Affordable Personalized Cards from Cardstore.com – Giveaway (CLOSED)

In my parent’s house, we collect all of our Christmas cards and hang them in the slots of the mini-blinds by the front door. Every time we walk through the foyer, it’s a lovely array of cards from our friends and family. Now that I think about it, it must look very strange from the outside because all you see are rows of card “butts” sticking through the blinds. This year, I decided to create my own Christmas cards, adding my own touch to the cards so that they’ll stand out from the rest of the card crowd. To do this, I visited cardstore.com.

Cardstore.com is an online card store (duh!) that allows you to customize and create your own cards using up to 14 of your own photos and their pre-designed artwork/templates.  They print on high-quality card stock that is 100% recycled paper.

The custom design process is very easy. First, you have to choose the card design that you want. For me, this was the hardest step to do simply because they have SO MANY great designs to choose from – over 7000! Fortunately, they have a cool “save design” feature that allows you to save the cards after you’ve design them. That way you can create different versions, then look back later and choose your favorite. I changed my mind 3 times before settling on the final design. That’s why you’ll see different cards in the screenshots.

Once you find the design that you like, it will take you to a screen preview of the card with the customizable photo sections. Simply click on the photo box, and it will take you to a new window where you’ll be able to browse your computer (or select from previously loaded photos) to find the picture(s) that you want to include. Their photo upload tool has basic editing functionality, such as zoom, rotate, and a couple of photo filters.

I was able to customize the text on my card. I just had to click on the text box and I could write my own message in the given space. Using their text edit tool, I could choose from 18 different fonts, 10 colors, and adjust the font size.

Once you’ve completed your final design, they will have you approve the design, and then send you to the envelope selection page. I really liked that they had different enveloping options for your cards – receive blank envelopes and the cards, receive pre-addressed (return) envelopes and the cards, pre-addressed (return and mailing) and stamped envelopes mailed to you, and pre-addressed (return and mailing) and stamped envelopes mailed directly to the recipients.

I was surprised at how cheap many of the customized photo cards are. I saw many photo holiday cards as low as $1.19, and cardstore.com offers other cards for just $0.79. Cardstore.com offers more than just photo cards. They also offer Thank You cards, Invitations, Announcements, Boxed Stationery Cards, and these super cute “Mommy Cards.”

I ordered 5 cards that cost $2.39. Shipping was $2.50, which brings my total for CUSTOM photo cards, including a pre-addressed envelope to just $2.89 per card. If you’re ordering more than 5 cards, the price begins to drop due to the volume pricing that they offer. Currently, cardstore.com is also having a special offer for 15% off your order when you use the code ‘SURVEY15.’  I placed my order on Sunday, November 22 and received the final product on Friday, November 27. That’s a very fast turn-around, especially considering there was a holiday in there.

The final product looks just like the online proof. I was pleasantly surprised that the card stock is as thick as it is. I’m not sure what weight it is, but it is quite sturdy – similar if not thicker than pre-made name brand cards. I also liked that the cardstore.com logo on the back of the card wasn’t too large or obtrusive. I did a quick water test for ink durability and found that the ink didn’t smear even when I rubbed it gently with water.

With cardstore.com, I was able to create my very own Christmas cards to send out this holiday season. There are thousands of designs to choose from, and endless ways for you create your own version using your personal photos. If you would like to make your own holiday (or other type) of cards, then check out cardstore.com.

Cardstore.com has generously offered some prizes for the WCatDD Cardstore.com Giveaway!

The Prize:

Three winners will receive a box of 10 Holiday Thank You Cards, including envelopes by cardstore.com.

To Enter:

Make sure you follow the directions carefully. All giveaway entries should use the ENTRY FORM. You only need to fill out the ENTRY FORM once, unless you decide to additional earn extra entries at a later time. You can earn up to 14 entries into the WCatDD Cardstore.com Giveaway by doing one, some or all of the following:

Ways to Earn Entries:

Make sure you use this ENTRY FORM for your entries to count!

1. THIS ENTRY IS REQUIRED FOR ALL OTHER ENTRIES TO BE VALID (+1): Visit cardstore.com and tell me what card you would design.
2. Post this giveaway on your blog (+3)
3. Tweet about this giveaway using the “retweet” link at the top of this post or by tweeting “Personalized cards for personal occasions with cardstore.com and the @WCatDD Cardstore.com Giveaway! http://bit.ly/6O2CaW” (+1)
4. Subscribe to WCatDD (+1)
5. Follow WCatDD on Twitter (+1)
6. Fan our WCatDD Facebook Page (+1)
7. Follow us on Google Friend Connect (+1)
8. Follow us using Network Blogs (+1)
9. Add the WCatDD button to Your Site (+2)
10. Vote for us in the Divine Caroline Love! This Site Awards (+2) – Note: Only available until 12/4/09. (+2)

The Rules:

Three winners will be selected at random for this prize.

Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST, December 8, 2009.

Visit our Giveaway Rules page for general giveaway rules that also apply to this giveaway.

Disclaimer: This post consists of my (and/or fellow tester) opinions only. No compensation was given for this review/giveaway. I did receive a promotion code for free cardstore.com cards from the company or their PR agency to use and test for the purposes of this review. This did not affect the outcome of this review.