Minted

When I attended Blog Podium at the end of September, I had no idea what to expect décor-wise. I mean, every other conference I’ve attended has been academic in nature… so those details aren’t exactly the focus. Blog Podium, on the other hand, is a conference for design and lifestyle bloggers – people whose entire online existence is focused almost exclusively on details. And those details were NOT overlooked. The design for the conference was styled by Hoopla with gorgeous paper goods from Minted. Have you heard of Minted? I hadn’t, prior to the conference. But my brain pretty much exploded from all the Minted goodness while I was there. I saw Minted business cards, Minted decorations, Minted notebooks; the list goes on.

The idea behind Minted is pretty cool – it’s basically an artist collective. People can submit their designs (for greeting cards, business cards, wedding invitations, art prints, party supplies, etc.); the public votes for their favourites; and those designs then get sold! And unlike Etsy (which I still love – don’t get me wrong), where you have to sort through the junk to find the gems; everything on Minted is GORGEOUS. So, when they offered to send me a few holiday cards to try out this year, I couldn’t resist.

I think the hardest part was deciding which ones I wanted. They have an extensive collection of photo cards for those of you with adorable offspring, of the human or animal variety, as well as non-photo cards for those of us sans dependants. I eventually decided on this design by The Social Type: 

One aspect I really liked is that once you’ve selected your design, you can then personalize it by changing the colour scheme or the edging of the paper, choosing a flat card or a folded card, or by adding a fun pattern or other detail to the back of the card. 

You can also personalize your envelopes and add fun liners (including GLITTER). All in the name of choosing something that is totally you.

Plus, the card stock they use is nice and thick, making it feel super luxurious. (You know you're a paper nerd when you start describing it as luxurious...)

My order arrived CRAZY fast. I ordered them on Wednesday night and they arrived the following Tuesday… to Nova Scotia… from California… through Customs. Pretty impressive. And the packaging was adorable:

I’m so excited to send these cards out this week! And you know I bought Prince George stamps just for the occasion ;)

P.S. Minted sent me these cards to review but all thoughts and opinions are my own. I would never review or share anything that wasn’t consistent with my own personal taste/values or a good fit for this blog. Besides, my love for paper goods is no secret…