5 Cards for a 50th Birthday

A new customer found me on Facebook and contacted me to ask about a 50th birthday card for her husband. After a short chat it became apparent that she actually wanted 5 extra large birthday cards - one from each member of the family! We talked about themes and decided to show the birthday boy with each member of the family and their common interest. Each card would also have a big 50 on it to mark his age.

I'll start with the card I made showing my customer and her "dream guy". I have shown the two of them on the card, his arms wrapped protectively around his wife. I added some red hearts for good measure.

The couple have three children. Their eldest daughter Hannah and Dad both enjoy skiing. I have shown them on the slopes, skis in hand. Even though it's super warm over here right now, they are dressed for the winter weather!

Their son Ariyeh and his dad love art. My customer told me that he particularly likes the work of the Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, so I have shown Ariyeh pointing out a Murakami print to his dad, who is considering it carefully. I added an easel with a colourful painting on it and a palette and brushes, ready for them to get creative.

Michal, the couple's youngest daughter, loves cooking and baking with Dad. I have shown them both hard at work in the kitchen. Michal is busy mixing the cookie dough whilst Dad has a tray of cookies in his hands.

Not to be left out, the family's dogs, Charlie and Ralph, also sent their dad a card! They love walking with their "Abba" (Abba means father in Hebrew) and apparently he is their firm favourite. I have shown Dad out in the countryside with the Shih Tzu dogs. One is in his arms and one is sitting on his knee (I must confess, I am not sure which is Charlie and which is Ralph!). I hope they both got to put a paw print on their birthday card.

My customer was delighted with all these cards.

"Lisa you have made my husband and all of us so happy with your exquisite cards." she wrote to me, then added the most wonderful review on my Facebook business page:
"Lisa made 5 exquisite cards for my husbands 50th birthday. They are beyond magnificent, in fact he wants to frame them all together. Each card was a picture of my husband doing a skill or hobby that each of my kids enjoy! This was Lisa’s idea too to make each one personal and caring! Lisa you created thoughtful magnificent works of art and made us all so happy - thank you!"

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Creatively Crafty, Thursday Favorite Things, Sew Can Do and All Seasons.

Uncle Ronnie

A customer ordered one of my extra large cards for her Uncle Ronnie with the intention of framing it for his birthday. She sent me a super long list of the things she and her Mum feel represent him. He is a handy man, she wrote, and so a screwdriver, hammer and nails were requested for the card. He absolutely loves chocolate, especially chocolate from the British chocolatier Paul Young, and particularly loves his hot chocolate, so she asked if I could show him holding a Paul Young hot chocolate drink. She also wanted a peppermint tea to go in somehow too! Uncle Ronnie is a big fan of the Radio 4 programme The Archers and he loves singing Barbara Streisand songs. He also loves cars and gadgets, so cut-outs of a silver SLK Mercedes sports car and a Lexus were requested.

Uncle Ronnie is a Past President of the City of London Law Society so my customer wanted some kind of image relating to the fact that he is a lawyer. He loves skiing and scuba diving and flying kites with the children in the family, oh and she wanted me to show him wearing the Master of Ceremonies red sash that I could see in the photo she sent me. Finally, Uncle Ronnie has the most enormous wonderful winning smile and that should really stand out, she said.
There was a LOT to include!

You can see some of the many cut-outs I created. Above is a picture of the tiny screwdriver, hammer and nails, and below them a paper fox to represent Ronnie's law firm which is called Fox. The fox appears on the card above the Scales of Justice, below. Finally, the colourful kite was also a request.
The card took me, ahem, quite some hours to create and I was delighted to receive the following emails after my customer and her Mum had seen it:

Dear Lisa
I hope that you had a lovely Rosh Hashanah and I wish you and your family a very happy New Year. I cannot even begin to tell you how thrilled my brother was with the card and the fun he had identifying all his special interests - it was a great success and I know that he has already put it up in his home. I'm sure that he would not mind at all your using the card - and I do hope that it brings you in lots of orders - you really deserve the success. You took such immense pains to get everything just right and I do hope that it will help your business go from strength to strength. Thank you again for all your help and patience and if it would help for someone to give a personal recommendation I'd be more than happy to do so." 
Her daughter added, "Uncle Ronnie really is one of the most amazing men I know and I absolutely adore him ... you probably feel like you know him better than anyone!".
Um, I think perhaps I do!