Most of us are on budgets these days. Even people lucky enough to still have good paying jobs are dealing with the ever rising cost of gasoline and groceries. I've realized that I am having to live more creatively than ever before in order to still enjoy living my charmed life on a shoestring. Case in point...
Three birthdays within seven days,(One of my dearest friends from the biggest little city who coincidentally was up for a visit, my rock n' roll buddy, and my first born daughter!) and I wanted everyone's birthday to be special for them. You know, birthdays only come once a year, so they should be special. With a little thought, some scraps of paper and a little time, I had created lots of little touches that made the birthday clebrations fun. I thought I'd share them with you so that if you feel so inclined, you can make someone's day special too.
First of all, I made a fabulous Beatle inspired "You say it's your BIRTHDAY" banner that worked for all three of my birthday people.
Another fun idea is to make a custom gift tag. I took the opportunity to borrow an old family photo my rock n' roll buddy had when he wasn't looking. I took it home and made a copy on my printer (never use an original photo for this!) and cropped the picture to become part of my gift tag on his presents. I matted the picture copy to piece of scrap book paper. I added a second tag to coordinate, and seriously, it took all of three minutes....the best part was that he loved the tag nearly as much as the gift, and he was surprised to think I had managed to borrow his old family photo, which made it all the more special. One more bit of fun was this lil' flag I made. You know I love flags on birthday cakes, pies...whatever...so this time I made my rock n' roll buddy his most favorite treat and took them down to his office.(By the way, I think his office mates enjoyed them as much as he did...)
Oh, yes. The fabulous lil' button adorned flag made the rice crispy treats a hit, taking them from ordinary to extraordinary! Stay tuned...Monday I'll share a few more birthday ideas!
great ideas! very clever.
Posted by: sandra - merryheart2 | April 15, 2011 at 07:13 PM
This is just a whole bunch of good ideas. I love the photo tag.
Posted by: Farmlady | April 15, 2011 at 07:42 PM
Loved the birthday ideas. Might have to borrow a few! Thanks so much for sharing!
Posted by: Kathryn | April 16, 2011 at 04:35 AM
Tracey, my birthday is in December.....I'm just sayin' :) Your gift ideas always inspire, thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Miss Char | April 16, 2011 at 05:45 AM
how adorable!!! you are so creative and I always love your ideas....keep em comin!!!
Posted by: Kim | April 16, 2011 at 06:02 AM
You WILL add a kit to your store, won't you? *g* Great stuff!
Posted by: Ellen | April 16, 2011 at 06:50 AM
Wonderful, wonderful! Everyone should be so lucky to have you to help celebrate their birthday. A birthday should be special. A celebration big or small says that you're greatful that person came to be in your life. Yeah!
Posted by: The Sewing Queen of Northern NV | April 16, 2011 at 07:00 AM
You're a woman after my own heart! Do you have a good place to recommend for buying ribbon? My usual thanks for the inspiration...
Posted by: Marge | April 16, 2011 at 02:38 PM
Oh, Tracey! Such PERFECT timing! I have 2 birthdays this week and 1 next! I don't have a lot of money to spend. My presents aren't much. Just little things I picked up that the recipients might need and like. So I really needed a way to wrap them to make them special. Thank you for the great idea. And thank you for continuing to share your life on this blog. It is my favorite! If I could only follow 1, it would be you! Have a great day!
Sandry
Posted by: sandryplainandsimple | April 18, 2011 at 08:59 AM