50 Years :: 50 Memories

My moms birthday was last week, and I briefly mentioned that I put together a "50 years with 50 memories" project, and here it is! Finally!

I got the idea from Pinterest, of course, about a year ago, and the idea stuck! I was so worried that I would procrastinate and it would never get done! With my track record on putting things off, I was doomed to fail. I was convinced that I would miss giving my mom this gift, and always regret it, so I started early! 

50 is a big number! I did not think there was anyway for me to actually get 50 people to participate. I thought I would have to write a bunch of memories and put them in envelopes to hit that big number. But thankfully, I was wrong!

First I tackled Facebook, there are so many people from my past, and my moms past, that I could get in touch with on there. I sent out the first message around Thanksgiving, yes Thanksgiving! I didn't get many responses, and felt so discouraged!  I sent a couple of emails out, mostly to family, between Thanksgivings and the end of the year, and still was getting little response.

Then after the first of the year I got really serious. I went through her email address book, I went through all of mine, and started emailing like crazy! 

And the responses started flooding in! I got cards in the mail, facebook messages, pictures, emails, and a couple of calls! 

My original idea was that I was going to write out the cards, all on the same card, in the same kinds of envelopes, all consistent. I love consistency! But of course I gave people the option of mailing cards in, and when they did, I got a bit tiffed. I wanted uniformity, and they were not helping! I started to be okay when I realized I still could put them in the same envelopes as the other! And when I started writing the cards out, I wished more people had mailed in cards.

I never even thought of simply printing the cards. I always planned to write them out the week before her birthday! That was a bad idea. I should have written them when they came in, or print the cards out (in a festive font and color, on fun cards, not plan paper with black Times New Roman!).

I designed the cards (through my upcoming company, Harriet Ann Creative), with a simple date, and embossed the string of pearls with gold glitter. Each envelope (well, 1-50) had a sticker number on the front, and I sealed the envelope with gold polka dot/stripped washi tape! I wrapped them up in groups of ten with red twine, it made it a bit more organized. 

The project took me a couple of days past her birthday to complete, but it worked out so well! All of the hubbub and stress from her actual birthday died down, and she (we) were really able to enjoy reading through them, with some bubbly of course! 

This project ended up being as much for my mom, as it was for me. I got to read so many fun memories of her, as well as see what a positive, wonderful influence she has had on so many lives. It gave me a whole new appreciation and respect for her. 

This would be a fun project for so many moments in a loved ones life, graduation, anniversary, wedding, or of course, birthday!