Treat by Shutterfly

Hey guys! I'm here to chat with you about a new mobile greeting card option that I tried recently called Treat. Before I begin, I was given a credit to their store to try for free, though I was not required to give a positive review. While it was great to try risk free, my opinions are my own and I would not recommend a service I didn't support.

So let's talk greeting cards.

If you've ever ordered any type of greeting cards online, they don't always come out the way you... um... expected. I made the mistake a few years ago and ordered from the first website that I found to be inexpensive. What a waste of money! My postcards were pixilated, ugly, and completely cheap. I guess that's what I get for waiting until last minute and not shopping around for quality. It really put me off and I haven't bothered to order cards online since. So, you can all rest easy knowing that I had some reservations when trying Treat, and that when reviewing their product and service, I paid attention to all the things that went wrong with my prior attempt. 

I decided first to download the free app and get the full experience. 

Overall, the app did what I needed it to without making things overcomplicated. One thing I liked was the ability to search through the cards quickly. You first click on the category that you want (birthday, baby, wedding, etc), then in the bottom right hand corner there's an icon that allows you to search more specifically within the larger category. Like, do I want cards that include a picture? Or, is this from dad? Or for a grandpa? It did take me a little while to find it, but once I did, it made the process much easier.

Another thing I liked? The option to add photos.  I take a TON of photos of my kids and family on my phone, so using the app made it really easy to utilize the adorable photos I had on hand without trying to upload them to my computer and save them in the specific format or size them to fit the card. Treat's app allowed me to create cards with a personal touch rather than run of the mill ones you can pick up at any drugstore. It gave me the options I needed to make the photos fit nicely into any cutout but again, the process wasn't overcomplicated. I chose the photo I wanted to use, then I could move it within the cutout (up, down, left, right) or I could zoom it in and out by using my index and thumb. There are cards with options for name personalization as well. I used that option when creating the card for my niece, Aubrea.

Lastly, the app had features that I didn't even think of. Like, it allows you to schedule the cards to be sent on the recipients birthday. What a time saver! I was able to plan IN ADVANCE in a way that really benefitted me. Normally I would get things together ahead of time only to lose them or forget until after the intended date, leaving me no choice but to scratch in the word belated and send everything a week late. Treat allows you to schedule up to a year in advance, which is so helpful when you're going through a move or are just plain busy. Those poor kids whose birthdays are near Christmas- they can finally get a card from me. 

It also saves the birthday's automatically to a list for you. Same with their address. I was really surprised with how much forethought went into the features like these. 

And just to be sure, I asked for a copy of the cards to get a good look at the quality. I have to say, I'm impressed. The cards are printed on sturdy cardstock, the colors are bright, and nothing about the card looks cheap. My big sister came to dinner after receiving hers and asked "How did you do that?"

I should also mention that in the photo above, you can see that the card reads "Aubrea has turned 4" - this isn't because Treat knows I was late. I mean, they aren't THAT good. But, what they did do was allow the creator to change the wording on the cards. I quickly switched it from "Aubrea is turning 4" to the past tense version so I didn't have to narrow my search down to only "belated" cards. 

I can absolutely say that this app isn't getting deleted. 

I do enjoy sending some handmade cards, but to be honest my schedule doesn't allow for me to make each and every card that I'd like to send and this is the happy medium between the two. Heartfelt, personalized, and thoughtful while also being convenient enough for the busy mom's of the world.