Here's what I think will work best for me and my organizational personality.
An accordion file folder labeled "blank" and Jan-Dec.
In the front I have one sheet of paper (printed up in word without anything fancy) that has all of the birthdays and events.
In the blank slot I have thank you cards and unclaimed birthday cards (in envelopes) so I can easily grab and send them if something arises.
In each month slot I have a card inside an unsealed, addressed, and soon to be stamped envelope for anyone with a birthday I chose to send a card to (mainly brothers and sisters and parents with a few in-laws and nephews on Matt's side...my side there are just too many people to send a card for every birthday!).
Then on google calendar I typed in each birthday and set it to send me an email the week before the birthday so I remember to drop it in the mail so they get it on time.
Hopefully I can get my Christmas cards made early in the year too and add it to this. I'm just all papered out to do it right now.
About 2 years ago I went through a paper crafting phase and bought quite a few double sided cardstock sheets on sale. Shortly after I bought them I switched to fabric and haven't done anything paper since!! I tried to keep them all simple with similar elements so I didn't have to think too much. But because I was using up what I had, they don't all match exactly. Here are a few of the cards I made. (inside the bird one it says "happy bird-day")
Love it! I like the idea of a file box. I also like the cards. I had a few questions about them - what size are they? where did you find envelopes for them? did you use a "happy birthday" stamp? Great job!!
ReplyDeleteThe cards are 4 1/4 by 5 1/2. You get that by folding an 8 1/2 X 11 in half and cutting it in half. Standard off the shelf invitation envelopes are 4 3/8 X 5 3/4 and fit them perfectly. You can get those at Walmart, Target,and Office Depot type stores. They also now sell a slightly larger envelope that will fit a 4 X 6 photo if needed. I get those for Christmas cards. I will use a forever stamp because there's no guaranteeing the stamp rate won't go up by the end of the year! =)
ReplyDeleteLooks great! I still waver whether or not to make this since I'm so bad with sending and making cards, but your idea to have gmail email you the week before is genius! I really think I will do this for sure now that I'll have a way to remember to mail them. Thanks!
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