Themed Birthday Cards

If you have read my blog before, you may already know that I like to make greeting cards. The cards I make are kind of a hybrid I have come up with that combine what I have learned over the past several years . . . thanks to the hundreds of paper crafting and mini album tutorials I have watched on YouTube. I have a lot of supplies for making cards and really enjoy coming up with a theme for each recipient. And even though I have most of the materials on hand that I need, I still enjoy doing a little shopping for a few special components. 😉


When one of our grandsons came to visit us for several days this summer, one of the things he liked was playing Monopoly. It is possibly my least favorite board game, so I bowed out and listened from afar while he and his grandfather played game after game. They really enjoyed their time together. Being one-on-one with our grandchildren means so much to us, and we know the kids really enjoy it, too. There is no better way to get to know each other than having the gift of time together. There is no substitute for it. Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, to name a few social media platforms, have their purpose and are useful for certain kinds of communication, but cannot replace the time spent in the physical presence of another person. Period. So much gets lost in the translation when communication is via a keyboard and a selfie. Body language, facial expressions, the sound of someone's voice are all missing with those modes of communication; and the give and take of a real-time interaction is missed when there is a lapse of minutes to days while you await a response from someone electronically. I'm not the first person to write about this . . . and I won't be the last, but I will always be one of the first to agree that being in the same room and experiencing things together is the best way to make memories with our grandchildren. We remember times we did things together much more than text messages or emails we shared. It takes planning, prioritizing and effort to build relationships, but the payoff is priceless.


So, when our grandson's birthday rolled around this year, I knew what theme I wanted to use for his card. I just needed to figure out how I would make it! After some Internet research for images, I settled on a small travel-size game I found online. I ordered it and used some of the components from the game for the card. It is pictured below. You can click on the photos to enlarge them if  you want a closer look.



I used watercolor paper for the card base.
It folded at the top, so it could stand alone, tent-style.



On the inside of the card, above the fold, I adhered the sentiment that I printed on card stock. Below the fold, I placed a card that resembled a property card in the Monopoly game, and used his first name as the property name. Of course, I made the color of the property card blue, just like the most expensive properties on the board! I used the little Monopoly money that came with the game and cut and matted some of the packaging, too. Not pictured are a Community Chest and a Chance card I made and tucked behind the Monopoly money with some funny little remarks on them that I thought he would get a kick out of.



Oh . . . and yes, he loved the card. 😊 In fact, he asked me for advice on how he could hang it on his wall in his room at college. 💓 This made me realize I need to include a hanger of some kind on the cards I make.




The next birthday card I made was for my step-son. He enjoys doing yard work, so we chose a gift for him that he could use in his yard. To go with the gift, I came up with a card that went along with the yard work theme and the season of the year.

For the card, I used Tim Holtz grunge board to make the tree shape and painted it with acrylic paints to resemble the color of a tree trunk. I made the "bark" by embossing the tree trunk with a script embossing folder running up the tree, instead of across. The tree branches were cut from grunge board using a dye that resembles bushes. The background is watercolor paper that I painted with acrylic paint to resemble grass and sky. I glued the grunge board branches and leaves to the background and then glued down the wooden fence that I dyed with Tim Holtz Distress Stain. I found a little basket and a garden tools set in the miniatures section at Michaels. I cut the basket in half and wired it to the fence. I stained the rake handle and wired and glued that to the fence, also. I used pop dots behind the fence. When I had everything attached to the background, I used glue and double sided craft tape to adhere it to the front of the corrugated card. I like the dimension on the card front.

On the inside of the card, I used parchment paper for the sentiment. (I knew there was a good reason I saved that nice resume paper from way back when!) I adhered more of the leaves that I had punched out on the top portion of the insert and adhered it to the card with double-sided craft tape.

When my grandchildren shared with me this past year that they've kept the cards I've made for them, it warmed my heart. I wasn't sure they kept them or if they realized how much thought and effort . . .  and love . . . went into each one. I hope they will continue to keep them and enjoy looking at them from time to time, the same way that I do when I look at the handmade cards and gifts that I have saved over my lifetime. It always humbles me and I get a little emotional when I think that they were made especially for me. And like all of us, I get pretty busy sometimes; but when I slow down and spend time with my treasures and hold them in my hands, it brings me a feeling of comfort. It is always nice way to spend a little time alone with the memories they hold, to think back to when I received them and about the hands that made them.


Thank you for taking the time to read this post. There will be more handmade cards in future posts. Your questions and comments are welcome, either in the "comments" section below, or on my Facebook page. I will read them and respond.


As always, it is my hope that you and those you love are happy and healthy . . . and that you are finding ways to spend time with those who are important in your life. Thanks again for stopping by, and until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and hold you in the hollow of His hand.


Emmy