Happy Birthday

• Instead of simply sending a traditional birthday card, send a fabric postcard. Make the design big and splashy so it really stands out. Use a four-by-six-inch piece of card stock--postcard size. Take different fabrics and cut out the letters to spell "Happy Birthday." Go for animal prints like zebra patterns and camouflage designs for someone who loves animals. Use bright colored fabrics such as hot pink and lime green to make the postcard pop. Or you can use different shades of fabric in the recipient's favorite color.
  
  

Birth Announcement

• Announce the arrival of a bundle of joy with a fabric postcard. Select a print fabric with a pastel pink or blue theme for a girl or boy. Use your computer to make a layout with the baby's picture, name and date of birth as the caption. Design the layout so that it is no more than three-by-four inches. Print enough copies of the picture and caption for the total number of announcement postcards you will be sending. Use spray adhesive to adhere fabric to the postcards. Cut out the pictures and captions and glue them to the fabric.
  
  

Party Invitation

• Use a multi-layered collage technique to create a party invitation postcard. For example, if the person-of-honor is a music lover, find scrapbook miniatures of guitars, a piano and drums. Get a photo of the birthday person and reduce it down to size to use in the design. Print the date, time and place for the party on your computer and cut the captions out. Use one piece of fabric to serve as the "canvas" for each postcard or cut the fabric in pieces to work it into the collage.
  
  

Artist Self-Promotion

• Artists of every discipline can use fabric postcards to promote their works. For example, a fine artist can use a postcard to promote an upcoming exhibit by selecting a fabric, such as silk, and using a fabric color that draws from a dominant color in the artwork. A commercial photographer with a portfolio of travel shots can use a turquoise blue fabric on the postcard and attach miniatures of three shots taken in the Caribbean on top of the fabric.
  
  

Retail Promotion

• Retailers can make postcards that standout from everyday direct mail pieces to draw attention to sales and new merchandise. For example, an apparel seller can create a postcard using fabric swatches of the new colors for fall, spring and summer fashions, along with pictures of the latest fashions for the season. A furniture seller can create a fabric postcard using fabric swatches from sofas and chairs to form the background of the postcard, with a picture of the furniture on top of the fabric.