Yesterday I carved some birthday cupcake stamps and stamped a few birthday postcards. (Do kids still bring cupcakes to school on their birthday?)
As I mentioned before, I’ve been dabbling in stamp carving and have used some of my stamps to decorate the postcards I’ve been sending out. This card is the first in my recent bout of crafting that seems like something you would see in a shop. My whole life I’ve enjoyed making cards, but had only made them for people I know and love, and they were always extremely personalized. One of the answers to the question “what do you love to do?” was always “making cards,” but the fact mine were so customized to the recipient always dissuaded me from seriously thinking about my “dream” of being a professional card maker.
Anyway, after I had carved the series of misshapen cupcakes I realized where I had subconsciously gotten my inspiration from, and I wanted to share.
When I was very young I had a children’s book called “Starting School” by Janet and Allen Ahlberg. I remember reading it over and over again, poring over the lovely illustrations. One illustration in particular, a line of cupcakes the children had baked, was a favorite. The cakes were all different, mostly misshapen, and I distinctly remember studying them looking for “the perfect one.”
Amazingly I remembered the title of the book all these years later, and searching for it not only brought up the book, but a video on youtube reading it. (No copyright issues I guess?) Watching the video was like an instant blast into the past, and the names of the schoolkids (Errol, Kate, David…) were as familiar to me as old childhood friends. And halfway through, the page with the little cakes showed up on the screen:
This illustration still brings me joy, even today. And I hope my little cupcake cards will bring joy to others. I still need to work on hand lettering and placement and composition and all the things, and will do so happily. Also, the few cards pictured above have inadvertently become a limited edition run because I accidentally broke the flame off the candle as I wiped down the birthday cupcake yesterday. Now it’s just a cupcake with a used-wish candle.
A wonderful sheep 