Monday, December 10, 2007

The great card fiasco of 2007 - Update AGAIN

They sent me the same cards again!

The same. blue. dark. holly-less. cards. Again. When I opened them I almost cried. Proof that this card thing has gotten way out of hand. I am making one last ditch effort with another photo company using the silly photo from this post and am going to pick up the cards at Target momentarily. Suddenly Ben's expression just seems to represent the entire Christmas card experience.

The errant photo company will be giving me a refund and there will be no longer be any love between us. It's over. Finished. I will move on to another. Oh and if anyone knows someone, I am open to blind dates.

I should have stuck with the bad-picture cards I received originally. They would have been in the mail a week ago. Instead I now have ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY bad photos of my children. One hundred and fifty.

So I am hosting a contest inspired by Chrissy's comment. The most creative idea on what to do with the cards will receive a copy of this new book:

25 Easy steps to making Christmas as stressful and complicated as possible.
By Chaotic Joy

*******************
Using Kodak Gallery I had my one-pose not great (particularly of Allison) - but not awful & kinda funny cards printed at Target and they were ready for pick up about 20 minutes later. When I picked them up they were cheaper than my Shutterfly order and miraculously looked just like I was expecting. Cue Hallelujah Chorus.

Thus my Christmas Card saga of 2007 ends with a semi-happy ending. Next year... I'm splurging for professional.

16 comments:

Christine said...

Hmmmmm. . .crafts--ornaments, collages, etc.

or you could give them to the kids to give to their friends! ok so these aren't very inspired but I want to win!

Lori said...

That is awful! I am very surprised as I have had better luck with getting Shutterfly to make good on their mistakes. I have had reasonably good luck with Kodak Gallery (though I don't find any online developing to be foolproof). Snapfish is good too, but they are not very Mac compatible so I don't use them much.

Ohhhh I would be so frustrated right now. Actually I went round and round a little bit this year with my Christmas cards too, and had to get a refund for one batch. So I do understand a little of how you feel. In the end, I designed the cards myself using Print Shop and had them printed at Office Max for a very reasonable price. And I have to say, I am very happy with them.

I thought that picture was cute- and I know that everyone who receives them will too.

Sarah said...

I love Shutterfly...never had a problem! Can't believe they did it to you twice! I used Winkflash this year b/c they were SO cheap, I had a coupon so they were like twenty cents for 5x7 cards...haven't received them yet, so we'll see.

No idea what to do with the extras...mod podge? Tags for gifts? Garbage?

Sharon L. Holland said...

Have you tried Snapfish.com? My sis-in-law uses them to make a calendar every year, and it always looks great.

As for the unwanted cards:

1. Set them all up as background for your next photo.

2. A Sharpie, a refrigerator magnet, and the words "Who is my favorite today?" (If none qualify, alternate caption: "Mom drinks because of...")

3. One shredder (or a grounded kid with scissors) and you have all the New Year's confetti you could possibly need.

4. Christmas Tree Ornaments.

Crystal D said...

Oh, I am so sorry! I have totally been on an angry card bender myself. This afternoon I finally got my express ship 1 day over night cards I ordered last Monday. I am sending them out despite the photo that I centered on the proof is no longer centered and the top copy of both shrink wrapped pack of cards is bent and somehow got a faded edge. Had they mailed them on time, I would have been able to do something, now, not so much.
I am going to send a letter to Hallmark HQ after the holiday. Their customer service was awful.
But for now I am going to mail these out and forget about it until January!

Lynn Stallworth said...

Winkflash worked for us this year-I'll definitely use them again. I've never had probs with Shutterfly before. I've made some beautiful picture books with them. Weird-ya just never know! You could do some kind of decoupage (?sp) with the unusable cards.

karen said...

Use a sharpie marker to draw mustaches and goatees on the kids when they are annoying you. Leave the decorated photos around as warnings. The older ones should get it and, hopefully, reform. The younger ones will just think it's funny and you know how good little-kid laughter is at repairing your soul. :)

painted maypole said...

ack!!!!

well, at least you've got something workable now!

Chrissy said...

Can I vote for Veronica's #2 suggestion? That was just funny.

Beck said...

Ah, Veronica's ideas are SOLID GOLD.
"Who is my favorite today?"
Snort.
I'm glad you finally have decent cards.

Kyla said...

Oh Joy! Not as in "Oh Joy!" (excited) but as in "Oh Joy!" (exasperated). What an incredible hassle.

Use the cards for scissor practice for Ben. KayTar is a big fan of that pastime.

Unknown said...

i think in one of our kid santa's lap pix of me & my sis, the santa was green. no joke ;)

Ginger Johnson said...

Yes, confetti. PUzzles, bottle cap magnets, dart practice.

spaz said...

You could turn them into a game of Memory. Cut them apart and just use the fronts. Draw pictures (two of each) on the backs of the fronts. Voila! A memory game!

spaz said...

I've also used the fronts of Christmas cards as tags for gifts. Just write To: and From: on them with a Sharpie. :)

Sarahviz said...

tinyprints.com is a good company. And thankfully, I have a friend who is a photographer. She comes over, takes my boyz outdoors, and I stay inside while she works her magic. I'm soooo done with trying to snap the perfect picture myself. It ain't never happening!