The Ultimate Birthday Card Making System
 

This was put together 2 years ago, and I share it every January for those wanting to get into the program of getting organized with sending out Birthday and Anniversary cards. Anyone can use this system stampers or non stampers, demos can adapt this into a package deal during SAB or other promotional periods, as a workshop or stamp camp idea. And I have mine done for the first quarter.
Cynthia

The Ultimate Birthday Card Making System

If you are like me, you have all this great Stampin' stuff to make
cards to share with friends and family, but don't always get the card made,
let alone sent out on time! Well here is the ultimate system to get you organized
and ready to WOW all your loved ones with your talent and thoughtfulness.

Start with a perpetual calendar to record all your friends and family's
birthdates and anniversaries. The Birthday Calendar in the
Stampin' Up! 2004-2005 catalog and Idea Book is an excellent calendar for this
purpose.

Next break the year down into quarters and stamp during the preceding month
for that quarter's cards. Also think ahead to those smaller holidays that fall with in that quarter and stamp those cards too. For example stamp Valentine cards
in January and Mother's Day cards in April. Hey, start your Christmas cards in
October!! Think how organized you are going to be.


Stamp in January for February, March and April
Stamp in April for May, June and July
Stamp in July for August, September, and October
Stamp in October for November, December and January

Third, divide the people you are sending cards to into groups:

Men; Teen Boys; Boys;
Women; Teen Girls; Girls;
Anniversary; New Baby; All Occasion, etc.

Then count the number of people in each group so you can make the right number of cards.

You can make the same card for each group of people. Decide on your design
then copy the rest assembly line style. All the men that quarter get the same
card, all the teen girls and so on. Make a different, individualized card for each person, or just for certain people in each group, like for your mother or a 50th Anniversary for example. There are no set rules to the design of your cards. This is a great time to play
with that new set or technique and get your cards made at the same time.
As time allows make a few extra cards, and make them All Occasion by leaving
off the greeting.

Also make some Sympathy, New Baby, Get Well, and Thank You
cards to have on hand.

Lastly, stamp coordinating envelopes to go with each
card. Don't forget the envelope templates for that ultimate unique card.

Address each envelope at this time with the recipient's address.
Write their applicable date in the upper right hand corner of the envelope.
Enclose the proper postage in the envelope at this time if you want.
Store the completed cards as desired and check weekly. Allowing for mailing
time, mail each card to arrive before the due date you have written in the
corner! Don't forget to put on the postage before mailing.

Feel the satisfaction of touching the lives of your loved ones in such a
personal and unique manner.

This system inspired by Cynthia K. and other Stampin' Up! Demonstrators

Compiled by Diane S., Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

This is awesome, you've inspired me to do this! Thanks for sharing!

What a WONDERFUL idea !!! :D Thanks for sharing . . . now I have to order one of those birthday calendars !!! :wink:

I have a perpetual Special Cards album. I've used it for several years now, and have been doing this same thing! Guess I will have to get the Stampin Up one now!

What a GREAT idea!! I make tons of cards all year round yet sadly my friends and family rarely recieve a timely birthday greeting from me! Im inspired to try this and become a bit more responsible this year!! Thanks

This is cool! I have a perpetual calendar..... now I just need to get busy! :D

This sounds like a great idea for my monthly work shop regular ladies! I will see if I can incorpurate this idea. One group wanted to guit and use the products they had purchased...Maybe a quarterly work shop group...Like a stamp camp...I could supply ideas or samples and they pay to attend and...you know there's always something you NEED TO ORDER!!! TFS

You can also use a photo box with a divider for each month to store your cards in.

the ultimate birthday card making system
 

This is so awesome! Thanks for sharing it. It will come in very handy for me and my customers. :)

What a GREAT idea! I'm always waiting until the last minute and then can't get inspired to make the cards. This is a great way of planning ahead. I'll give it a try.

Thank you so much! This is just what I need as a newbie. :D

Thanks for the great tips. I do use the perpetual calendar but always make the cards at the last minute!

I've used a similar idea for several years - and it really does work, I rarely miss an occasion.

I did this as an Ultimate Stamp-A-Stack a year ago. The price included a light lunch, a Birthday calendar to stamp, and 2 each of 5 Birthday card designs with the handout for the "system". It was a big hit.

I also noticed Hallmark is once again offering card organizing boxes. There is a choice of two this time. I thing it's $5.95 with the purchase of 3 cards. I know they are not hand made but I get the 99 cent kid cards for birthday gifts.

Liz, (Redapron), how much did you charge for the Stamp-a-Stack? I recently did one where I charged $1 per card and ended up going to a whole bunch of work for a very small return. Your idea sounds like a better one than what I tried.

I am also interested in trying that stamp-a-stack idea and would love more information !!! :) Besides how much you charged, how many hours was it? Thanks !!! :D

thank you for the splendid ideas!

:D

What a great idea. so perfect for those of us making cardmaking resolutions. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks to ladybugstamper2 for reminding us of this great system!

I charged $25 to cover the cost of the calendars, card materials, envelopes and lunch. It was from 11a-4p. For lunch I made soup, salad and rolls, with coffee and water. They could break when it was convenient for them.

For the cards, I used inspiration sheets to design the cards and kept them very generic and very simple. Because everyone was required to pre-pay (so I could order) I knew exactly how much to prepare and it went rather quickly. They made 2 each of five designs. One feminine, one masculine, one child and two generic-anyone. I also had my Birthday Greetings set available for them to stamp a sentiment. If they purchased one of the featured sets, they also received the matching Inspiration Sheet.

One other thing I learned, is to give each attendee a package with all of the supplies inside. I used 1 gal ziplog bags and write their name on it. Instead of piling the cardstock, ribbon, etc at each station, this cut down on the number of "oops". I had extra cut, but they had to ask me for an extra instead of just helping themselves (where the last person ususally would end up short.

Note - for a regular stamp-a-stack I pick a theme--birthday, sympathy/get well, all occasion, etc and charge $10. I will be charging $15 starting 1/1/05 since it's taking time to pre-cut and sales aren't "quite" what I'd like them to be. Same thing - 2 each of 5 designs w/envelopes. I also ask my guests to bring a snack or beverage to share because we are all on different eating plans. It's also a very social afternoon since many of them are repeat SAS-ers. I have one of these about every other month. This event is 3 hours.

Hope this helps!

p.s.

For the birthday calendars, I had a station set up with Tags and More, Sketch an Event and Little Layers.

That pretty much covered any month when used with all 48 colors!

I made a few more this year as gifts with a matching set of all-occasion cards using only the 3 Little Layers sets. I've posted the birthday calendars and the set of 12 note cards in my gallery. The calendars are on page 1 and the note cards are on page 2

Click below if you'd like a peak!

What great ideas!

Thanks so much. I really appreciate you sharing this!!!!

Thanks for sharing!

This is so wonderful! Thank you for sharing it with us! I've been wanting to do something like this for awhile. I know that my upline did something like this but she did it monthly. This would solve the last minute need-a-card-yesterday problem!