It’s that time of year again!  Yes, I mean the holiday season.  Some people start their holiday shopping and some of us (like me) bring out the Christmas carols.  I wish I was one of those people sometimes, the ones that get it all done early and have their home decorated by Thanksgiving and every gift wrapped under the tree for a month!  In the event of me trying to start early I started looking for holiday cards.  I want to share some of the great sites I came across where you can add your own picture to a predesigned card and a few sites that offer psd templates for all you photographers out there offering holiday cards to your clients.  I’m also sharing a few sites I found that offer some great freebies for the consumer and/or photographer.  Who doesn’t love FREE?!  I hope you find a few you like and if you have some more suggestions please share them in the comments!

P.S. I dabbled in some card template making myself.  Check them out below.

Free Cards for Consumers (and Photographers):

5 Designs at The Wedding Chicks - You upload your picture and they will send you a completed card ready to print.

Cards for Consumer Purchase: 

Minted

In a Baby Carriage (not just for baby cards)

tinyprints (not just for baby cards)

Shutterfly

Free Card Templates for Photographers or Photoshop users:

5 Designs at Shutterfly

5 Designs at Becky Higgins - Look at the right hand column and scroll down then you will see the holiday cards download.

1 Design at Simplicity Designs

Card Templates for Purchase:

Simplicity Designs - Love her photography and her designs are amazing!

Uniquely You Designs

Swiss Miss Design Haus

Art Is Design - A local photographer who creates beautiful work!

Photographer Cafe

And finally, here are four card templates for free download made by yours truly!  They are completely customizable psd files.  The links for each card are below and contain a file with the names of all the fonts used.

Happy Halloween Card - http://bit.ly/mkphall1

Trick or Treat Halloween Card - http://bit.ly/mkphall2

Red, Green, and White Christmas Card - http://bit.ly/mkpchri1

Snowflakes Christmas Card - http://bit.ly/mkpchr2

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So many girls dream of having their wedding in a garden like the one I’m about to show you, I know I did at some point! For Amy her dream came true when she and Michael married in the Sunken Garden at the Dallas Arboretum earlier this summer.  These two couldn’t have been more in love.  Michael was a bundle of nerves until he saw his gorgeous bride and Amy never did stop smiling.

I was so fortunate to be able to photograph Amy and Michael’s wedding with Laura Parker of Fairy Tale Photography.  Amy and Michael, I wish you all the best!

The day started out with a light shower but cleared up before Amy stepped outside. The cloud cover made for some gorgeous light.

Fountains, flowers, and trees….and then there were string players.  They created such an amazing ambiance.

Amy’s dad looked so proud!

Amy you are too cute!

Love!

Remember the styled shoot of Corbin and Dave?  Well, I also shot Ebony and Jovan’s engagement session during the same styled shoot at the cute shops of Brownstone Village.  Ebony and Jovan were so much fun to photograph.  These two have the most adorable dimples and I loved how they both wore shades of pink, yes boys, even Jovan!  They looked amazing and were so sweet to allow a number of photographers capture their beautiful love for each other.  Oh and brides, if you are looking for a talented wedding planner/designer you should check out Ebony’s company Ebony Peoples Events & Design.  She is truly talented!  Thanks again Ebony and Jovan!

I love the flowers in Ebony’s hair.  Ashley Bristo did an amazing job.

Thanks for having fun with us!

Love this one!

Ebony, you are beautiful!

It doesn’t get any sweeter!

Couple: Ebony & Jovan / Flowers: Bows & Arrows / Cake & Sweets: Sugar Bee Sweets / Hair: Ashley Bristo / Makeup: Something You… Makeup Artistry / Venue: The Shoppes at Brownstone Village / Planning & Production: After Yes and Catie Ronquillo

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Caitlin and Nate met at work three summers ago in their hometown of Edmond, OK, but their dating was cut short when Caitlin moved back to Norman for school at the end of the summer.  After the fall semester, Caitlin decided to move back to Edmond and commute to school.  Nate and Caitlin started dating again, and the rest is history!  I’m happy to share that the beautiful couple were married in July at St. John the Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.  Despite the 100+ degree heat that day, their wedding was a joyous occasion celebrated with numerous family and friends.

Thank you, thank you Michele Brewster for second shooting.

Caitlin looked amazing in her Maggie Sottero gown.

I loved Caitlin’s shoes.  They remind me of Dorothy’s ruby red slippers but in navy.

Absolutely stunning!

So handsome.

Caitlin’s brother did the honors of walking her down the isle.

Nate and his dad restored this old Chevy truck which just so happened to be one of Nate and Caitlin’s wedding colors.  I got so excited when Caitlin told me they were bringing it for pictures.

So sweet!

Ahh…love!

Caitlin’s aunt did all the florals and decor.  She does amazing work!

These ladies were pretty serious and I believe there was even a little tug-a-war at the end.

I love this reaction.

The guys wanted nothing to do with it.

I’m going to end it with this cuteness.

You can see Caitlin and Nate’s engagement session here.

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Have I ever told you how much I love shooting engagement sessions?  Well I do…love love it!  I was more than happy to travel out of the city to take Kristian and Justin’s engagement pictures in Muenster, Texas where Kristian grew up.  The countryside was beautiful and peaceful.  I even felt like I could breathe easier out there.  Okay, now that you know how much I love some Texas countryside I want to tell you a little bit about this amazing couple.  Justin and Kristian have proven that love can be found when you’re least expecting it.  They were both out having a drink with their group of friends when they caught each other’s eye.  When I asked them who went up to who first, well, I got two different answers.  No matter who made the first move it was Justin who took a knee and asked Kristian to marry him in a room full of flowers and candle light.  Justin said he lit so many candles it was actually getting a little warm.  I can only imagine how romantic that must have been.  These two are so wonderful together, and I can’t wait to see them married in October.  xoxo ~Molly

Love this series.

Kristian, you are absolutely beautiful.  Justin is a lucky man.

So GQ (i.e. handsome).

Kristian made her beautiful sunflower bouquet and is doing all the flowers at their wedding too.  I can’t wait to see them!

If anyone else is a fan of Dirty Dancing then you know where the inspiration came from for this photo.  Love it!

Kristian made this adorable picnic set up and I love the vintage suitcase.  You can see more of Kristian’s work here and here.

All I have to say is you have amazing taste Justin!

If you would like to see more of Kristian and Justin’s engagement session just click on the slideshow below and leave them some comment love if you have time.

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I had so much fun shooting Caitlin and Nate’s engagement session at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens.  Our time together just flew by.  Usually, it takes people a little time warming up to the camera but Caitlin and Nate were naturals.  They are too cute for words and, clearly, so in love.  I can’t wait to photograph their wedding in Oklahoma at the end of the month!

Enjoy,

Molly

Caitlin and Nate drove down from Oklahoma for their session and luckily the Texas heat calmed down a little for them.

Nate doesn’t just make Caitlin smile but brings her to laughter.  Thanks Nate!

Aww…

I think we actually had the wonderful  Grapevine Botanical Gardens all to ourselves.  It was so peaceful.

Love this.

Handsome!

So sweet.

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A couple of months ago I had the privilege to shoot at the Winter Shootout put on by After Yes and Catie Ronquillo.  It was so beautifully put together.  All of the models and details were gorgeous!  Styled shoots are a lot of fun for photographers because they allow us complete creative freedom without any pressure.  I think they can also be great for brides and grooms looking for inspiration for their wedding or engagement session.  Really, any portrait session can go from great to amazing by adding just one personal touch.

Please meet the beautiful Corbin and Dave from Soulbox Productions who did an amazing job modeling for all of us.

Corbin, you’re so pretty!  Love the calligraphy signs too!

Wow, just gorgeous!  Corbin you totally worked it!

So suave Dave.

Eskimo kisses are the best!

This cake is too beautiful to eat.

Adorable!

So sweet…

I love these two.  I get this feeling like the bride and groom just snuck off in the woods to have a moment alone or something.

Stayed tuned for the bridals and engagements from this styled shoot.

Bride & Groom: Dave & Corbin / Flowers: Bows & Arrows / Cake: Sugar Bee Sweets / Stationary: The Left-Handed Calligrapher / Men’s Suit: D. Jones Tailored Collection / Hair: Ashley Bristo / Makeup: Something You… Makeup Artistry / Venue: The Shoppes at Brownstone Village / Planning & Production: After Yes and Catie Ronquillo

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I’m at Barnes & Noble writing this blog post.  On days like these I’m so thankful for technology, especially free Wi-Fi (oh, and Starbucks’ frappuccinos)!  It’s a nice change from my normal environment, my living room couch or lonely office chair.

The other weekend I had the best time taking portraits of little B and her parents.  I don’t have children of mine own yet but I adore them.  I mean I love kids.  I truly believe they give purpose to life and make it so much more fun or at least interesting all the time.  So, when Leslie asked me to take their little B’s one year old portraits I was thrilled.  Then, almost immediately, I became nervous because I have never officially taken portraits of a child so young.  At this age you never know what’s going to happen and can’t exactly direct them, you know.  Little B and her parents, Leslie and John, came all the way from Round Rock, Texas so the pressure was on to deliver.

We went out to the nature preserve in Carrollton and honestly, the session went wonderfully.  Little B is adorable, sweet-as-can-be, and sooo even tempered.  I think we all had fun playing around in the fields and I just love the pictures we got.  Thank you Leslie and John for coming all the way from Round Rock and allowing me to document your little girl’s special one year birthday.

Molly

I love the next picture on the right because her two front teeth are too cute.

Such a good looking family.

Baby giggles are the best!

Look at those beautiful blues.  She’s going to be a boy magnet for sure.

Little B already has the model pose down pat with her hand in her hair (ok, minus that cute tongue).

Okay I will leave you with this sweetness.

If you’ve been to my blog before I’m sure you’ve noticed I have changed the look a bit. I’m no graphic designer but until I can afford to invest in one I’m trying to tweak things here and there until I get a little closer to what I’d like my brand to look like. This is the very reason why I chose ProPhotoBlogs because you can change your blog as many times as you want. Who knows, you might see a totally new look next week.

Leave me some comments because I would love to hear what you think/feel about it.

Thanks,
Molly

Here’s one of many beautiful snapshots from the Winter Shootout, thrown by After Yes and Catie Ronquillo, that I was so fortunate to be able to attend.  So many more pictures and vendors I can’t wait to share with you!  I posted a few more on my facebook page so feel free to look around there too.

Bride: Prianna Staley / Flowers: Bows & Arrows / Hair: Ashley Bristo / Makeup: Something You… Makeup Artistry /  Planning & Production: After Yes and Catie Ronquillo

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The other weekend I got to hang out with Ciera and her mom and I had a blast.  We went up and down Main Street in Grapevine, shot some hoops (okay, I didn’t do that but Ciera did), and roamed around the Gaylord Hotel.  I have to tell you that Ciera has the whole package.  She is beautiful, sweet as can be, fun, and if that’s not enough, she’s athletic.  I actually got to see some of Ciera’s basketball skills first hand and let me tell you the girl has game.  You know, I’ve secretly wished I was more athletic but that’s a whole other story.  Ciera will be playing college hoops in the fall and I know she’ll be a total success!

Thank you two for making my job so easy and fun.  I hope you love these as much as I do.

Molly

Seriously, you are so beautiful Ciera.

These just make me smile.  Ciera’s mom told me before the session that Ciera has a lot of “faces” and oh she does.  I love it!

I love this one and I’m in love with her orange sneakers.

Ciera’s dress blew up a little bit and I told her it reminded me of the classic Marilyn Monroe photo and then Ciera did this.  Can you tell we had fun?!

Ciera is an awesome basketball player so she wanted to take her session to the courts.

I love the courts that we found at the Heritage Park in Grapevine, so urban and worn in.

She even looks amazing in action.

Ciera has the greatest sneaker collection I’ve ever seen.  Yes, those are Coach sneakers in the orange. LOVE.

So beautiful.  I love when the wind works in your favor.

Let’s end it on this gorgeousness.  Ciera, your smile is just contagious.

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