Occasionally Thoughtful - The official blog of GreetingCardUniverse.com

National Lost Sock Memorial Day – May 9

Pattiann on May 8, 2016

Into what dark abyss do lost sock go? Or are they off at a mismatched sock party, laughing at us for continuing our search for them? It is a mystery as old as time — or, at least, as old as socks. Searching under beds or bureaus, inside pant legs, or in the toy box will bring some of these wayward socks to light, but still, there are those stubbornly AWOL socks. So we put the mate into a drawer and hope for the best. After all, the last time we threw away the mate to a lost sock, lo and behold, the lost sock came back.

National Lost Sock Memorial Day is in recognition of your drawer full of unmatched socks. You’re encouraged to open the drawer and either toss the lonely socks, or recycle them into sock puppets, dusters, draft stoppers, or other creative uses. Make it a game for your children to come up with the most creative use of these single socks. But no matter what, give yourself permission to let go of the hope of a sock reunion one day. C’mon — you know that it’s never going to happen. The lost sock is off living a carefree and happy life of its own, as you should be!

Greeting Card Universe National Lost Sock Day cards

Greeting Card Universe National Lost Sock Memorial Day Pinterest board

International Jazz Day — April 30

Pattiann on April 30, 2016

Presented each year in conjunction with Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, International Jazz Day is intended to emphasize jazz and its role in uniting people worldwide, highlight the power of jazz as a force for freedom and creativity, promote intercultural dialogue through respect and understanding, and unite people from all corners of the globe. Herbie Hancock, award winning jazz pianist and composer, is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Goodwill Ambassador.

Born in the US, jazz has traveled the world as a music of tolerance, freedom and human dignity. It is widely acknowledged that New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will be hosting a concert at the White House that will be televised on ABC. Performing at the concert will be Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, Al Jarreau, Sting, Aretha Franklin, among others.

Washington, DC is the 2016 Global Host City. Free jazz performances, master classes, improvisational workshops, round table discussions, education programs, jam sessions, and community outreach initiatives at museums, embassies, schools, hospitals, jazz clubs, senior centers, train stations, arts centers, recreation centers and parks across Washington, D.C., all 50 states, and 190 countries.

As an extension of International Jazz Day, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz will sponsor Math, Science & Music, a free education program with games, apps and online components that use music to teach math and science to K-12 and college students. There is a growing need for students to gain skills and knowledge in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects in a creative way, and this program addresses that.

Greeting Card Universe National Jazz Day cards https://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/holidays/nationalandinternationaldays/internationaljazzdayapril30

World Hemophilia Day – April 17

Pattiann on April 17, 2016

People with hemophilia have a lower level of a clotting factor and they can bleed longer than normal, sometimes causing life threatening complications. World Hemophilia Day is intended to draw attention to hemophilia, which impacts approximately 1 in 10,000 people, and other bleeding disorders, such as Von Willebrand disease, rare clotting factor deficiencies, and inherited platelet disorders.

There are two types of hemophilia, each caused by a low level of a clotting factor. The more common is Hemophilia A and is caused by to low levels of clotting factor VIII (8). Hemophilia B is rare and is caused by too low levels of clotting factor IX (9).

Prolonged bleeding is the main symptom of both types of hemophilia. Bleeding, which is often internal but can be external, can range from mild to severe.

Severe cases of hemophilia can lead to an early death if left untreated. Fortunately, successful treatments are available, and when managed, people with hemophilia can live healthy lives. Treatments for hemophilia involve regular injections of the missing clotting factor.

Established in 1989, World Hemophilia Day is intended to draw awareness to this condition and increase the availability of treatment worldwide. April 17 was chosen in recognition of the birthday of WHD founder Frank Schnabel.

Light it Up Red

On April 17, major landmarks around the world will light up in red. These landmarks include

The Helmsley Building in New York City; Zakim Bridge, Prudential Tower and South Station in Boston; The Wrigley Building in Chicago; Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles City Hall; Pacific Science Center in Seattle; and The Monarch in Austin, Texas. Individual households can participate by replacing their front porch light with a red light bulb.

Greeting Card Universe World Hemophilia Day

Greeting Card Universe Hemophilia Awareness Pinterest Board

National Siblings Day April 10

Pattiann on April 10, 2016

Siblings — you’ve gotta love’em, right? At least, that’s what your mom says. From late-night ghost stories to tattling to your mom when you got home late from a date, chances are you’ve had plenty of reasons over the years to have a love/hate relationship with your siblings. Who else has lived the same history, knows the same family stories, shares the same inside jokes… and can push our buttons every.single.time?

Seventy-nine percent of people in the US have siblings. Started in 1997 and observed on April 10 every year, National Siblings Day is a celebration of our brothers and sisters.

While it doesn’t describe everyone, many people are impacted by their birth order. Oldest children tend to be reliable, cautious, and structured; middle children are often people-pleasers, peacemakers, and somewhat rebellious; and youngest children can be fun-loving, outgoing, and self-centered. But no matter their characteristics, siblings are our first friends, our first debate opponents, our longest-lasting relationships, and our most complex. Because they know us so well, it’s easy to feel comfortable in the relationship. But that also means that they know the soft spots of our emotions — and there are times when they give those spots a bit of a nudge.

Despite all of this, though, siblings are there for us when we need them, they provide us with a sense of continuity, and we love them. We should let them know that we recognize their importance in our lives.

Did you know about these famous siblings?

Randy and Dennis Quaid, actors

Alec, Billy, Stephen, and Daniel Baldwin, actors

Chad and Rob Lowe, actors

Jake Paltrow (Director) and Gwyneth Paltrow (actor)

Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, writers

Wilbur and Orville Wright, inventors

George and Ira Gershwin, composers

Venus and Serena Williams, tennis players

Steph and Seth Curry, basketball players

Dear Abby (Pauline Phillips) and Ask Ann Landers (Eppie Lederer), columnists

Prince William and Prince Harry, British royalty

Julia and Eric Roberts, actors

Greeting Card Universe National Siblings Day cards

Greeting Card Universe’s Siblings Day Pinterest Board

Happy April Fools’ Day!

Pattiann on April 1, 2016

April Fools’ Day, celebrated each year on April 1, is a day of practical jokes. It’s a day that some people look forward to, planning the hoaxes down to the last detail. But some people dread April Fools’ Day. These people are usually the victims of the jokesters!

One of the first jokes children learn to pull is placing a rubber band around the lever that controls the kitchen sink sprayer, so that the victim is doused when they turn on the water. As this typically happens first thing in the morning as breakfast is being made, it serves as a forewarning of how the day is going to proceed!

These are family-friendly pranks. Care should be taken so that no one is hurt, physically or emotionally. April Fools’ jokes that have proven popular over the years:

Cover a bar of soap in clear nail polish and let dry. Leave it by the sink or in the shower.
Put food coloring in a carton of milk.
Place small pieces of cellophane tape over the tv remote sensors.
Freeze a bowl of cereal in milk the night before.
The night before, fill your child’s juice glass with appropriate-colored gelatin and add a straw. Watch them try to drink it the next morning.
If your children are heavy sleepers, switch their beds after they’ve fallen asleep so that they wake up in their sibling’s bed.
Unroll toilet paper and write a message before rolling it back up again.
Switch the bags inside two boxes of cereal.

Over the years, organizations have pulled April Fools’ Day pranks on the general public, with varying degrees of success. Many of these pranks have been documented at the Museum of Hoaxes

Greeting Card Universe April Fools’ Day cards

Greeting Card Universe’s April Fools’ Day Pinterest Board

Celebrating Easter

Pattiann on March 22, 2016

Easter, a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ after the Crucifixion, is Christianity’s most important holiday. Easter is a moveable holiday, celebrated in the West on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Orthodox Christians typically celebrate the holiday a week or two after the Western churches. In either case, Easter Mass is considered the most important service of the year.

In the week before Easter, many families dye hard-boiled eggs with food coloring. These eggs are used for decoration or as part of the Easter egg hunt. Stores sell special kits for this purpose, or food coloring can be used.

Easter mornings for Christians typically start with the hunt for the Easter basket, left by the Easter Bunny. The Easter Bunny is a mythical character that children are told comes the night before Easter and leaves the Easter baskets for the children. Some families make bunny tracks with powder throughout the house or, if the weather cooperates, in the snow outside. Easter baskets typically contain a chocolate Easter bunny, jelly beans, marshmallow Peeps, and chocolate eggs.

An Easter egg hunt, using either hard-boiled eggs or plastic hollow eggs, filled with candy and pennies, is an Easter tradition loved by young and old. Youngsters, sometimes still dressed in their Easter finery, hunt for eggs hidden either at home or at community-sponsored events.

Every year, the White House hosts an Easter Egg Roll. This tradition is 138 years old. This year, 35,000 people will gather on the South Lawn to enjoy games, a fun-run, cooking demonstrations, stories, and the traditional egg roll. Artist Joy Cho designed the five commemorative eggs, consisting of 4 eggs signed by the President and First Lady, and one “signed” with the paw prints of Bo and Sunny, the First Family’s Portuguese Water Dogs.

Easter Greeting Cards at Greeting Card Universe

Greeting Card Universe also carries Easter cards for those relationships you often don’t see elsewhere, such as For Both My Dads or Both my Moms , In Remembrance, For Work Husband or For Work Wife

Greeting Card Universe Easter Time/Spring Has Sprung Pinterest Board

Stephanie Laird – February Challenge Winner

Pattiann on March 15, 2016

In February, Greeting Card Universe artists were issued a challenge. One of the artists to rise to that challenge was Stephanie Laird, whose card won first place!

The name of the challenge was: The Race is On! The card front image and message had to speak to that theme.

Please provide us with any social media sites you’re on.

All Pet Cards Facebook

Equine Photos and Links Facebook

Stephanie on Pinterest

Which of your favorite card in your storefront are your favorite? (Besides the winning card).

What was your inspiration for your winning card? Please walk us through the process of how this card went from an idea to a greeting card.

Actually, the inspiration for the card was the challenge. To make it an encouragement card, that inspiration came from my son, who is following his dreams after serving in the Marines. Well, that and spending too much time at the racetrack and knowing all the terminology. 🙂 .

What sparked your interest in art? Did you start as a young child?

I always loved art. Ah, if only I could draw or paint! That is where photography came in. I have been taking pictures since probably seven years old, my oldest sister was quite a shutterbug. We’re talking film and black and white, back in the early 70s. It was my limited way to produce art. When digital came out and I could shoot unlimited pictures, that was awesome! I started to enter online photo contests and, umm, pretty much sucked in the competitions. My pictures were, well, ordinary, boring and not technically very good. I hate reading directions (I am sure the poor reviewers at GCU can attest to that) and dislike taking classes even more, which was always suggested to me. Then on one birthday, my husband gave me Adobe Photoshop Elements (which btw sat in the box for a couple of years, because, hey I would have to read directions). After reluctantly loading this software and opening the oh so intimidating instructions, a whole new world opened for me. I could make the art that I envisioned with my photos.

Do you have formal training or are you self-taught?

Mostly self-taught. I did take an online Photoshop class, which I used Photoshop Elements for (the only one using elements). I got voted best in class, which, for me was a first! Heck, taking a class was a first, too! I really didn’t like the class much though. The people in it were awesome, the instructor was fine, but it felt like I was learning to produce what he envisioned, hence was graded on his subjective views. I was conforming to what was expected. I kind of like thinking outside of the box, not conforming to the norm, which is why Greeting Card Universe is such a great site for me. The unusual is encouraged.

Have you ever/do you currently have a job other than as an artist?

Yes, bookkeeping. I was a construction bookkeeper. Sounds boring, right? Well, you would think, but I found that construction people have wicked senses of humor! I really enjoyed the people I worked for. A bunch of characters.

What GCU artist(s) do you admire?

I don’t think you have enough room on this blog for all the artist I admire on this site! It is a pleasure to be part of such a talented group. I am probably just as good of a customer as I am an artist on the site as I love the creativity and unique cards. I will mention a few though. Doreen Erhardt and Corrie Kuipers, they always amaze me with the quantity and quality of cards they can produce. Amazing artists and writers! Tom Rent and Noble Works, for their clever humor, LJ Maxx for her beautiful art, and Moonlake Designs for her creativity and art. But seriously, I could go on for pages.

What awards outside of GCU have you won?

Best of Show 4 times California Midstate Fair

First Equine Photographers Network for Professional Artistic

First at Betterphoto for Digital Darkroom

First at the National Photo Awards

Jumping for Joy over Leap Year!

Pattiann on February 29, 2016

Leap years are necessary in order to keep our calendar in line with the Earth’s revolutions. Without leap year, we would lose 6 hours every year. Leap Year happens on those years that are evenly divided by 4, but not if the year can be evenly divided by 100.

A person’s whose birthday is on February 29 is called a “leapling”. It’s a special day with opportunities for making it fun and different than other birthdays! Only 1 person in 1,461 is born on leap year, which makes leaplings unique.

Most leap year babies celebrate their birthday on non-leap years on February 28, in order to keep “loyal” to a February birthday, but some celebrate on March 1.

Some businesses have special or free deals for Leap Year babies. All you need to do is show your ID. A list of some of these businesses can be found at Penny Pinchin Mom

Ways to make a Leap Year birthday party special:

Let everyone know about the special day by wearing a t-shirt or hat proclaiming the day!
Have a “Leap” party at a gymnastic center.
Throw a “sLEAPover” party.
Use frogs as a theme. Here’s a starting point for ideas Tip Junkie https://www.tipjunkie.com/post/leap-year-party/
The party guests can make a list of where they hope to be in four years. Have them seal the list in an envelope with “Do not open until Feb 29, 2020” on the front.

Greeting Card Universe has many options for Leap Year birthday cards.

General Leap Year Birthday Cards

Age Specific Birthday Cards

Customize for any Relationship

And many more …

Be sure to check out Greeting Card Universe’s Leap Year Pinterest Board.

For those looking for Leap Year Anniversary Cards, Greeting Card Universe also has you covered!

Ron Magnes, Best of 2015 Winner

Pattiann on February 28, 2016

Ron Magnes’ winning card in Best of 2015 contest

Greeting Card Universe artists were invited to submit their best 2015 work. Ron Magnes is the winner. Congrats to Ron from all of us at Greeting Card Universe!

Please list any of your professional social media sites:

Ron Magnes’ Website

Ron Magnes on Fine Art America

Ron Magnes at Linkedin

Which are your 3 favorite cards?

Your winning card is very funny. What was your inspiration? Please walk us through the process of how this card went from an idea to a greeting card.

“The Ultimate Man Tool” is just a spoof on those type of ads and infomercials that claim, “this is the ultimate tool” or “this tool can do everything”. It was a bit more involved than my usual cards. After completing the knife illustration, which took awhile to get just right, I had to write funny little blurbs for each tool, I must have tweaked the wording on this for days. When I create a new card I always set it aside for a few days, sometimes weeks and then when I revisit it, it’s like having a fresh pair of eyes on it, and if at that point it still seems funny or heartfelt if I’m doing something sentimental then I know I have a winner. When I finished everything I then uploaded and submitted the new card to my GCU shop. It was rejected for looking too much like the Swiss Army knife. The reviewer suggested to maybe change the image a bit and resubmit. I shelved the idea. Months later I revisited the image, I was determined to make this idea work, I had put so much time into it. So, as per the reviewers suggestion I redrew the image, changing the casing shape and color. With this newly revised image, I submitted a new card. This time it was accepted with a comment attached suggesting that I do a series for different recipients and occasions, which I did.

What sparked your interest in art? Did you start as a young child?

My Mother did. As a young child I would often sit and watch as she painted, I found it so fascinating. She had noticed my interest in art, so one day she gifted me, “Animation by Preston Blair, Learn How To Draw Animated Cartoons” . I would sit and draw cartoons from that book for hours, there was a time I didn’t go anywhere without that book. From then on my passion for art just grew.

Do you have formal training or are you self-taught?

I’m a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I also have 20+ years experience working in a graphic arts studio where I honed my typography skills and learned how to create professional looking graphics.

Is your work done by hand and then scanned or do you work entirely on the computer?

All of my cards are done completely digital, from concept through finish.

Have you ever/do you currently have a job other than as an artist?

I worked for a graphics arts studio in the Pittsburgh area for over 20 years. I’ve been on my own for the past 12 years as an independent illustrator. So, I guess, no.

Are you as humorous in real life, such as parties or family get-togethers, or does your humor only come out in your cards?

I’m a bit reserved in large social gatherings, but I’m always observing. I do joke around when I’m with small familiar groups and family. I do prefer visual humor, you don’t have to be spontaneous, you can take your time to work it out just right.

What GCU artist(s) do you admire?

I find some of the NobleWorks artists to be very humorous.

What would we be surprised to learn about you?

I was seriously considering culinary school at one point, but later decided art school was probably a better fit.

The Joy of Valentine’s Day

Pattiann on February 14, 2016

Valentine’s Day, that day of love and care, is celebrated February 14. According to the Greeting Card Association, Americans send out 145 million Valentine’s Day cards each year. This doesn’t include the classroom Valentines exchanged in schools.

Originally celebrated as a liturgical celebration of one of the Christian saints named Valentinus, by the 18th-Century, Valentine’s Day had evolved into a day for expressions of love. The oldest paper Valentine’s Day card is from the 1400s and is in the British Museum. Commercially printed Valentine’s Day cards became available in the 1800s. Second only to Christmas cards in the US, Valentine’s Day cards have grown in popularity ever since.

Along with general Valentine’s Day cards and cards for family members, Greeting Card Universe has many options.

Anti-Valentine’s Day Cards For those disinclined to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Greeting Card Universe has an assortment of cards. Don’t be bitter on Vinegar Day! Make it a special day for pampering. There are some ideas to get you started in Getting Through Valentine’s Day Being Single.

Birthday on Valentine’s Day Surely someone born on Valentine’s Day is a love child!

Gay/Lesbian Valentine’s Day cards Greeting Card Universe currently has 532 cards that speak to the gay or lesbian relationships.

Valentine’s Day Photo Cards Photo cards at Greeting Card Universe are very popular. Take advantage of Valentine’s Day to show family and friends your love.

Wedding on Valentine’s Day On average, 2.2 million people get married on Valentine’s Day. What a special day to start your life together! And there’s little chance that your anniversary will be forgotten!

Secret Pal/Admirer on Valentine’s Day A secret admirer can be anyone: a classmate, a colleague, a neighbor … or someone closer to home: Valentine’s Day Secret Admirer Essay