When you have been blessed with a beautiful new baby, you want to let everyone know; and one of the most popular ways to do this is with photo birth announcements. Traditional vellum photo birth announcements are a beloved method of heralding the arrival of a new bundle of joy for the classic beauty and integrated photo; now you can make photo birth announcements on your own.
Classic Beauty
Photo birth announcements come in various forms — color, black and white, matte, glossy, vellum, cardstock and more. Vellum photo birth announcements are the most popular style and have stood the test of time. Years ago, when people wanted to send out photo birth announcements in style, they used translucent vellum to make a classy statement and the standards of style have not changed to this day.
If you want to send beautiful photo birth announcements to family and friends and make a statement of your own, use traditional translucent vellum. It is not a matter of following the crowd or bowing to tradition, it is a matter of choosing classic taste over something that is supposedly modern but comes off kitschy.
Integrated Photo
For friends and family who live far from you and your new bundle of joy, a photo birth announcement will be received with delight. They may not have the chance to meet your baby until he or she is much older, so a photo birth announcement gives them a sneak peek when the baby is at his or her most beautiful and angelic stage.
You, your family and friends will treasure the photo birth announcements for a long time after. High-quality photo birth announcements are worthy of framing and turning into keepsakes for your child’s bedroom or family heirlooms to be passed down to later generations.
Do-it-yourself
If you are not artistically inclined, or if you are not willing to put forth the effort to make your photo birth announcements perfect, “do not try this at home.” If you shop around, you will be able to find a good deal on photo birth announcements from mass-production companies, and you could possibly find coordinating thank you cards as well. But if you want to give your photo birth announcements a personal touch, you can make them yourself on your home computer with digital imaging software and a bit of creativity.
You will need a high-resolution photo of your new baby, preferably 720 dpi. This will keep your picture from looking like it came from a computer and will make your photo birth announcements look more professional. If you want to use a professional photo of your baby, be sure you will not be infringing on the copyrights of your photographer.
To create your photo birth announcements, use whatever photo imaging software you feel comfortable with to manipulate your baby’s photo and set text either over the photo or to an edge. Traditional photo birth announcements are about 4 ¼ inches by 5 ½ inches. You should be able to fit two announcements on one page.
To make your photo birth announcements have a classy look, print them on thick, translucent vellum. Then set the vellum on top of high-quality linen or cotton cardstock, punch holes in the top and tie your photo birth announcements together with a refined organza, satin or taffeta ribbon.
By D. Blair Thompson