our family christmas cards, part 1

This year we're officially sending out Christmas cards, using minted.com.
So last Saturday we set out to take family pics.

I was going to set the camera on a tripod and hope for the best.  But then some friends asked if we wanted to photo swap....they'll take our pic, I'll take theirs.  Perfect.  And it totally fit with the vibe I wanted: casual, normal, just "us"

I pulled together some bright colors and was happy that everything came from our closets!  The only item I purchased was the yellow/gray cardigan for Owen (he grows faster than I can sew and shop).

We met our friends in the afternoon and quickly location scouted the area....with 8 kids, under the age of 8.  I love dads and babies.

 Then we pulled out the props, positioned bodies and repositioned,

And snap!  We got a photo! or two or ten.
Some with Owen squinting.

 And some with Clara grabbing.

 But eventually we landed on a winner.  Everyone is fairly normal.

Now time to pick out a card.
This is my first time using minted.com and I'm impressed with the holiday selection.  So many cute designs!  And I really love the options for the back of the card.  I know, it's just the back...but isn't it fun to flip it over for a little surprise?

I uploaded our photo and was able to browse all the cards with our photo inserted.  Super helpful.  And actually....it's something I should have thought of before taking our family photo so I could think out the photo framing a little better.

The shot we selected is horizontal and doesn't fit well in the vertical cards.  So I added a white box behind the photo and we're set.

Now I just need to pick a card!  How am I ever going to decide??  I leaning toward Merry Merry.
I'll let you know when the cards are done!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

And if you haven't joined already, I'm hosting #happyholigram on instagram (find me @danamadeit).  It's a little way for all of us to share our merry, festive, holiday photos with each other.  Just tag your photo with #happyholigram.  And every day or so I share a round up of my favorite photos in my feed!