DIY Christmas Cards: 1 Printer, 4 Ways

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I am on a total DIY kick as of late. All I want to do is curl up under a blanket and attempt to create something fabulous! This latest DIY discovery is a money saver, so naturally I wanted to share it with you all. 

It may be a southern thing, but I have always been big into sending Christmas cards. Growing up, my sisters and I coordinated our outfits (ahh, those years all in denim), and our mom snapped our picture to be sent out to 50 of our closest friends and family. When Parker and I got married, I knew I wanted to start the same tradition (albeit minus the color coordination). This is our fifth Christmas card to send out as a married couple, and it seems like we send more and more out each year. I see this as a blessing because it means we have more loved ones around the globe, but the cost just adds up. I realized that with the help of a smart phone and fancy printer, I could totally make my own cards!

While perusing Walmart, I stumbled upon the HP Deskjet 3632 All-in-One Printer/Copier/Scanner, and the idea for a DIY Christmas card was born. There are so many photo editing apps available on our smartphones nowadays that I realized I could choose a picture right on my phone, edit/add text, and then print it from my HP Wireless Printer. Boom!

First, I needed to create the card on my smart phone. There are hundreds of free apps out there. A couple of options are TextsPhoto and Color Cap. Play around with the font, styling, and messaging. 

I came up with four templates to give me options. The whole process probably took me the length of a Friends episode, and I never left the comfort of my couch. Winning! Here are the four templates I came up with.

Once I decided on one, I sent my favorite to my HP Wireless Printer for printing! The printer came with ink, so I just added photo paper and was good to go. The original HP ink that came with the printer prints out twice as many high quality prints than generic ink, so that's cool! I downloaded the printer app on my phone and connected it to my home Wi-Fi network, selected the size (I chose 5x7), and printed. It really is so simple and user friendly to those of us who aren't so technologically inclined. No help from the husband was required, which is a rarity these days.

My paper was 8x10, so I had the option to cut the paper before printing or cut the card after printing. I chose the latter, but the printer has marks on where to insert 5x7 sized paper or 4x6 sized paper, so either way would work just fine.

And that's it! Print as many cards as you need, stick them in envelopes, and your job is done! No ordering from an expensive website. No waiting for shipping. Just simple, easy, and affordable.

If Christmas cards aren't your cup of tea, here is a fun kid-friendly printable that would be perfect for your new printer. This is where I found the printer at Walmart:

Do you send out Christmas cards?