Pi Day and Albert Einstein's Birthday

I wonder what type of pie Albert Einstein liked best? I think it is pretty cool that such an important scientist was born on a date that translates to the first three digits of the mathematical constant pi.

For those of you that enjoy a bit of math humor or want to indulge in some math or science geekery, check out my EclecticSkeptic shop on Etsy. In celebration of Pi Day, 2018 all orders received before midnight on 3/14/18 CDT will receive a 10% rebate, excluding shipping, from EclecticSkeptic.

Cards for Many Occasions

Sometimes you need a card for a specific occasion such as a birthday or holiday greeting and appreciate the preprinted text that comes with it. However, sometimes you want to be able to express yourself without those words getting in the way. That is when you reach for your stack of blank cards.


Blank cards are great for sending out thank you, just thinking of you, congratulations and many other messages. If your stack of general purpose blank cards is getting low, Eclectic Design Choices can help. Both EDCCollective’s and EclecticSkeptic’s Etsy shops carry a variety of blank holiday and general purpose cards. Images on the front of these cards are either my original or altered photos of a variety of subjects. Images in addition to those currently listed may also be available.

Milestone Events

Birthdays that end in zeros, 25th anniversaries, promotions, graduations and many more milestone events are markers along our life’s journey. While these things can all be great accomplishments, they can also bring along a certain amount of stress. Injecting a little humor can be a great stress reliever.

My family just experienced one of these milestone events. My son turned 20. I’m very proud of the young man he is becoming. At the same time I think, “How could my child be 20 already?” It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was. (When you do the math however, it was a long time ago.)

My husband and I injected a little humor by making my son a custom birthday card. In the week before his birthday, a combination of photos that I had previously taken, my husband’s wit and my son’s imminent milestone birthday gelled into a card that he really got a kick out of.

The dog is my son’s greyhound and the headdress just seemed like it would be a perfect portrait prop for her. She has always reminded me of a lioness when she hangs out in the tall grass, so we let some grow for the photo shoot. From there, add a touch of my husband’s humor and my son’s 20th birthday and a card was created.

If you have your own meaningful photo and wording, you too can create a custom card for any milestone event in your life. Most office supply stores now sell packages of note cards that you can print on your printer. I use Adobe Illustrator to set up the card design and print them on my laser printer. If you don’t have the desire to tackle this, I can put together that custom card for you. Also, with my son’s permission, his birthday card is available with customization for your milestone event by custom request through EDCCollective.

Girls Gotta Have Pearls (June Birthdays)

Is there a special someone in your life in need of a special gift for her June birthday? If so, consider showing her how special she is by pampering her with pearl jewelry. After all, pearls are the birthstone of all June babies.

Pearls can be man-made, cultured or totally made by nature. Man-made pearls range from lower quality plastics to higher quality coated glass and shell beads. The process of producing cultured pearls was discovered about 100 years ago. Until this process became more widespread, the only pearls that many people could afford were man-made. Cultured pearls differ from totally nature made only in that a “seed” is intentionally introduced to the oyster (saltwater culture) or mussel (freshwater culture) instead of having the mollusk acquire one by chance in nature. The process of pearl farming has produced a more affordable supply of pearls for everyone.

I work with cultured freshwater pearls. I gravitate towards the lovely, undyed colors in white, cream, peach and lavender. Pearls make a statement on their own or pair well with, crystal, gemstones, coral, metal and glass beads. Find a special gift of pearls for your June birthday girl at edccollective.etsy.com or ask me to create a custom creation for you.