Why do we light candles on top of a birthday cake when celebrating someone’s birthday?

Because it is too hard to put them on the bottom of a birthday cake (bah dum dum). Actually this custom can be traced back to ancient Greece when the moon goddess, Artemis, used to make offerings of cakes with circles of candles representing the full moon. Several centuries later, the Germans put a single candle on a cake to represent the spirit of life.

Send Get Well Cards to Show you Care

Sending corporate get well cards has become somewhat of a tradition at my company. So when I was home sick with bronchitis for two weeks, it felt so good to receive get well cards from my co-workers. I will always remember and cherish the feeling of caring and compassion I felt when I needed it most.

After I was back to work and feeling better, I ordered some personal greeting cards to keep at home. I feel it is very important to have a handy supply of get well cards so that I can send out a personal greeting as soon as I hear about a friend or relative who is not well. Get well cards show that you have other people’s best interests at heart. These greeting cards also let your friends and loved ones know they’re missed and needed. Sometimes the reassurance of a get well message can brighten someone’s day by simply showing them that you care.

It’s fast and easy to find the perfect card when you have your own personal greeting cards at home. So many times we have good intentions and think of others when they are sick but don’t take the time to send greeting cards. Now that I have my own supply of get well cards, I feel I am always ready to send a quick note to my friends, letting them know that I miss them and I hope they get well soon.

Anniversary Cards – More Years Should Lead to More Cheers

The month of December tends to be a busy time for me when it comes to celebrating our employees’ annual anniversaries with the company. 55 employees celebrated anniversaries with the company this December, with a total number of years in service adding up to 533 years! This total averages out to about 10 years per employee!

One of my responsibilities is to make sure that all of the corporate anniversary cards are signed by our President and by our Chairman of the Board. We celebrate every annual anniversary for each employee with anniversary cards, whether it be for one year or for 20 years. And while the greeting cards that we give to our staff fit under the category of business anniversary cards, each card receives this personal touch.

As a human resources professional, it made me wonder if more companies send their employees company anniversary cards to commemorate the day that they said “yes” to their companies. Giving business anniversary cards is an inexpensive way to extend appreciation to your staff, reaching out to them on a day when they may not expect to be recognized.

And as for this blogger…it will be seven years on June 25th.

Creative Projects Using Birthday Cards and All Occasion Greeting Cards

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!

Thank You Cards and Smiles

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.