card me

if you haven't gathered from my numerous posts gushing about lacey's cards, or my visits to the paper source, i really like cards. i think there is something great about opening a mailbox full of bills and finding something pretty from someone special. that said, this time of year, i get especially excited about christmas cards. it's fun to hear from people i haven't talked with in a while and see family photos from the years' vacations, etc. i also really really love vintage christmas cards. my grandparents have an amazing collection of ones from our family and vintage cards and pictures have become really popular lately (i see reproductions everywhere!). i think they are so beautiful compared to the cheesy hallmark variety that fill our mailboxes today. here are a few i think are particularly lovely:

ah! a french one!
this one says "happy new year" in french.
how sweet is this russian card? i have no clue what it says (i'm guessing something in the ballpark of "merry christmas"), but i would send it anyway!
another russian one.

my personal favorite of the bunch.

this one is hilarious. did people really say this back in the day?

assuming you don't get such beautiful cards this year, what do you usually do to display yours? usually, mine don't even go on display unless i recieve a particularly gorgeous one. based on my love of bulletin boards, however, i totally recommend this idea from domino magazine:
cover a bulletin board with pretty wrapping paper or fabric and go to town posting christmas cards, photos, gift tags, paper swatches, etc. according to domino, this will make even "the corniest sears family portraits look cool."

and what to do after christmas? if you're not too sentimentally attached, cut off the fronts, pack them up, and ship them to st. jude's ranch for children where the kiddies recycle them into new cards to be re-sold as a fundraiser. (st. jude's ranch for children, card recycling program, 100 st. jude street, boulder city, nv 89006) such a christmasy thing to do, really. they're accepting cards through the end of february 2009.

so you should probably get started on your card sending, soon. i'll be checking my mailbox every day through christmas.

images: 1.flickr.com 2-7.mazaika.com 8.operationlettertosanta.com 9.fleamarketfinds.blogspot.com 10.domino