Yet another (literal) illustration of my sheer nerdiness:

I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day. I think it's Hallmark holiday that perpetuates the idea that if you don't spend loads of money on the people that you love, then you don't love them. Well that's just a load of crap. The only real reason that I celebrate V-Day is my mom. She L-O-V-E-S it, and I love her! ;)

Years and years and years ago I started making my mom homemade cards for Valentine's Day (and Mother's Day too for that matter) that featured a cast of characters created with inked thumb prints. Don't ask me why or how I came up with this idea, it was too long ago. All I know is that she loves the cards, and so I keep making them. Yes, I'll be turning 30 this year and I still make homemade cartoon cards for my mom. DEAL WITH IT.

So there you go, there's the inital explanation. Now I'll tell you about the cards. Every card has a common theme:

There's a group of thumb print characters that call themselves The Thumbprint Gang. Every year they want to come up with a new and exciting way to say "I love you", or "Happy Valentine's Day", or whatever to my mom. So they go on a grand quest and along the way they run into all sorts of nonsense. In the end they end up just yelling out
I LOVE YOU" or whatever the sentiment is and there's lots of balloons and confetti. I'll give you an example. One year for Valentine's Day the gang visited great romantic couples throughout "history". They saw Marc Antony & Cleopatra, Rhett & Scarlett, you get the picture.

Oh, have I mentioned the cast of characters? Yeah, this is where things get really weird:

• First we've got Little Curly-headed Thumbprint who's always the hostess of the card. She makes the introductions and the initial explanations.
• The Stripper -- You'll always see him with a wicked grin and his shorts in one hand.
• Larry! -- Larry looks like Tom Selleck and is obsessed with red wine. He'll always have a glass or two or five around him somewhere.
• The Snake Charmer -- He'll be in a trance, tooting on his horn to charm what/whoever might be around.
• The Sleepwalker -- He never actually walks, but he prefers to be known as The Sleepwalker. I don't ask, I just illustrate.

Every card will ALWAYS have the above five characters, and then add in a bunch more. Again, don't ask where I came up with those five, I have no clue. I think I must have been exposed to lead paint as a child.

So do you want to see an actual Thumbprints card? I have to warn you -- I am making no attempts to claim that these cards are humorous in any way. They don't look professional or snazzy or anything like that. They make my mom happy, and that's why they are created. Are we good? Do you still want to see one? Well, okay. I've got one right here just for you guys. This was the 2007 Valentine's card for Mom. Just click through to Flickr and be sure to go in order or you won't understand what the hell is going on. There are eight pages. Also, for the double-pages you might want to view the LARGE version so that you can read. Just a suggestion. :)

Comments

[Chris (the one from far away)]

Crazy ;).. I love the idea :) - the thumbprint gang is hilarious :D - the snake charmer (the one with the flute) is my favorite :)

[Jess]

That's incredible! Thanks for posting it. :)

Did I see a screen capture of my humble blog hiding in there?

[Fuzzball]

YES! :D

[southernfriedgirl]

That is too cute girl. I love traditions like that.

[Gymshoes]

That is flipping BRILLIANT!!!!! :-D

[Mom]

Okay -- now my cards are famous! Go figure! I've saved every one and treasure them -- not only because my baby girl created them but they are just downright hilarious! All of you out there in cyberland need to know that the Thumbprint Gang should be Hallmark Cards!! Just think -- millions of thumbprints circling the globe! I think BIG!!

[Gymshoes]

Tracey, you need to photograph all of them before they get too yellowed with age. (Or if some are already yellowed, clean them up digitally.) Keep a digital record of them. How many are there all total?

[Suzie]

Could you BE any more adorable?!?! I think not! Those are fantastic.

[joe blogs]

Hallmark cards should sign you up, you got talent!