How to Create Your Own Photo Card

A great way to save on Christmas cards is to make your own. I used Adobe Photoshop to create my Christmas card and had them printed at Costco for 13 cents each. I printed 160 cards which cost $20.80 plus tax. I plan to use the standard envelope, under $1.00 for a box for 60 or so, for the few cards I’m mailing, but most of them won’t be needing an envelope at all. So for under $25 I can give away 160 photo cards!

There are often a lot of great print deals for 4×6 cards. I do have to say that I love Costco’s Photo center. They have great service, the BEST prices, and quick 1 hour photo printing (there is the option to ship as well)!

Here’s how I created my card

I quickly sketched a desgin on paper, then choose what colors I wanted to use. You’ll need a photo editing software to create your card, I used Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is a great program for pictures, however, it can be difficult to use if you’re not familiar with it!

Begin by sizing your card, I choose to print a 4×6 size. SAVE YOUR CARD, and continue to do so every few mintues! There’s nothing worse than loosing all the work you’ve done because something unexpected happens.

I used squares as my overall theme so I started by creating a background, then layering three squares on top of each other, filling them with the colors of my choice. Below I have created three different squares.

I added one more square on the bottom of the card to create the overall basic layout of the card.

I wanted a third color so I added two green squares to liven it up a bit.

I have two pictures to insert into my photo card, one at the top with a green background and one in the middle over lapping the top photo and the bottom text area. I need a red background for this one to tie everything together.

I then add my pictures-a special thanks to my hubby for a great job on the pictures! I should note that he fixed the pictures up a bit before I added them into the card. My youngest son’s head is from another picture that we took afterwords because we couldn’t get him to smile for the timer.

Next I typed the text I wanted and added some effects.

And finally I added the finishing touches. I felt my card needed some clip art. I browsed for FREE clip art around the web and found something that worked for my color theme. I then brought it into my card and added some effects.

Save your card and viola! I do suggest having one card printed before printing the full amount. In my case I had to bring in my border a little bit so it didn’t get cropped off.

Now you can share your Holiday cards with family and friends and Save A Bundle in the process!

View other Frugal ideas at My Coupon Teacher and Life As Mom.