Why I’ve been loving my little photo printer

Recently I got a Canon Selphy for our mom. She loves taking photos, but always had  trouble figuring out how to print them online.*

I bought her a Canon Selphy as a Mother’s Day present, and I decided to try it out first to see if it would be easy enough.
Wow– it was so fun I bought myself one too!


*Note: Before I go any further, this is not a sponsored post – I’ve just been loving this tool and thought you might enjoy hearing about it. 

When we were growing up, our mom and her twin loved taking photos and would send a stack of them in the mail to each other. This was before email was really even a thing – remember that?? 😅

Now we are flooded by digital images, and I think that’s part of the reason I’ve been enjoying this little printer so much – there’s just something magical about holding a real photo in your hands. I’ve often been trying to include a photo with the cards I send, because it feels like a little gift to be able to print out a photo for someone.

I think people often intend to get photos printed out, but it doesn’t usually happen.

So seizing ten minutes to write a card and another ten to print out a few photos that someone can treasure…it seems like a good gift. 

Grace’s baby, Everett, turned 1 this week and this seemed like just the ticket to celebrate his birthday: a heartfelt card and some photos of Grace and Everett while they were home visiting recently. (Particularly since Grace is a minimalist, I know this is a gift that she’ll treasure and won’t cause her any angst!)

She’ll probably prop it in a cute corner in her house for a while, then they might end up in an album or shoebox somewhere. (So I took a few extra minutes to write who it is on the back of the photo and an approximate date.) But even if she chooses to not keep them, it will at least add an extra surprise in the card.

I also like that I can quickly print out some photos of Ellie for a photo album (in case photos ever disappear from my digital photo library 🥵). Since you can print just one of two at a time, it’s less overwhelming to print up just a few photos vs. feeling like I need to order a bunch when I order from some place online.


Maybe it’s not for you, but in case you’ve ever dreamed that printing out photos could be instant and able to be done one at a time, I think this is a really great tool.


I hope your weekend brings a photo-worthy moment or two! :)

P.S. I bought slightly larger kraft envelopes (A4 size) for when I include photos with the cards -- for whatever reason photo ratios are different from greeting card ratios, so I wanted to be able to easily slip in a photo and the envelopes we include with each card are slightly too small for these photos.


P.P.S. Do you ever include photos in your cards? 

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9 comments

I bought a printer that prints 2×3 in photos for a big trip I took 2 years ago. I used the photos to create a travel/art journal. The photos are not the best quality, but I’m really glad I used them and made the journal. My partner raves about how much it means to him! I’m gonna study up on your printer. Thanks!

Blair Crouse

I bought a printer that prints 2×3 in photos for a big trip I took 2 years ago. I used the photos to create a travel/art journal. The photos are not the best quality, but I’m really glad I used them and made the journal. My partner raves about how much it means to him! I’m gonna study up on your printer. Thanks!

Blair Crouse

Thank you for sharing! I love hearing what people use to print photos because I like to print them for my journal, or to include in cards as well. I use a Polaroid ZINK printer, but the color quality isn’t great. It is neat that the photo backing can be peeled off so you can use it as a sticker. Recently, I’ve been uploading 3 photos to a picture collage in the 1 Hour Photo app (works for Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, or home delivery) for 1 hour printing at my local CVS. They usually have it done within minutes and it’s close to my house. I think next time though, I’ll use an alternate photo editing tool to make bigger collages, so I can just print an 8×10 or 5×7 with more pictures.

I’d love to hear what others use. In the meantime… I’m off to the Interwebs to read about the Selphy! :)

Jessica Glasscock

yes! love doing this. I usually trim the edges of the photo so it fits in the regular envelope

Mary Anne

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