Another Fun Party Favor

One of my friends, Karen, turned 50 last year and as a party favor to all who attended her 50th surprise birthday party I put together a funny little booklet. Just things she loved, part of who she was, is and God willing will be. A nice keepsake for a nice person.

I met Karen through my friend Maria and have seen her off and on for the last 25 years or so. She's the mother of three and though there are two in their young 20s, she still has an pre-teen. So you know, or maybe you don't, but moms (and dads) are usually driving all over the place taking their kids to something, and then picking them up. It's not an easy job. Never was, but I think it's gotten even more difficult. Lots of juggling of your time.

So I've seen Karen at a few dinners and lunches over the years and for a short time when she lived in California, on one my travels to there I passed by her neck of the woods and looked her up. I love Karen and she's a funny lady but by meeting her I've also met one of the funniest people I think I have ever met. Karen's sister Lisa.

Lisa doesn't try to make you laugh. Every story she tells you can't help but laugh, she some how ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time or sometimes it's the most mundane day and she can turn it into a best selling short story. She always has a story to tell you. Even at work. She's an executive in banking. Very serious, very smart. And somehow she makes the most boring banker into the funniest person, you just want to meet everyone she describes.

I could repeat a Lisa story, but I know I couldn't do it any justice. Lisa has to tell it. You know how when you have a caricature drawn of you? Those drawings that exaggerate your most dominant feature, to the point where you start wondering, does my nose really look like that? Lisa does that when she imitates people. You can so totally imagine the person she is talking about, and she sets the scene, nothing boring at all in her stories, she captures you from, "well I was...".

So below are the pictures I put into funny Lisa's big sister Karen's party favor booklet. I put Karen's picture into famous shots and also made up a couple myself. Even if you just want to create a little booklet using real pictures, this is a nice favor, a nice little memory to store away. I used brochure paper for my inkjet printer and used a book design template, printing on both sides of each piece of paper. If you don't have something like that, just put a booklet together on plain paper, however many pages you want and number the pages, you will be able to see which pages need to be printed on the same page together, for instance your first page will be side by side with the last page of your booklet and once you put it together, they will be apart.

When you fold the pages in half after you have finished your printing, you can staple the middle, I'm sure you've seen pamphlets like that, or you can get fancy, put something like a bookmark, kind of yarn weave with tassels hanging on top or bottom, or any kind of ribbon you want, even plain old brown twine can look great, depending on your design theme. Hope I explained that right!! Questions welcomed!

I used eight pages but also had to make a lot of booklets and eight pages was enough. Lots of cutting involved, measuring as well, you want it to look professional, well as least I did.

So here's a little about my friend Karen in a short picture story.

The book starts with a private laugh between Karen and Maria. They both loved the film In Cold Blood with Robert Blake. Never saw the film but apparently it's has something to do with his pants being too short, white socks. No clown shoes, just my exaggeration!



Karen's very first car, her yellow Volkswagen Beetle (Bug).



Her first love, Peter Cetera from Chicago.




The "thing" during our late teens, going to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show. We didn't dress up and we attended the movie in Staten Island, crazy and fun but once a big bunch of us went to the Village, way too much for us, they actually patted every one down for weapons before going into the theatre and before the movie even started fans read their own fan letters for over an hour. We left before the movie even started, this was way too obsessed for us!



Karen loves Lucille Ball as most of us do, but Lucy is her dog and she loves her more!



And her family...



Back to her Robert Blake look...



And finally Karen, Maria and I, as I hope we will look, maybe living in sunny Florida, being way too old to be dancing and carrying on, being told we're too old for this behavior and then the whispers we wont hear, God bless them still dancing and carrying on!