Bumper Stickers!

So, I got this email from Megan Edgeller, who works at Build A Sign.com, [I removed the links b/c they were having mysterious Search Engine Issues, but you could hunt them down, I’ll bet].which makes (wait for it) signs, but also banners and magnets and custom bumper stickers. She offered to make me something, and I said, yes please! I enjoy me some gracious gifts. Plus, a few people had asked for bumper stickers, but since I’m cheap, I hadn’t looked into making one. Instead, I just wished I had a bumper sticker and then, poof! I got a Fairy Bumper Sticker Mother! Yippee!

Okay, so first of all, you should know that I’m a bit of a bumper sticker freak, myself. I have two problems with them:

First, I can’t choose. Yes, I think that we should coexist, and I realize that I wouldn’t have any food if it weren’t for farms and I support breastfeeding and I think that peace starts at home. My various beliefs  are too numerous to narrow down to one or two bumper stickers, but I absolutely believe that too many bumper stickers just looks too much like you’re still in college. Although I love to wait behind these cars at red lights. So I tend to only place a bumper sticker on the car if it has a specific and defined advertising purpose, like my nursery school magnet.

Second, I take it way too seriously. I don’t think that I present my best self as a driver, and I’m concerned that when I drive poorly, I could be scaring people away from “my side.”  During the 2008 presidential election season, I taped a campaign bumper sticker into my car (because I fear commitment and would not actually stick it anywhere). Occasionally I would be, say, trying to merge onto a street, and I would honestly fear that if I quickly cut someone off, or irritated someone by waiting too long, I could have an adverse impact on voting in New York State. I understand that this is freakish. But I feel like I’m suddenly representing someone or something else, and the responsibility is crushing when I’m a nervous driver, anyway.

So, yeah. I’ve got issues. But in this case, Capital District Fun could absolutely use some advertising, and while I am not always an excellent driver, I don’t believe that I’m so poor that someone will actually look up the blog and write a mean comment. But if someone did, I moderate comments, anyway! Phew. Still, because I fear commitment, Megan made me a few magnetic bumper stickers along with a bunch of regular stick-on ones. Actually, I like the way the standard bumper stickers look a little bit better than the magnetic ones, so I’m glad I had a chance to see both.

The fun part was creating my very own Capital District Fun bumper sticker. You may remember that I’d made my own business cards (with Cute W’s help) a while back, using J’s photo in the design.

J Dancing at Schenectady Kids Arts Fest

So I thought that I’d put that in. Of course, poor M’s been feeling a bit neglected since she isn’t on this stuff. Back when I was deciding what to put on the cards, my other finalist was this one of M:

M playing basketball years ago.

Adorable, right? I ended up going with the J picture because the color was a little more vibrant and because J was actually having Capital District Fun (dancing on Jay Street for the annual Arts Fest which is this weekend), while M was just hanging out on our driveway. I showed M the photo recently and of course she thought that it was undignified and humiliating and abolutely not bumper sticker-worthy. She preferred this action shot:

M playing soccer last fall.

I know! Are you shocked? You can see her recent face! We decided together that we were okay with this. After all, she’s been in the Gazette, like, three times with her full name. Doesn’t she look like such a bad-ass? Honestly, she is a bad-ass. There’s no getting around it.

Anyway, I took these photos and followed Megan’s instructions to design my own bumper sticker and came up with this one. Not bad, right? I sent it on, and Megan suggested getting the name itself bigger. She simplified it a bit more and suggested this one. I liked the idea of saying CDF twice, but the family was a little too generic for me, so I settled on this lovely design, which is what the bumper stickers look like. Cute, right? Well, I’m happy with it, and the girls are completely thrilled. Plus, it was so much easier and more fun than trying to do my business cards, which was a huge pain in the neck. This was basic and easy.

Then, because she’d been so nice already, I asked Megan if she could possibly please smooth off dear little J’s head. Because I’m only capable of the most rudimentary Photoshopping, she’s had a bumpy head for at least a year now (you can see it on the picture above). Thanks for being too polite to mention it. Megan fixed it up, so she’s cured!

J dancing with a smooth head.

So now I’ve got fabulous new bumper stickers! Hooray! If you email to ask me, include your mailing address, and solemnly promise that you will actually put it on (or tape it in) your car, I will mail you one of these paper Capital District Fun bumper stickers while supplies (and my postage stamps) last.  And if you happen to be a friend, I am not going to offer you a bumper sticker, because then you’ll feel like you have to take it and put it on your car and perhaps you, too, have peculiar bumper sticker issues. Which I completely understand. But if you ask me for one because you’re actually willing to put it on your car, I will happily give you a bumper sticker.