I don’t consider myself to be a pack rat because I don’t like clutter, but recently I decided to clear out a couple of “junk drawers” and a closet. I finally got rid of the magazines and newspaper clippings with recipes, especially holiday or birthday recipes (that I never cooked) and craft ideas (that I never made). I also tied up the four years of National Geographic magazines that my kids never used for reference for school reports. Duh! When was the internet invented?

As I came across the next hurdle, I knew I wouldn’t part with it. It was my box of personalized birthday cards. I save greeting cards that I receive from friends and relatives. You know the ones with the beautiful wrapped presents on them and the ones with balloons and cakes and candles. I like to recycle things and also love crafting. If I like the design on the front of the card or the greeting on the inside, I just throw the card in a drawer, thinking one day I’ll do something with it. Well, with the drawers and closet overflowing, I had to act. Here are some ideas I came up with:

Idea #1 – Instead of buying expensive wrapping paper, collect all the birthday cards that you’ve received, especially the ones with beautifully wrapped presents on them. Wrap your gift either in brown or white craft paper (I’ve even used aluminum foil in a pinch) or a put it in a plain box or gift bag. You can cut the pictures and words off the cards and paste them randomly on the package. You can even use the inside greeting or verse words. If you have enough birthday cards you can cut out each letter individually to spell “Happy Birthday” or the recipient’s name. I like to use craft scissors with different edges to vary the finish. Your gift will be unique!

Idea #2 – Cut the pictures off the front of the birthday cards and make gift tags by punching a hole in the top of each image and pulling ribbon through it. Tie a bow and tape it to your gift.

Idea #3 – Use birthday cards for your scrapbooking projects. When filling a page with pictures from a birthday, cut the words, pictures, and greetings off the cards. Arrange them around the pictures to add descriptive memories of the special event. Finish the page by adding bows, ribbons, or fabric swatches to add texture. Although I never seem to get the time to do my own scrapbook, I have made pages for my niece to add to her book with pictures I have taken at her special events such as her Baptism, first day of school, and a Disney vacation.

What if you could lift up the spirit of clients, contacts, and employees in one fell swoop? Of course, in today’s economy your first question is going to be, “How much is this going to cost?” Naturally, you will have to take that into consideration, but let’s look at the big picture first.

Recognition is a valuable tool in promoting lasting relationships. Acknowledging someone’s birthday by sending them birthday cards is a positive and inexpensive way to show their importance to you. I started to send business birthday cards to clients and employees when I received one from a vendor who had unsuccessfully met with me the week before my birthday, to try his stationery supply company.

He wrote inside the card, “I checked your horoscope for your birthday, and it advised you that things would be stationary in your life for a while. Since stationery is in my life for a while, I thought you might feel a kinship, and try our stationery for your office.” He added a post script, “We offer a special discount for Birthdays!”

The card gave me a chuckle, and reminded me of the terrific salesman who had sent it. While I didn’t order from him immediately, there did come a time when my supplier let me down, and the first vendor I called was my business birthday cards sender. His humor and friendly persistence won me over.

Naturally, every card will not elicit such a success story. The point is that people appreciate thoughtfulness in any form. You never know how one small gesture may keep your business moving along.

Design # 453AE, Birthday Surprise Greeting Card, will be a welcome surprise for anyone who receives this design. When it comes to sending employee birthday cards to your staff, you want your cards to extend joyful wishes but not be too flowery or extravagant; Birthday Surprise is the ideal card for this purpose. Blue foil balloons, accompanied by blue and silver confetti float out of a decorated blue box that is bedecked in an elegant silver and blue ribbon. A “Happy Birthday” sentiment is engraved in lustrous silver foil. This unique design is printed and embossed on glossy white stock. The balloons, box, and bow seem to pop off the paper. It is a happy design that will bring joy to your employees.

Design #453AE - Birthday Surprise Greeting Card

Sending employee birthday cards is important. Your employees are the back bone of your company. A dedicated, hard-working staff can make a business successful. As an employer, if you show your appreciation of your staff members’ services to you, they will become more enthusiastic about their job, benefiting your company as a whole. A business birthday card is the perfect way to show your employees that you care about them personally and recognize that they are an integral part of your business.

Windpower greeting cards describes cards that are made with paper that is manufactured by using electricity generated by wind mills. Wind power is a non-polluting, renewable form of energy. Environmentally friendly birthday cards made with wind power energy are a great way to say and show that you really care about the well-being and long life of the birthday celebrant!

Some time ago, my power company sent me a bill enclosure that allowed me to opt for one of several eco-friendly sources for my electricity. Each listing showed the alternate fuel source(s) used for that plan, as well as the approximate percentage of cost increase to me if I opted for that plan. I was very happy to be offered a means of decreasing my own carbon imprint. The plan I chose derives its highest percentage of fuel from wind power.

I can’t imagine why our human channeling of wind power into electricity took so long to come about. Humans have been using wind mills and water mills for centuries to turn machinery to grind grains. We really should have made the mental leap and the moral commitment much sooner, but as they say – better late than never!

Windpower birthday cards from The Gallery Collection are the same premium quality as this line of cards has always maintained. The only way you can tell them apart is the Wind power logo on the back of the card. This small symbol says a great deal about the sender’s integrity as a citizen of planet Earth. This environmentally friendly symbol not only confirms your high regard for the well-being of the card’s recipient, it also educates. It gets people thinking about and discussing this and other ways of going green to improve the quality and longevity of life on our beautiful planet.

I’ve started thinking of the wind power symbol as a smiley face with a conscience!

As an employee at The Gallery Collection, I am an avid contributor to our greeting cards blog. I would like to write something about our beautiful business birthday cards selection but cannot decide whether to write about our birthday cards for employees, our personal birthday cards, or our birthday cards that feature balloons and presents.

Should I mention the fact that sending business birthday cards is a great idea because remembering a business associate at birthday time can help solidify a relationship, and in the long run, help a company’s business? Or perhaps I could mention how morale can be maintained by a company’s higher-ups extending a yearly birthday wish to each and every employee (which our bosses do here, by the way).

The Gallery Collection’s personal birthday cards are also perfect for sending out to relatives and friends to convey that special thought during their special time of year. Or maybe I should just describe the wonderful detailing on the fronts of the cards that colorfully illustrate presents, balloons, hats, streamers, cakes, and other festive birthday symbols. Or the many different (and free) greetings from which customers may choose to have printed for the inside of their birthday cards. Or the pretty colors available for imprinting – shades that wonderfully accent the bright colors used for the front designs on the cards.

Now you see my business birthday cards dilemma?

Whenever I think of the dentist I cringe in terror. There is something about going to the dentist that just makes my skin crawl. The needles, the drills, the noise…its awful! I never connect anything positive with a trip to the dentist, even though I do love having nice pearly white choppers. I begrudgingly make my yearly trip to the dentist because I have to, certainly not because I want to. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I received business birthday cards from my dentist.

My dentist has taken on epic proportions in my mind. He is like an evil tyrant who rules over all he surveys. In actuality he is a very nice and mild mannered gentleman. He always tries to make my visits as comfortable as possible, and he’s always ready with a joke and a smile. But while I’m sitting in his chair, he may as well be Attila the Hun. When he comes near me, whether he is holding a drill or just a small cup of mouthwash, I involuntarily flinch. There is nothing he can do to dissuade me of my fear of him. I’m pretty sure he dreads my visits as much as I do as he knows just what lies ahead of him when I arrive. So sending me birthday greeting cards was actually a brilliant idea.

Receiving a birthday card from my dentist was a nice surprise. When I opened the card and saw who it was from I let out a giant laugh. I couldn’t believe that my dentist was so thoughtful. I couldn’t believe he didn’t hate me! Getting a birthday card from my dentist showed me that he values my business even though I am probably one of the most difficult patients he has. It made me feel like he knows each and every one of his patients, and that we are all important to his practice. It’s nice to be remembered on your birthday, and I think that birthday greeting cards are the best part about getting older. My dentist thought of me on my special day, just like all of my friends and family.

I have since made a promise to myself that on my next visit to the dentist I will try to behave like someone who isn’t terribly frightened by every move he makes. The birthday card was such a nice gesture that I’m starting to see him in a different light (well, I’m trying to anyway). He’s a good dentist, and he sends me cards. That’s a pretty good combo for me.

On April 4th of last year, I wrote about how great it was to have received personalized birthday cards and company birthday cards from my employers for celebrating my 59th birthday and that, because of how great the feeling was, that was the reason why I was looking forward to the big 6-0 this year. Well, the big 6-0 has passed and what a great day it was!

I actually threw a party for myself at a restaurant and invited relatives and friends – 30 people in all. There was plenty of food, my favorite music, speeches – you know, a real neat celebration. When I got home, I proceeded to read all the birthday cards and open all the presents. Everyone was extremely generous with their gifts and sentiments that were written on the inside of the birthday cards. Once the guests that had accompanied us back to my home had gone for the night, I sat and reflected that the big 6-0 had been the best birthday I had ever had. There were a couple of tears as well as I thought about how great a day it had been.

Since this year’s big day was so special, going back to receiving those nice personalized birthday cards and one from my bosses next year is just fine with me.

Birthday Star Celebration, design #808AY, is the ideal business birthday cards design to send for a dramatic effect. It appears on a striking, matte-finish black stock. The gold foil star is outlined in additional gold foil and surrounded by more gold foil swirls and an elegant “Happy Birthday” sentiment. The main gold star reflects the background light so that you see an array of colors when viewing the design.

This gold and black, elegantly impressive birthday card will serve to impress your recipients, whether they’re customers, vendors, or employees. Select one of our birthday greetings and add your company name in exceptional gold foil print to extend your birthday wishes to those on your mailing list. Send business birthday cards to associates and let them know how much you value their business. Or show your employees that they are an important part of your business and you value their dedication and hard work. Birthday Star Celebration can be used for both the men and women on your list. Either way, they will be impressed by your good taste and thoughtfulness.

Design #808AY - Birthday Star Celebration
Greeting Card

Although I don’t look forward to getting older each time my birthday rolls around, I must confess that I look forward to getting birthday cards. I especially like to read what my fellow employees have to say. In my department, many of us are in the same age group (29 and holding if we are all to be believed). Because of this, many of the entries are about age. My fellow office mates try to be “gentle” as they know that when their birthdays roll around, they may be reading some of the same comments. This is all done in good fun, of course, as we don’t want to offend. For a few moments I get to have a good chuckle as I read the little pearls of wisdom that my co-workers have entered.

By sending out employee birthday cards you are sure to brighten the day of your recipients! When I come into work and find a stack of birthday cards on my desk, I know my whole day becomes brighter. I always know that they will be there, because they have been there for the last seven years. I almost forget that with these birthday cards, I am now another year older. I’ve decided that although I can’t do anything about that, I can certainly appreciate that my co-workers have taken the time to acknowledge my day. Oh yeah, and I’m not going there alone!

Design #590AR - Rainbow Ribbons Birthday Card

Design #590AR, Rainbow Ribbons Birthday Card, has curly colorful ribbons on the front. The beautiful pastel colors stand out and make it a perfect choice to convey your message. Because the wording on the front says “Best Wishes,” this card is not limited to a birthday greeting, but can be used for anniversaries or other occasions where you want to send best wishes.

Design #667AT - Birthday Reflections Greeting Card

Design #667AT, Birthday Reflections Greeting Card, is a buff colored card with a royal blue gift box icon, a cake with candles, and balloons that make the card pop with all things birthday. “Happy Birthday” in the same blue is done in script, just below. This card holds the promise of all the good things that come with birthday greetings.

No matter which card you choose, and whether or not it is being sent to a fellow employee or to a business associate, the recipient will be pleased to know that you took the time to acknowledge their special day.

What do you do with your personalized birthday cards after you open them? Okay, you might display them for a while, but when you get tired of looking at them, or tired of picking them up when the cat knocks them over (I assume this must happen, although I’ve never actually witnessed it), you probably dispose of them. If you’re environmentally conscious, you recycle them, and if you’re not, you throw them in the trash. If you’re the sentimental type, you might store them in a box that you only open on those rare occasions when you change your place of residence, or on the even rarer occasions when you clean out your attic. Now, I admit that I immediately recycle the ones with glitter (environmentally conscious, don’t like glitter), however the non-glittery ones face a more interesting fate. I take these used birthday cards and give them another chance to make someone smile, by using them to make customized craft items.

Today I am going to tell you how to make gift boxes. Gift boxes are simple to make, and can be used for small items like jewelry, or those gift cards that are so popular these days. And since gift cards aren’t the most creative gift you can give, at least the box can be creative, right? My favorite design for gift boxes is something called a pillow box. For this project you will need birthday cards, glue, scissors, a pencil, a ruler, a butter knife or other object that you can use to score (crease) the paper to make it easier to fold, and a circular object like a plate to trace the curved ends of the box.

Step 1: Fold the birthday card along its normal crease.

Step 2: Flip the card over so you are looking at the back of the card.

Step 3: Measure and draw a straight line along the lower (open) edge of the back of the card, approximately 1 inch from the lower edge. The 1 inch measurement here is really just a suggestion. This portion is going to be cut away from the front of the birthday card, so you may want to adjust this to control the portion of the front of the card that will appear on the completed box.

Step 4: Holding the ruler along this line, score it using the back (non-serrated) edge of the knife. You do not want to cut the paper; you only want to make a crease.

Step 5: Fold the card, along this new crease, away from you, and toward the front of the card.

Step 6: With the birthday card in this position, you will see a small portion of the inside edge of the front of the card. Trace a line onto the inside of the front of the card, along the folded edge you just created. Cut this edge off the front of the card.

Step 7: Turn card over and apply a small amount of glue to the inside edge (the side facing the inside of the front of the card, outlined in red below) of the flap you created in Step 5 and spread it evenly across the entire flap.

Step 8: Press this glued edge onto the inside of the front of the card and apply pressure. You may want to place a heavy object like a book on the card to help glue the edges firmly together.

Step 9: While you’re waiting for the glue to dry, you can perform steps 1-6 on your next couple of cards – you didn’t think we were only making one of these, did you? When the glue has dried, place the round object (plate or bowl) on the folded and glued card, so that the curved edge of the object touches the left side of the card. Trace the curve with the pencil. Repeat for the right side.

Step 10: Cut along these lines so the birthday card is now curved on the sides, and straight on the top and bottom.

Remember to recycle the scraps.

Step 11: Place the round object back on the card and score the curve (using the back of the knife) in the opposite direction from the curved edge to form a shape that looks like parentheses ( ). You will need to do this on both the left and right sides, on both the front and back of the card.

Step 12: Here’s the fun part. Turn the card so that the back edge is facing you. Press the curved shape – the one that looks like parentheses ( ) – on the left side toward the front. Repeat on the right side. Flip the card over and do the same thing on the front of the card on both sides. The box should “puff” and the curved folds should hold it in place.

You can adjust the height of the box by removing more or less than one inch from the bottom of the card. You can also adjust the portion of the card that is visible by using a fold other than the natural fold of the card. Since these are so easy to make, feel free to experiment and remember to properly recycle the scraps!