Let's talk about cards. Sure you can go to the store and browse through a lot of badly written Hallmark-esque sentiments about moms and unicorns and rainbows. OR you can be all charming and personal with a special homemade card. That's why I home make cards. For the personal touch. Okay, that's not true. It's because I am always forgetting about special holidays and by the time I get to the store the only cards left say things like "Smile! It's *insert celebration here* day!" or something about adult beverages. Not quite the sentimental value I was going for.

Tomorrow we'll break out the paper and scissors with a beautiful paper card by Lucy Folch. But if you're anything like me ( meaning you have a brand new baby and not only do not have any time to cut and paste things but also are still in the new-baby-honeymoon-phase in which you think everyone wants to see cute pictures of your kids) then go this simple route. Photo cards.

Right. Photo cards. They are so easy. Just pop in a picture and write a special little note on the back. Hint: do not use a ballpoint pen to write on the back of photo paper. An archival safe pen such as the American Crafts Slick Writer works best. Anything else will leave impressions of your handwriting on the photo side of your card. And trust me, when that loopy L is visible across your baby's forehead, it kinda looks less she has a unibrow. Not that I know that from experience or anything.

We have two free photo cards for you to download this Mother's Day. Click HERE to download your set! Aren't they super cute? And also, how cute is my baby girl in that plaid skirt? I know. Not sure how to use the photo cards? No worries. We've got step by step instructions below!

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Step by step instructions for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

1) Open your photo and photo card by going to FILE > OPEN
2) Click on the layer that reads "Place Photo Here" on the LAYERS PALLETTE (if you don't see your layers pallette on the screen, in your top menu go to WINDOWS > LAYER PALLETTE and it will pop up)

3) Click on the photo and press CTRL A then CTRL C to copy the photo

4) Click on the photo card
5) Click CTRL V to paste the photo onto the card
6) Use to MOVE TOOL to position the photo where you want it. If it is too large, click on one of the little boxes on the edge of the photo and use the mouse to re-size the photo until it fits to your liking.

7) Flatten the photo by going to LAYER > FLATTEN

Now print your photo card!

Happy May Day! It's an exciting time here for us at LLS as we re-open our virtual doors and invite you all to join us for a little housewarming party! Our hiatus has come to an end and we've done a little spring cleaning around here so we are officially turning our little lights back on in our web home. It's an exciting season for KA as well, as she and her husband had a little party of their own, welcoming their daughter Scarlette home after a 5 month stay in the NICU. There is certainly much to celebrate here!

We thought it only fitting to kick things off with a celebration of Mother's Day, in true handmade style, of course. We've got a fun filled week featuring guest artists, layout inspiration, freebies, tutorials and more! Stop by the blog each day starting tomorrow (May 2) to see what our guest designers have created and to get inspiration for your own Mother's Day gifts (and some free downloads as well!)

You can start with this little sneak peek by downloading this free 8x8 digital scrapbook page template. It's already pre-made, just add your photo in place of ours and some text! (Don't know how to use a quick page? No worries! Click here for step by step instructions!) Printed as a wrapped canvas or framed in a 8x8 frame, it makes a beautiful Mother's Day gift! And you know we're all about making beautiful projects on a budget; this one definitely won't hurt your pocketbook! 8x8 scrapbook page frames tend to be hard to find so we like to remove the matting from frames like this one for a perfect fit!

Show us how you made our quick page your own! Leave a link to your adaptation of the page in our comments and we'll pick our favorite to feature in this month's newsletter!

This month we're excited to offer our Lights! Camera! Actions! photo editing class sponsored by www.scrapartist.com! Students of the class will receive a free digital kit designed by Nancie Rowe Janitz to enhance their photos.

For the rest of the members or our site, they've created a free stamp for you to download as well as a free video tutorial on how to use their polaroid transfer masks, which you can watch (and get a special coupon code) here!

ScrapArtist has some amazing digital products  (they're home to my favorite set of brushes) so be sure to visit them and see some of their fun photography overlays!

Today's freebie is a set of three kraft paper bracket labels for your digital scrapbooking projects! Or you can print them out and use them on your paper crafting projects as well. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOURS! Enjoy!

Today's freebie is a set of printable address labels that you can customize with your own text! I use these constantly at our house, it's much more affordable than ordering custom address labels! I just buy a pack of Avery labels in return address size (I use Avery #8867) and then design a template with images and text!

One pack of labels has over 900 label stickers and by printing them at home, I save lots of $. Plus, I am able to make new designs and styles whenever I want something fresh or if I want to create something that is seasonal.

You can click HERE to download a set of spring address labels for you to personalize!