# Personalized Christmas Cards Online, Painted From a Photo URL: https://christmascardfactory.com/lp/personalized-christmas-cards-online Type: landing Locale: en Published: 2026-09-02 Updated: 2026-09-02 --- > Upload a family photo, choose a painted style, and preview a print-ready Christmas card in about 30 seconds. No template library, no illustrator's waiting list. *AI-painted, printed in Portland, ME* ## Personalized Christmas Cards Online, Painted From Your Photo Upload one family photo, choose a style, and get a print-ready PDF in about 30 seconds. Order printed cards on 300gsm stock, shipped from Portland. ## Six things a template library can't do ### Trained on cards people kept The model learned from roughly 40,000 mid-century illustrated cards, the kind families kept in a shoebox, not a generic art filter run over a photo template. ### Four real print styles Watercolor, oil pastel, vintage postcard, or paper-cut. Each one renders your photo differently, not the same filter with a different color grade. ### 300gsm you can feel Matte cardstock, printed digitally at offset-comparable quality. You'll notice the weight at the fold: it resists instead of creasing flat. ### A PDF in about 30 seconds Upload a photo, pick a style, and preview the card before you commit to anything. No signup wall to see the result. ### Six days from Portland Printed cards ship from our Portland, ME studio, typically about 6 days to your door. Printed to order, not pulled from a warehouse. ### An honest price About $3 a card. No $150 illustrator commission, no three-week wait for a one-off design. ## From photo to printed card in four steps 1. **Upload a family photo** — A clean phone photo works. Faces with a plain-ish background render best; busy backgrounds and glasses sometimes need a tighter crop. 2. **Pick a painted style** — Watercolor, oil pastel, vintage postcard, or paper-cut. Each preview updates on your actual photo, not a sample. 3. **Preview the PDF and add your message** — See the print-ready layout in about 30 seconds. Edit the message, swap the style, or start over at no cost. 4. **Print at home or order from Portland** — Download the PDF yourself, or have printed cards on 300gsm stock shipped from our Portland, ME studio in about 6 days. *Four styles, one photo* ## Pick the style that fits how your family actually looks The same uploaded photo renders differently depending on the style you choose. Watercolor softens a winter scene into something closer to a painting than a photo. Oil pastel adds texture and a warmer, grainier finish. The vintage postcard style leans into sepia tones and the kind of composition you'd find on a 1950s card. Paper-cut trades photorealism entirely for a layered, illustrated silhouette. None of them are filters laid over the original photo: the model repaints the scene in that style. - Watercolor: soft edges, close to a hand-painted winter scene - Oil pastel: warmer, textured, more saturated color - Vintage postcard: sepia tone, mid-century card composition - Paper-cut: layered illustrated silhouette, no photorealism ## Christmas Card Factory vs. Shutterfly vs. Minted | Compare | Christmas Card Factory | Shutterfly | Minted (custom illustration) | |---|---|---|---| | Price per card | About $3 | From about $0.79 (template) | From about $150 (commission) | | Turnaround | PDF preview in ~30 seconds | Fast printing, template-based | About 3 weeks, one illustrator | | How the card is made | Your photo repainted in a chosen style | Your photo placed in a template | An illustrator draws it from a brief | | Best for | A card that looks illustrated for your family | High volume, low price, fast turnaround | A one-of-a-kind commissioned piece | ## Questions people actually asked us ### How is this different from a Christmas card template? A template swaps your photo into a fixed border. This starts from your photo and repaints it in watercolor, oil pastel, vintage postcard, or paper-cut style, so the card looks illustrated for that specific photo rather than dropped into a frame. ### Does it work with photos where someone is wearing glasses? Usually, but glasses are the one detail the model sometimes simplifies or loses the glare on. If a photo has glasses, reflective jewelry, or a very busy background, try a close crop on faces first. It fixes most of it. ### How long does it actually take to get a card? The painted preview and print-ready PDF appear in about 30 seconds after you upload a photo and pick a style. Printed cards mailed from Portland, ME typically arrive in about 6 days from order to your door. ### What paper do the printed cards use? 300gsm cardstock with a matte finish, printed digitally at offset-comparable quality. You'll notice the difference at 300gsm: it resists at the fold instead of creasing flat like a thinner card. ### Can I just download the PDF and print it myself? Yes. The PDF is print-ready at home or at any copy shop that handles cardstock. Printed-and-shipped cards from Portland are the other option if you'd rather not manage the printing yourself. ### How does the price compare to Shutterfly or Minted? A card here runs about $3. Shutterfly's photo templates start lower, around $0.79, but stay template-based. Minted's custom illustrated cards start around $150 and typically take about three weeks, since a person is drawing them to order. ### What styles can I choose from? Watercolor, oil pastel, vintage postcard, and paper-cut are the four the model renders best, trained on a set of roughly 40,000 mid-century illustrated cards rather than a generic art filter. ## Get your personalized Christmas cards online today Upload a photo and preview your card in about 30 seconds. No account needed to try it. *Call to action: Start your card free* ## FAQ ### How is this different from a Christmas card template? A template swaps your photo into a fixed border. This starts from your photo and repaints it in watercolor, oil pastel, vintage postcard, or paper-cut style, so the card looks illustrated for that specific photo rather than dropped into a frame. ### Does it work with photos where someone is wearing glasses? Usually, but glasses are the one detail the model sometimes simplifies or loses the glare on. If a photo has glasses, reflective jewelry, or a very busy background, try a close crop on faces first. It fixes most of it. ### How long does it actually take to get a card? The painted preview and print-ready PDF appear in about 30 seconds after you upload a photo and pick a style. Printed cards mailed from Portland, ME typically arrive in about 6 days from order to your door. ### What paper do the printed cards use? 300gsm cardstock with a matte finish, printed digitally at offset-comparable quality. You'll notice the difference at 300gsm: it resists at the fold instead of creasing flat like a thinner card. ### Can I just download the PDF and print it myself? Yes. The PDF is print-ready at home or at any copy shop that handles cardstock. Printed-and-shipped cards from Portland are the other option if you'd rather not manage the printing yourself. ### How does the price compare to Shutterfly or Minted? A card here runs about $3. Shutterfly's photo templates start lower, around $0.79, but stay template-based. Minted's custom illustrated cards start around $150 and typically take about three weeks, since a person is drawing them to order. ### What styles can I choose from? Watercolor, oil pastel, vintage postcard, and paper-cut are the four the model renders best, trained on a set of roughly 40,000 mid-century illustrated cards rather than a generic art filter.