Let the Countdown Begin!

Only 22 sleeps until Christmas! How has that happened?!  One of my favorite things about Christmas is the build up. I mean, really, it only lasts one day, so I like to milk all of the excitement out if it I can. So December 1st in our house means the tree is up, the house is decorated and the kids get to start their chocolate advent calendars! This year, Rebecca and I have made an additional one (because we can't replace the chocolate ones) but with a twist. We sewed 24 stockings out of felt and yarn and hung them around our door:

Then we put numbers on the outside and photos of friends and family in the US we won't see over the holidays on the inside. Each day the kids take the number off and swap it with a surprise picture. Today, Dec 3rd was a picture of our vacation in Boston with Uncle Ben, Aunt Sona, Lucie and Eva. The kids were so excited and we talked about our trip to Rockport this summer!  

Are you counting down to something next year? We have come across a fabulous website that can help you do just that. Creative Countdown is a customizable countdown calendar website that could be a great gift idea. Whether it's for a 40th birthday or the arrival of a baby, Creative Countdown has cute, creative and clever ways to help you countdown to any big event.  

My personal favorite sample idea:

What about you? How do you countdown to your special love and life moments? Wishing you a fun filled 22 days!

Our Top Three

At Love and Life you'll notice we enjoy the Democratic process and vote on pretty much everything we can. We are also slightly competitive in nature and wanted to show you both of our top 3 favorite Christmas designs this year. It always amazes me how two such good friends always have different taste in design!

Sona's top three:

3)  Prize Ribbon

2)  Wrapped in Twine

1)  Crafty Collage

 Elizabeth's top three:

3) Rugby Stripe Red

2)  May Your Days Be

1)  Colorful Christmas

We'd love to hear from you and find out what your favorite Holiday cards are. Only 29 sleeps until Christmas, so if you don't see your favorite there, please let us know and we would be happy to work on your perfect custom holiday design!

A moment to say thanks!

We wanted to take a moment this week to list some of the things we are each thankful for. 

Sona says:

• Friends old and new

• Good health

• Abundant family 

• Sweet little girls

• A warm & safe home

Elizabeth says:

• A yard for the kids to run in
• Good health
• Ever supporting parents
• Life and education in the country
• Wonderful friends who continue to help Love and Life Cards

And of course, we want to thank all of our customers who make it possible for us to do what we love!

Happy Thanksgiving!

xo

Elizabeth & Sona

Hurricane sandy help

The past few weeks have been rough for the residents of New York and New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Many areas including Rockaway, Queens are still without heat and power. I was so inspired by my friend and neighbor who collected donations this past week, rented a minivan, and drove down to deliver some much needed help. You can read more about Martha in the article Hamilton Mom Hopes to Help Sandy Victims Who Helped Her on Sept. 11 from our local paper. 

Consider other ways you might be able to volunteer your time. Go to the Occupy Sandy web site for the most current information. 

I also just learned about this Occupy Sandy Registry on Amazon. So easy, especially if you already have an account on Amazon.  Simply go to the link above and choose specific items that are desperately needed such as cleaning supplies and baby items. 

And of course, The American Red Cross is in the areas hardest hit providing hot meals, clean water, and support. You can donate directly to The Red Cross at their web site here.

Holiday season 2012 is upon us!

We here at Love and LIfe have been gearing up for weeks to officially launch our 2012 holiday designs! We posted a few weeks back showing a little peak at some of our new card designs. If you want to check those featured cards out you can read more in our holiday sneak peak. Last week featured our new card back options. You can read more about our free of additional charge back options in we've got your back...and it's free. 

This week our new cards are ready to go on our web site! We want to share just a few of our favorites:

AND... we want to offer all of our Love and Life family and friends a 20% discount this season. Simply pick out your design in our holiday photo card line here and enter the code LALH at checkout to receive 20% off of any non-custom order!

And don't forget, as always if you don't see exactly what you're looking for, contact us at sona@loveandlifecards.com to create your own unique custom design at our regular low custom prices.

We've got your back... and it's free!

With our Holiday card designs being updated daily, we wanted to take a minute to talk about the flip side. We have come out with some fresh new back options especially for the holiday season and as always, there is no extra charge for a message, photo, or both, on the back of your Love and Life design!

Ornament

Polaroid

Three Boxes

Two Boxes

Blank

What is your plan for the back of your holiday card? Do you like to fill every inch of space or do you prefer to keep it simple when it comes to the back side?

Holiday sneak peak!

The holiday season is upon us... well, almost! It is still October, but some of you very organized people (you know who you are) have already started thinking about holiday cards and have even put in a holiday order. You would think as a card designer, my cards would be done well ahead of time, but alas, I have no idea what my family holiday card will look like. The card design is so much fun for me, but getting just the right photo is another story! So instead of stressing about how I'll ever get my kiddos to photographed, I'd rather have fun designing the perfect card for you and your family.

Below is a sneak peak of some of our 2012 holiday designs. We're really excited to offer more designs this year!

Simple and stylish "Crafty Collage"

Say it all with "Joy and Love"

Show off your little elves with "Santa's Little Helpers"

Three perfect photos? "May your days be Merry & Bright"

Classic Christmas "One Ornament"

Simple and elegant "Ball of Joy"

All of these new designs, and more, will be on the web site and ready to go by the first week in November, but of course if you're ahead of the game, we can get started right away and as always, if you don't see exactly what you're looking for on our web site, we will be happy to create a custom design to show off your beautiful family.