It's them!

A good friend asked me to make a joint 80th birthday card for her parents, who were both celebrating their birthdays in November. She also requested that the card be extra large.

She told me that her parents are devoted fans of Coronation Street (affectionately known as Corrie), the long-running British soap opera that first aired in 1960. Set on a cobbled street in the fictional town of Weatherfield - based on Salford in Greater Manchester - it follows the everyday lives of working-class characters. It seems my friend's parents never miss an episode!

She also mentioned that they drink plenty of tea, often sharing a croissant. After checking the details, I learned that the croissant had to be a plain one, and the tea should be served in a cup and saucer - the traditional and proper English way to drink tea! Finally, she asked me to include a big 80 on the card.

My friend sent me a photo of her parents. She told me that her dad’s personal "uniform" is a blue polo shirt with light trousers, and that he always wears a plain black kippa (skullcap). Her mum, on the other hand, loves to wear red.
I decided to show her parents sitting together at a small café table, enjoying tea and a croissant. I added a big gold 80 in the background, along with the Coronation Street sign.
They were all thrilled with the card!

"It's them!" my friend wrote when she collected the card. "You are so talented! I knew that already, of course - but wow! The tea, the croissant, all of it. Wow!"

After their birthday party, she wrote to me again:

"I gave them your card at the party and they, and all their friends, were absolutely wowed! They all loved it! It made it really special."

* This post has been shared on Saturday Sparks, Sundays on Silverado,  Happiness is Homemade, Mosaic Monday, Busy Monday, Tuesday Turn About and Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.

Tea and Cake

An Etsy customer ordered a card for her mum's 70th birthday. Her mum enjoys tea and cake and playing Rummikub, and she likes Robins and reading, she told me. She sent me a few photos of mum to help me create her paper portrait.

I have shown mum sitting at a little table. She has a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. A little robin is perched on top of the book. A pink teapot and a slice of cake are on the table in front of her.
My customer was delighted when she received the card:
"Your lovely card arrived this morning in the post to brighten up my day. It is absolutely perfect and captures her [mum's] personality."
She then followed that message up to tell me that her mum was shocked when she saw the card. "You got her spot on!"

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Encouraging Hearts & Home, Creatively Crafty, Thursday Favorite Things and All Seasons.