As promised here are the directions for the Birthday Surprise in the Mail. This project does take some time and planning but it is totally doable.

Supplies Needed
Photo
Spray Mount Glue
A trip to Kinkos
4 posterboards
Exacto Knife
Ruler or Straight Edge
Cutting Mat
4×6 Envelopes
5×7 Envelopes
Lots of Postage Stamps
Things to decorate like tape and glitter!

1. Addresses take the longest to collect, so get going on those. I had some friends help me with this part (thanks Blake, Fergi, and Char!)

2. Decide what picture you are going to use and scan it in to a computer. (A picture of when they were a little kid would work great.) It will need to be a hi-resolution scan. Then take the image to Kinkos and have them print it out on their large black and white format printers. I had the photo printed on two pieces so I could get it really big. That cost me about $15.

3. Next cut out the black and white image and spray mount it two the 4 poster boards. Decorate it if you want.

4. Then cut the poster board down into cards. We cut ours into 4×6 cards and then did 4″ squares on the end columns.

5. Number each card so the recipient can put them together again. There should be 112. I considered sending out the cards as post cards to save on postage but I was a little worried the post office wouldn’t let them through (since I wanted to use glitter and other things to decorate.) So we opted to use envelopes. I used these vellum envelopes because I think see-through letters are more fun than opaque ones.

6. Print out a sheet or two of labels of the recipients address. On the returning envelopes put the address label, a stamp, and your return address label. When you are dealing with this many people its best to leave the least amount of room for human error. (Don’t take the chance that they’ll have time to scrounge up a stamp.)

7. Print out a small piece of paper with instructions so the people will know what to do. On mine I explained the project, gave three detailed steps of what they needed to do and put my contact information in case people had questions.

8. Put one or a few of the cards in the 4×6 returning envelopes. As you decide which card or cards goes to which person, write down the numbers next to their name so after it is over you will know where the missing or forgotten went.

9. Stuff the instructions and the stamped envelope and cards in the 5×7 envelopes. Address them to each person on the mailing list. Stamp them and drop in the mail.

If you have any questions put them in the comment section and I’ll do my best to answer them.