Vintage Birthday Card

Inside the vintage binder I bought, was a vintage birthday card from 1957 that folds out into a poster.

Sweet and Spicy Calendar Card

I almost didn’t make any holiday-related design for this year. Thanksgiving rolled around and I hadn’t done anything (and was feeling rather uninspired and lazy). So I was on the fence on creating anything…but then I decided to just do it. Make something. I wanted to make something simple and useful—so I made a calendar recipe card.

I chose four recipes from blogs that I thought would be fairly easy for anyone to make (and would hopefully appeal to most palates). Admittedly, I haven’t made all of the recipes myself, but I trust that they’re delicious. I realized that they were all either sweet or spicy recipes and decided that that would be the theme for the card.

I wanted the card to be fun and have a slight retro vibe with the type and color. The only art I really did was the cover—I had to draw that by hand. It didn’t come together quite as quickly as I would have liked (it practically never does), but overall it didn’t take too long. A couple of hours here and there (and there) and it was done.

I also created a bellyband as my “tag” so I could put the recipient’s name on it. It also has a correlating message on it that ties in with the card itself.

Painted Umbrae Card

I created this simple thank you card with some paint I happened to have on hand. I used a sky blue, colbalt blue and black (which I combined with the cobalt blue to create navy). I just used a paintbrush to layer the colors onto the paper, starting from the lightest color to the darkest color to create an umbrae effect.

At first I thought I could just paint the paper (that was already cut down to a greeting card size) and then I would be finished. But the paper I was using just wasn’t strong enough to hold up to the wetness factor of paint and water. The paper started to curl on the ends and paint seeped onto the other side of the paper (which wasn’t very attractive).

So instead, after I let the paint dry, I cut the painted sheet to the size I wanted. In this case, the greeting card itself (which I just made myself) is 5.5 inches wide and 4.25 inches high, and I cut the painted section to 5.5 inches wide and 3.5 inches high. I used double-sided permanent tape to stick the painted paper to the card, and then in wrote “Thank you” in pen. And it was done.

Congrats! Birthday Card

A couple of months ago I bought this flying pig finger puppet with a magnetic nose that I thought my brother would like as part of his birthday present. It’s perhaps a bit of an odd gift but I like things that are somewhat unexpected.

The night before his birthday I thought I should make a birthday card for him. Last year I made him a You’re #2 birthday card, and I decided to somehow combine that same sentiment with the flying pig puppet.

DIY: Tangram Stamps

After I posted Tangram Magnets, I thought that creating Tangram Stamps would be fun. It’s not hard to create these stamps that can be used as individual shapes or used together to create tangram shape combinations.

I Swear Mini Cards

Inspired by swear words (and substitution swear words), I created mini cards that each convey a swear word moment. I was actually inspired by substitution swear words first; when I posted What the Fudge! I thought of various faux swear words and “blowhole” stood out in my mind. I envisioned a cute whale with “You blowhole!” on it, and I thought I could create a series of cards using swear words and drawings.

Fun With Decorative Tape

Buying crafty items on a whim that I might use “someday” is not uncommon for me. I try to resist, but sometimes I think something is interesting and just want it. That’s how I happened to buy a set of decorative tape with different number designs on it; I bought it over a year ago and it just sat in a drawer unused until I finally got around to using it.

DIY: Flower Banner Card

I thought a simple flower card could be a nice all-purpose card, which depending on the message you wish to give could be easily be used for thank you, congratulations, thinking of you, happy birthday, for you, etc.

For an added pop of interest, I decided to create a banner that is glued to the card and creates some depth and a bit of fun.

You’re #2 Card

Everyone wants to be number one. Number one is (obviously) the best. We play to win; we don’t compete to be number two. We want to be number one with the prestige and big trophy (that we can then lord over everybody else).

Tasty Money Robot Card

Sometimes when I give presents I don’t bother giving a card. It’s lazy but if it’s a present given in person, then it’s pretty obvious that I’m giving that person that present. It seems redundant to give a card, because usually cards are fairly generic and people will barely read them before they quickly move onto the main event: the present.

However, when a present is not thoughtful then I feel like I have to make up for it with a more personal or interesting card. A prime example is when I give money (or gift cards), a card seems more necessary not only as a vehicle to hold the money but also to show that I put a bit of thought into the present (instead of just opening my wallet and handing over some money).

So I decided to make a very simple card to hold money. The entire card is a robot head and it has two slits in the mouth to hold the money in place. (He just loves the taste of money and his eyes match its leafy green color when he’s eating his most beloved treat). The design is quite minimal using very basic shapes. It’s a silly card but it makes me smile.

Lip Service Coupon

Lip service is what makes the world go ’round. We are all participants, with coworkers, classmates, friends, family, strangers; we all tell those little white lies that help to make social interactions go more smoothly. We generally know when we’re getting or giving lip service, but that doesn’t stop its persistence.

Chinese Zodiac Calendar

Back in the fall of 2008, “Make Something Present” came into being. Two designer friends and I bought 100 jewel cases to be split between us. That year we were all going to make calendars as Christmas presents (and of course give them to each other as well).

So I had to figure out what the topic for my calendar would be, and only one idea popped into my head: Chinese Zodiac. I not only thought it could be a fun theme to work with, but with twelve animals, each month could easily correspond to an animal.

Check-the-Box Card

Birthday. Anniversary. Valentine’s Day. The year is full of events (granted some are more important than others) but forget one of them and suddenly that’s the most important event. Because isn’t it the thought that counts? People want to be remembered. They want to feel special. Forgetting someone’s “momentous day” (whatever that day may be) is a slight on them, because basically, you just weren’t thinking of them at all.

So I made this all-purpose card so I can just check off whatever holiday/event I want it to be used for (so for those lazy/forgetful moments, I can at least pretend to have remembered that special day).

Happy Unbirthday Card – Rectangular

I got my happy unbirthday card printed and I’m pretty satisfied by the way it turned out. Some of you may recall that I had created a square happy unbirthday card some months ago, but I had to change the format of the card because of the printing size options available. And I think the changes turned out for the better (since there’s more white space and the weight of the text is at the bottom of the card now).

While the card can be used as-is as a little note, I thought it would be nice to show a few extra ways the card could be used. So here are some tag and card options:

Sympathy Birthday Card

When I was about 12 years old, I was at the supermarket and stumbled upon the greeting card aisle. My mom’s birthday was around the corner and she was turning the milestone age of 40. I hadn’t planned on buying her a card but my eyes caught sight of one with a flower on it and I read it and laughed. It was perfect; I bought her a sympathy card for her birthday.

Happy Unbirthday Card

People expect birthday cards, but they don’t expect unbirthday cards. I wanted to make an “all-purpose” card that could be given to someone at any time—akin to a “thinking of you” card.

Although an unbirthday is the opposite of a birthday, I still wanted to allude to the celebratory nature of birthdays (and I think most of us can agree that when we think about birthdays, we think about cake). With cake in mind, I stacked the type in a way that is reminiscent of a two-tiered cake, and then added a design glyph at the top to indicate a flame from a candle.

Hopefully this little card can brighten someone else’s day (it’s appropriate 364/365 days out of the year). So for those whose birthday is today, Happy Birthday! And for everyone else, Happy Unbirthday!