A Few Facts About Greeting Cards — From All Of Us At NPR With Father's Day this weekend, many Americans are bound to make last-minute trips to find that perfect humorous card for good ol' Dad. Not my roommate. She has a stockpile of greeting cards that she buys not for a specific occasion, not to send to a particular person. She purchases cards just because. Or maybe you buy cards like my mother. "Remind me to get a card for Aunt Tracy," she'd say as we strolled into the mall when I was a kid. Then she would spend what felt like hours perusing the shelves, looking for a card with the perfect touch of corny. But whatever your card-choosing strategy, here are five things you may not have known about greeting cards. 1. Americans buy a ton of greeting cards While greeting card sales have gradually declined since the advent of e-cards and other digital modes of communication, Americans still buy about 6.5 billion cards each year. The most popular card-giving occasions are for birthdays and Christmas, according to the Greeting Card Association. Women buy 80 percent of all greeting cards. 2. Pets' names often appear on cards You've probably received many cards with messages like this: Happy birthday! Love, Mark, Joan, Bobby, Susie and Taffy. Many people view their pets as if they were part of the family, so it makes sense they would include pet names on cards. An American Animal Hospital Association survey found that 70 percent of people include their pet's name on greeting cards. 3. The name "Hallmark" was inspired by goldsmiths The ancient Chinese would send cards to celebrate the New Year, as did the Egyptians, who would mark papyrus scrolls with messages. In Europe, people began giving handmade paper cards for Valentine's Day around the early 1400s. But cards really took off in the 1850s as the printing press made card production quicker and cheaper. And that little company called Hallmark? The Hall Brothers card company was founded in 1910 by Joyce Clyde Hall and his brother in Kansas City, Mo. They crafted picture postcards for about five years until sales declined, and they began making greeting cards in response to people's desire for more private communication. The word "hallmark" was used by goldsmiths to describe a "mark of quality." It fit perfectly, and the company name was changed in 1928. Hallmark was also the first to display cards on shelves standing up. Before that they were placed in drawers. 4. The Louie Awards recognize the best cards annually The International Greeting Cards Award Competition, or the Louies, have recognized the best cards each year since 1988. The Louies are named after Louis Prang, a German immigrant who is credited with producing one of the first lines of Christmas cards in the U.S., in 1875. Submissions to the Louies are blind-judged on originality, impact, design excellence, sendability and value, and winners are announced in May during the National Stationery Show (yes, that's a thing) in New York City. The Card of the Year in 2014 featured a picture of a dog with a red velvet cupcake wrapper in its mouth. 5. Millennials reject greeting card technology Millennials are also eschewing e-cards and seeking a feeling of nostalgia in card-giving. As a result, fancy, often pricey cards from sites such as Etsy are gaining popularity, perhaps in response to digital communication exhaustion. Older generations, however, seem content to send e-cards. Or if you're like my roommate, you love a spontaneous trip to Papyrus. http://www.npr.org/2015/06/19/415801900/a-few-facts-about-greeting-cards-from-all-of-us-at-npr Samantha Raphelson

Vintage Easter Greeting Cards - Bizarre and Strange

I sell updated and embellished greeting cards on Etsy. The name of my shop is the Reimagined Past. I scan cards that I have purchased at flea markets, ebay or some that were sent to my Mom in the late 1930's, and decorate them. Hate to admit it, but I am a glitter convert. I also spend hours every week scouring the internet. What a fascinating thing to do. Anyway, I have come across some interesting vintage Easter cards...that "stopped me in my tracks" and ask myself - what in god's name were they thinking? Below are some of my favorites:

My Mother Before Me

I once asked my mother to tell me about herself - I gave her the book "My Mother Before Me" (if I recall correctly) and asked her to fill in some of the "blanks."

This was in 1983, and I was in my early 30's (uh oh, I really didn't want you to know how old I am) and the stories she told me got tucked away somewhere in my memory.

She passed away in 2006, and I have been sorting through her things since then. It took me 4 years to be able to look through the scrapbooks she kept while in High School in Palo Alto, California and at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.

I look at the pictures of she and her friends/boyfriends and think "who is this guy anyway? "

What really caught my eye were the beautiful greeting cards she received in the 1930's.  The colors, the textures, the shapes...I was struck by the number of cards that depicted Scottish Terriers..who doesn't love them, and oh, by the way, we've had 4 of them!

I decided to scan some of her cards and "reimagine" them...add my touch to the vintage cards, and sell them on etsy


I've done a lot of research, been to quite a few flea markets to collect vintage cards, and along the way have gotten lost on the internet. So many fabulous places to explore in cyber world.

So, here it is. If anyone finds this blog, I'd have to say that's pretty amazing.

I'm going to try and tell stories in the blog. I'll be going off on a lot of tangents. I'm going to insert names of interesting websites...wherever whimsy leads me.

Hope to see you soon.