Christmas Cards, Personalized Christmas Cards, Holiday Cards

Everyone likes receiving nice greeting cards during the holiday season, especially personalized ones from family or friends. One of the very best ways to send a nice card to the ones you love is to have a personalized picture printed on a card with a special holiday greeting that you write yourself. You can show that you have your family and friends in your thoughts during the holidays with these kinds of special printed greeting cards.
You can easily create your personalized greeting cards by going online and choosing a Web site that gives you templates, helps you design a layout, prints them and delivers the cards right to you. This is a great way to save time, money, and hassle by avoiding the holiday crowds in card stores and stationery shops. There are several ways that online greeting card services can suit your needs, budget and timing with a multitude of layout choices, backgrounds, colors and festive decorations. You also can select from different types of cards like postcards, flat cards, folded cards, caricature cards, foil-accented cards and more. Though the best part about online greeting card services may be the time and money you save, designing your own card, choosing your personalized greeting, and having it professionally printed is a pretty cool, stress-free way of sending your holiday greeting cards.
Old styles, new styles and your own styles
Everyone has their own unique style, and you will want to incorporate your own into your greeting cards. You can get the entire family involved in the design and style of your personalized card. You can create one with the entire family, including pets, or you could even have the kids design their own cards to send to loved ones, or both. There simply are so many different ways to create a great holiday greeting card!
If traditional is your style, you can choose from different graphics such as reindeers, Christmas tree lights, snowflakes, ornaments, Santa and more for Christmas, or menorahs, dreidels, and Stars of David for Hanukkah. You certainly do not have to stick with traditional colors or themes, however. You can get as creative as you want and choose other vibrant colors and pictures to add to your card. Instead of the traditional green and red for Christmas or blue and white for Hanukkah, you can use silver, gold, purple, pink or any color that you desire. Online greeting card printing companies also offer matching envelopes for your cards as well.
You can choose the color to match the main color of the card or coordinate with one of the subordinate colors on the outside or inside. This is a special touch to add and will really make the card stand out from all the rest of the cards that your family and friends will receive during the holiday season.
Less costly than computer cards
Creating your card online and having the company print your cards will also eliminate the cost of printing them from home, as ink and special holiday card paper really adds up fast. Ink for printers can be very expensive, and depending on the kind you use the paper can be quite costly (you will need heavier, more expensive card stock). People often also waste money when printing their own cards by buying too much paper, too much ink or mismanaging your print job some other way. It is nice to have the ability to create the card online and have the company print them for you. You might be surprised at how much you will actually save by doing just that. Many companies will offer discounted shipping prices for the holiday season, as well.
Personalized greeting cards are one of the best ways to say that you are thinking of friends, family and loved ones. In addition, while they are great for the holidays, personalized cards are excellent for almost any occasion, such weddings, corporate events, anniversaries, birthdays and other special times. Choosing an online company to help you successfully create and print your cards is a swift, sure and hassle-free way to save time and money. Once your greeting cards are handled quickly and cost-effectively, you can focus on all of the other important things you want to do for the holidays!

If your looking for a personalized gift or card this holiday season, be sure to visit Vista Print. To view our full catalog of personalized Christmas cards, Photo cards, Holiday cards, Greeting cards and more, visit us online today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Burkhart

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NATO targets ceding control of Afghan war to Kabul (AFP)

AFP - The NATO allies open a two-day summit Friday to back a 2014 target for ceding control over the bogged-down Afghan war to Kabul.

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Satellite images fuel N. Korea intrigue

Experts at Jane's Defense Weekly say the tunneling operation seen in the satellite imagery may indicate a test is planned.Two recent sets of satellite photos show what experts believe is tunneling workWork is going on near location of 2009 nuclear test site, reactor constructionU.S. official says photos are far from conclusive about what North Korea is up to"Tunneling is the hallmark of most [military] sites," defense analyst cautions

Washington (CNN) -- The latest satellite imagery taken of North Korea indicates the secretive country might be further pursuing its nuclear program.

But as often is the case, with satellite imagery being one of the main methods of gleaning insight into the North, what's going on in the ground is not entirely clear.

Two recent sets of commercial satellite photos show what experts believe is tunneling work near the location of a 2009 underground nuclear weapons test site and construction of a light water reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex.

A nuclear security think tank obtained the satellite pictures of the Yongbyon construction and showed them to Siegfried Hecker, an American physicist who recently visited Yongbyon and was the first to report that North Korea was building the light water reactor. Hecker confirmed the construction is of the new nuclear reactor, according to the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS).

A light water reactor is for generating electricity and has no connection to a nuclear weapons program. But Paul Brannan, the senior research analyst at ISIS, said the reactor would need to be fueled by low-enriched uranium, which gives rise to the question where North Korea would get the material.

"The assumption is they will introduce into the equation that they already have a gas centrifuge enrichment program. They are trying to ease into it," said Brannan.

A successful enrichment program not only would enable North Korea to produce low-enriched uranium for the reactor, but it could potentially be further developed and expanded to make the highly enriched uranium (HEU) used for nuclear weapons.

A nuclear security think tank obtained the satellite pictures.

In 2002, North Korean officials categorically denied they had a secret uranium enrichment program when the U.S. confronted them with intelligence. Last year, North Korea indicated it planned to build an enrichment plant within the decade.

There's equal ambiguity about what's going on at the nuclear testing location near the town of Kilju.

An article by experts at Jane's Defense Weekly indicates the tunneling operation and other activity at the site seen in the satellite imagery is similar to the configuration seen ahead of a test last year.

"North Korea's 25 May 2009 nuclear test was conducted by tunneling into the site's terrain and sealing the testing material inside the mountain," wrote Allison Puccioni and James Hardy.

A U.S. official said the photos are far from conclusive about what North Korea is up to.

"We certainly cannot discount the possibility, but the satellite photos in themselves don't indicate any imminent nuclear test," the official said.

Brannan acknowledges the images do show tunneling activity, but said similar work has been going on since the fall of 2009 and it doesn't necessarily mean it's tied to an upcoming test.

"It's a military site and tunneling is the hallmark of most sites regardless of the purpose," said Brannan, adding, "we avoid trying to read the tea leaves at these sites."

The U.S. is closely monitoring developments in North Korea, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

"We're trying as we always do to decipher real intent in this otherwise very secretive country. If it is true they are pursing any one of these things it is obviously of concern to us, and we would call on the North not to take any additional provocative or destabilizing actions," Morrell said.

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Six nations to miss Nobel peace awards

London, England (CNN) -- Six countries -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Morocco and Iraq -- will not attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies in Oslo, Norway, the Norweigian Nobel Committee said Thursday.

The Nobel Committee has selected jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo to receive the prize.

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Police probe blast in Scottish forest

Police heard about the blast on WednesdayDamage indicates an explosion occurred

(CNN) -- Police in Scotland are investigating a mysterious explosion in a forest, authorities said Thursday.

Police received a report from a citizen of what sounded like a blast in Garadhban Forest in Gartocharn about noon local time Wednesday, Strathclyde police said in a written statement. Officials responding to the report "discovered some damage to the wooded area within the forest that would suggest some short of explosion had occurred," the statement said.

"I would stress that the site is secure and that there is no risk to public safety," said Chief Superintendent Calum Murray, divisional commander for Argyll, Bute and West Dunbartonshire, in the statement. He said agencies from across the United Kingdom are assisting in the investigation, and asked anyone who has seen anything suspicious to notify police.

Gartocharn is about 20 miles northwest of Glasgow, Scotland.

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Troubled Ireland edges towards loan

Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan faces journalists after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels.Irish Central Bank chief says he expects a substantial loan offerInternational Monetary Fund and European Central Bank are involvedThe European Commission is also at the meetingThey will be discussing problems in Ireland's banking sector

Dublin, Ireland (CNN) -- Officials from the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank were in Ireland on Thursday to examine the country's debt crisis -- a visit that could result in a substantial loan, the head of the Irish Central Bank said.

The bank's governor, Patrick Honohan, told state broadcaster RTE the negotiations with the IMF and European officials were not about a bailout, but would lead to a loan of tens of billions of euros to Ireland.

He said that loan would be something the Irish government would have to accept.

"The intention is and the expectation is, on their part and personally on my part, that negotiations or discussions will be effective and a loan will be made available and drawn down as necessary," Honohan told RTE.

The money would go directly into Irish banks to shore up investor confidence, he added. The banks, many of which have been nationalized, are unable to loan to other banks.

One analyst said Ireland has no choice now but to accept outside money.

"In actual fact Ireland as a country, in financial markets, has no reputation now. We've got to rebuild it, and the reason you rebuild it -- or how you rebuild it -- is you rebuild your balance sheet," author and economist David McWilliams told CNN. "The situation is, if there is no money, we can't pay. And there is no money. That's why the IMF are here. If we had money, they wouldn't be here."

One issue domestically is what restrictions any loan or bailout would place on Ireland.

Analyst Alan McQuaid said there is a worry that Ireland could be required to charge higher taxes on companies. Ireland currently has the third-lowest corporate tax rate in the European Union, after Bulgaria and Cyprus, he said.

"It's a main plank of industrial policy here," McQuaid told CNN. "I think it would be counterproductive if Ireland were forced to raise corporate taxes. In effect, you'd be giving it one hand and taking away the other, and I think it would seriously damage Ireland's prospects on generating economic growth going forward that we need to get our budget back in balance."

European officials have been talking with the Irish government about the problems in its banking sector, which have led to fears of a collapse and talk of a possible bailout.

Two days of meetings in Brussels, Belgium, with European finance ministers this week kept open the idea of a bailout, even though Ireland has yet to ask for one.

"I want to be absolutely clear: We are not putting pressure on Ireland to resort to the financial assistance mechanism," said President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission, which was also taking part in Thursday's talks. "But I reiterate that the EU mechanism is available and ready to be used if requested."

Barroso said the Irish government is making "enormous efforts" to resolve the crisis and is committed to working with the IMF, the ECB and the European Commission. He also predicted next year's Irish budget bill will prove that a 2014 target date for correcting excessive deficit is "firm and credible."

"But Ireland is addressing a very specific problem as far as the banking sector is concerned," Barroso said in his statement, which was released late Wednesday. "This must be done speedily and decisively to pave the way of full confidence to be restored."

Irish leaders have said their treasury is funded through the first half of 2011, but there are still fears the country's financial sector could collapse under the weight of the massive debt.

That Ireland shares the euro with 15 other European nations has raised concerns that its financial problems could affect the common currency and the wider European Union.

The European Union and IMF were forced to bail out Greece in May, coming up with a three-year, 110-billion-euro (currently $150 billion) loan to save Greece from defaulting on debt.

EU economic and finance ministers gave the go-ahead Thursday to reform the EU framework for financial supervision. The goal, they said, is to fix problems that were exposed during the Greek crisis.

As part of the reforms, the ministers decided to create a European Systemic Risk Board and three European authorities to supervise the banking, insurance, and securities industries, to be operational starting January 1, they said.

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