No, it's not my birthday again . . . It's my little sister's birthday today, though, and in honor of that special event, I have some blog candy to share with you. The Michaels near my house had two sets of Martha Stewart's Starburst Typeface Alphabet on clearance for an unbelievably low price last week. So, I bought one for me and one for one of you. Before I share the blog candy details, here's the story behind the card you'll find below. . .My sister and I have developed a kind of silly shared birthday tradition. We both went to college at the University of Wisconsin (Go, Badgers!) and our time there overlapped for one year (her freshman year and my second senior year--yes, I was on the five year plan, but I did graduate with two degrees). So, after living in the dairy state, we started to send cow-themed cards to each other for special events. After a while, the tradition kind of died out. It is a little more difficult to find new cow cards in Maryland . . .
On my birthday this year, I received a cow card with a message that said something to the effect of "The cows have returned." I had from May until August to rise to the challenge and I think I did a pretty good job of it. In addition to a store-bought cow card, I made this one to match the pretty covered spiral bound journal I made for Jill earlier this month (see it here). This one uses the same layout as the Moose You swap card I shared earlier this week. I used the same velvety polka-dotted paper as I did on the journal and added a cow image from the Very Punny stamp set. I hope she likes it!
If you're still with me, here's what you need to do to be entered to win the blog candy. Leave a comment on this post sharing a birthday tradition in your family (if you'd like to share one-not a requirement). I'll draw a winner on Friday evening using a random number generator.
Materials Used:
From Stampin' Up!: Very Punny stamp set; Basic Black and Real Red Classic inks; Basic Black, Real Red, and Whisper White cardstock; scalloped punch; 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches; word window punch; black grosgrain
Other: velvet paper (no manufacturer listed on paper--sorry!); black patterned paper (DCWV's The Glitter Stack); jeweled brad (Making Memories); 1 1/2" circle punch; Prismacolor Pencils; clear Glaze pen (Sakura); clear Stardust pen (Sakura)
cute tradition! I use to live in Wisconsin growing up, then moved to Florida now live in Maryland also..LOL! For our birthday traditon we always let the birthday person pick what they want for breakfast, lunch and especially dinner on the day of thier birthday and they get to tell me what kind of cake they want made or bought. The kids love doing this and one night a year they make sure they get thier favorites for dinner..LOL
ReplyDeleteI love the thought that you have a tradition for your birthday. I can't say that I have one. Might have to start one with my kids it sounds like a good idea.
ReplyDeletewe almost always go out on birthdays for dinner. I love the idea of starting the day off though with a special birthday breakfast!
ReplyDeleteIn our family the only tradition that we have is that the birthday person can have whatever they want for dinner followed by the cake of their choice. Happy birthday to your sister.
ReplyDeleteAs a 4th grader I moved into town. My new neighbor would come over and visit often and somehow we started giving or hiding empty pop cans to each other. We eventually started giving each other a case of each other's favortite pop for birthdays. I have since moved away, but when his family came to visit me after having a baby they brought me a case of diet pepsi since it was close to my birthday. It was so much fun!
ReplyDeleteHow special! We don't really have a tradition but we always take our children out to dinner for their birthday to restaurant of their choice.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite family birthday tradition is before we open present we go around and let every say why they love the birthday person. I love hearing what everyone thinks about you. Thanks for great candy!
ReplyDeleteGreat tradition! When I was younger we always went out for pizza on our birthday but now that I have my own family we go to Chuck E Cheese for our birthdays and not only eat pizza but have fun too!
ReplyDeleteNo traditions here that I can think of except presents (teehee), but yours sounds fun. :-) I may have to start one now.
ReplyDeletei have 2 sisters! loved reading this little story! how cute!! my fave birthday tradition is just picking the meal on your birthday! so fun as a kid!!
ReplyDeleteSince we live so far away from my family, Alaska and Pennsylvania, and we only get home once a year, we have gotten into the habit of just celebrating birthdays when we are home, even if it's not their birthday !!
ReplyDeleteHello! I'm Cheryl and I live in Madison, WI!!! I love your tradition of sending cow cards!! Go Badgers!
ReplyDeleteCheryl KVD
Very cute! I'm married to a dairy farmer in WI, so I love the cows! One tradition since marrying into his family is we all call each on birthdays to wish blessings. We live within 3.5 miles of each other, but it still means a lot, and guaranteed that person is getting lots of phone calls, the kids love it.
ReplyDeleteGreat Tradition. We never really had any traditions, since in April there were so many birthdays to celebrate.
ReplyDeletemy tradition growing up was my mom would always tell us our birth stories growing up! she still calls me (I'm 30 with kids of my own lol) and lets me know things like "you were not born for another 2 hrs" and "this time I was doing this on your birthday" its silly but I love it!
ReplyDeleteLori, thanks for sharing your creative work! A birthday tradition that I created for myself - use my birthday money for stamps! LOL! At least these last couple of years since I've been addicted to stamping...
ReplyDeleteI don't have any birthday traditions, but I'd love a chance to win your candy! Thanks for the chance!
ReplyDeleteOur daughter (now grown) always decorated the dining room with streamers & balloons, so this tradition is kept going. We also have a cake with candles & sing the birthday song of course! Usually we go out to eat where the birthday person's chooses.
ReplyDeleteHomemade ice cream is a family tradition. Even though our kids are grown we still do it for family aroudn the area.
ReplyDeleteWe used to get to pick what we wanted for supper the night of our birthday. My grandma would always buy my sisters gifts too (just something small) so they didn't feel left out while the birthday girl was opening gifts. My mom now does this with my kids too.
ReplyDeletethe only tradition we have is that the bday person gets to choose their dinner.. homemade or out...
ReplyDeletegreat blog candy!!
We don't have a tradition really,
ReplyDeletebut we usually give the birthday
person the choice of going out or
ordering in. So it could be the local Macdonalds or going Greek,
or chinese. But it always ends with a cake at home and gifts.
What a fun tradition you and your sister have -- that is so sweet! Our birthday tradition is to have ice cream cake -- ok kind of lame, but that was pretty much the only time I had it during the year and I LOVE Carvel!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteFor my birthday tradition my mom ALWAYS has made me a lemon b-day cake - as long as I can remember. Now that I'm married and far from mom, my husband has been passed the baton and does quite well. Hope your sister loved the card!
ReplyDeleteWe don't have any fun traditions, except our parents take us out to dinner to the restaurant of our choice and we usually have ice cream cake!
ReplyDeleteAw what a great tradtion! Love your cow card. Its cute.
ReplyDeleteWe don't really have any tradtions in my family when it comes to birthdays. I think its because for the last years we have all lived far apart, often in seperate countries. The only birthday we celebrate together is mine because its two days before christmas, but we are in christmas mood, not birthday mood. Since my little brother and little sister are both born in December as well, we do have a tendenacy to give a big gift with christmas and a small one, if anything at all, with birthdays. The last years my parents do this too so maybe we have some kind of tradtion after all? :)
Happy birthday to your sister!
Our only birthday tradition is getting to pick what they want for dinner. Great tradition between you and your sister. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat card and I loved the story about the cow cards. I'm close to my sisters and we always send birthday cards, although not a themed one! Usually, just something humorous. Happy Birthday to your sister.
ReplyDeleteThree of my cousins, two brothers and I all have birthdays within 2 weeks of each other. When we were young we celebrated with one big party - now 5 of us are retired and we revived the tradition with a great dinner get-to-gether this past year. What fun!
ReplyDeleteNancyS
Happy Birthday Jill...hope you have a fabulous day!! Our family's birthday tradition is that the birthday girl/boy gets to plan the menu for their birthday meal & what kind of cake they want. We've continued this tradition even after our daughter got married last year...our son-in-law chose pumpkin pie for his cake...(what's up with that??) Anyways, we always try to make their day special. Thanks for this chance to win sweet candy!
ReplyDelete~Brenda
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell Happy Birthday to Jill!
ReplyDeleteA tradition in our house started when I was very young, but I still remember the laughs because of this. Each year my mother and my aunt (her sister) would send each other this awful Christmas card. The card was totally black with an awful looking sow on the front. I think my aunt started it going, but my mother saved the card and re-sent it to my aunt for Christmas the following year. They took turns sending it back and forth to each other with a short note on the inside. I don't know what happened to the card and my aunt has passed away now.
The only tradition that I can think of with our family: My mom buys us all a birthday cake even though we are all grown adults, and no matter whether we are in town, at home, or have other plans, she always gets us a cake for our b-day!!!
ReplyDeleteI love your cow card and your birthday tradition. I don't personally have any birthday traditions in my family other than one sister and I always exchange sarcastic cards that tease about age.
ReplyDeleteI once worked with a girl who had a cow thing between her and her sister and I would make cow type cards for her now and then. I think I've been through every cow pun there is!
Great card! And what a nice tradition! :)
ReplyDeleteWe have a special birthday dinner as our tradition. The birthday boy/girl gets to pick either a home made dinner or restaurant to go to.
With my two boys ... I pull out the photo albums and reminisce with them about the day they were born. :)
our tradition is the birthday boy or girl picks their favorite kind of pasta (yes, we are italian so this is for our big Sunday dinner) and each of us has our favorite cake also. It's so much fun!
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I send the same card to each other, year after year. She sends it to me first and then I send it back. We add a new note every year and it is nice to look back and see what we wrote a few years ago. Of course we have had to add a page to it as it has gotten pretty full. Don't you just love traditions? Have a good one. Hugs n' Stuff, Lynne
ReplyDeleteI think it is so great that you have a tradition for your birthday. I can't say that I have one with mine. We do always get together and have cake and a chat but that is about it.
ReplyDeletewhat a fun tradition. I don't know if we really have a tradition or not, but it seems my brothers and I (I have 4) try to find the most conceited cards to send to each other (like you must belong to this family cuz we are all so beautiful type of thing)
ReplyDeleteOur birthday tradition was my mom singing us "you say it's your birthday, it's my birthday, too" by the Beatles. Now I continue to humiliate my children by doing the same! I love this blog candy, I hope I win!!!
ReplyDeleteLove that tradition.
ReplyDeleteOur tradition with the kids is they pick their cake & dinner. We spoil them all day!
I loved Wisconsin. I lived in Ripon while my dad taught ROTC up there in the 70's.
Happy birthday to your sister! chris
My own birthday usually means breakfast in bed for me...the kids try their hardest to surprise me, but usually have to tell me to go back to bed. For the kids, it's their favorite dinner at home, a cake decorated to their specifications, and a day without chores.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up my siblings and I were treated to dinner out - whaich at that time was a big deal - before fast foord restaurants came to be - now with my children and grandchildren -they always get a call close to the time they were born - just to remind them I was there!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, these Martha letters are yummy!!! I don't know if you would call this a tradition or not ... I just remember my dad making me feel really special on the mornings of my birthday as a child. In adulthood, he has always called me first thing in the morning on my birthday. Last year, he didn't ... boy, did he hear it from me! It just didn't feel like my special day until I heard my "happy birthday" from my dad! (This year, he remembered the first thing in the morning phone call!).
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteMy birthday falls on December 1 and my hubby and I love Christmas. So, we put up our Christmas tree on my birthday (or the closest day that we're free). I really don't like to celebrate my own birthday, but this way it's kinda' like the start of Christmas for our family!
Thanks for sharing such a great prize!!
Heather L.
Our tradition has been that the birthday person chooses a restaurant they would like to go to and the family and extended family all meet and have a birthday dinner. We get one dessert and pass it around so everyone gets a taste:)
ReplyDeletehappy birthday :)
ReplyDeleteAlessia from Italy
At my house, we sing Happy Birthday several times during the day and on the day after, we sing "Happy day after birthday to you" to the same tune. Once family members have moved away, we leave phone messages of the songs on their voice mail if they don't pick up when we call.
ReplyDeleteOur tradition in our family is to decorate the dinning room the night before so the kids wake up to birthday decorations...They love it..
ReplyDeleteI Just posted some blog candy too!!!
Hugs,
Lisa B <><
Great tradition!! We usually decorate w/crepe paper & balloons & have the cake of their choice. Usually go out to dinner. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Jill. We don't have a tradition like this but I really like yours.
ReplyDeleteOn my birthday, my mother would make a chocolate chip cake. It's a chocolate cake made with chocolate pudding and chips sprinkled on top. Yummie! My first year away from home, she even UPS'd one to me. Larcy
ReplyDeleteVery cute tradition and that's coming from a cheesehead.
ReplyDeleteThe birthday tradition in my family has kind of gone away after we made Mom feel kind of bad. You see, because she would be working on our birthday in the morning she would leave us one of those cheap $0.50 box cake mixes where you just add water and a can of frosting. We got that and a note. We would have a big celebration another time with a real cake but that was our "special" birthday cake.
It has been a lot of fun reading many of the traditions. My husband and I spoil each other when it is our birthday. He lets me buy what ever I want, takes me to any stamping or scrapbooking store that I want, buys me a birthday cake and we do out to eat. I do the same for him. Except I don't bring him to a stamping store. :)
ReplyDeleteMary
Our birthday person chooses what we have for dinner and of course the type of cake (or other dessert) they want. We also have a special plate that says Happy Birthday that the birthday person eats on.
ReplyDeleteMy grandma always had a special dinner for us on our birthday. We could pick any meal we wanted and she would make it. I always had BBQ ribs, twice baked potatoes and some other various staples. My brother picked meatballs and mashed potatoes and my dad's favorite was steak and lobster.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!
too cute! not much of a tradition, but we always get ice cream cakes (from DQ) for our birthdays. everyone that comes looks forward to the cake and having additional pieces as well - even better when it is melted a bit! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving away a stamp set!! How nice of you! I can't think of a birthday tradition we do in our family that's any different than anyone else... cake, presents, goodie bags... the usual fun stuff. :-)
ReplyDeleteFor our family birthday traditions. Because of my culture it is good luck to have a cooked birthday meal that consists of Noodles it mean Longetivity, and Soup for Good Luck and of course a yummy Taro Fruit Cake!
ReplyDeleteCute tradition...
ReplyDeleteMy sister is the frog fan..so we do frogs for birthday cards. We
used to go out on our Birthdays, but now she lives in Florida.We still talk Very often on the phone.
and the frog lives on !