I’m terrible at writing thank you notes. Everyone in my family knows this. So when Chloe was born, I was daunted at the thought of all those thank you’s when I had a newborn to care for. But the camera was always in my hands in those early weeks, and I’m great at writing emails, so here was my solution…

Make a simple hand-written note, place it on a supercute sleeping baby, attach to a quick email, and it’s the best thank you card ever! I got so many positive responses to these cards. No one really cares about getting fancy thank you notes, they just want an acknowledgement of their gift and to feel good about giving. And a personalized note from a baby is the best way to do that. That day I made 10 or so cards, placed them on Chloe, took the shot and the whole thing took about 2 minutes. Mission accomplished.

Another idea is to make love notes for family members using the same technique. I sent Shayne this shot again yesterday (Chloe was 2 weeks old!), and he couldn’t believe how big she’s grown. I took similar love note shots for all my family members.

You could use this same idea with kids of all ages and have them make their own love notes or thank you drawings then you snap the picture and send (avoiding the dreaded post office altogether!)