Poppin Prints creates beautiful, high-quality birth announcements, like this Adore style. Printed on signature metallic card stock, the announcement is fully customizable, built around the photo of your new baby boy. 25 cards sell for $44.75; and other types of card stock such as heavy matte or linen are also available (some at an added fee). You can view all of the choices at PoppinPrints.com.

Invitation Consultants has introduced a new line of invitations and birth announcements, Red Leaf Papers. The styles and designs run the gamut from traditional to contemporary, from popular to one of a kind. The style pictured above, Lullaby Baby, is one of my favorites. It’s just so different from the normal, boring designs one often finds in birth announcements. They’re fairly affordable, as well. These announcements sell for just $60 for 25, $169 for 100, at InvitationConsultants.com.

Snowflake Gift Company creates one of a kind, customized, three-dimensional pop-up cards for many occasions, including baby announcements, baby shower or birthday party invitations. You can choose to either have your card created from scratch, or to customize a pre-existing design. You provide personal images or artwork you want used in the card, and Snowflake creates a design around it. Proofs are emailed to you, and once a proof is approved, you’ll receive the cards in about 2 weeks. They also provide a mail service in which they’ll mail your cards for you if you provide them with a complete mailing list. These cards are perfect for a variety of occasions. Prices range from $12.20 for 20 1-layer small cards to $17 for 20 4-layer large cards. A complete price list can be found at SnowflakeGift.com.

OMG baby cards sells high-quality, traditional birth announcements in a variety of styles. This “Baby Bottle” style is fun and one of my favorites.All of their cards meet both US and European Union environmental standards, use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved papers and soy-based inks and are shipped in biodegradable packaging. Many colors of text ink are available as well. You can view the line of cards for sale at OMGbabycards.com, where cards sell in quantities of 50 and up (this style, for example, costs $282 for 50 cards). UpscaleBaby.com readers can receive free return address imprinting on envelopes (regularly a $42 charge) for the remainder of 2009 by typing “Upscale Baby” in the special instructions section of the order form.

Paper Locket specializes in modern photo birth announcements with stylish designs. I particularly like the “Chi Chi Baby” design shown above. Their birth announcements are made-to-order, and can be modified to fit 1 to 6 photos provided by the customer. Online proofs are provided within 48 hours, and are delivered in about 2 business days from the customer’s final approval. They are also printed on both sides for no extra charge. Prices start at $2.00 for the first 25, which is a 20% discount from regular prices. This special offer is good through September 18. Check out the selections available at PaperLocket.com.

I really like the looks of these Trifold Baby Announcements by In A Baby Carriage. This design is Sweet Baby-Boy. Each trifold announcement measures 5″ x 5″ 3 panel folding cardstock, and comes with envelopes. I like the antique look of this design as well. You can view all of the beautiful announcements available at InABabyCarriage.com, where these tri-fold announcements sell for prices starting at $95 for the first 25 announcements.

I really like these Baby Announcements featuring baby’s Zodiac sign. Custom made by Simply Put by Ashley Woodman, each announcement features a baby version of the Zodiac sign, with baby’s name, birth weight and length, and parent’s names. They come with matching blank envelopes. These announcements are so colorful and eye-catching, yet still elegant and simple at the same time. You can view them at SimplyPutByAshleyWoodman.com, where they start at $125 for the first 50 announcements. Each online order comes with a complimentary proof and free ground shipping.

Lil’ Grams is a recently launched website that creates modern, online baby books for busy parents. They promise to help parents organize baby’s most important moments and photos to share with family and friends. It helps parents by suggesting different “grams” to send out, including milestones baby might be doing at their current age, such as “babbles a few words repeatedly” and “shakes head to indicate ‘no’”. There is a tool to help upload photos to your grams as well. Parents control who sees each “gram,” ensuring privacy, unlike many websites. You can check it out for yourself at lilgrams.com, where a free trial is available, and plans start at just $29 for one year of service. In addition, UpscaleBaby readers can receive a 15% discount on plans using the code “UPSCALEBABY” .

I love these custom made birth announcements by Nesting Shoppe. All are made in the USA and printed on recycled paper. This one, “Baby Avery,” is available in a 5″ x 7″ size, and starts at $58 per set of 25. Once you send your photo to be used in the birth announcement, a digital proof is emailed to you for approval upon payment. High resolution photos are also accepted. Nesting Shoppe’s customers include parents Charlie & Brooke Sheen, Trista & Ryan Sutter, and Scott & Kelley Wolf. To view the array of designs available, visit NestingShoppe.com.

If you’re looking for a truly elegant way to announce the birth of your little one, these Adorned Baby Birth Announcements by Amalgam Invites are perfect for you. It combines your baby’s photo, printed on shimmery metallic card stock or smooth Crest card stock accented at the top with Japanese chiyogami paper, with baby’s birth information printed on a vellum envelope that shows over top of the photo. These are a beautiful and luxurious way to announce the arrival of the most special little person in your life. As these are custom-made, prices are personalized, but the average total for just one announcement is $30. You can view these stunning announcements and more at AmalgamInvites.com.

Recently I discovered some beautiful, breathtaking Birth Announcements by MangoInk.com. These photo birth announcements do more than personalize the announcement to the world of your new little one - they also showcase the artistic skills of MangoInk’s professional photographers. I especially like this announcement, called “Nutmeg.” Many more announcements can be found in their online catalog, as can other cards for events, birthdays, graduation, and more. You can view the full line of offerings at MangoInk.com. Prices vary from $21.80 per 8 mounted square cards to $11.99 per 8 unmounted rectangle cards.

My middle daughter’s name is Wren, so when she was a baby, I bought as many bird-themed items for her as I could find.  I wish I had found these birth announcements back then; they would have been perfect.

Each of these cute little birds is made in the USA from OEKO-Tex 100 certified wool felt, so you know it is safe and lead-free. You can personalize the ribbon with the child’s name. Each bird is packaged in a kraft gift envelop, then tied with ribbon.

You can design and purchase your own announcements for $19 each at GiftsDefine.com.

Babymomento offers a number of unique and eco-friendly birth announcements and holiday cards that are sure to delight both new parents and their friends and family.  The idea behind these unique cards is simple–to create an attractive and high-quality birth announcement that everyone can enjoy that will not create any waste.

You choose a design (there are many to choose from, and they appeal to a broad range of tastes).  You submit the order and email the photographs that you would like to include, and Babymomento creates a fun card for you in Flash.  An online proofing process ensures that you are happy with the final result.

You can send your announcement to anyone you choose, and they can pass it along to their friends, all without ever generating any paper.  If this is an idea that you like, check out the great selection of styles at babymomento.com.

I never sent birth announcements for either of my daughters, which I hate to admit.  I just never found something that I truly liked, and just ran out of time to look.  I plan to be more proactive this time around. Lately, I have been seeing all kinds of custom-made photo announcements that look absolutely fantastic.

One source for these cards is myboyscustomcards, an Etsy shop run by a stay at home mom of two young boys.  The store offers a number of fun designs that are customized with your baby’s birth statistics and/or photograph.  I like the fun graphic design of the pictured announcement, and there are many more to choose from.  Whether you are looking for something hip and modern, or something a bit more traditional, you will likely find something to suit your taste.

You can purchase a set of 40 customized announcements in this design for $30 at myboyscustomcards on www.etsy.com.

Birth announcements from tiny prints are all the rage with celebrity parents these days. Gwen Stefani, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tori Spelling, and Ming-Na are just a few of the stars who have called upon this high end stationery company to produce memorable birth announcements. They are definitely very sweet, and come in a number of styles to suit anyone’s tastes. All of their announcements are customized with the photo(s) and information that you want to include. Most announcements range from $2-$3 each. You can customize your own announcements at tinyprints.com.