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december 2009 |  |
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| happy holidays! As we approach the holiday season and the beginning of a new year, all of us at Leibold sincerely thank you for your business. We wish all of our clients, suppliers and friends a joy-filled holiday season and all the best in the coming year. | ||||
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| make your holidays a little bit greener The holidays have a way of bringing out the best in us each year but they can also be a financial strain and an environmentalist's nightmare. Here are a few tips to make your holidays, and your wallet, a little bit greener. 1. Time Out: Holiday lights really don't need to shine until midnight every December evening. Invest in a timer that turns the lights on and off at specified times. 2. Greetings!: Consider sending digital Christmas cards this year, there are thousands of ready-to-send options online, or you can make your own. Create an image featuring family photos, a child's drawing or original artwork and send it as an attachment in an e-mail. Create a holiday greeting video and post it to You Tube, and e-mail the link to your friends and family. Post your link on Twitter or Facebook to reach more of your friends and family than you ever could with traditional greeting cards. You'll save time, money and reduce your carbon footprint. 3. Swap Meet: Little ones don’t know whether their gifts are new or not so why not host a toy swap party? Invite family and friends with young children to come with clean, unbroken, gently-used toys, books or clothing to swap. It beats fighting the crowds at the mall and everyone will save a bundle. |
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4. Are You Experienced?: Everybody has someone on their list who "doesn't need anything." Consider giving them the gift of an experience. Cooking lessons, tickets to their favorite theatre or sporting event, a certificate to the spa or salon all make thoughtful gifts for those hard to shop for individuals. If you're strapped for cash but still want to show your appreciation, make your own certificates for snow removal, home repairs, free babysitting or a gourmet dinner. Everybody has some sort of skill they can offer up as a thoughtful gift. 5. There's No Place Like Home: Our society is focused on the "buy it new, use it once and throw it out" mentality. Think about giving homemade or gently used items as gifts, or combine the two. For a sibling, put homemade cookies or fudge in that beautiful bowl that belonged to Grandma but sits in your basement unused. For a child who has moved out, wrap up cherished Christmas tree ornaments from their childhood in a hand knit scarf and hat set. Even regifting is okay if you have something sitting around that is perfect for someone else. Click here for more holiday green tips. |
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| holiday photo tips During the holiday season we all enjoy taking photos of the festivities around us. Unfortunately, the elements involved can make getting the perfect photo a bit tricky. Perhaps Uncle Burt is wearing his favorite Rudolph Christmas sweater (jingle bells and all) reclining lazily in front of the Christmas tree after a few too many eggnogs; a perfect shot indeed! However, the lights are low and the tree’s lights are on behind him, creating more of a silhouette than a hilarious use for future blackmail. This article will explore some tricks you can utilize to capture these wonderful memories. (Note: Assuming most of us have digital cameras, you can still utilize many of these methods with a traditional film based camera). |
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The Christmas Tree: (Scenario) The tree is up, the house smells of pine, the lights are on and the branches are indeed lovely. Let's take a photo to preserve the hard work. *SNAP* Oh, too bright, I better turn off the flash. *SNAP* Oh, too blurry! At this point you are more than likely in danger of making it onto the naughty list. When it comes to getting good photos of the tree, or lights in general, turn off your flash. The flash will illuminate much of the foreground of your tree creating harsh unattractive shadows and bright highlights from ornaments and other decorations. Also the lights won’t show up very well at all. Now that you have your flash off you will have a very slow shutter speed. This means you will have to dust off that tripod. Make sure it is steady and the camera is securely fastened. Set your camera's timer and push the button. You want to use the timer or you will have camera shake from the pressure of your finger. TADA! Professional looking tree photo. If you feel like being adventurous read up (in your camera's manual) on how to brighten or darken the image by playing with the ISO. What is ISO? ISO denotes how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of light present. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the image sensor and therefore the ability to take pictures in low-light situations. Click here to read more holiday photo tips. |
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our new website We've been receiving a lot of positive feedback on our new website. If you haven't checked it out yet, click here to view it.
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| congratulations! Eric Ramey, Project Manager from N.E.W. Printing, wins a copy of the "Green Book" for sending in this great green tip: Invoicing and billing doesn't have to go out in the mail. When possible I send my invoicing out by pdf, (about 98% of it), to avoid using the letterhead, envelopes and postage that would normally get used. I get all my home bills sent to me electronically as well. I can't imagine that alone I'm making a drastic difference, but if everyone eliminated the physical paperwork entailed in the billing process it not only saves paper, but I like to imagine that it makes our nation's mailing needs much lighter and thereby utilizing less fuel to carry all the extra weight. Now it's just a matter of working on the junk mail! |
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