How to Be a Birth Announcement Card Creator


Today's "I Want to Be" series features Christina Butorac, who creates birth announcement cards as well as party invitations.  Christina is married to Mountain (yes, his real name) and is mom to two girls, ages 8 and 4.  They live outside Atlanta.  Find out how to connect with Christina at the end of this article.

How long have you had your business?

I began Metro Baby Cards in 2005. Before starting my company I was a designer for an Advertising/PR firm specializing in Hollywood movies.

What led you to pursue it?

After my oldest daughter was born, I began searching the internet for photo birth announcements. I did not find anything with the clean and modern style I wanted, so I made them myself. My family and friends loved the card and encouraged me to start selling them online. I worked on more designs, created a website, and started selling. I now have over 600 designs including birth announcements, baptism invitations, birthday invitations, Christmas, Hanukkah and Halloween cards, thank you cards, return address labels and a line of modern nursery art prints.

Are you full time or part time?  If part-time, do you anticipate switching to full time?

Metro Baby Cards is my full-time job. Luckily, with being my own boss, my hours are very flexible.

How do you market your business?

Word of mouth, repeat customers, social media and my blog.

What is your favorite part of the business?

It is such an honor to have parents invite me to work one on one with them on their baby's birth announcement, birthday invitation, family Christmas cards, and art prints for their nursery. I especially love the repeat Christmas card orders - I love seeing the same babies for whom I created birth announcements get bigger every year!

What one question do you get most from people about your business?

Many customers ask about customization. They want to take a design I created and specialize it further to fit their baby - a custom color, adding a family crest or logo, their baby's nursery theme art, etc. Other companies don't offer that kind of customization.

What one myth or misconception do you want to dispel about the work you do?

That anyone with a computer and Photoshop can do this. I have been a graphic designer for 14 years. Every design is meticulously made. Colors, fonts, proportions, design elements… each is chosen for a specific purpose. Design is so much more than knowing your way around computer software.

What advice do you have for others who want to get into a similar opportunity? 

 Learn everything you can about design! Knowing how to use design software like Photoshop will only get you so far. Read books and articles about design. Learn typography. Learn color theory. Get on twitter and follow the stars of the graphic design community. They frequently offer great insight into current design trends. 

What websites or books do you recommend for tips?



You can learn more about what Christina does at her website, Metro Baby Cards.  You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter as well as her blog.

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