The Longest Shortest Time

*spark*cards are here!

Finally, finally. I get to tell you what I’ve been working on all summer.

For the last almost three years I have been making this podcast as a labor of love in my spare time—squeezing it in between child rearing and work whenever I can. And that’s why you only get an episode every 2-4 months. Which I hear complaints about (in the best possible way) often. Over the years, comments have been cropping up on this blog and on iTunes telling me that if I produced the podcast on a regular basis, you’d be willing to pay for it. I hope you really meant it, because (yikes) a week from today, on Monday September 16th, I will be launching a Kickstarter campaign for The Longest Shortest Time: Season 2. Twelve episodes in six months. No more waiting for eons to hear another tearful or hilarious tale of early parenthood! That is, if I make my goal. More on the Kickstarter and why I’m doing it next week.

For now, let me introduce you to *spark*cards.

They're even (especially!) beautiful in profile.

They’re even (especially!) beautiful in profile.

You are a wonderfully engaged and loyal audience, and I know that I can count on you to help make this fundraising effort a great success. But the thing is, we can’t do it alone. We are going to need to bring more people on board—new parents, experienced parents, and non-parents alike. But especially new parents. The people who need this service the most. That’s why I created *spark*cards.

*spark*cards are designed to do just what they sound like—spark conversation among new parents. They come in packs of 16, each with a different favorite quote from The Longest Shortest Time.

Quotes about baby girls are in pink.

Quotes about baby girls are in pink.

Quotes about baby boys are in blue.

Quotes about baby boys are in blue.

Do you have a favorite breastfeeding support group? Prenatal or postpartum yoga class? Playgroup? Mommy & me class? Dads meetup? Order a pack of these cards! (They’re FREE!) You can order *spark*cards to be sent straight to you, so you can bring them to distribute to a group—or you can request that they be sent directly to the place where they will be distributed. (UPDATE: Changed this so you just order them to be sent to you. Makes the form simpler.) Either way, these cards are not meant to sit on the counter at a register; they are meant to be passed out at the beginning or end of a gathering, to encourage bonding among new parents.

A word about where these cards come from: Moo. If you don’t know Moo, they are a DIY business card (and much more!) company loved by designers, and they generously donated 6000 cards to me for this campaign. There are all kinds of options with Moo cards, but I chose to go with their Luxe line, which means the cards are made from three pieces of card stock pasted together, and the center of that sandwich is a color. That’s how I got the red/blue effect you see above. The cards are crazy thick and feel amazing in your hands. Moo also gave me a bunch of Luxe notecards, with that same stripe of color down the side, to write personalized notes to *spark*cards recipients. So if you order a pack you’ll also get one of these:

Joyce-double-card

The best part about Moo cards is, no matter what size you choose, if you go Luxe or regular, if you use one of their designs or create your own, you can print a different image on the back on every card. Which just totally lends itself to the storytelling nature of this project. And could be used in a million different creative ways. If you want to try out Moo cards for your own project or business, Moo is offering 50 free cards to Longest Shortest Time readers and listeners.

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A huge thanks to Moo for making this outreach project possible.

So . . .  what are you waiting for? Order a set of cards to share with your favorite mamas and papas. And please post in the comments how you plan to use them. Then come back and let us know how it goes. I am dying to know.

Here we go, you guys. Things are getting serious.

UPDATE 11/29/13: *spark*cards have been so popular that we are ALL OUT! Boo, right? But also yay, because we are planning on offering a new round of them for Season 2, with a whole new batch of quotes—provided we raise enough money to keep them free. If you work for a company that might be interested in sponsorship, please get in touch. Your contribution could help to keep these cards going!

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