Each day, there are certain things I expect to spend time on: feeding the kids, changing diapers, cleaning up, etc.  However, I have also come to appreciate the surprise tasks that are not on the agenda that end up taking up some of my time.  Not a bad thing, just an unexpected task. 

Today’s task:
I looked on my calendar and realized that it is my husband’s grandmother’s birthday in two days.  She always remembers our birthdays, so I wanted to make sure we sent a card.  I went into my stash of cards, but to my surprise, I didn’t have a card that would be appropriate.

Knowing that the mail man comes pretty early, I had to work fast.  Here is what I used to make a very sweet homemade card:

1. Extra envelope (I still have extras from our wedding invitations from 4 years ago)
2. Cute paper (one can never have enough!) and white card stock
3. Fancy scissors (I don’t know what else to call them… they cut designs instead of straight edge)
4. Crayola washable paint
5. Computer and color printer
6. Two willing kids

I cut the cute paper to fit the envelope.  I typed up a nice “Happy Birthday” message in Power Point, changed the font to something cute and colorful and printed it out on the card stock.  I used the fancy scissors on the card stock and glued it to the cute paper.  Then, I sponged a little of the paint on to my kids hands/feet (baby feet, toddler hand) and pressed it to the paper, allowing them to leave their “signatures.”  I let it dry quickly and then let my toddler help me mail the letter (thanks Blue’s Clues for teaching him about the mailbox).  Presto!  I made a cute card and got it in the mail before pick up… I hear the mail truck coming now!