No one knows with certainty but November 14th is exactly 9 months from Valentine’s Day

Well hello there! For all of you environmentally conscious people out there, here are some great ideas on what to do with all the beautiful birthday cards and all occasion greeting cards you and your family receive all year long. Yes, I know they are all too pretty to throw away, or you love the sayings on the insides, or the ones the kids got you are too cute to throw out, but what do you do with all of them?

Well here’s the first of many ideas. You must have a large wide candle in the house, don’t you? If not, then purchase an inexpensive one in any desired color. Get white glue or a decoupage glue/finish such as Mod Podge and an X-Acto knife or a sharp little scissor. Find the prettiest part of the birthday card or the words “happy birthday” or some flowers on the card (whatever the art is on the card) and cut it out very carefully keeping close to the outline of the art. Put some glue on the back of the art and glue it carefully to the candle. You can put the art randomly around the candle or the words happy birthday straight up and down or around the base. If you are using Mod Podge, after the first coat that you used to glue the art to the candle is dry, you can give it another coat to seal it. If you want to, you can use some glitter or some beads or sparkling jewels for added embellishments. And there you have it…a keepsake candle to bring out for every family birthday!

Ah…and how about a handmade beautiful birthday or anniversary decoupage cake plate? What a great item to keep or to make for a gift! Purchase a clear glass plate large enough for a cake. A platter would work as well. For this project you will need to use the Mod Podge glue because it works well for decoupaging. You can purchase it at your local craft store, such as Michaels or A.C. Moore. Find the beautiful parts of the art on your greeting cards and again, carefully cut them out. Turn the clear glass dish or platter over and glue the front of the art to the underside of the plate so that when you look at the top of the plate you see all the beautiful cut outs. You may place the art randomly around the plate or completely cover every inch for an overall effect.

If you only want to use a few pieces of art on the plate, a good idea is to purchase colored tissue paper or a beautiful patterned tissue paper and cut a piece out the size of the plate or platter. After you have glued down all the art you want to use and if there is still clear glass showing, cover the complete bottom of the plate with a piece of the tissue paper. Glue down the tissue and then cover the entire bottom of the plate with Mod Podge for a sealed finish. I would give it two coats of the Mod Podge, letting it dry in between coats. If you do not want to use the tissue paper, you may also use paint to finish off the clear spaces. A metallic gold or silver looks beautiful as a finish. Just make sure the art is coated with a sealed coat of the Mod Podge before you apply any paint. And also make sure that the paint is non-toxic and can be used on surfaces to serve food. After the paint is dry apply another coat of Mod Podge for a sealed finish, which will water-proof the surface as well.

Another great use for your birthday cards, anniversary cards, get well cards, or holiday cards is to make handmade gift wrap. To start, purchase a solid color or a striped pattern wrapping paper. Or you could use plain brown wrapping paper, which works beautifully! For a small package, you could even use a plain brown bag that you get from the food store. I would wrap the package first before adding any art. Then carefully add the cut outs from your greeting cards and glue them on to the wrapped gift, either in a pattern or randomly scatter them all over the package. You can also use one of the cut outs as the greeting card enclosure. And there you have it…your own customized gift wrap.

One last quick idea for your greeting cards…a beautiful garland. Again carefully cut around the art on your cards. Using a hole punch, place a hole on the cut outs large enough for a narrow satin or wired ribbon to fit through, and thread the ribbon through the holes spacing the cut outs a few inches from each other to make a ribbon garland. If the ribbon is wide enough, your art will stay in place a few inches from each other. Otherwise, put a small knot on either side of the cut outs to manually hold them still. Depending on how many pieces of art you want to use, cut the ribbon long enough to suit your needs. You can place your garland around the house for a birthday or a holiday appropriate for the cut outs you used.

I hope these ideas are helpful for you to start creating beautiful works of art with all of your greeting cards. Start creating and have fun!

One of the things that I remember most about Christmas during my childhood is the writing of thank you cards. Every year, while on my Christmas break from school, I was expected to spend an afternoon thanking people for the gifts they had given to me during the holiday season.

Writing thank you cards seems to have become a lost art, but when I receive corporate thank you cards from stores or businesses that I frequent, it puts a smile on my face. It helps me to understand how the people to whom I had written my thank you cards long ago must have felt – that the time and effort they had put into buying me a Christmas present was well spent.

I am glad to know that my time (because it is about more than just my business) is appreciated! It makes me want to continue to shop in those stores and patronize those businesses. And it makes me want to smile while I am doing so. I think if more companies put just a tiny amount of effort into thanking their customers for their support, they would experience a huge upturn in their business and in the smiles they receive. And would you guess what I was doing when I came to this realization? I was writing thank you cards.

The Greeks started the tradition of using cakes to celebrate birthdays. It is said that the cake represents the shape of the moon, which was thought to bring good luck.

Sixteen Candles, which first aired on the big screen in 1984, made this birthday song immensely popular amongst teens of that era.

The Beatles sing this popular tune entitled “Birthday.”

More babies are born on Tuesday than any other day of the week.

Does your company send out birthday cards to your customers? Does your company give you an employee birthday card each year? If they don’t, I think it would be a good suggestion! The tradition of sending birthday cards started in England about 100 years ago. Originally, greeting cards were often sent as an apology when you could not visit someone in person. Today we regularly send birthday cards, whether you can make the visit or not.

Business birthday cards are a nice gesture from a business to their employees and/or their clients and customers. It is a nice way for companies to show their appreciation and let you know that you are remembered on your birthday. Sending birthday cards is a good way for businesses to gain respect from their customers and to show them that they are more than just a number or a dollar sign. A lot of companies make the mistake of forgetting about their clients once a deal is sealed and they become a customer. But sending a business birthday card is a simple way to be sure your important customers know you haven’t forgotten about them, and it’s an easy way to make a lasting impression.

So if the company you work for does not do this already, make the suggestion of sending out birthday cards to your employees and clients. By showing them that you’re thinking of them on their special day with a birthday card, they will continue their business with you, turning this common ritual into an inexpensive, yet extremely prosperous investment.

Sunday is the least popular day for birthdays.

The Golden Birthday is when a person’s age and birth date are the same, which only happens once in a person’s lifetime.