. if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? rather than making my kids pose for pictures they didn't really want to take i decided to just follow them around. i was the papamamarazzi, if you will.

the semi-matching outfits were totally malia's idea. coincidentally, i, too, was in a turquoise shirt. my favorite beach bum & her lil' man met us out at the beach and she offered to take a pic of me with the kids {since we were all in blue}. i politely declined. 

aidan - such a ham - was pretty bummed that he wasn't in his bathing suit. he was also mad that i wouldn't let him go swimming. still, he managed to soak his shorts while wading in the shore break. boys will be boys, i suppose! malia & aidan collected quite a few moon jellies. aidan wanted to bring them home. um, no. i'm trying to purge my home of unnecessary stuff...the last thing we need is a collection of remnant jelly fish strewn across the coffee table.

even though it was very cloudy it was still a great beach day because it was not hot & there was a nice breeze blowing. too bad big rain drops started to hit us...we were at the beach for maybe a half an hour...tops.  fortunately, we live just twenty minutes away so we can try again next time for a {proper} beach photo shoot.

either with or without the moon jellies.

paparazzi. bugarazzi.

a couple weekends ago - while in the backyard - malia came inside & told me that i needed to come outside...with my camera.  she was tending to the garden with adam when this guy decided to take a rest on one of our tomato cages:

i had a lot of fun taking pictures of him...or her.  {like i know how to tell the sex of a dragonfly...}  

i'm not very good at using my camera, but i wanted to get some good pictures.  {it's not a fancy, schmancy big girl camera.  it's stuck in between a point & shoot and a dslr.}  anyways, i was totally expecting mista dragonfly to fly off while i was in mid focus, but NOPE, he stuck around!

i had fun taking pictures of this dragonfly. he moved around to different parts of the tomato cage, but he didn't fly off.  in fact, he always flew back to the same spot {hence the reason for so many similar shots}.  i think i had a good ten minute photo session with the lil' bugger {pun intended...ha!}.  and, did he enjoy being the subject of my camera's lens?  you tell me...

fricky frack.

because i'm slightly obsessed with, frisco, our boston terrier & i'm still trying to figure out my new camera:

{i used the flash for this picture.}

psst...don't forget to enter my scentsy giveaway!

{semi} wordless wednesday: ranunculus

in the spirit of budgeting, getting out of debt & saving money, i bought a new camera.  doesn't make a whole lot of sense, does it?  didn't think so.  but, i couldn't pass this camera up.  for those of you who know me well, you know i've been yearning for a fancier camera.  you probably also know where i bought it from {today's special value?  yes, please!}.  but, yeah, about that qvc thing...that's a whole 'nother blog topic.

anyways, about the camera.  it's in between a point & shoot and a DSLR...it's a 'tweener!  i haven't played around with the manual settings yet, but i'm really enjoying the auto setting.  i tested out the camera by taking pictures of the ranunculus clippings i bought last week while at trader joe's.

{i edited these pictures with adobe photoshop elements 8.0 &
i think the pictures look a little grainy.  it could just be me.}

my kodak point & shoot is nice, but it would not have taken these shots with such clarity.  my new camera isn't the fanciest camera out there.  the picture quality may not be the greatest.  i'm not very skilled when it comes to photography.  nor am i skilled when it comes to editing photography.  i'm still learning.  but, the main thing is:  i'm happy.

psst...don't forget to enter my scentsy giveaway!

holiday snail mail.

i suppose there's no better time to start thinking about the upcoming winter holidays than now.  as you sit there eating leftover halloween candy, i'm sure you're thinking about who you're going to send holiday cards to, right?  no?  well, perhaps you should be because right now shutterfly is offering 20% off of all holiday cards. {and, no, i'm not asking you to send out your yearly family update to friends & family before thanksgiving...please, nobody likes an overachiever.}

instead, i want you to think about YOUR family's holiday card.  is it usually just some random folded card from the nearest discount chain?  is it impersonal & filled with some preprinted sentiment?  why not jazz things up a little this year? 

have you ever thought about ordering your holiday cards online?  there are many sites to choose from and we all have our favorites, but for the last four years i've exclusively used shutterfly for my holiday card needs.  the assortment of cards that shutterfly offers is amazing!  you can order folded cards, flat stationery cards or flat photo cards and even cards in spanish!  and, if that wasn't enough, shutterfly also offers personalized gift tags & address labels, too!

i love a personalized holiday card that shares photos of the past year with the recipient.  here are my family's holiday cards from the past four years:

{2006}

{2007}

{2008 - this particular "theme" has been discontinued}

{2009}

for the past two years, i've become quite a fan of the flat stationery cards.  they are a great size {i usually get the 5"x7" cards} and they are so sophisticated.  and, for the price, they are quite a steal compared to some of the other personalized photo card companies.  i think the hardest thing about creating a holiday card is choosing which one to use.  there are so many wonderful colors, themes & designs to choose from! 

here are some of my favorites from shutterfly's flat stationery line for the holidays: 

{family wall red}

{dotty holiday monogram}

{framed with love}

{2010 wishes}

oh, the decisions that i'll need to make...and soon!  remember, shutterfly is offering 20% off all holiday cards for a limited time.  get started on your holiday card list now!!  and, if you want to participate in a promotion for 50 free holiday cards, please click here & share this promotion with your friends on twitter or facebook by simply sharing this message:

50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010 #SFLY

now go...start sorting through your photos & get those creative juices flowing so you can get started on your holiday cards with shutterfly!

disclaimer:  shutterfly contacted me to write this post after responding to a request from the mom blogs.   these are my opinions.  i will receive 50 free holiday cards from shutterfly as compensation for my testimonial and time.  i blog with integrity.